Page 34 of The Highwayman's Bite

“You’ll do no such thing,” Aldric muttered. If Vivian’s captor had any inclinations to violence, the scent of terror would be soaked in both her hair and the paper. He sniffed the foolscap and detected the same permeating smoke, cheap ink, leather, and again something familiar that he wished he could place.

Of course, there was no way for Aldric to do what the kidnapper wished anyway. The noon sunlight would scorch him to a crisp. It was the one advantage that humans had over Aldric’s kind. But why cemeteries in isolated villages? At first Aldric had assumed Vivian was being held somewhere near Wrea Green, the first place he’d been directed to go with the money. But he’d scoured the area and found no scent of Vivian.

Aldric rose from his desk with a sigh and left his study. He’d wanted to keep this disastrous mess quiet, but it was now maddeningly apparent that this was a problem he could not resolve on his own. He descended the stairs and went out the front door with a quick nod to his butler, who regarded his departure with indifference. His servants were quite accustomed to the viscount’s unusual comings and goings.

His first stop was the home of his second in command. Alas, Bonnie was not home. He found her at Gordon’s Pub, sipping ale and laughing at a group of sailors telling bawdy jokes. Her mirthful grin vanished the moment she spotted Aldric and she excused herself and took her ale to a table in the corner.

Aldric sat across from her and spoke low. “My niece has been abducted.”

Bonnie’s eyes widened. “I thought she was visiting a friend in Manchester.”

“If the truth gets out, her reputation will be ruined, and no man will marry her.” The explanation sounded so petty when he voiced it aloud.

“Ah.” Bonnie nodded, though there was a note of disapproval in her tone. “I forget that blue-blooded females have to be sheltered from the world to be worthy of a man’s attention.”

Aldric rubbed his temples and tried to conceal his irritation. He did not have time to debate society’s treatment of women, even if he did agree with Bonnie’s opinions most of the time. Why else would she be his second in command? But now he needed to devote his attention to finding the cad who held Vivian in his filthy grasp. He reached in his desk and withdrew the first ransom letter. “I found this in my carriage five nights ago. The bloody fiend somehow drugged my coachman and stole the horses and my niece and her companion.”

“That sounds like the operation of more than one man.” Bonnie read the letter with a frown. “Why didn’t you just give him the money?”

“Because I am not about to let a foolish mortal turn a profit by crossing me.” Aldric hid his surprise at the assumption that he was only dealing with one man. He’d been so blind with rage that the logistics of the actual abduction hadn’t been processed. “If our people hear of it, they’ll lose all respect for me. Besides,” he continued with increasing confidence. “With you and a few other good vampires, we should easily be able to track him down and make him pay.”

“Would you like me to call a Gathering?” Bonnie asked. “With the whole network on the hunt, we should locate your niece in a trice.”

“No.” Aldric was not ready to let all his vampires hear that a human had stolen Vivian out from under his nose. “I wish for this matter to remain between us. I will write a writ of passage and I want you to travel the surrounding territories to the south and see if you can sniff her out while I do the same north.” He handed her the lock of Vivian’s hair. “This is her scent.”

Bonnie took the dark lock of hair and bowed. “Yes, my lord.”

When she departed, Aldric buried his face in his hands. Was he a fool to leave Vivian and her companion at the mercy of their kidnapper? What if he was wrong and the man or men would resort to violence? Would he truly receive his niece’s severed finger next time?

He ran his hands through his unfashionably long hair and clenched his jaw. No, he had no choice but to embark on this course. For what he’d told Bonnie was the unvarnished truth.

If other vampires thought Aldric was weak, someone would move on him soon and try to take over his territory. As it was, he’d heard rumblings of disapproval from some about Aldric allying with the interim Lord Vampire of London and becoming involved in his civil war three years ago.

But in the end, Aldric felt he’d made the right decision in bringing his pitiful small force to aid England’s most powerful vampire. Blackpool may be a small territory, but hopefully the courage and strength of his people would be remembered.

Furthermore, the Lord of London had returned the favor in many ways, the least of which being ensuring Vivian’s safety throughout her three failed London Seasons—a feat that Aldric himself had failed.

He paced through his office, his imagination tormenting him of visions of Vivian’s fear and suffering.

“My poor dear,” he whispered. “I will bring you home safe and not rush in marrying you off. Instead I will find you a husband that will be kind and gentle to you, for you’ve surely suffered enough.”

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