Page 36 of Bite at First Sight

William’s voice echoed through the wood, timid and trembling. “Clayton is here, my lord. He says the matter is urgent.”

“Cristo.” Rafe jerked the door open and followed the vampire down the stairs.

Rife with curiosity, Cassandra saw no reason not to accompany them. After all, no one had forbidden her to follow. But once they arrived downstairs and Clayton’s gaze met hers, filled with burning scorn, she was tempted to flee.

No, I won’t let him frighten me. Cassandra lifted her chin and met his gaze with all the aristocratic hauteur she could manage. Her dreaded mother-in-law would have been proud.

“What is it, Clayton?” Rafe interrupted the silent exchange.

Clayton glared at Cassandra once more before turning to the Lord of London. “Lenore has gone missing, my lord.”

“Lenore?” Rafe frowned in confusion.

An air of nearly imperceptible chiding laced the other vampire’s reply. “Yes, she is one of the vampires who take refuge at St. Pancras. Don’t you remember?”

“Ah yes, the frail one with the dark hair.” Rafe nodded. “We must begin a search, though I shall have to hunt on the way.” He turned to William, reluctance lacing his tone. “Fetch Anthony. He’d better come along. You will stay behind and guard Lady Rosslyn.”

If William was vexed with being relegated to such a lowly task, he concealed it well under a bland countenance. “Yes, my lord.”

Clayton regarded him with a strange look before returning his attention to Rafe. “Let us be off then. I have a bad feeling about Lenore. It is not like her to be absent without notifying anyone.”

Rafe followed his second-in-command, glancing over his shoulder at Cassandra. “Behave yourself, Countess.”

Cassandra frowned as Anthony joined them and the three vampires departed. Something strange was afoot, and she couldn’t help feeling that there was more to the situation than a missing vampire.

William coughed behind her. “Your breakfast is ready, my lady.”

“Thank you.” She fought to keep the bewilderment from her tone. Even he was behaving oddly.

She sighed and settled down at the vast dining-room table as the food was brought in. Breakfast at five o’clock in the evening, vampire secrets, and the phenomenal medical breakthroughs with Rafe’s surgery…her world had certainly taken a strange turn. Was she caught in a dream?

“May I join you, my lady?” William interrupted her musings, still behaving with unusual shyness.

Though she preferred to remain alone, she saw no reason to refuse him in the face of his politeness. “Of course.”

William inclined his head and sat across from her. “I do not think it right for you to be held captive like this.” He lifted his head, gazing upon her with eyes as tragic as those of a starved puppy. “You have done nothing to deserve it.”

Cassandra raised a brow at his unexpected display of sympathy. “That is true.” Yet when I came here, you wanted Rafe to kill me.

“And that is why I’ve decided I shall help you escape.” He folded his arms and regarded her with determination.

She nearly choked on her bread. “I beg your pardon?”

William nodded. “It is unfair for you to be trapped here any longer. And it should be fairly simple for you to get away.”

“How so?” she asked doubtfully. “Rafe Marked me, which as far as I know means that he can use his unique…abilities to locate me anywhere.”

“That power has limits.” William favored her with a conspiratorial smile. “If you get far enough away, he’ll have difficulty sensing you. And if you leave the city, it is doubtful that he will bother to seek you out. He has far more substantial concerns.”

For some inexplicable reason, Cassandra felt slighted that Rafe would consider her an “insubstantial concern.”

Feigning indifference, she took a delicate sip of tea. “What is to stop him from sensing his Mark on me on my way out of London?”

“Sometimes, strong emotions blur the Mark, which would make it difficult for him to trace you. However, you’re not an overly emotional sort of female, are you, Lady Rosslyn?”

She shook her head. “Of course not.” Though lately…

“Then that method will likely not work. However, there is a better way.” He leaned forward and said softly, “He cannot trace you if you are unconscious.”

---