She crunched away down the gravel path toward the house, feeling lucky to have escaped with her senses. What was she going to do with Mr. Kilkenny in the house? The prospect was frightening. And exciting.
CHAPTER
Four
In spite of the crisp April night, Callan was sweating, his shirtsleeves rolled up. Blundell had better find this cure soon. If the vampires who wanted to destroy it didn’t kill him, his response to Miss Blundell would. She had felt exactly what he had in that barn tonight. He could smell her woman’s musk. Two vampires with the heightened sexual appetite given by their Companions in the same house was likely to be a torment for them both.
The grave behind the barn was nearly complete when he heard movement. He leaned on his spade as the old man toiled up the rise, carrying a lantern.
The doctor held the lantern high to peer at the corpse and its severed head. “It seems a shame to bury the creature before I have a chance to examine the body.” Miss Blundell’s concern that her father needed protection from grisly reality was apparently much mistaken. He’d called the vampire a creature. Did he feel that way about his daughter?
“It would no’ do ta have th’ servants find him.”
“We don’t have servants. They took fright over our need for blood.”
Callan could believe that.
“But Jane does for us,” Blundell continued. “It is really more convenient that way.” He reached for the head.
“Dinnae touch it! Ye might infect yerself.”
The doctor jerked back and sighed. “I suppose it is too dangerous to leave unburied.”
Callan frowned. “Ye and yer daughter take care o’ th’ house and th’ animals yourselves?”
“My research takes up all my time,” the doctor said, pushing himself up. “Jane takes care of the whole. Very handy, Jane.”
A gently bred girl who cooked and cleaned and took care of the horses and milked the cow? He’d seen a goat too, hadn’t he? No help, no visitors. “Must be a hard life for her.”
“Oh, Jane has her books and her journal, and she paints studies of the local flora. Very amateurish, of course. She’s very content on her own.” Blundell waved a hand dismissively.
Callan tossed the shovel aside. The grave was deep enough. He rolled the body into the hole with one boot. Now it was time to get a commitment from the doctor. “Are ye close ta findin’ th’ cure?”
“I … I wanted to talk to you about that, Mr. Kilkenny.” Blundell cleared his throat. “Jane mentioned your name.” He paused again as though unsure how to proceed. “I have encountered a problem in completing the cure I think you may be able to resolve.”
“I’ll stay on ta protect ye from others in return for yer word I can ha’ some of th’ potion after ye’ve treated yer daughter.”
“I’d be grateful, of course.” Blundell lowered the lantern as though to conceal his expression. Didn’t he know Callan could see his agitation even in the dark? “But the problem is empirical testing. In order to make real progress, I must test my formulas on an infected host.” Blundell rushed on. “Well, you must see that I can’t test a concoction on Jane. Of course, if it doesn’t kill the parasite, the parasite itself will heal any damage. But…”
The formula might kill both parasite and host. What did Callan care? Hadn’t he longed for death? Was there anything he would not risk for a cure? He picked up the head by its hair and tossed it into the grave. It landed with a thunk. “Ye can test yer formulas on me,” he growled. It looked as if he’d be the first to receive the cure, if he lived.
“Excellent.” The doctor beamed. “Just excellent. I’m sure I’ll make much faster progress.” His mission accomplished, he nodded briskly and raised his lantern to head down the hill. Callan shoveled a spade full of dirt into the hole. “Uh … Mr. Kilkenny?”
Callan straightened. Blundell had turned back.
“Don’t tell Jane about our
CHAPTER
Four
In spite of the crisp April night, Callan was sweating, his shirtsleeves rolled up. Blundell had better find this cure soon. If the vampires who wanted to destroy it didn’t kill him, his response to Miss Blundell would. She had felt exactly what he had in that barn tonight. He could smell her woman’s musk. Two vampires with the heightened sexual appetite given by their Companions in the same house was likely to be a torment for them both.
The grave behind the barn was nearly complete when he heard movement. He leaned on his spade as the old man toiled up the rise, carrying a lantern.
The doctor held the lantern high to peer at the corpse and its severed head. “It seems a shame to bury the creature before I have a chance to examine the body.” Miss Blundell’s concern that her father needed protection from grisly reality was apparently much mistaken. He’d called the vampire a creature. Did he feel that way about his daughter?
“It would no’ do ta have th’ servants find him.”
“We don’t have servants. They took fright over our need for blood.”
Callan could believe that.
“But Jane does for us,” Blundell continued. “It is really more convenient that way.” He reached for the head.
“Dinnae touch it! Ye might infect yerself.”
The doctor jerked back and sighed. “I suppose it is too dangerous to leave unburied.”
Callan frowned. “Ye and yer daughter take care o’ th’ house and th’ animals yourselves?”
“My research takes up all my time,” the doctor said, pushing himself up. “Jane takes care of the whole. Very handy, Jane.”
A gently bred girl who cooked and cleaned and took care of the horses and milked the cow? He’d seen a goat too, hadn’t he? No help, no visitors. “Must be a hard life for her.”
“Oh, Jane has her books and her journal, and she paints studies of the local flora. Very amateurish, of course. She’s very content on her own.” Blundell waved a hand dismissively.
Callan tossed the shovel aside. The grave was deep enough. He rolled the body into the hole with one boot. Now it was time to get a commitment from the doctor. “Are ye close ta findin’ th’ cure?”
“I … I wanted to talk to you about that, Mr. Kilkenny.” Blundell cleared his throat. “Jane mentioned your name.” He paused again as though unsure how to proceed. “I have encountered a problem in completing the cure I think you may be able to resolve.”
“I’ll stay on ta protect ye from others in return for yer word I can ha’ some of th’ potion after ye’ve treated yer daughter.”
“I’d be grateful, of course.” Blundell lowered the lantern as though to conceal his expression. Didn’t he know Callan could see his agitation even in the dark? “But the problem is empirical testing. In order to make real progress, I must test my formulas on an infected host.” Blundell rushed on. “Well, you must see that I can’t test a concoction on Jane. Of course, if it doesn’t kill the parasite, the parasite itself will heal any damage. But…”
The formula might kill both parasite and host. What did Callan care? Hadn’t he longed for death? Was there anything he would not risk for a cure? He picked up the head by its hair and tossed it into the grave. It landed with a thunk. “Ye can test yer formulas on me,” he growled. It looked as if he’d be the first to receive the cure, if he lived.
“Excellent.” The doctor beamed. “Just excellent. I’m sure I’ll make much faster progress.” His mission accomplished, he nodded briskly and raised his lantern to head down the hill. Callan shoveled a spade full of dirt into the hole. “Uh … Mr. Kilkenny?”
Callan straightened. Blundell had turned back.
“Don’t tell Jane about our
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