"Milord…"
"My name is Atticus." Her jaw clenched, her eyes returned to her sister. "If you continue to insist upon calling me milord then I will treat you as one lesser than I. I don't want to have to do that."
A muscle began to twitch in her cheek as she glared at him. "Permission to speak freely then Atticus?" she hissed from between clenched teeth.
"Of course." He folded his arms over his chest and stared relentlessly at the young woman.
"I don't understand what you are doing with my sister, what is it that you are trying to prove?"
"I'm not trying to prove anything," he told her.
"I don't believe you, is this some kind of twisted game that you aristocrats play with us village girls? Make them care for you and then leave them behind so that you can laugh at them afterward? I love Genny, she's everything to me, she's all I have in this world and I'd like for you to leave her alone." Camille's hands fisted as she took a step closer to him. "Even with everything we've been through, she's still trusting of others and I won't let you hurt her any more than she already has been. She deserves better and if you have any heart you'll walk away and leave her be before whatever this is goes any further and you destroy her. Genny's a lot kinder than I am, and if I were mature, things would be different, but I'm not yet. If getting you to go away is the one way that I can help protect her then I am going to do just that."
Atticus's arms fell down to his sides as red flickered hotly in her eyes for a second. Her words had been the absolute last ones he'd expected to hear from her. He'd anticipated some childish response from her. Maybe a fit because Genny was getting more attention than she was today, something he was certain didn't happen very often. Instead, he found himself staring at a young woman that was willing to do anything to protect her older sister. Even stand up to an aristocrat that under normal circumstances could have ordered her death or imprisonment for such insolence.
"You said I could speak freely milord," she reminded him as she seemed to realize that same exact thing and she stepped away from him again.
"Atticus." Her mouth pursed at his word but she showed no other reaction. "I told you to call me Atticus and I meant it." She continued to stare at him but her shoulders relaxed a little. "I can assure you that what is between your sister and I is not part of some aristocratic game that we play with village women. It is not a rite of passage; it is not something we laugh about with each other."
"Then why…"
"For every reason you just said," he interrupted briskly. "Because she gives money to Matilda, because she just bought a loaf of bread that she will never eat. For reasons I can't even begin to explain to you because I don't understand them myself. I don't know what this is between Genny and I but I've never met anyone like your sister and I will not hurt her."
"Even if I did believe you, no matter what happens, no matter how all this goes, you will end up hurting her. You're an aristocrat, this thing between you, it can't go anywhere."
Atticus glanced back at where Genny still stood by one of the stalls. She was pretending to look at the ribbons again but he saw her glancing at them out of the corner of her eye. "I know what I am; I'm reminded of it every day. Even with that, I am going to promise you that I will do everything in my power to ensure that your sister is taken care of to the best of my ability."
She stared at him uncertainly as she folded her arms over her chest. "How can you possibly do that?"
"I don't know but I'll figure it out, somehow."
A snort of laughter escaped her. "I hope you understand if I'm still distrustful of you."
"I do, but can we agree to be personable with each other? Genny loves you, and us being at odds with each other is upsetting her."
She pursed her lips. "I know I can't do much, but if you break her heart I will do everything in my power to make sure that you pay for it."
Her statement should have been laughable to him, instead he found himself admiring her. "I expect nothing less."
The fire was back in her eyes when she stepped closer to him. "She's been through a lot, more than I have, more than you have, but she's not like us, she still finds joy in the simplest things in this world. Don't ruin that for her."
"For that reason too," he murmured as he recalled Genny sitting upon the log in her chemise two weeks ago, smiling as she watched the fish in the water. He started to ask Camille what Genny had been through, she was still rather private about the details of her life, but he knew that Camille wouldn't give him any answers either. "I won't."
Camille turned away from him. He looked toward where he had last seen Genny but she was gone. He instantly forgot about his confrontation with Camille as he searched the crowd for her. "Where is she?" he demanded. He made his way hastily through the people gathered around the stalls and carts full of merchandise.
"She was right there," Camille said from behind him.
Atticus stopped in front of the ribbon cart; he turned his head back and forth as he scented the air. Picking up on her scent, he made a sharp right and moved rapidly past the sellers lining the road. A large crowd of people had gathered in a circle around something that he couldn't see. He pushed through the group, ignoring their muffled protests as he followed her scent to the front of the crowd.
Metal blades gleamed in the sunlight from the knives rapidly flipping through the air. The crowd released an awed, "Ah," when more knives were added to the mix. He found Genny at the front of the crowd, a smile on her face and her hands clasped before her as she watched the juggler dressed in vibrant blues, reds, and greens with an expression of delight. The bell on the juggler's hat jingled with his movements. A bony, enraptured boy with dirt-streaked cheeks stood at her side, munching on a loaf of bread that looked suspiciously like the one Genny had purchased.
Her smile grew when she turned and spotted him. "Have you ever seen anything as amazing as this?" she gushed.
He'd seen acts like this before, but it had always been in an aristocrat's home, and they hadn't involved knives. "No," he told her, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from her radiant face and it wasn't the juggler he was talking about. She blinked at him in surprise and then, for the first time since he'd met her, she actually seemed shy as she ducked her head away. "I haven't."
"Where's Camille?" she inquired and glanced around.
The question had just left her mouth when her sister arrived at her side. "Oh," Camille said and took a step back when she spotted the man at the center of the circle spinning ten knives through the air at once. "Impressive."
The knives stopped spinning through the air when the man began to catch each of them. The crowd erupted into applause and cheers as the juggler caught the last one between his teeth and made a sweeping bow. Genny's skin practically glowed as she turned away from the sight and slid her hand into his. The boy clutched the bread against his chest when he spotted Atticus. Not willing to take the chance of losing his prize, the boy scurried away and disappeared amongst the masses.
"They know that it could kill them and that they will one day die but some humans do such ridiculously dangerous things," Genny said. "They amaze me with their dogged determination and ingenuity."
That was more than they ever did for him but he kept that thought to himself as they walked toward the main thoroughfare again. "Even as a vampire I wouldn't catch a knife between my teeth," Camille said with a shudder.
"Neither would I," Genny agreed.
"What of you, Atticus?" Camille asked.
Relief filled him as he smiled at the young woman and she returned it. He had no doubt that she had meant what she'd said but for now she seemed willing to call a truce. "I wouldn't choose to do that either," he told her. Genny's hand tightened in his, her gaze shot back and forth between them before she smiled at him.
Atticus kissed her forehead and pulled her to a stop beside the ribbon cart. She frowned at him when he ordered the blue ribbon that she'd been admiring while she thought he wasn't paying attention. He g
ave the woman behind the cart the money before turning to Genny. "Turn around," he told her.
She shook her head and held up her hands. "Atticus, I can't accept that," she whispered.
"You can."
"No, I'm not… No."
Her lips pressed firmly together as she met his gaze. "I expect nothing in return for it; it's only a simple ribbon that I would like to give to you."
Her raven colored eyes darted around the crowd, he didn't know what she was looking for or hoping to find amongst the people, but she didn't look at him for a long while. "Genny, it's only a small gift," Camille said quietly from beside her.
Genny bit on her bottom lip and finally focused on him again. The look in her eyes made him wish he'd never offered it to her. He'd only meant to give her something pretty to replace the faded ribbon in her hair, but her reaction to it made him think he'd made her feel dirty or wrong in some way. She gave a brief bow of her head in acquiescence though and turned around.
He slid the faded ribbon from the end of her hair and tied the colorful new one into place. The deep blue color of the ribbon stood out vividly against her black hair. She smiled at him over her shoulder and gave him a kiss but he still sensed a small hint of reticence in her. Camille had a sad look on her face when they turned away from the town and slipped into the woods. While they walked, Atticus vowed that one day he would get her something far nicer than the ribbon, and she wouldn't feel any hesitation about taking it from him because she would know that she deserved it.
Without thinking, he slid her old ribbon into his pocket.
- CHAPTER 9 -
"Genny." She looked up as Camille stepped through the doorway of their small room.
She slid the hidden bottom into place inside the chest and neatly returned her clothes on top of it. Sitting back on her heels, she looked up at her sister again and tiredly rose to her feet. Though the bruises and bloody nose she'd received from the beating she'd taken last night had faded, her muscles were still cramped and sore. With the journey into town, and the fact that Camille and Atticus had seemed to call a truce, she'd lost track of time and they'd been late to return. She'd been made to pay for their tardiness.
"Why don't you tell him?" Camille asked.
Genny lifted her cloak from where she'd placed it on the floor. "Tell who?"
"Atticus. Tell him what is going on here, what Felix is doing to you."
"No."
"Genny…"
"You didn't even like him yesterday afternoon and now you're asking me to tell him about this. No."
Camille held her hands before her in an effort to placate Genny as she stared up at her pleadingly. It was normally a look that Genny capitulated to every time Camille gave it to her, this time it only made her more determined to refuse her sister. "I didn't dislike him, I just didn't trust him."
"You talked to him for five minutes and now you trust him?"
"No. I mean yes!" she blurted. Her arms folded over her chest, her foot tapped on the ground as she took a minute to gather her thoughts. "I'm not sure what this is between you, or where it will go and I'm frightened that it will all end badly, but I think he cares for you. There is no faking the way he looks at you; you're the only one he sees no matter who else is around. If you tell him about Felix, he'll help you, I know he will."
"I said no, Camille."
"Please Genny…"
"No on this matter I will not budge. I don't need someone else to help me. I will take care of this. I will take care of myself…"
"Marie is the one who was supposed to take care of us!" Camille interrupted hotly. "But she has failed us miserably our entire lives. Now there is someone who would help to take care of you, who has the ability to do so, and you're being a stubborn fool. One of these nights Felix could kill you Genny. Maybe you don't care about yourself but think about what will happen to me if you are dead?"
Genny shot her a fierce look as her teeth clenched together. "That's not fair Camille. Don't use that against me, not in this. Besides Felix won't kill me, he needs me for the money."
Camille seemed to realize she'd crossed a line; she closed her eyes and folded her hands before her. "I worry about you."
"I know you do." Genny's hands trembled as she clasped the brooch and cloak together at her throat. "Atticus is not to know though. When I'm with him I can forget all about this place, that hideous man, and everything else that has happened because of Marie. I'm not willing to ruin that by having him feel sorry for me. I won't let that happen and I won't tell him."
"He won't feel sorry for you."
"Of course he will," Genny said. "You do."
Camille's mouth dropped, for the first time since Genny could remember her sister was actually speechless as her mouth opened then closed. "That's not true," she finally managed to croak out.
Genny rested her hand on Camille's shoulder and squeezed it. "Yes it is, but that's ok. I can take the pity from you but not from him, not with the way I feel about him. I couldn't tolerate that." Camille bowed her head and rubbed at the bridge of her nose. "And don't you tell him either." There was a hopeless expression on Camille's face when she lifted her head again. "I mean it Camille. You may think that you're helping me by telling him but I'll never forgive you if you do."
"Genny…"
"I've never asked you for anything, I'm asking you for this. Please."
"I won't tell him," she promised.
"Thank you." She dropped a kiss on the top of her sister's head. "Come on."
Genny pulled the hood of her cloak up against the rain, Camille followed her outside and down the road of the small village. There were a few vampires about right now, but most were still sleeping after a night spent feeding and carousing amongst the humans. Though the king, and now what would be The Council, had established clubs where vampires could go to feed upon willing humans, some vampires still preferred the thrill of the hunt. It was understood that those that hunted were doing so at their own peril. If they were caught hunting outside of the approved clubs and killing humans, their death would make those of the caught thieves look like a blessing.
That didn't mean it didn't happen. In fact, she thought that unapproved hunting happened even more than most of them realized. It was extremely easy for a human to go missing and never be heard from again. She knew that within the village most tried to play by the rules, but every once in awhile they would stray. It was the ones that stopped registering and completely disobeyed the laws that were ruthlessly hunted and put to an excruciatingly painful death.
She'd heard it cost a lot of money to be able to kill a human within the clubs, but that some of the wealthier men and women paid to be allowed to do it. She understood the need for blood, the thrill that came with hunting something but as much as she didn't understand the human race, she also didn't understand the appeal of harming them.
To her, taking a human down was the same as taking down a deer, or even a bear. In fact, it would be easier to hunt a human as they weren't as fast and had less defenses than a bear. To each their own though, she supposed. She wondered if Atticus had ever paid to kill someone and then immediately shook off the thought. It wasn't something she could picture him doing, but his world was completely different from hers and she didn't know what kind of expectations he had placed on him.
Even with the precautions against killing the humans, whispers and rumors still ran through the humans about monsters that hunted them at night, witches and warlocks that cast spells, and demons that crawled into their beds while they slept. In her life, there had been a village in Germany that had been destroyed by a human mob after a vampire lost himself to the bloodlust and went on a killing spree of human babies.
When he'd been caught, the vampire had professed that the children's blood was the most magnificent and strengthening thing he'd ever tasted. The king had already put the vampire down by the time the humans had banded together and attacked the village that the vampire had resided in. Twenty more vampires had b
een killed by the mob and the fire that had spread through the town. After that the king had ordered all vampires out of Germany for the next fifty years. It would still be another forty years before any vampire could establish residency there again.
There were even vampires like her that preferred to feed from animals. It may not taste as good but to her it was far easier than going to the clubs she found so repulsive, or hunting and killing an innocent human in order to cover her tracks.
Camille stopped in front of the door to a larger hut that housed the orphaned children. Each town had one such hut and the King, Council she reminded herself with a shake of her head, paid vampires within the village to watch over the children and provide animals for them to feed from. There was nothing more perilous than a starving vampire child that couldn't control itself.
The giggling laughter of the children drifted from inside, Genny couldn't help but smile at the joyful sound. "Be careful," Camille said to her.
"I'll be back before sunset," Genny promised her.
Camille hurried to the door; Genny watched her slip inside before disappearing into the forest.
***
"Where are you off to?"
Atticus turned at the sound of Merle's voice behind him; his cousin strode across the ground toward him. Beside him, Drago snorted and dropped his head in an attempt to get at the grass beneath his hooves. "For a ride."
Merle lifted his head to the mellow rain falling around them. "You've been going for a lot of rides lately."
"It's better than being trapped within that manor. You can at least retreat to your ship where you can escape the ever cheerful brothers within," Atticus replied sarcastically. "I am not so fortunate."
Merle snickered as he folded his hands behind his back and rocked on his heels. "Why don't you come to the club with me? It's been awhile since we went together."
Atticus almost sneered at the suggestion but he forced his face to remain impassive. "Not today."
"I've never heard you turn down the club even once before we returned to England, this is the third time now." Merle's eyes were shrewd as he assessed him from head to toe. "What are you keeping from me cousin?"