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Chapter 13

After what had seemed like minutes, but had in all actuality been several hours, her lady’s maid, Heather, woke her to get her ready – at her chaperone’s insistence – for a luncheon with a small gathering of a few of her close friends. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Elizabeth didn’t even bother to protest, didn’t ask who these people were, just drug her weary body from bed and slipped into the steaming water that filled the tub tucked behind the privacy screen.

Later, dressing in the gown Mrs. Rothworth had picked out – a soft lime green creation that brought out the color in her eyes – she’d walked down the hall leading to the banister, eyes momentarily lingering on the closed door of her guardian, then descended the steps under the approving eyes of the vampiress.

“You look wonderful, child,” she murmured softly before they both bundled into outerwear to protect them from the pouring rain.

Once inside the carriage for their short trip to the Marchioness of Haversham’s residence, Mrs. Rothworth told Elizabeth about the small gathering of women that would be present.

Buffy listened intently, never before having realized that these monsters… vampires… lived among them.

“So, the Marchioness…Lady Atherton, she’s like you…a vampire?” Elizabeth asked.

“Yes. She’s widowed. Has been about five years now. Her husband, he was a vampire as well. Theirs was a love match, but that story will have to wait for another time. Suffice to say, our Renee is one of the Aurelius darlings. And, she’s just going to love you.”

“Really?”

“Trust me, child. Now… there will be other…human members of the ton present at our intimate gathering. Appearances and all. It’ll be a while yet before you attend an all-vampire function. For now, I’ll just point them out as we are introduced.”

Elizabeth just nodded, overwhelmed.

“Now, where was I? Oh… oh yes. Her Grace, the Duchess of Sevring will be there – she’s human. The annual ball she holds will be your first formal appearance…and that’s in a fortnight. Lady Celeste Devlin, the daughter of the Duke of Rutherford...she’s also human, although her brother, the Marquess of Brummidge, isn’t…but, I’m getting ahead of myself. I’ll just stick with the people we’re meeting today.”

“Yes, please,” Elizabeth whimpered, already confused. It was bad enough having to remember their names, but then to throw in whether they’re vampire…or human – her naïve mind boggled at the mere thought.

“The other two ladies are the Countess of Valasay, who is human, and the Countess of Darderwyne, who is a vampire. Just the crème de la crème of society for your first introduction. As Lord Thornton’s new ward, your entrance has been practically guaranteed among those of society’s unsuspecting. As the claimed human of a master vampire, it’s a given.”

Elizabeth’s mind wandered over the implications of her newfound status. She just prayed those lessons of deportment from long ago would allow her to hold her own – she was just country gentry, the only daughter of a country baron. She wasn’t sure she fit in among the ton’s elite society.

“… has set the tongues to wagging coming back after such a long departure, and his father on his deathbed.”

“Father?” Elizabeth croaked, catching the tail end of her chaperone’s conversation.

“Yes, the Marquess of Chadsworth. I suspect Lord Thornton will hie himself off to Chadsworth Estates for a day or two to check in on the Marquess. It’s probably why he was in such a foul mood yesterday. The two never did see eye to eye. Didn’t help that rather than bow to his father’s dictates, he went out and made his own fortune. The man is rich as Croesus and will have all the mothers and their daughters of polite society in a dither trying to land him.”

“Huh?”

“My dear, your guardian is the biggest catch next to the Duke of Abberly and the Marquess of Eaglethorp. And, the fact that he now has a ward, and a gorgeous, marriageable one at that, just adds fuel to the fire.”

“But…he’s mine,” Elizabeth practically shouted at the vampiress. ‘Good Lord, did I just say that?’ Across from her, Mrs. Rothworth laughed delightedly, just as the carriage came to a stop.

“I know that, dear.” She smiled at the brunette girl and patted her hand. “It’s just that everyone else doesn’t. Now, let’s go mingle, shall we?”

Elizabeth bit her bottom lip in hesitation, then nodded at the older woman.

~*~*~*~*~

The pouring rain provided an excellent backdrop to Elizabeth’s sour mood – not that any hint of it showed on her face as she sat among the intimate gathering of England’s well-known nobles. It seemed like it had been almost dawn before she’d finally fallen into an exhausted sleep in William’s study, after having spent half the night tossing and turning in her bed in the room located down the hall from his. She’d waited for him, unsure what she had done to set him off and cause him to storm from the carriage like that, but she’d waited in vain…had finally slipped from her bed and stole down to his study to try and get closer to him.

Well, the essence of him, anyway.

He’d been further away from her last night than he had been when he’d left her waiting in the countryside while he’d gone off alone to London.

Now as the soft laughter of the Marchioness of Haversham broke into her reverie, Elizabeth ignored her feelings of melancholy and tried to make a good impression for the ladies present.

They’d all made her feel right at home, especially Lady Atherton – just as her chaperone had predicted – greeting her warmly, eyes glowing almost yellow as she regarded Elizabeth.

“Does take one getting used to, Renee,” Mrs. Rothworth had whispered to the vampiress.

“Yes,” she’d replied, the fingers of one hand reaching out to trail along the girls cheek. “Smart vampire, our Lord Thornton…keeping the claim strong.”

“Master vampire, Renee.”

“Mmmm… yes. You can smell him all over her.” Elizabeth had blushed at that, but was prepared for the comment, having been told previously about a vampire’s excellent sense of smell.

“So, when do we get to meet our wayward Lord Thornton?” the Marchioness had asked Mrs. Rothworth, reluctantly moving away from her charge. Her smell was intoxicating and she needed to remove herself from the temptation.

“I don’t know the Lord’s immediate plans, although I do know that he’ll be attending the Duke of Sevring’s ball.”

“I should hope so. He’s been absent for far too long,” she’d called over her shoulder, leading them towards the sitting room where the others had been socializing.

She’d introduced Elizabeth with the warm familiarity of a long lost friend and the other women in the group quickly enveloped her in the inner circle. It was all she could do to keep their names, faces, and humanity straight as she greeted one woman after the other, curtseying low to the women around her.

If her chaperone wasn’t absolutely positive of her place among this group, Elizabeth might have cowered among the high-ranking noblewomen surrounding her. As it was, she settled in among the group as if she were assured of her right to be there. She watched the eyes of Marchioness of Darderwyne widen as she was introduced, but other than that, there was no noticeable sign that the vampiresses were any different from the other ladies present.

There had also been a tense moment when Elizabeth had actually met Lady Devlin’s brother – her vamped brother – as he’d escorted her sister to the small gathering before leaving for his club, and almost shuddered at the gleaming light that had come into his eyes as she’d curtsied before him, only to dim slightly as he’d realized that she’d belonged to another. Swallowing at what her fate might have been, she murmured her greetings and practically plastered herself to her chaperone’s side until he’d left.

Now that it was time to leave, she was grateful for her chaperone having arranged this little gathering for her benefit. It had proved enlightening to see how they – the vampires – had interacted among the other humans in the group. She felt somewhat better about herself that she wasn’t the only one that hadn’t noticed any differences among the assembled group. The Duchess was just as in the dark as she had once been…what? a week ago?

With a gracious smile to her host and the others, she bade her goodbyes and left with her chaperone, promising to call on them again before the Duchess of Sevring’s ball next week.

~*~*~*~*~

“That wasn’t so bad, was it, child?” Mrs. Rothworth asked as soon as they got out of the deluge and were settled comfortably in the carriage.

“They seemed very…nice.”

Mrs. Rothworth laughed at that. Nice. No not nice, never nice. She liked to think practical. They couldn’t go around killing off all the members of the ton. It was a balance – intermingle with society and feed on the unsuspecting… the unnoticed.

“Oh, you are a delight. Now we must hurry and get home. We’ve an opera to get ready for. Just a little something to get you out in the public eye without anyone really able to engage you in conversation. Although, with the earl back in town, that may prove more difficult than I had planned.”

“Sounds lovely,” Elizabeth replied behind a yawn.

“Maybe a little nap might be in order first. Not sleep well last night.”

Thinking of William and his sudden disappearing act, she frowned, then sighed.

“Don’t worry, dear. I’m sure he’ll make it up to you. He won’t be able to ignore you for long before the lure of your blood calls to him.”

Elizabeth flushed but didn’t say anything. There was nothing she could say. She just prayed that lure, or whatever it was, worked fast. She missed him…and his touch.

~*~*~*~*~

Spike looked down at the sleeping Slayer leaning against his side and suppressed a grin. The girl had the right of it. Struggling to hide his own yawn, he deftly hid her snoozing status from any of the prying eyes in the theater. It helped that their box was situated so as to not allow others to see them well.

Praying for intermission, he zoned out as the fat lady sang…literally.

‘About bloody time!’ Spike thought to himself as the curtain finally dropped to the last strains of the aria leaving the woman’s mouth. He carefully nudged the Slayer awake as Mrs. Rothworth slipped one arm under the girl’s elbow to assist her in standing.

“Is it over?” she asked William sleepily.

“No, pet, but we are. Time to get you home and in bed. I think we’ve accomplished what we needed to. Am I right, Mrs. Rothworth?”

“Yes, I can safely say Elizabeth will be the topic of discussion amongst the ton this evening.”

“Good. Now let’s get out of here. This damn opera is putting even me to sleep.”

Behind him, Mrs. Rothworth silently agreed. They could have been out having a nocturnal adventure instead of sitting inside and cringing at the overly loud music as it grated over their sensitive ears.

As the trio stepped into the lobby, many tried to stop their exit out into the night sky. Spike’s look stopped all but the most zealous of people. Assuring a few that he’d be by his club tomorrow, he was able to forestall a long conversation with the two gentlemen.

Then they were free of the crowded lobby and outside hailing their driver – who quickly spotted them and moved the horses forward on an intercept course. The coach had no sooner come to a stop that he was scooping the Slayer up in his arms and depositing her inside, quickly following behind her so that the vampiress could slip in after him. A quick jab of his cane put the conveyance in motion.

The lulling motion eased the Slayer back into slumber and Spike let out an aggrieved sigh before scooping the girl into his arms as they made their way back to his townhouse. He buried his nose in her neck and inhaled her scent, completely ignoring the woman seated across from him. After leaving her alone last night, his body radiated with sexual tension…and he couldn’t wait to get home to ease the ache only she seemed to relieve.

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