I didn’t.
‘Right,’ he said, more to himself than to me.‘I’m just going to …’ He trailed off, then stepped to his right.Once.Twice.
I followed him with the cross, rotating to ensure he couldn’t attack from behind.
‘For heaven’s sake, put that down.’
‘Do you think me a fool?’I asked.
‘I didn’t before, but you’re certainly encouraging me to change my mind.Please put it down so we may speak normally.’
‘No.’
‘Drop it, Clara.’
‘I won’t!’I hurled the holy water at him.It arced in slow motion, the candlelight dancing on the crystal droplets.
Raleigh watched impassively as the Lord’s power skimmed his clothing.And then he was gone.
The water fell with a splatter onto the rug, the cup rolling onto the stone where he had stood moments ago.Something cold grasped my wrist, squeezing so hard I dropped the cross in my struggle to free myself.As it clattered to the floor my hand was wrenched at an angle that forced me to spin around to stop my bones from snapping.And there, once more, was Raleigh.I wondered if he could feel the tremor of my pulse against his fingers.It was all I could do to stare at his lips and pray that the teeth they hid were blunted.
‘This is a new suit,’ he said.‘I’d rather you didn’t ruin it so soon.’
‘I wasn’t aiming for yoursuit,’ I spat.
‘And what exactly did you hope to achieve?’His voice settled over my skin, seeping into my pores.‘You need more than a few prayers to make holy water.’
‘How did you—’
‘Lucky guess.’His lips tilted into a rancid grin.‘Based on your other, ah,paraphernalia,I can only assume you tried that too.’
Humiliation squirmed in my chest.I tried again to free my hand and to my surprise he let me go.The propulsion sent me staggering several steps.While I fought to steady myself, Raleigh nudged my cross with the tip of his boot as though checking for life in a dead snake, then kicked it under the bed, out of sight.Out of reach.
‘Tell me.I’ve not married before, so this is all new to me.Is this sort of amateur woodworking usual for a new bride?’
‘Of course it isn’t.’
‘Then why have you done all this?’
‘You know why.’
‘No, no,’ Raleigh said, stepping towards me once more.‘I want you to tell me.What do you mean by all this?’
The words felt ridiculous enough to think.Saying them aloud made me want to hurl myself into bed and never emerge.
‘You’re a vampire.’
He was silent for a moment, his long fingers trailing thoughtfully over the thick velvet of my bed’s curtain.‘What gave it away?’
Confirming my suspicions did not come as a shock; it was more a quiet resignation.I had hoped that there might be some rational explanation, but this, I suppose, was as rational as any other.‘Did you ever bother to keep it a secret?’
Raleigh hesitated.For the first time I realised that there was capacity for emotion beneath his arrogant shell.He hid it again quickly, but I’d already glimpsed the crack, and from there they seemed to appear everywhere.
‘I didn’t think I needed to.’
I couldn’t tell whether he was joking.His tone suggested it, but the barest hint of nervousness in the way his posture shifted told me something else.
‘What gave it away?’he repeated.
