19. Wherein Ancient Connections Are Discovered

"You said ‘Lady Atwood.' Has she always gone by that name or has it changed over the years?" Clive asked.

Audrey struggled to get her rage under control before answering. "For as long as I've known her, Sire."

"And you said they had a home in Canterbury. Did you visit it?"

"Yes, Sire. It's near Blean. Quite grand."

Staring at his desk, lost in thought, Clive tapped his index finger. "Did you ever meet a Lord Atwood? Did Leticia have brothers?"

Audrey was shaking her head before Clive finished the question. "No, Sire. There was never mention of a husband. Miss Leticia, though, once told me they were gone now. Her father and brothers, that is."

"Were there two brothers?" Still staring at his desk, he seemed to be piecing something together.

"Aye. Begging your pardon, Sire, I can't be certain. She didn't give me details, being a servant and all. She said brothers with an s, and I feel like she may have used two names once, but it was so long ago and meant next to nothing to me at the time."

Nodding slowly, Clive turned to me, eyes full of sorrow, before focusing once more on Audrey. "I understand you may not know or remember, but when she spoke of her father or brothers, was it with fondness or perhaps sorrow at their absence?"

She didn't answer right away. Brow furrowed, she, too, stared at the top of the desk. "I don't think so. It's just an impression, you understand, and she could have been annoyed about something unrelated. I got the feeling, though, that she didn't like them, was happy they were gone. It felt like that was part of the tension between her and Lady Atwood." Audrey looked up. "But I could be wrong, Sire."

"What is it?" I asked Clive. "You've figured something out."

"Possibly. Audrey, do you have any idea where Leticia or her mother are right now?"

"No, Sire. Last I heard, Lady Atwood was still in England, and thank heavens. I haven't heard from Miss Leticia since she left the nocturne."

"All right. You needn't stay any longer. If you think of anything else, no matter how inconsequential it seems, please let me know." Clive stood, walking around the desk, and extended a hand to Audrey. Helping her to her feet, he added, "I appreciate your insight a great deal."

She gave a quick bob of a curtsy before she remembered where and when she was. "I'll go now, Sire, but if there's anything I can do…I just want to help."

Placing her hand on his arm, he walked her to the door of the study. When he smiled down at her, her expression went blank a moment. "Once we have a plan, I'll find a place for you in it."

"Thank you, Sire!" She was so flustered, she almost walked right into the closed door.

Clive pulled her back while opening the door, and did it so deftly, I doubt she noticed what she'd almost done. Once he'd closed the door and was crossing the study back to his desk, Godfrey got up and took the seat she'd recently vacated.

"Well?" Godfrey asked.

Clive turned to me. "Do you remember what happened to my sister?"

"Of course." How could I not? It was the parallels between his sister's story and my own that caused Clive to take an interest in helping me.

"Your sister?" Godfrey sat back in his chair. "She was attacked and killed when you were human."

"She was the reason," Russell put in, "that he sought the dark kiss."

"Yes," Clive said. "Well, the reason I accepted it. I had no idea vampires existed, so I hadn't been seeking it. My father had passed the winter before. When Elswyth was raped and killed—you have to understand, Elswyth was the kindest and gentlest of souls. She was forever trying to adopt injured animals, nurse them back to health—when I brought her brutalized body home, my mother collapsed. I held the farm together as best I could, but my mother wasted away, heartbroken. When she finally succumbed a few months later, I buried her next to my father and sister. And I then began a new, bloodier chapter of my life."

"You hunted the men down." And wrong or not, it made me feel good to know those men had had their lives cut short, too.

"Yes. I could have stayed on the farm, married. None of that mattered anymore, though. Rage and grief ruled the day. I packed a few things and went in search of the men who'd destroyed my family."

"Leticia's father and brothers are these men?" Russell asked.

"It follows. I tracked down the ones I believed killed Elswyth. Atwood was their name. When I confronted them, they overpowered me, three to one. More anger than sense," he said, shaking his head. "As they were kicking my prone body, one of the sons make a comment about Elswyth taking a pounding, too. A tradesman on horseback happened upon us and the men laughed, mounted, and rode away.

"The tradesman helped me to my feet, even offered me some work while I healed. Edwards. He was a kind man. When I was strong enough, I left in search of them again." Glancing at me, he said, "If you're interested, I'll tell you the story of my turning. To Russell's point, yes, I accepted the dark kiss, the forfeiture of my soul, and an eternity of night so that I could kill the men who had brutalized and murdered my sister, consequently causing the death of my mother as well."

"Was your farm near Canterbury?" Sometimes it was difficult to think of Clive as a farmer. Other times, like now, the vision came easily. Him, in trim breeches, a coarse tunic, working in the fields.

He nodded. "I hadn't considered them. It happened so long ago."

"So you became a vampire to kill her husband and sons and then she became one to kill you? What the heck? Did you have a drive-thru vamping station in town?"

Godfrey laughed. "Fair point."

"I have no idea where and when they were turned," he said.

"Why wait so long?" Russell asked.

Nodding, Clive said, "Exactly so. That was why I'd never even considered what was left of the Atwoods as being behind the attacks. What purpose is there in waiting so long?"

"She said no," I volunteered.

The men stared blankly at me, so I relayed Audrey's brief memory of Leticia and her mother.

Grinning at me, Clive stood. "Always sitting over here quietly, listening attentively, and putting it all together." He sat next to me and held my hand in his lap. "She said no. That's what Audrey remembered."

"It could have been, ‘No, I won't go riding today,'" Godfrey argued.

"Could have, but the timing fits. I have no idea why the mother didn't come after me herself, but she tries to send her daughter. Daughter says no and keeps saying no until I hand étienne his true death. Then Leticia changes her mind and says yes."

We sat silently, considering.

"And we'd still be sitting here," he continued, "spinning our wheels, no idea who was behind it all if you hadn't told us to ask a woman." He kissed my hand. "And then plucked out the exact one we needed to make the connections."

I knocked him with my shoulder. "I'm kind of awesome."

"You kind of are." He held my hand, the one sporting his engagement ring, between both of his.

"You should probably marry her, Sire," Godfrey said.

"I probably should."

Russell stood abruptly and left, Godfrey in his wake.

"What was that about?" I thought we were having a planning meeting.

"Oh, that," he said, pulling me down so we were reclined on the bench. "I told them to leave us." His hand traveled up my side before resting on my breast. Running his nose along my jaw, he said, "I hope you don't mind."

Pulling his shirt out of his trousers, I ran my hands up his back, reveling in the feel of him. "I'll survive." When I tried to unbuckle his belt, I almost fell off the side. "I do kind of mind how narrow this thing is, though."

"Easily fixed," he said as he rolled us onto the exquisite rug below, making sure he took the brunt of the fall. When he kissed me, I forgot about everything but him.

I had just sat up to pull off my sweater when my spidey senses started tingling. Straddling Clive, I stilled his hands, closed my eyes, and cast out for who was nearby.

"What is it?"

"Shh." There were no vamps on this floor. They were all below or outside on guard duty. A hazy form hovered outside Clive's window. Opening my eyes, I hopped up and stalked to the window. This better not be Charlotte or we were going to have words about boundaries.

Clive stood at my back, waiting.

"Give me a minute. We have a ghost voyeur." Without being able to touch her—and she definitely felt like a her—I stared into the dark glass where she was standing and concentrated. She was familiar. I was sure I knew—"No!"

Racing out of the study, I flew down the hall to the patio door and tore through it. She was fading. Nononononono. I reached out and she grabbed my hand. "Why?"

"I'm afraid I underestimated my niece."

I tried to stifle my sob. Abigail had killed Martha.

"What's happened?" Clive asked.

Tears flooded my eyes. I'd just found her, a great-aunt and a mentor. Family. I'd had family for a blink and then Abigail had ripped her from this world. Martha had lost her love and her life because of me.

"Martha's dead."

Clive's arms wrapped around my waist as I continued to cling to Martha's hand, even as it lost its form.

"In the Wicche Glass, in my snug, is the family grimoire. You must find it…behind Gad…"

I was barely able to make out her words. She was fading. Moving on, as she should. "She didn't know who you were, did she?"

"No…knew I was teaching you. She's weakened now..." I felt a soft, barely there brush across my cheek and then she was gone.

Turning toward Clive, I crumpled and wept. She'd been in hiding from Coreys most of her life, and for good reason. I'd barely known her a week and had ruined everything. Clive comforted and soothed but couldn't touch the grief that felt like an open wound. After seven long years without my mother, I'd had family. For a few days, I'd had ties. I hadn't been adrift and alone.

"Neither of us will ever be alone again," Clive promised, picking up on some of my thoughts. "We're our own family."

"Yes." I tucked my head in the crook of his neck, his scent settling something jumbled up inside me. Mate. No Coreys, no Quinns, but I had my partner in this world. "We need to go. I need to take care of her and find something she left me."

"Then we'll go." He gave me a soft kiss and then took my hand, walking me back into the house where Russell was waiting.

"Sam and I are going out. She's lost her great-aunt. There are some things that need taking care of." We continued down the hall to the garage, Russell accompanying us.

"I'm terribly sorry, Miss Quinn." He rested his hand on my shoulder briefly in comfort.

Nodding my thanks, we left Russell at the door.

Clive chose the charcoal gray sportscar he favored, opening the passenger door for me. Settling into the black leather, I waited, hollowed out, afraid of what we'd find. What had Abigail done to Martha?

Clive slid in, started it up, and had the roadster slipping under the rising garage door a moment later. "Colma, wasn't it?"

I nodded.

"I thought the Corey Curse meant she couldn't kill a family member herself. It was why she got the wolves involved, trapped you in visions, and pushed Liam to kill you. Don't the same rules apply to Martha?" Clive quickly made his way across town to the freeway, as traffic was light at this late hour.

"Martha believes Abigail didn't know who she was. Martha left home young. Like me, her necromantic abilities hadn't made themselves known early. The family thought she was without magic and therefore ostracized her."

Downshifting, he glanced at me. "So, whatever this curse is, Abigail tripped it? She's been weakened?"

"Martha says yes."

"We need to find out what the curse is and strike before she realizes her vulnerability."

I'd been thinking the same thing. "I need to figure out how to win before I confront her."

"We need to figure out how before we confront her." He reached over and squeezed

my hand before taking the Colma exit.

I directed him to the Historical Society parking lot, grateful he was my we.