Dead Girls Don't Cry (18 page)

Reassurance washed over me. The sea of emotions subsided to a rippling wave. The storm calmed.

“The past is just that. Past. Over. Done with,” Ian said.

I could do this. Out with it. “My father lost my freedom in a poker game.”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“What?” Ian stopped rubbing my back. “A poker game?”

“Well, the situation was a bit more complex.” I needed to start the story from the beginning. “My parents had a marriage of convenience. My mother was an English aristocrat, daughter of the Earl of Pembridge. The family, while dating back to Tudor times, was as old as it was poor. By the late 1800s, the estate couldn’t sustain itself anymore. So my grandfather arranged a marriage to a rich American. The idea was twofold. The American’s money would save the family. And their first born son would inherit the earldom.”

“Yes. I remember those days. English estates were flush with foreign cash,” Ian said with a touch of nostalgia.

“My father earned his money speculating in oil and mining. He was a risk taker. Totally wrong for my pious mother. But then, they didn’t need to love each other. They managed to produce children.” An image of my mother reading her bible each day in her salon filtered into my mind. The sun from the windows caught her hair with glimmering gold highlights. She always smelled of flowers. Rose water or lavender. And, what I now recognized as sadness, always surrounded her.

“Typical aristocratic marriage.”

“They weren’t always unhappy. They came to a peace, of sorts. They traveled around the world. He, to find business opportunities and she, to spread the word of God.” What I remember most about my father was his laugh and easy charm. The fragrant scent of pipe tobacco. Like most men of his time, Father smoked like a fiend. “They also liked each other enough to produce nine children. Only four of us survived into adulthood. I was the oldest, followed by my twin sisters Faith and Grace. God finally blessed them with a male heir, Edwin.”

Oh, how I had loved them. Emotions I suppressed long ago raced back into my heart. I pushed them back down and continued. “When I was eighteen, my parents decided to relocate the family to India. I spent most of my childhood living in the United States, much to my mother’s dismay. She hated the coarseness of American society. She escaped back to the family estate in England as often as she could.”

She needed a break from us children. Me in particular. Even though we had nurses, nannies and tutors, as a collective, we children were always into something my mother considered inappropriate.

“As you might guess, I was a bit headstrong.”

Ian laughed. “Imagine that.”

“I was more like my father. Adventurous, never content to stay in one place. My mother and I really didn’t get along so I spent as much time with my father as I could.” In reality, I was closely supervised to ensure I didn’t cause a scandal and tarnish the family name. “When I hadn’t married by eighteen, my mother grew concerned that America was ruining me. She and my father hatched a plan to find me a suitable husband in India. It was a British Colony and there were plenty of ways my father could turn a profit.”

“Enter Jay?”

“His father was high caste and well connected. An asset my father could exploit. Jay and I met, ironically, the same night I first encountered Jonathan. Jonathan arrived at a ball dressed like a reject from the Revolutionary War. At the time, he passed it off as a mistake in parties. He claimed to be attending a costume ball at an estate nearby. Unluckily for me, he intercepted Jay and I sneaking a smoke in the library.”

Ian roared, chest shaking with laughter. “I bet that was sight to behold.”

“I was scared shitless. Society woman did not smoke. My mother would have killed me with her disapproval and dire warnings of spinsterhood.” Lord knew I had heard her about “disappointment in me” so many times, I’m surprised she didn’t take me to a convent. Good thing we weren’t Catholics.

“So Jonathan had something to blackmail you both with?”

“Exactly. At the time, I didn’t realize he had heard me singing in the gardens. He actually owned the estate next door. He desired my voice above all else.” See, I should have listened to my mother and kept silent. “Jonathan gave us a stern warning and we promised to behave. Then I forgot about the encounter.” In hindsight, I should have seen my father’s downfall coming.

“And?” Ian prompted.

“Shortly thereafter, my father’s businesses started to fail. Shipments lost at sea, workers striking, warehouse fires. You name it, it happened to him. My mother perceived it to be God testing them. Like Job.”

“And it was Jonathan’s doing? Seems kind of a complicated way to obtain you.”

“Jonathan had tried to gain permission to court me. My parents refused. When other means failed, he decided to ruin my father. By this time, the earl had quite a reputation as a gambler. Back then it was socially acceptable to lose your entire fortune in risky ventures. I’m sure my father expected to earn it back.”

“Luv,” Ian shifted underneath me to look at my face, “Jonathan was an elder vampire, why didn’t he take you?”

I paused. “To this day, I believe it was my mother’s doing. Her faith was so powerful, Jonathan couldn’t touch me. At the time, I rarely left the house. My mother kept me busy all the time. She didn’t trust me not to find trouble.”

Ian didn’t laugh at me. Instead, he got a faraway look. “Belief can be a power of its own. Your mother must have been a very special woman.”

“To complete Father’s ruin, Jonathan convinced him to sponsor a high stakes poker game at our estate”

“Giving Jonathan access to you.”

I nodded, “Father went against my mother’s wishes. He bargained with the devil and lost. Jonathan required two sacrifices. One was he got to “marry” me. And the other…” Chills raced up my spine. “I never did find out what it was.” And it still scared the hell out of me. “When my father lost, he handed me over like a deed to a piece of property. Without a backward glance he gave me to Jonathan.”

“That’s cold, luv.”

“The fortune was restored. My brother and sisters were safe and lived well. Jonathan’s betrothal present was that he made sure they had money and wouldn’t be subject to my father’s vices anymore. My father made sure I understood the situation. There was no coming home for me, else they suffered more. I was trapped.”

“I’m sorry,” Ian shook his head. Sadness permeated our bond.

“We were married the following morning. Jonathan allowed me to stay in India near my family for another month. During that time, he decided to kidnap Jay so I’d have company when he was away. Soon after, Jonathan whisked us away, leaving behind a large sum of money and a lie to Jay’s family. Before we knew it, we were in Paris.”

The City of Light held nothing but dark memories for me. Scared and married to a man I didn’t know. A man whose skin was cold and manner strange. To my horror, he owned brothels, theatres and bawdy houses. My ruination was complete. “I hated Paris.”

“You were reborn there?”

“Yes. Charity Belmont died. It took me months to comprehend what Jonathan did to me. Whenever I threatened to run away, he promised to harm my family. When I tried to kill myself, he reminded me I was already dead.” Even worse, was Jay’s enslavement. He was equally miserable. He had lost his future because of his friendship with me. “Guilt over Jay tortured me. To make matters worse, I lost my voice.”

“Jonathan must have been upset. His investment all for naught.” The
bastard
went unspoken, but came through loud and clear in Ian’s statement.

“At first it pleased me. I had the one thing he wanted and I could withhold it from him. But later, when my throat closed up and I couldn’t sing when I wanted to, I became distraught.” Eventually I realized Jonathan cared for me. He wanted me to be happy. “After fifty years of being his kept wife, I asked for a job. As an entertainer.”

“Bet that went over like a fart in church.”

“Ian!” I poked his stomach. “No, he wasn’t thrilled, but he agreed to a trial run. Once he saw I could draw a crowd and I was happier, he made me his star attraction. By this time, we had moved to America because that’s where the money was. And the most vampires. In a short amount of time, he became richer than even he could imagine.”

“And were you truly husband and wife?” Ian grew somber.

“No. He slept with me the one time. Then he killed me and made me a vampire.”

Ian growled, a lion protecting his pride. “I would never act so dishonorably.”

“I know, baby,” I soothed, “After my conversion, Jonathan discovered my blood. Something changed in his heart after that.”

Ian shook his head, “It wasn’t the blood. He loved you.”

I knew that now. I had realized it too late. I thought we had all the time in the world to hash out our issues. Stupid me. “I was angry at him for so long. Between my father’s vices and Jonathan’s deception, I lost faith in men.”

“What happened to your siblings and mum?” Ian stroked my hair, smoothing it down.

“My mother lived to be ninety-two.” A feisty old lady. Forever faithful, she happily embraced the Lord’s will, right to the end. “On her deathbed, I visited her in my immortal glory. I had hoped she’d see me as a vision from heaven. She’s wasn’t fooled and she cursed me as Satan’s spawn.”

“Oh, honey,” Ian kissed the top of my head.

“Faith and Grace both married well and lived happy lives. I still have great, great, nieces and nephews out there. Jonathan managed a trust for them. They think it’s a scholarship fund.” If I ever got back to Earth, I’d spend time learning about them.

“Edwin…” Despair soured my stomach at the thought of him. “… he disappeared when he was twenty-five. Jonathan was tight lipped about his whereabouts.”

“The second concession?” Ian asked, in reference to my father’s foolish gamble.

“Possibly. The Earl of Pembridge is still in residence, even today. I’ve never been able to determine if Edwin is the earl or one of his descendants.” The local townsfolk claimed the Earl was a young man, son of the last Earl, but if my brother was a vampire, then he could easily carry on a charade for generations. “It makes me sick to consider Edwin robbed of his human life.”

“If that truly was his fate.” Ian flipped me onto my back. He cupped my face in his palms. “When we return to Earth, we’ll go there and find out the truth.”

Ian’s optimism that somehow we’d prove our innocence before Thalia exacted her “justice” on us raised my spirits. “Okay.”

“I guess now would be an inopportune time to ask you if you wanted to play a card game?” Ian said with a twinkle in his eye.

“Depends on the game Mr. McDevitt,” I grinned back at the smart ass.

“Ladies choice. Or, we could play another game?” Ian’s gaze fixated on my throat. His sultry tone ignited my body.

“Come closer, sir,” I wagged my right finger. With my left hand, I drew down my jumpsuit zipper with a slow, languid pull and offered my neck.

With a low, throaty growl, Ian said, “Temptress.” And then he struck, hard and fast.

Fangs pierced my vein. The sucking pulls of his lips and tongue, echoed in my core with soft throbs. Dampness flooded me as I wrapped my thighs around his waist.

Hours later, we were rumpled and well sated. Ian, gentlemanly as ever, didn’t let our bed sport progress beyond exploring. His earlier question about my feelings must have held him back. Funny, usually it’s the female who needs to hear an undying profession of love.

“So tell me, Ms. Cordial, what say you? Shall we start back towards the exit?”

I reached over and touched the tips of Ian’s silken hair. I could get used to lying around in his arms. “The lake lady said three days.”

“I’ve never been one for following rules. My gut tells me it’s time to go. And I trust it more than a puddle shaped like a female.”

Hard to argue with his logic. We packed up and headed back the way we came. No one tried to stop us and the bracelet offered its compass services once again. I even enjoyed the ride on the moving walkway. By the time we reached the grand entrance, we had formulated a plan. A work group would be dedicated to exploring and mapping the caves. Jay would be the leader. The scientists and any colonist with pertinent skills would be recruited. Plenty of muscle would be left behind to finish shoring up the colony.

We slid out of the caves, into clear brightness. I squinted, tears forming at the corners of my eyes. Fresh air and sunshine, two of my favorite things.

The hovercraft, right where we left it, was coated with a light dusting of sand. Within moments, we were on our way back to the colony.

“Looks like the lake lady was wrong about the three days,” I said from the passenger seat.

A scowl pulled down Ian’s lips. He said, “According to the hovercraft, we’ve been gone for three days.”

I’ll be damned. “Inconceivable.”

“We must have slept for a lot longer than we thought.”

“Or,” I shuddered at the possibility, “time works differently in there. We’ll have to warn the team.” I touched the top of Ian’s arm. “Your gut was still right. We left when we needed to.”

I received a harrumph in return. Men can be such babies.

When we arrived at the colony, I was relieved to see it remained in one piece. Prior’s repair plan worked. I’d have to be sure to compliment him. Even though I found his recruitment tactics distasteful, good work deserved to be recognized.

Ian parked the craft. “Good to see everyone working.” The place hummed with activity. The majority of tunnels had been converted to permanent structures.