Katherine watched fearfully when the limousine pulled onto the drive and the King’s home came into view, the
full moon illuminating its ancient grandeur. Other than excursions to go
shopping with Chantal, this was the first time she had left Alaine’s estate
since she’d been invited to stay with them. She trusted Alaine when he said she
would be welcomed here—but still it was the King. And his human wife.
As the limousine pulled to a
stop, the door to the manor house opened and a regal, dark-haired vampyre came
down the steps to greet her.
“Welcome to my humble home,”
he said, bowing slightly.
“Humble?” Katherine gathered
up her waning courage, saying, “If this is humble than Alaine’s home is a shack
by the railroad.”
Rian laughed, offering
her his arm. “As you may have surmised I am Rian Marston. The lovely woman
waiting for us is my wife, Pamela.” He looked up to where his wife stood framed
in the doorway.
Katherine saw the look of
love in Rian’s eyes and felt a tidal wave of sadness wash over her. She had
once had that same kind love from Roque, and had thrown it away in a misplaced
desire for revenge. Revenge which had driven her insane, and him to his
permanent death.
Sensing her emotions, Rian
drew Katherine into a brief hug, murmuring, “Do not be so unhappy.”
“If you tell me things will
get better,” she muttered angrily.
He smiled. “Oh they will. No
pain lasts forever. My son is living proof of that.”
As he finished speaking,
they arrived at the top of the steps. Pamela stepped forward, wrapping her arm
around Rian’s waist while she studied Katherine. “You are lovelier than I
expected,” she commented, a tinge of chilliness in her voice. “Welcome to our
home.”
Katherine snorted softly. “I
look a mess. I haven’t had a chance to do anything about my hair and I’m all
wrinkly. Well my clothes are.”
“Then come with me, I’ll
show you to your room and you can freshen up before you meet the boys.”
Pamela’s voice warmed slightly as she kissed Rian lightly and then offered
Katherine her hand. “You must give me all the news about Alaine and Chantal.
It’s been too long since I’ve seen them.”
Watching the two women walk
away Rian shook his head. “I’ll never understand women if I live to be one
million,” he muttered.
Katherine, with her enhanced
hearing, caught his words and stopped following Pamela long enough to look over
her shoulder and say with a small smile, “Nor are you supposed to.”
No comments:
Post a Comment