18. Still Sounds Dirty

Deciding where to have the meeting took longer than getting everyone there. It turns out that vampires don't lollygag when their Master calls them. So, since the library was a wreck, they all met in the practice room where Clive had taught me swordplay.*

As I didn't need to be with them in order to read vamp minds, I went to the window seat in the library, directly above the practice room. Pulling one of the tattered curtains closed, I sat with my legs folded up, leaning against the side wall, in the dark.

Staring out the window into the moonlit grounds and the distant Golden Gate Bridge, I began to mentally cast out for all the cold green vampire blips in the house. Finding no one lurking where they shouldn't be, I concentrated on the glut of vamps below. I channeled the pain from invading others' minds into the wicche glass, which meant I didn't need Clive's help to mask it.

This was far more complicated than anything I'd ever done before. I was trying to monitor thirty-four vampires at the same time. Since I knew what Clive, Russell, and Godfrey knew, I ignored them and focused on the other thirty-one vamps' reactions.

I knew when Clive began to talk because they all lit up at once. It was a little like being in The Slaughtered Lamb, surrounded by countless conversations, but needing to hear one drink order. Most vamps were experiencing varying forms of disbelief that their Master was briefing them. I was heartened by how many wished they knew something they could share. More than a few were running through every blonde vampire they'd ever met. There! One of them just thought the same image I'd seen in the memory of the NOLA vamp.

Ignoring the others, I dove deep into the vamp who'd thought of our mystery woman. She was still cycling through possibilities. She didn't know she had the right one. Casting out to the larger group again, I monitored for a few minutes. No, she was the only one thinking of our mystery vamp.

Diving back in, I tried to direct her thoughts, by sharing a quick image of my own. She remained calm and thoughtful, not picking up on my interference. I'd been practicing with Clive. I didn't want to remain as ham-handed as I'd been when trying to read St. Germain's mind. If I couldn't slide in and out undetected, I wasn't much of a secret weapon.

A synapse fired beside me. I jumped into the memory before it disappeared.

Leticia and…Audrey. The vamp whose mind I was reading was Audrey. They were standing in a large, ornate room. The clothes, the furniture, it all belonged in a period film. The mystery woman stood imperiously before them.

"No, Mother. I told you. I don't want any part of this," Leticia said.

"Audrey, wait for my daughter by the carriage. She and I have personal matters to discuss."

Audrey curtsied. "Of course, my lady." As she left the room, she heard one final comment.

"I won't do it."

I pulled out my phone to text Clive.

Me: Talk to Audrey. She doesn't know that she knows anything. I plucked it out. The woman we're searching for is Leticia's mother. Audrey met her.

A few minutes later, the large group broke up. As the vamps left, their minds were still fixated on finding the woman Clive sought.

I dove into Clive's mind, something I was only able to do because he allowed it.

Hi.

Hello, love. I've asked Audrey to stay back so we could speak.

Perfect. Going completely by historical romances, I think she met Leticia's mother in the 1700s and they were all speaking English. With English accents, that is.

Leticia isn't English.

She was in the 1700s.

Interesting. Godfrey and I both thought her speech patterns belied the age she claimed. Neither of us picked up on her being English, though. Rather embarrassing, given we both are. Go ahead and move to the study. We'll be up in a minute. I assume you'd like to be present when I talk with her?

Yes, please.

Good.

Picking up a book at random, I went down the hall and took up residence on my usual bench near the wall in Clive's office. I sat cross-legged, put a pillow in my lap, and propped the book on it, opening to the middle. Slouching, I tried to look as though I'd been in here reading for a while. Not long after, Clive, Audrey, Russell, and Godfrey filed into the room.

"Hello, darling. I'm meeting with the contractor later this evening so we can get started on repairing the library. Would you care to join us?"

"Absolutely." I really hoped that was true and not a mock conversation to help Audrey relax. She appeared quite nervous, being called into the Master's study.

"Good." He turned his attention to Audrey. "Have a seat. I just have a few questions for you."

Bowing her head, she breathed, "Liege," and sat on the edge of one of the two chairs in front of his desk.

Russell took the other chair, leaning back comfortably. They were doing what they could to set her at ease.

Godfrey came to my bench. "Budge up," he said, waving me over.

I slid to the end, making room for him. This was new. No one ever sat over here with me. It did make this whole meeting seem chummy, though, which may have been the point.

"Audrey, I'd like to ask you about Leticia. I believe you two have been friends for centuries. Is that correct?" Clive leaned forward, his hands clasped on his desk, the picture of calm reserve.

"Oh." She glanced at Russell before turning back to Clive.

I dipped into her mind. The poor thing was terrified she was going to be given her final death because of her connection with Leticia, who had betrayed Clive.

"Yes, Sire." Her fingers trembled.

"We believe the woman I'm looking for is related in some way to Leticia, so I would appreciate any insight you could give me."

She thinks you're going to kill her because of Leticia.

"Let me also say, in our very long lives, we meet and befriend many people. Unless you, too, were working against me, I don't hold you responsible for what Leticia did."

"No, Sire! I would never. I—" She glanced around the room uneasily. "I'd never betray you, Sire. I love it here. Even with…" Her eyes darted to me. "Even with some of the problems we've had lately—many of them because of what Miss Leticia was doing—this is the best, the safest, nocturne I've ever lived in."

She means every word.

"I'm glad you feel that way. I'd like to keep it a safe home for us, which is why I'm asking you to tell me everything you know, or suspect, about Leticia. For instance, where and when did you meet?"

"In London, Sire. I was her lady's maid." Clive's words had dispelled some of the anxiety, but she still sat ramrod straight on the edge of her chair.

"You were human when you met?"

"Aye, Sire, I was. As for when, I'm a little muddled on dates." Her eyes shot to Russell and then Godfrey, as though seeking help.

"I understand. Time can be strange for us, can't it? A general period is fine. Who was on the throne?"

"Oh, George III, Sire. He'd just been crowned King of Britain, and so young, too. I remember all the coronation parties. It seemed like Miss Leticia was getting new ball gowns every day. I needed to care for them—and quite a fair bit of work that was—and create new hair designs to complement each. I was much sought after, Sire, for my skill with hair." Being able to discuss what she was proud of had stopped the tremble.

"1760—"

"Aye, Sire. That was it." She was beginning to warm up to the conversation. "I'd thought she was a lazy layabout, like her mother. I didn't know, you see? They went out to dinners and parties and balls every night, sleeping all day. And they never ate. When I asked Miss Leticia about it, she shouted to wake the dead. I'd overstepped my place. It wasn't for me to ask, you see?"

"Yes, I see."

"I mean, ladies weren't supposed to eat a lot, but still, something, you know. I thought perhaps she stuffed herself at the parties—which they were never supposed to do, it being unladylike. They'd often send us to the kitchens, though, to get some food to nibble on in the retiring rooms."

"Oh, is that why they stayed in there so long?" Godfrey asked, a grin on his face. "I'd assumed they were taking naps."

A shy and grateful smile brightened Audrey's face. "Only the elderly ladies fell asleep. Most gossiped and tried to relax. I sometimes felt a little sorry for my employers, always on display, every word, every gesture, every ribbon being judged. They couldn't move without someone finding fault. Of course, then one would slap me for brushing her hair too hard and all that sympathy dried up." She started to roll her eyes and then caught herself. "Sorry, Sire. I'm sure you don't care about any of that."

"Actually, it's quite interesting. How was Leticia as an employer?" Clive asked.

"Oh. Well." She stared down at her hands a moment. "Miss Leticia was very much like other ladies. I have some thoughts on that, if you don't mind my saying."

Clive nodded for her to continue.

"What I was saying before about being under the magnifying glass, having no say in any part of their own lives, being pushed into marriages that are advantageous for the family, but rarely for the girl, all of that. I think it made them strike out at the servants, the only ones with less power than themselves. So, slapping, spilling scalding tea, stepping on feet, waking us in the middle of the night to straighten the bed linens, all the mean petty things that made our lives miserable were done because they were miserable."

"I believe you're quite right, Audrey," Clive said, earning a tentative smile. "Was Leticia like that, filled with secret hostilities?"

"Aye, Sire. That's exactly it. Her mother was a fierce, angry, disapproving woman who kept Miss Leticia under her thumb."

"Any personal information about her mother, her background, relationships, habits, anything you can remember would be helpful to us," Russell said.

Eyes large and a guileless blue, she stared a moment too long. Oh, Audrey seemed to have it bad for Russell. Wholly unnecessary and yet far too tempting, I dipped into her mind again. Yep. She'd come with Leticia almost eight years ago and had fallen in love with Russell almost from the start. She kept it well-hidden, but she thought he was just about perfect in every way.

She nodded awkwardly, still staring at him, and then turned back to Clive, breaking the spell. "Lady Atwood is a very severe woman—"

"Is?" I interrupted. "Is she a vampire, too?" The vamps normally got super pissy if I spoke to them, but Audrey didn't seem to feel the same animosity toward me that others did.

"Yes, miss. Like I said before, I didn't know why they slept all day. It wasn't until they decided to move from London back to their home in Canterbury that I saw my opportunity to leave their employ. I had a friend who worked for another family. They had a daughter who was debuting soon. They wanted my skills with hair to set her apart.

"When I broached the subject with Miss Leticia, she flew into a rage, saying she'd just finally trained me properly, which seemed a bit much, if you don't mind my saying so. I had quite a good reputation before they'd hired me. I'd only left my former employer when her husband gambled away the family fortune and they needed to let staff go." She looked embarrassed to have shared information about her former employer's financial troubles.

"Audrey, you need to remember, none of us are from the aristocracy," Clive said gently. "None of us will fault you for speaking ill of your employer."

"She sounds a right bitch," Godfrey added, his accent sounding more street urchin than usual.

"Oh, aye. When I tried to leave, she backhanded me hard. She'd just had an argument with her mother and was riled up. I should have waited to tell her." She shook her head, still annoyed with herself after two hundred and fifty-plus years. "I guess she broke my neck. When I woke up, I was on fire." Her gaze darted to Russell and then away. "First thirst, you see. Miss Leticia shoved Mary—one of the maids—at me and…" The poor thing faltered, remembering.

"We know what happened," Russell said. "It wasn't your fault."

"I wish I could say I agree with that." She sighed. "Well, that's when I found out what was really going on. Her mother was fit to be tied, but Miss Leticia wanted me to stay with them, so she made sure I did."

"Why did you stay?" Godfrey asked.

"At first, I didn't know what else to do. She'd made me a demon. I'd been a good, God-fearing woman and now I was a monster, preying on the living. I felt too hopeless to do anything but what they demanded. It was like sleepwalking. It wasn't until Miss Leticia left a couple of months ago that the hopelessness disappeared. She left and I woke up the following evening feeling as I had when I was living." She shook her head in wonder.

"So," I said, "are we all thinking the same thing?"

"That that bitch Leticia had been messing with Audrey's mind for two hundred and fifty years? Yeah, I think we are," Godfrey said.

Audrey flinched. "What?"

"Some vampires are gifted with special abilities," Russell began. "Our Master, for instance, can talk to us in our minds. He can deliver pain with only a thought. We believe Leticia was augmenting the natural bond between a dame and her fledgling to keep you subservient to her."

The outrage on Audrey face heartened me. She was no longer nervous. She was pissed off. "She…"

"If I didn't want to kill her so badly myself," Clive said, "I'd give you the honor."

Audrey shot out of her seat and stalked around the room. "She…"

"A good way to get even is to tell us everything you know so we can hunt them down," Russell explained.

"Oh, aye." Audrey marched back to the chair and sat down. "Let's do."