“Quite so,” Duke Harclay said, his voice straining from his seat. “I would have expected no less from our Cecelia. I remember when you were this tall, running around with the boys, and holding your own at that.” He held a hand out before him, even with the tabletop. The hand trembled slightly, and I felt a certain satisfaction, knowing what he’d put his family through.
Flora caught me staring at the duke and waved me over, smiling. “Jonathan couldn’t resist congratulating this round’s winners in person. We’re glad to see you will be staying on with us as well, Lucian.”
“And only thirteen moving on,” Ambrose acknowledged, nodding up the room as more guests took seats at a noticeably less crowded table. He met my eyes. “But I never doubted your continuation for a moment.”
I smiled politely as the duke leaned forward. “I recall when Ambrose insisted he would remain a bachelor for life. Do you remember that, dear? And now we see a group of ambitious young men and women here, one who will be our son’s partner in life.”
“That was when I was young.” Ambrose lowered his eyes shyly. “Circumstances change.”
“They do, with the necessary discipline.” The duke agreed, before turning to Cecelia. “Oh, do you remember the time you and Maxwell released Ambrose’s goldfish into the fountain in the garden?”
Ambrose’s eyes widened as the memory passed over his face. “We were chasing it for hours! We were soaked by the time we were through.” He turned to Maxwell with a shake of his head. “Why did you do that again?”
Maxwell groaned. “I thought you hid … something from me.”
“A stuffed pig!” Cecelia declared. “I remember it clearly now. You had this stuffed purple pig that you carried with you everywhere.” She leaned across the table, grin widening. “Do you still have it?”
With a scowl, Maxwell crossed his arms. “Oinker was given a new home years ago.”
“Oinker!” Flora chuckled. “Oh, I remember Oinker so fondly! The maids had to sneak him out of your room when you were sleeping to give him a cleaning.”
My smile was pasted on as I watched this exchange. The way Ambrose looked at Cecelia was worrisome. He was attached to her. They had history together. Had they been involved at some point? I could hardly see it, looking over her black lace gown. She certainly looked regal in it, but I hadn’t imagined her to be his type previously. I could see it now though. When she laughed, she was radiant.
My eyes darted to Flora’s open adoration and the duke’s wide grin. The whole family was enamored with Cecelia. This was no passing interest, either. They were delighted she was the favorite.
They wanted her to be Ambrose’s match.
And I realized Ambrose was thinking in such terms as well. But I couldn’t allow that line of thinking to consume them for long, not if I wanted to regain my immortality. As it was, I was worried some of the people who would have information regarding the hunters had been dismissed from the competition—but surely a well-connected family with the means to fund such operations was still among us. Two boys whose rooms I’d searched were gone. If anything, this smaller pool would give me less rooms to rifle through. I eyed Cecelia with suspicion. Her family was a likely culprit. And she did have an interest in the occult and death. Did that carry over from her family’s deeds? Was that why she had mastered archery? To hunt vampires?
“Take a seat with Maxwell and me,” Zachariah suggested, guiding me up the table. Maxwell was just as engrossed in reminiscing with the rest of his family, hardly noticing when I sat down beside him. Meanwhile, other silent guests told me I wasn’t alone in not being buoyed by Cecelia’s success, Melbourne among them. Isabel was practically glaring daggers up the table at her rival.
I watched as Helena picked up her teacup across from me, a slight tremor in her hand as she lifted it to her lips. Her milky eyes stared straight ahead, as if meeting my own. I wondered what she thought of this new development. Even now, I yearned to ask her advice on the matter. How could I dispel the family’s captivation with their favorite?
“Connections aren’t the only things that matter,” I muttered, stabbing a fork into an egg, imagining momentarily I was thrusting it into Cecelia’s stupid eye socket instead. I instantly regretted the thought, guilt rushing over me. I liked Cecelia. I didn’t want to see any harm come to her. She’d just saved me from leaving this competition prematurely, after all. I just couldn’t allow her to win.
“What’s that?” Zachariah asked at my side.
“Nothing.”
He leaned into me. “Not jealous, are we? I didn’t think a little competition would undo you.”
“She’s hardly competition,” I lied, earning a chuckle in response.
“This vampire business,” Flora said, placing a hand to her chest. “It makes me feel ill.”
I perked up, realizing I’d missed something. Zachariah had as well, and spoke for me. “What about vampires?”
“A vampire who’s been plaguing the area around Foxglove Abbey has been tracked down and killed,” Maxwell supplied.
“Good riddance,” Duke Harclay proclaimed.
“Yes, good riddance,” Flora agreed.
I clenched my jaw, watching Helena as she calmly munched on a piece of bread. I needed to act that cool around conversations such as this. As if nothing were the matter. It seemed I could still learn a thing or two from Helena, though I hated to admit it.
“Of course, this old friend of Lucian is a vampire,” Ambrose spoke up. “She could very well be in the neighborhood still.”
I shrugged, not enjoying the attention in regards to this subject. “I hardly knew her really. I don’t know how she ended up around these parts.”
