“I warned Corvindale, blast it.” His lips twitched slightly, but then flattened and she fancied she saw a flash of anguish there. Or not.
Maia took the hood, fingering its heavy softness, and, with a huff of annoyance, pulled it over her head. She couldn’t imagine what her hair looked like after the attack in the carriage—which had been only an hour ago, hard as it was to believe. She was still wearing her party frock, and her slippers were stained with mud and goodness knew what else…but there was no time to waste.
Once the stifling hood was in place, Dewhurst took her arm and led her…she wasn’t certain where. If she’d thought she might see down beneath the hood and trace their steps via a peek of the floor beneath it, she was disappointed. The hood had so many folds and was so long that she could see nothing and had to rely fully on the man next to her. The concern she might be recognized should they encounter any other member of the club was moot, for the hood obscured her identity.
Their rapid journey included turns and the opening and closing of at least two doors that seemed to slide rather thanswing open, and there was a set of stairs (stone or brick, unlike the rest of the flooring, which had been carpeted) down which they trod…and then another door.
The loud voices on the other side of the door stopped abruptly, and Maia fancied it was because of her appearance on the threshold of whatever chamber they’d entered.
Some loud and violent noise sounded as if someone stood, shoving away a table or knocking over a chair, and then there was the sharp symphonic clink and clank of, perhaps, glasses or bottles on a table that might have been bumped or moved, and an abbreviated scuffle.
Dewhurst didn’t release her arm, and she felt his fingers tighten as if in readiness. “Don’t be a fool,” he said sharply. She knew he wasn’t speaking to her. “Did you think I would be so foolish as to come unprepared?”
Impatient, she yanked off the hood and found herself standing at the entrance to a small, windowless room that boasted fewer than half a dozen occupants. Before she could identify any of them other than—oh dear—Chas,an aggrieved sound drew her attention.
“You.”Corvindale, of course. He was half seated at a table with one hand flat on wood shiny with some spilled liquid, and a few glasses. One was on its side. He was staring at her with a mixture of shock, fury and disgust.
Chas stood just to his right, and Mr. Cale sat in the corner. The female vampire Narcise was nowhere in sight; the remaining occupants were men who appeared to be footmen or other servants, and they seemed to melt into the shadows as if to remain unnoticed.
Dewhurst tugged Maia closer, her hem brushing his trousers, and she saw that he’d shifted the flaps of his coat. A large ruby winked in the center of his neckcloth. He smiled coollyat Corvindale, who looked as if he were about to fly across the room, but had been halted in mid-trajectory.
“Of course I wouldn’t come unprotected, knowing just how you feel about me,” Dewhurst was saying. He nodded at Chas, who, Maia noticed, was holding a stake in his hand, and then Mr. Cale. “Keep your distance, and no one will get hurt.”
“Maia,” Chas said, his voice sharp and steely. “Are you all right?”
“Other than worried to illness for the safety of my sister, while the rest of you sit about and visit at your club? Yes, I am fine.” She made no effort to hide the bite in her voice. “If it weren’t for Lord Dewhurst, I would still be standing at the door, arguing with the butler. It was he who helped me gain entrance.”
“How convenient,” Corvindale said. He sank back into his chair, but his gaze flashed, burning at the man standing next to Maia, and all at once she lost her breath.
Impossible.
She stared at the earl, her heart pounding hard and her head light. Impossible, but…it rather made sense. Corvindale’s eyes hadburned.Red.
How could she have been so blind?
It was no wonder he wanted all of the curtains drawn, even in his study. Why his sister hardly knew him, and even in moments of great urgency called him by his formal name. And why he had been chosen by their brother to take care of them in his absence.
Who better to protect his sisters from a vengefulvampirthananother vampir?
“I cannot believe your incompetence, Dimitri. I sent you the warning,” Dewhurst was saying as Maia came back to reality. His voice was cold with fury; no longer smooth and rich as it had been before. “And you, Woodmore. Another disappearing and then reappearing act? Are you here to take care of your sisters or not?”
No.She didn’t want to believe it.Couldn’tbelieve it.
They were the wards of avampir?My word, were the creatureseverywhere?
And…her brotherworkedfor him? Avampirhunter was the associate of avampir?Her head began to hurt.
“Oh, aye, I got your message—along with two bloody pairs of ruby earbobs, you bastard.” Corvindale had stood again, and a vein at the side of his temple throbbed so hard she could see it from across the room. He would have lunged if Chas hadn’t thrust an arm out in front of him.
Dewhurst shifted a bit, then thrust his chin belligerently, and this time Maia saw a flash of—dear God,fangs?“It was a jest, nothing more. I warned her not to wear them in your presence.”
“Damn your soul to Lucifer, it’s your bloody fault she’s been taken,” Chas said. “You and your cursed jests and games, Voss.” The stake shifted, and the next thing Maia knew, the tension in the chamber snapped, and the place was in an uproar.
Something strong and powerful whipped her off her feet, gathering her up and spinning her away as Chas flew toward Dewhurst. The two men tumbled to the floor as Maia fought in vain to pull away from the strong hands that held her.
“Release me, you idiot man,” she said, jamming her elbow into the vicinity of Corvindale’s belly. She must have missed, for whatever she hit was solid and hard and made her gasp with pain. And he didn’t release her, merely holding her firmly away from the fray and muttering vile things under his breath.
Her brother and Dewhurst were on the floor, and then back on their feet, squaring off, facing each other, half crouched and wild-eyed. Chairs flew, crashing onto tables and sending glass flying. Dewhurst’s eyes blazed with fire, and Maia could, for the first time, clearly see the jut of his fangs. He seemed to favor his right shoulder, unable to lift his right arm as high as his left, wincing with pain when Chas flung him into the wall, cradlingthat arm. Dewhurst stumbled and tripped over Corvindale’s outthrust foot, somersaulting into the wall.
