‘He’s our new chef,’ Raleigh said.‘Well, your new chef, I suppose.I obviously won’t be eating anything he makes, but I’m told he’s one of the best.’
‘He’s going to live here?’I asked.
‘Of course.I tried to give him a room on the first floor – I hate the thought of anyone having to sleep in the servants’ quarters – but he insisted on sleeping downstairs.I understand why Moira does it.Her room looks like a church and we both know I can’t have that anywhere near me.I can’t get a read on Enrique, though.He didn’t even smile when I told him he had the job.Maybe he’s nervous around his new employer.Did he seem any more relaxed to you?’
It took me a moment to realise he had finished speaking.I wasn’t used to this talkative new Raleigh.It felt like he was making up for three hundred years of solitude in a single evening.‘No,’ I said.‘Honestly, I think he hates me.’
Raleigh laughed.‘I’m relieved.I wasn’t sure if he hated everyone or just me.Not that I blame him.He’s had a rough run of it, I hear.No one’s willing to take a risk on a palace chef who trained in Versailles these days.Unfortunately being almost unemployable is a bit of a prerequisite in order to find someone willing to work for a reclusive vampire prince.’
‘Youtoldhim?’I asked, aghast.
‘Why wouldn’t I?’he said with a shrug.‘He’d find out eventually anyway.I’m obviously not very good at keeping it a secret.’
‘No, you’re definitely not.’
Raleigh snorted.‘In any case, he already knew.He’s a dhampir himself.’
‘A what?’I’d come across the term in passing during my research, but it didn’t appear in any of the library’s dictionaries so I didn’t know its meaning.
‘A dhampir.The child of a human and a vampire.All the best chefs are,’ Raleigh replied.‘Or so I hear.They say their supernatural senses make for highly sensitive palates.’
An uneasy chill travelled down my spine.‘I didn’t realise such a thing was possible.’
Raleigh didn’t seem to notice the significance, nor did he notice my discomfort.‘Of course.That said, it’s rare.The mother has to be human, and she rarely survives, but it does happen every so—’ He froze mid-sentence, then looked down at me, suddenly serious.‘Are you all right?’
I hugged my arms close to my chest.‘Is that why you wanted a human bride?’
Raleigh let out a sigh.‘Of course not.You don’t have to worry about that.’He tore away and started walking again.‘I have no intention of consummating this marriage unless you decide you want to.’
I’d lifted my foot to start following him but stumbled as he spoke.‘What if I never want to?’I asked before I could stop myself.
‘Then we never will,’ he said simply.
Somehow this made my ears burn hotter than anything else he could have said.I stuttered though a few syllables of a nonsensical reply, then cut myself off when I noticed his shoulders were growing increasingly tense.I decided to deflect the matter entirely.‘I thought you’d want an heir,’ I managed at last, catching up to him.
Raleigh’s shoulders loosened.‘An heir to what?The only reason Rostenburg hasn’t been overrun by Hapsburgs is because I’ve been hypnotising them and forging their records.If I die they’ll realise there hasn’t been a new prince for three hundred years and shove an archduke on the throne.’
His flippancy was oddly soothing.Another woman might have met those words with grief, but I was strangely relieved.Whenever I’d talked to Yann or my father about marriage, the notion of heirsalways came up, as though I was good for nothing more than my ability to bear sons.To hear Raleigh say the opposite came as a shock.
‘Then why do you want a bride?’
Raleigh shrugged.‘Eternity is lonely without a companion.’He paused, staring into the distance.‘And who wouldn’t want a chance at love?’
Did he think I’d forgotten about his own deadline?He’d told me before he needed a bride for something at the conclusion of the century; did he really think I’d buy his wistful musings about love?He was skirting the truth again, I could tell, and the knowledge made me feel hopelessly claustrophobic.‘That’s a rather flimsy reason to abduct someone.’
‘I believe you came willingly.’He peered down at me with a grin far more like the one I’d come to know and hate.Only it wasn’t rage that twisted his features now.His eyes held no darkness.
I rolled mine away.‘Before that.You can’t have abducted me because you thought I would love you.’
‘No, I abducted you to punish your father.’Raleigh kicked a stone in his path.‘You know that.’
‘I don’t suppose you’ll ever tell me why.’It wasn’t a question.He wouldn’t tell me the reason he was looking for a bride; I had no reason to expect he’d tell me this.
‘It’s not a pleasant story.I’d rather you didn’t dwell on it,’ he said.He was so disappointingly predictable.But then he added, ‘Besides, you’re more than just a tool to punish your father.’
I wasn’t sure how to respond.‘Because I can read English?’I tried.
‘What?No.’Raleigh stopped abruptly.‘Because you’re a person, Clara.Is that worth nothing?’
