His Ruthless Bite | Historical Paranormal Romance: Vampires (Scandals With Bite Book 4) (23 page)

Even after he explained, Rolfe remained quivering in anger. “That doesn’t change the fact that Charlie was one of ours. Rochester and his accursed third must pay.”

“Don’t you dare do anything foolish. I do not wish to lose you too.” Justus placed a firm hand on Rolfe’s shoulder, willing him to listen. “What happened was Charlie’s own fault. We should at least be grateful that he wasn’t captured and interrogated. And that he had a quick death.”

“They’d never take me alive,” Rolfe growled. “I’ve fought that dandy, Cecil. I know the range of his power. I could make short work of him.”

“You will do nothing without my leave. I am the leader here.” Justus bared his fangs in warning. “Or have you forgotten that?”

“No, my lord,” Rolfe said sullenly. “It’s just that—”

“Enough!” Justus sighed in exasperation. Rolfe’s hot temper would get him in trouble one day. Hoping to calm him, he changed the subject. “Has Will returned yet?”

“No, my lord,” Rolfe continued to avoid his gaze, and then stiffened as if a thought occurred to him. “Do you think Rochester’s vampires got him too?”

Justus shook his head. “I’d commanded him to flee the moment Cecil and Benson came upon us. He’s to hide somewhere past the border of Rochester’s territory and not return until an hour before dawn.”

They waited in tense silence until Will cautiously made his way back to their hidden lair. Both Justus and Rolfe exhaled audible sighs of gratitude to see their cohort unharmed.

Once more, Justus relayed the painful news of the loss of Charlie, feeling like a heartless bastard at his relief that at least his immediate death meant they were not in danger of exposure.

Justus didn’t want Rochester to know who was responsible for his downfall. Not until Gavin had been cast down, his love destroyed, and all that was his stripped away.

Only then did he wish for Gavin to look him in the face and know the consequences of betraying one’s best friend.

Lenore thanked Finch as he took her cloak. Tonight’s sessions had gone well, as the village women and farmer’s wives had grown to trust her. She learned about sick children, abusive husbands, stillborn babies, and endless heartache. And though she’d felt good about cheering them and helping them find the strength to endure, some dark shadow of melancholy seemed to engulf her. She was lonely, though it made no sense, as she’d had company with Elliotson and made new friends almost every night. And when she wasn’t working with the women, she and Elena worked on preparations for tomorrow’s ball.

She bit back a sigh. That dratted ball.

The butler bowed. “Ah, his lordship wanted me to inform you that he is waiting for you in the library.”

Her heart leapt in a combination of nervousness and joy. For so long he’d been neglecting her, and now he wanted to speak with her. Was it about the ball? Her stomach had been so knotted with worry that she might have missed some crucial detail that it had been nearly impossible to concentrate on her work with the village women tonight.

Or did he merely miss her and wish to enjoy her company again? He hadn’t shared a bed with her since the night she’d touched him intimately. Not for the first time did she wonder if she’d either done it wrong, or if she’d done it too right and tempted him. Did he wish for her to do it again? Hope flared within her heart at the thought. But it was quickly doused with her third supposition. What if he’d learned about her work with Elliotson?

Fidgeting with her gloves as she walked up the curved staircase, she willed herself to appear calm. After all, he hadn’t expressly forbidden her from seeing Elliotson.

But if he did now? Lenore didn’t know if she could bear it. Although the doctor had been growing slightly fanatical of late and wanting to delve into some odd treatments, such as diagnosing illnesses by feeling the bumps on patients’ heads, she didn’t know what she’d do if she couldn’t help all those women.

What would she do in this house while Gavin chased rogues and oversaw his territory while she remained here alone?

When she opened the door, she saw Gavin facing the fire, his hand behind his back. From the slight lift of his broad shoulders, she knew he’d heard her come in.

“How was your evening, my darling wife?” His voice was so level she couldn’t tell if the inquiry was polite or suspicious.

“Very well, thank you,” she managed to answer just as mildly. “How was yours?”

He turned around to face her, his gaze sweeping up and down her form, devouring every inch of her. “Oh I’d much rather talk about
yours
.” He cocked his head to the side, regarding her with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Where were you?”

She swallowed. “In the village.” There was no point in lying.
He knew.

He stalked closer to her, like a cat on the verge of trapping a mouse. “And what were you doing there?”

“I think you already know that.” Though she longed to look away from those penetrating black eyes, she held his gaze.

His chin lifted in a semblance of a nod. “Although it is true that I’ve been watching you, no, I don’t know exactly what you were doing.” His brows lowered and his scowl returned. “Though I would if you had told me in the first place.” He seized her hands and held her gaze. “Why did you lie to me? Just what did you think you would accomplish telling me you were paying calls, only to sneak off and perform some sort of cabal with a gathering of peasants?”

Lifting her chin, she retorted, “You haven’t told me where you’ve been going every night either.”

“That’s different. I am the Lord of this borough and I decide what is your business to know. Furthermore, I never told an outright lie.” His eyes narrowed dangerously. “So why did you?”

She sucked in a breath and confessed the dreaded truth. “Because I thought you would forbid me from doing it.”

For a moment, he just stared at her. Silence hung in the air thick enough to cut. Finally, he ran a hand through his thick curls and sighed. “Aside from that being the most foolish reasoning I’ve heard in ages, how were you supposed to know what I would or would not have done?” His brow rose in challenge, but she was too speechless to form a response. He eyed her intently before continuing. “The only thing of which you can be certain is that I am vexed with your deception.”

This time, Lenore couldn’t fight the quaver in her voice. “What are you going to do?”

“That all depends on you.” Still holding her hands, he led her to the burgundy velvet loveseat by the fire. “I’m going to give you one more chance to tell me what exactly it is you are doing with those women. I’ve seen you speaking with them and placing them in trances, but I do not know why, or what you hope to accomplish. Explain everything as you should have in the first place, and I will weigh my decision accordingly.”

Rather than being merciless as she’d feared, thus far he was being more than fair. Shame roiled through her at her ignorant assumption and cowardice. Why couldn’t she have had enough of a backbone to talk to him?

Taking a deep breath, she carefully pled her case. As she often told the women she helped, sometimes it was best to begin at the beginning. “I’d been introduced to Elliotson by Cassandra, I mean, Lady Villar’s physician friend, Thomas Wakley, after she was unable to help me with my nightmares and, well, episodes.”

“Episodes?” The inquiry sounded more curious than hostile.

“Sometimes I am overwhelmed with the memories of what happened last year. I freeze like a rabbit and cannot breathe. Or I shake uncontrollably, like when I had that bad dream.” Humiliation burned her face at the admission of weakness. She prayed he wouldn’t laugh, or look at her like he had when he’d first encountered her, like she was pitiful and weak. “Since Cassandra and Dr. Wakley only work with matters of the body, they referred me to Dr. Elliotson, who specializes in matters of the mind. Though he was unable to mesmerize me—”

Gavin interrupted her. “And a damn good thing he couldn’t, or he would have been hunted down and killed.” When she shivered, he squeezed her hand. “I apologize for my interruption. Please, go on.”

Lenore closed her eyes as the firm, warm grip of his hand jumbled her thoughts. “It helped me greatly to talk to Elliotson about my problems. Though I never specified what had happened to put me in such a state, I’m sure he could guess. He then took me on as a student and brought me to the East End, where he mesmerized poor women who worked in factories, women like I had been before I was Changed.” A small smile curled her lips. “He was very impressed when he saw that I could do it too. He now sees himself as the greatest teacher in the world.”

Gavin laughed lightly before his features sobered. He cocked his head to the side, peering at her with implacable curiosity. “What exactly do you do with their minds when you have the women under your power?”

Lenore explained the entire process, studying his face for any indication of anger or disapproval. Trepidation bubbled in her stomach as she slid off the loveseat and sank to her knees as the lower caste vampires did when pleading to their lord. “Please, my lord. Let me continue my work. Helping those women helps me. And I do not want to spend my nights here in a veritably empty house.”

Still grasping her hand, he pulled her back onto the loveseat. “Do
not
grovel,” he bit out through clenched teeth. “You are my
wife
, no longer an underling, and I will not have my wife on her knees in supplication.”

The thunderous command seemed to reverberate in her bones.

Gavin’s gaze raked across her before he heaved a sigh. “Now, as for your second complaint, if you feel lonely, you could begin making those calls you’d claimed to be paying.”

Lenore shook her head, recoiling in disgust at the thought of chatting over tea with expensively dressed maidens and matrons who tittered at her from behind their fans. “It’s not the same. I will never fit in with those indolent, spoilt society ladies.” She’d abandoned her dreams of being a lady once she realized how dismal a prospect it was.

“Well, you do not fit with the lower classes, either,” Gavin countered. “You are a baroness now, not a commoner, and baronesses typically do not socialize with the lower classes. Furthermore, you are also now the wife of the Lord Vampire in this city, so you are no longer a lower ranking vampire, either.”

Her shoulders slumped in dismay. “So that is it then? Taking teas with women I have nothing in common with and, what is that fancy word they use… rusticating?”
Rotting
was more apt.

He stroked his chin, looking perplexed and contemplative. “You did not seem to be troubled with this when we first made our bargain. And unless you are an accomplished actress, I would say you enjoyed our courtship.”

“Our
courtship
?” Unconcealed scorn dripped from her tone as she pulled her hand away. “I would say you were the better performer.”

He raised a brow. “What do you mean?”

Unable to look at him, she struggled to list his transgressions as an accusation, rather than a confession of all the things she missed about him. “Your great pretense of fondness for me. Your dancing attendance on me, laughing and talking with me as if you had any interest in anything I had to say. Dancing with me… kissing me.” Her face flamed at the last.

“Are you saying you enjoyed my attentions?” His fingers grasped her chin, tilting her head to meet his potent gaze. “And you’ve missed me?”

“Yes.” The admission tore from her throat.

Something in his stern countenance softened. “I confess that I have been neglectful of late. I did not think much of it, as Elena and Anne were occupied with their own pursuits.” His fingers lightly caressed her cheek. “I’ll endeavor to spend more time with you.”

“I don’t want to inconvenience you,” she said, mortified at the prospect of him keeping her company out of pity. “Besides, I still wish to continue my work.” She froze in realization that in the haze of Gavin’s devouring gaze and gentle touch, she’d momentarily forgotten all about her work.

“I
will
allow you to continue to do so, for now.” Before she could graciously thank him and inwardly rejoice, he held up a hand. “However, you must reduce your meetings to only once a week. Also, you must do your duty and pay your calls. Tell them your activities in the village are a sort of charitable pursuit so you don’t draw dangerous gossip.”

She nodded gratefully. “Yes, my lord. Thank you, I—”

“What did I tell you about groveling?” he said softly as his thumb caressed her wrist in soothing strokes. “As I told you before, you are no longer an underling. And if there is something you want,
please
have the spine and dignity to ask me.”

She inclined her head in what she hoped was a regal manner. “I will.”

But he wasn’t finished. Gavin grasped her shoulders, holding her gaze. “However, even with your newly elevated status, if you deceive me again, I will have no choice but to punish you. And by God, I do not want to, but it would be my duty as Lord.”

Closing her eyes, she nodded, remembering the vampire he’d imprisoned and only released early as a wedding gift to her. “I understand.”

When she opened her eyes, his shoulders relaxed as if eased by a heavy burden. “Now that we have that settled, let us move onto other matters. I am home for the remainder of the night and I will also be here for tomorrow’s ball, naturally.”