“Pardon my intrusion, young Miss, but the guests will be arriving in an hour.”
“Thank you,” Kitty says energetically. Her excitement at being treated as if she always belonged here is apparent.
She jumps to her feet, facing me, and I know our conversation is at an end.
“We must get you ready!”
And just like that, I am swept up in a whirlwind of silks and accessories as Kitty goes about picking out our clothes.
Chapter Ten
Clara
“Clara,” Kitty says. “You must wear this one to the party tonight.”
I lower the dress I held up for her to examine. She has the rich olive material pinched between two fingers of one hand and is stroking it with her other.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier about the dresses he gave you?” She lifts the material and strokes it against her cheek then murmurs, “Perhaps being taken by a vampire might not be as bad as we thought…”
My heart nearly stops in my chest. While it’s true that Alaric is not as we always thought vampires to be, his guests are proof that he is a rare exception.
“No,” I snap. “Vampires are dangerous. Do not let pretty dresses and trinkets fool you into thinking otherwise.”
She drops the hem of the gown, hurt and annoyance warring in her expression. “How can you say that? You are well fed, and I doubt he would send you with these things if he was not taking care of you.”
“A—Mr. Devereaux is not like other vampires… Did you forget about the one that took mother?”
I say “took” but we both know I mean killed.
“Maybe something else caused her death?” she offers. “Your vampire looked terribly mean and violent when he took you, but… look at you. You’re fine. You’re more than fine.”
I don’t know why I’m arguing with her, or how this became a fight so quickly. Alaric is not a bad man, and it twists my heart to even talk as if he were. But it's far more disconcerting to think Kitty could have her opinion changed so easily by material possessions.
I worry she will be careless in town, that she will leave her home during a claiming and cross paths with a vampire and suffer the same fate as Mother. After all, marriage doesn’t protect anyone from being claimed. If anything, it’s more likely to doom them faster. And women, especially beautiful ones like Kitty, are more likely to be claimed.
“Yes, he did. And yes, I am alive,” I say, calmly trying to ease away from the argument. I don’t want to fight with her. I want to spend time with her. I want to share smiles and laugh with her again like we used to. “But I have come across other vampires, ones that wouldn’t hesitate to kill you to quench their thirst for blood and violence.”
Kitty’s face pales and the bitter taste of guilt coats my tongue. She nods, accepting.
I lay the dress out in her arms and quickly untie the dress I have been in for two days.
“Do you think I have time for a bath before I get ready?” I ask. I am glad to have made it here so fast, but I do wish we'd made a stop in Durford for the night.
I suppose that in itself is another problem I will have to solve eventually. Now that Alaric has broken our bargain and freed me, that leaves me where I started. Though perhaps I can stay with Kitty until I find a job to work until Xander and I can marry.
I will write to him first thing in the morning to let him know I am back.
She giggles and I eye her over my shoulder. “By the time they finish boiling the water for you, the party will have already started! Besides, the only rooms that have working plumbing are Abraham’s parents.”
“I suppose that was a ridiculous question,” I say, peeling my dress off and letting it fall to the floor.
“Clara!” Kitty gasps. “What has happened?” She grips my shoulder and spins me around.
My dress falls to a heap on the floor. I quickly bend down to pick it up and use it to try and cover my arms.
“You said he wasn’t hurting you… but look,” she hisses. “Both of your arms are bandaged. Why did you lie?”
“No, Kitty, please. It wasn’t him. I swear it. I wouldn’t lie about this.” Except… even if her assumptions had been correct, I think I would lie. It would only distress her at a time when she deserves to be happy.
“You can tell me the truth,” she whispers as if there was a chance we could be overheard. “He can’t get to you here. If it’s him, I will have Abe—”
“No, Kitty. It wasn’t him,” I repeat, this time I keep my words slow and calm. “It was an accident. I was in a part of the manor I shouldn’t have been in. I did this through my own carelessness. He was the one who found me and bandaged my wounds.”
There. Nothing about that is a lie, though it is not entirely the truth. I don't want to worry her with the full details.
A part of me feels uneasy talking about Alaric to her, I don’t want her to know anything about him.
She presses her lips and arches a brow.
A dull throb starts behind my eyes. “Let’s not talk about such things now. I am here for your wedding and we have an engagement party to dress for.”
Kitty holds onto her doubt for another second before I can see it visibly melt away and her mood brighten.
After helping me dress, we walk arm in arm down the hall. The quiet between us since she saw the bandages has felt heavy with our unspoken words.
I clear my throat. “You are looking well, Kitty.”
“You’ve said that already,” she says, then lifting her chin a fraction she adds, “You keep calling me Kitty. I prefer Kathrine now. I’m too old to be Kitty, and besides, I will soon be a married woman of status.”
“Kathrine it is then.” Her full name feels strange on my tongue. “You must be getting the best medicine money can buy. I’m glad to see that they are taking such good care of you.”
She is silent. When I look at her, she blushes and averts her eyes, then offers me a sheepish smile. “I will tell you a secret… but you have to promise not to be upset with me.”
I list my head to the side. What kind of secret could she have to share with me now? And one that might be upsetting…
I nod. My stomach knots as I wait for her to get on with it.
“No, you have to promise,” she insists.
I don’t like making such agreements without knowing more about the situation, but this is my sister. “I promise.”
She stops in her tracks and pulls on my elbow until I face her. “I never meant to make life harder for you, but… I’m not as strong as you. I don’t have the skills you do…”
“Kit-Kathrine, out with it already,” I admonish.
“All that hard work would have calloused my hands and made them rough, and then I never would have been able to secure my engagement with Abraham. It’s okay because it’s all worked out in the end. I have Abraham and his family, and you have a nice Lord to take care of you.”
My mouth parts as I struggle to put everything together.
“I was never sick. I didn’t need the medicine, and with me being weak… father would leave me alone.”