What a strange fate was hers, to meet a man she took in dislike, then to have to change all her opinions about him and realise she loved him, and then to find out he was a creature of the night. And, perhaps, fate had not done with her yet.
The door clicked and she looked up. Darcy was standing in the doorway.
He was the same and yet different. He was dishevelled from his long ride. He had removed his coat and he was dressed in his breeches with his ruffled white shirt, damp from his exertions, untucked. His hair was wild and his eyes were haunted. He stood before her, completely vulnerable as though he did not know whether he would be welcome or not, and impulsively she held out a hand to him. He struggled with himself for a moment and then restraint broke and he strode across the room towards her, looking deep into her eyes as though he would read the answer to the mysteries of the universe there. Then he put his hand behind her head and kissed her with fierce abandon, dissolving and merging with her… until he bit her lip and unleashed a drop of blood. His whole body jolted as though it had been run through with electricity and there was a change in him, a roaring surge of hunger, an ache of primal need, and he sprang back from her in torment.
‘What have I done?’ he said in horror. ‘Oh, my love, what have I done to you? I’ve frightened you. You’re shaking.’ He stepped forward to comfort her, then stopped himself by an effort of will and forced himself back. ‘I never meant it to be like this. I thought you need never know, I thought I could keep it from you, I thought we could be happy, and perhaps, if things had been different, if they had been what I thought they were… but I should not have taken the risk, I should never have dragged you into this nightmare. I’m so sorry, Elizabeth. I wanted you so much that I fooled myself into thinking it was possible. But it isn’t. It can never be.’
‘Darcy—’
‘I have wanted to tell you so many times. When you asked me what was wrong I tried to tell you, but I could never find the words, and even if I had found them, I would not have had the right to rob you of your safe and familiar world. How could I plunge you into a world of such nightmares? A deeper, darker world where creatures stalk the night? I never meant to hurt you. I never meant you to know. I never wanted to do this to you, to make you afraid, to see you tremble…’
‘I’m not shaking with fear, I’m shaking with relief,’ she said with a catch in her throat. ‘If you only knew what I have been thinking, the dark thoughts that have plagued my soul. I thought it was something far, far worse. I thought you didn’t love me.’
He looked at her in bewilderment. ‘You thought I didn’t love you?’ He stood, astonished. Then he closed the gap between them in one stride and ran his hands through her hair. ‘I love you to distraction. I thought I would go mad, being with you every day but never able to touch you. If you only knew how I have longed to do this, to feel your skin, to run my fingers through your hair and over your face, to feel you, touch you, be with you… but I couldn’t, I couldn’t. It was different when we married. I thought that as long as I didn’t bite you that you would never turn, and that I could hide my nature from you; that we could live together at Pemberley and that you need never know. But then I found out on our wedding day that there was a chance, just a chance, that I would turn you if I claimed you, that you might become a vampyre if I truly made you my wife.’
‘The look of torment,’ said Elizabeth, remembering. ‘That was what caused it.’
‘Yes.’
‘It was one of the messages,’ she said, realising it must be so.
‘Yes, it was slipped in with the messages of congratulation. I did not know at the time if it was true. It could just have been a cruel hoax, designed to destroy my marriage, but I had to find out for sure. And so that is why I took you to Europe, to consult more widely with people who might know.’
‘And did they know?’
‘No, my love. No one knows for certain. Whilst there is a chance I will turn you we can never be together. This must be our last kiss. If I have to be with you, day after day, sooner or later my self-control will slip, and you may end up like me, a creature of the night. You have to get away from me.’
‘No,’ she said resolutely. ‘I will never leave you. We are together for ever. Whatever happens, there is only one place I want to be, and that is with you.’
He took her palm and kissed it, sending hot shivers up her arm. Her eyelids drooped and her limbs felt heavy and languorous. She felt rather than saw him lean towards her, and she became very still as she sensed a predatory animal close to her. She instinctively inclined her head, exposing her throat. She knew in some tiny corner of her mind that it was dangerous, but she no longer cared. She felt his breath as his mouth moved towards the graceful arc of her neck and then the soft touch of his lips on her skin and she was held, mesmerised, knowing that if he should bite her, she would be unable to resist.
His hand brushed tiny tendrils of hair away from her neck and his lips found her flesh again and he let out a murmur and her blood responded, coursing through her veins. Then the twigs on the fire shifted and the sound broke the spell and he lifted his mouth from her neck, slowly and unwillingly, pulling himself away from her with every ounce of his strength, his hands lingering on her shoulders until, with a groan he wrenched them away. His eyes were full of pain and his body was contorted with agony, but he forced himself to walk over to the far side of the fireplace where he collapsed into a chair out of temptation’s way. Elizabeth, her senses unclouding as he moved away, sank back on her heels.
‘That is why you must get away,’ he said, his voice low and haunted. ‘We vampyres are compelling. If I lose control, you will have no choice but to surrender. If only—but of what use are if onlys now? I let her do this to me; it is done.’
‘You said something like it once before,’ said Elizabeth, remembering the time he had spoken in such a way, as they had been running from the Count’s castle. ‘Did someone turn you into a vampyre? Is that what you are speaking of? Do you mean that you were not always this way? That there was a time when you were once human?’
‘Yes, there was, long ago.’
‘How did it happen?’ she asked.
He said nothing.
‘I want to know,’ she said.
‘Very well. You deserve that much. But you are cold,’ he said as she shivered. ‘You need a hot meal.’ He rang the bell and one of the lodge servants answered. Darcy gave him some instructions and the man bowed and departed. ‘We will eat first, and then I will tell you everything.’
Chapter 14
The servants returned at last to say that the meal was ready. Darcy led Elizabeth through to the dining room, where two places were laid. The silver cutlery sparkled against the dark wood of the table. Oddly assorted chairs were set on either side. There was a wood burning stove on one side of the room. A glow came from the grate and flames flickered fitfully there.
One of the servants held the chairs whilst Elizabeth and Darcy seated themselves and then carried a procession of silver platters into the room. It wasn’t until she saw them, and smelt the aromas of roast meat and vegetables, that Elizabeth realised how hungry she was. She had eaten nothing since breakfast that morning, and the time in between had been full of fear and foreboding. She picked up her knife and fork as a plate was set in front of her and Darcy bid her eat.
She needed no urging. Her hands were trembling with the after effects of the day and she felt new strength and energy flooding into her as she put the hot food into her mouth.
He watched her lovingly, tracing the rise and fall of the fork from her plate to her mouth, and each time she parted her lips, his eyes opened a little wider, as if to let more of the sight of her in.
He sat silently whilst she ate, and he did not speak until she had finished her glass of wine.
‘It was in the year 1665,’ he said, ‘the year of the Black Death. The plague was running riot through the streets of Europe, claiming millions of lives. Nowhere was safe. Towns, villages,
and cities all felt its dread touch. There was panic on the streets and anyone with the signs of the plague on them was shunned. Doors were marked with crosses to show that they were plague houses, and in many cities the dead outnumbered the living.
‘I was in London when it started. My family were landed gentry, connected to the nobility without being noble themselves, and we had a house in town as well as a country estate. My father was looking for preferment and he decided that we would all move to the London house for a year. There was an outbreak of the plague shortly after we arrived, but it did not seem too alarming. It was in one of the poorer parts of London, and the rest of the city was untouched. But as the summer came, that began to change. It was one of the hottest summers I have ever known. The heat was trapped between the buildings, and in the hot and stifling conditions the plague flourished. It began to spread through the city. The Court moved to the palace at Hampton Court and the nobility began to leave for their country estates. My father stayed for as long as he could, but once his patron decided to retreat to Northumberland, he decided that our own country estate was where we belonged. There was a flurry of activity in the house. I can still remember it: the servants running up and down the stairs and my mother overseeing everything and Georgiana playing in the garden with her doll.
‘When everything was packed, we climbed into the coach and set off for the country. Unfortunately, everyone else had had the same idea. It seemed like the whole of London was on the move. The streets were jammed with carriages and we moved at a snail’s pace. And then we stopped moving altogether. The Lord Mayor had responded to the panic by closing the gates. The only people allowed out of the city were those who had a certificate to say they were in good health.
‘When it became clear that we could not go on, we went back. My father tried to procure a certificate for us to say that we were free of disease. He had friends in high places and after a day of beseeching them to come to his aid—no easy task since few of them were left in the city—he returned home well pleased. He had been promised a certificate and he told my mother that in a few days we would be able to travel.
‘But before it was granted, my father fell ill. We knew at once what it was and my mother summoned the physician, and although he prescribed various remedies, none of them had any effect. In the end, we knew we could do nothing but watch and wait. My mother tended my father faithfully until she too caught the plague, and Georgiana and I watched as they sickened and died. I knew that soon it would be my turn, and then there would be no one left to look after Georgiana. This thought spurred me on. I packed a few belongings and some food and I set out with my sister, in the hope that we would be able to slip through the gates and find safety in the countryside.
‘London was empty as we made our way through the streets, and when we arrived at the gates, we hid until a noble procession of carriages pulled up before it. As the guards examined the papers, Georgiana and I jumped onto the back of the middle carriage and managed to pass through the gate as part of the noble’s entourage. Once safely in the country, we jumped down and ran into a field where we ate some of our food, and then we set off to walk to our estate in the north.
‘I knew we would have to travel slowly, but I thought that we would reach the estate before winter set in. I caught fish for us in the rivers and we found fruit and berries growing in the fields and hedgerows. We slept in the open, avoiding towns, for we did not know how far the plague had spread nor did we know if we, ourselves, might already be infected and so be a danger to others. When it rained we sought shelter in barns. On one stormy night, with no barn in sight, we came to the drive of a fine house. My sister was weary and cold, and we had not eaten all day. I decided to take the risk of approaching the house, for we were many miles out of London, and seeing if they would give us something to eat.
‘As we turned the corner of the drive I saw that the windows were dark. At first I was downhearted, but then I thought it might be better after all if the house was empty. I found an open window at the back of the house where a catch had broken and we were soon inside. There was a little food in the pantry, some cheese and apples, and I collected eggs from the hen house outside. We ate our fill and then went upstairs, and for the first time in weeks I watched Georgiana sleep in a bed.
‘The following morning I wanted to go on, but Georgiana was very young, and she was weary with all her exertions and cried often for our parents. We needed to move on so that we could reach our own estate, but I decided that we would stay in the house for a few days until Georgiana was rested. I caught rabbits, pigeons, and fish, and Georgiana picked fruit and herbs, and together with the remains of the cheese and the plentiful eggs, we survived.
‘I tempted Georgiana with thoughts of seeing our own dear nurse. She expressed herself willing to travel and we decided to set out on the morrow.
‘But when the morrow came, Georgiana was ill and I saw with alarm that she had the signs of the plague on her body.
‘It was a terrible moment. I had thought she had escaped, but there was no mistaking the boils. I looked after her as best I could, but she was sinking fast, and to make matters worse, the owner of the house returned.
‘I heard the carriage late one afternoon. It was so long since I had heard the sound of any human endeavour that for a moment I did not know what it was, but as soon as I remembered, I hid. I crouched beneath the window sill and peered over it to see how many people were approaching.
‘The carriage stopped in front of the house and a woman climbed out. She was splendidly dressed, evidently a woman of rank and fashion, and she was accompanied by a thin and sickly little girl. She was soon lost to view as she walked under the portico and I knew she was entering the house. I was filled with panic. I darted towards the door, meaning to go upstairs and protect Georgiana, but there were voices in the hall and so I hid behind the sofa, hoping the woman would not come into the room. But I was not quick enough and she saw me.
‘“Well, well, what do we have here?” she asked, coming into the room.
‘If I had been alone I would have run, but Georgiana was upstairs and so I could not leave. I stood up and told the woman that I didn’t mean any harm. I said that I had sheltered in the house for a night and that I was moving on.
‘“Are you alone?” she asked me.
‘I said that I was, but my eyes betrayed me and she followed their direction upstairs. Catching hold of my wrist she swept through the hall, up the stairs, and along the landing, taking me with her, whilst the pale girl followed close behind. She had no need to ask where my sister was, for Georgiana’s moans could by now be heard.
‘The woman went into Georgiana’s room and, taking one look at her as she tossed and turned on the bed, saw that her end was near. I expected the woman pull back, but instead she stayed where she was, and she made no move to stop her daughter from going over to Georgiana and holding her hand. Georgiana stopped tossing and turning at once and she opened her eyes and gave a weak smile. There was an instant connection between the two girls.
‘“Here, you can hold Evelina,” the pale girl said to my sister, handing her her doll.
‘I expected the woman to snatch the doll back, for people were terrified of contagion in those times, but she made no move to do so, and when I looked at her I saw there were tears in her eyes.
‘She blinked them back quickly and her manner became brisk.
‘“Do you want me to save your sister?” she asked. “I can save her life if you will it.”
‘“Are you a doctor?” I asked her.
‘“No,” she said. “I am a vampyre.”
‘I thought of all the stories I had heard but I was not afraid. I had seen the way she looked at her daughter. It was the way my mother had looked at Georgiana.
‘“If you save her, will she become a vampyre too?” I asked.
‘“She will. But you must hurry, her time is short. If you leave it too long, I will not be able to save her. No one will.”
&n
bsp; ‘I turned to my sister.
‘“Georgie,” I said. “This lady can save you, but you will become like her if she does. You will become a vampyre.”
‘Georgiana had heard the stories as well as I had. She looked at the woman apprehensively, then she looked at the girl.
‘“Are you a vampyre?” she asked.
‘“Yes,” said the girl.
‘My sister turned to me and nodded.
‘“Very well,” I said to the woman. “But only if you will turn me too.”
‘She looked at me closely.
‘“You are not showing any signs of the plague,” she said.
‘“Where Georgiana goes, I must follow. I promised my mother I would keep her safe, and I can’t do that if she lives whilst I grow old and die.”
‘“Then my Anne will have two playmates instead of one,” she said, adding thoughtfully, whilst she looked at me, “and in time, perhaps, who knows?”
‘She moved so quickly there was only a blur and then there were puncture marks on my sister’s neck. The woman turned to me, her fangs dripping red and then she was next to me and my neck was pierced.’
‘So that is the meaning of the scars on your neck,’ said Elizabeth in wonder. ‘I saw them when we swam in the lake.’
‘It is. They have never healed—though they are usually hidden beneath my cravat—and they never will.’
Darcy fell silent. His face was shadowed and Elizabeth sat and watched him, his handsome features brooding in the dim light, his eyes mysterious. She thought of all the things he must have seen in his centuries of living: the rise and fall of nations, and the lives and deaths of kings. She thought of him living at Pemberley down the centuries, and she wondered how it was that no one had noticed his long life.
Seeing her watching him, his hand reached out to her across the table and then drew back.
‘I have no right to touch you,’ he said.
‘You have every right. You are my husband.’