Chapter 10
Emilia paced around restlessly as she waited for Lord Hale to arrive. He had sent a note from Konstantin House that morning, indicating that he would collect her in a coach at midnight for their patrol. Since receiving the note, written by his very own hand she had not failed to notice, she had felt restless and fidgety, unable to concentrate.
Staring at the note now, for what was surely the hundredth time, she lightly traced the strong bold script with her index finger, and she could not help imagining the man behind the words. He really was an intrigue. And a vampire, she reminded herself. She still had difficulty grasping the actual concept. It seemed completely unreal and yet that was the reality. He lived in the shadows of the day and night, drank blood for sustenance and would probably live forever.
Emilia shook herself from her musings. It was almost twelve and he would arrive shortly. She moved over to the mirror, and appraised herself. She had worn her usual apparel for after hours patrolling. Black pants and shirt, along with the full length cloak to conceal her shape from prying eyes. Hardly fashionable, but oh well, this will have to do, she decided. She refused to wonder why she even cared about what she was wearing. She usually didn't.
Carrying her weaponry in a small satchel, she met Charles in the hallway.
"Lord Hale has arrived, my Lady."
Her heart sped up a notch. "I will meet him outside. Do not wait up, Charles. I do not expect us to be back until an hour or so before sunrise."
Seeing Lord Hale lounging casually against the open carriage door, Emilia's heart started racing. His attire was similar to her's, also all in black, except for his unruly blonde curls which looked like a halo against the all black backdrop. He turned those brown pools of intrigue in her direction and then cocked his head to the side as if hearing something. Then he turned a dazzling smile in her direction.
Breathe, Emilia reminded herself as she approached him. "Good evening, Lord Hale." She tried to sound indifferent, relaxed, firmly in control.
He bowed formally. "My Lady. Run a marathon, have you?" he remarked amusingly as he watched her closely.
Emilia frowned in confusion for a second before she realised that he could hear her heart racing. Insufferable, beast! She refused to give him the satisfaction of rising to his bait.
His hand was at the ready, waiting to assist her into the carriage. On instinct, Emilia grasped it. At the electrifying contact of skin on skin, she emitted an audible gasp. Her face bloomed but she refused to look in his direction. She let go immediately and curled her fingers into a fist, as if trapping the tingles.
She sat back in a huff as he instructed the driver to head toward the East End. Sneaking a look at him as he sat opposite her she noticed that he was staring at her. Cheeks flushing again, she burst forth, "Really, Lord Hale! Are you determined to stare? It is rude, you know," she added lamely.
"Do you not think its time we dispensed with the formalities? You may call me Jasper," he said making it sound like a challenge.
Emilia noticed that he ignored her question. She swallowed convulsively. Calling him by his given name would sound so... intimate. "Jasper," she said on a whisper as if trying it out. It sounded nice.
He smiled. "See, that was not so hard, Emilia."
Her name sounded different on his tongue. Almost like an endearment. And with that thought, she knew she was losing her mind. Endearment? Really! She glanced out of the window to break the spell he seemed to be weaving around her. What was it about this man that seemed to get under her skin? One look, one touch and she was reduced to a puddle of nervous energy.
It was very dark outside, save for a few street lamps, and the only sound to be heard was the steady clip clop of the horses' hooves on the cobbled street. Here and there she spotted a person swaggering dangerously close to the road, drunk. A cool breeze wafted through the carriage window helping to cool her heated face.
Clearing his throat rather loudly Jasper drew her attention back to him. "I... err... wanted to... uhm .... thank you," he continued sounding uncomfortable, "for saving my life the other night."
Emilia was surprised at his thanks, not having expected it, but nonetheless pleased. "You are welcome," she said simply, sincerely.
His eyes settled on hers, his searching, before starting to twinkle mischievously. "In any case, you had to save me after nearly bludgeoning me to death with the butt of your pistol." Clearly he was over his discomfiture.
"Bludgeoning to death?" Emilia repeated, heatedly. "How is that possible when you are so clearly already dead?"
"Tut tut. Semantics. I have just thanked you, despite the fact that you almost flattened my skull. Least you can do is apologise." He seemed to be enjoying himself.
Huffing a bit, Emilia stared at him. "I most certainly shall not! You deserved what you got, and my reaction was completely justified based on what I thought I saw..." She trailed off because he was shaking with laughter.
"You are making fun of me, my Lord?" She playfully slapped at his arm with her fingers unable to resist his humour. It was infectious.
Just then a bump in the road caused the carriage to lurch unexpectedly. Because Emilia was already leaning toward him, the startling jolt caused her to lose her balance and topple forward, right into Jasper's arms. Reflexively his arms circled around her as she landed on top of him, eye to eye, their noses practically bumping.
"Oh!" Emilia gasped. He was so close she could make out the tiny flecks of gold in his eyes. Emilia flushed. Lord, he is so handsome.
God, she is beautiful. His eyes roved her face admiring its perfect symmetry. Then he looked down at her lips, inches from his own. Distracted by their rosy hue, so tempting, his breathing seemed suspended as he held her slight frame against his, unable to string a rational thought together. She fit perfectly into the circle of his arms, as if she had been born to lay there.
That uncomfortable thought brought him back to the present. "Bloody hell," he cursed and shoved her, not quite roughly, away from him. Irritated at himself he shouted out of the window, "For God's sake, Henry! Watch where you're going, man!"
Vaguely Emilia heard a 'Sorry, my Lord," but she wasn't paying much attention. She was mortified! Oh God, she agonised. Emilia pinched her eyes shut as if to dispel the memory of him shoving her off him.
They continued the rest of the way in an awkward silence. Emilia had never been more relieved to get out of a carriage in all her life. As they stopped, she leaped forward and so did he. They bumped into one another.
"Christ!" Jasper cursed again, frustrated. Vampiric abilities, all of which included stealth and grace, and here he was, bumbling about!
Emilia, determined to make as if nothing had happened, jumped out and took several gulps of fresh air. She needed to calm down. They were going to spend the next few hours together and that required her jumpy nerves to settle. Swooning like some helpless female every time he looked at her was just unacceptable! She shook herself mentally. Focus, Emilia, she lectured herself.
Jasper was giving himself a similar talking to. Okay, so she is attracted to me. Bloody hell! I am attracted to her... a lot more than I should be. This is a disaster, he continued to himself, dangerous. Dammit, she's human! He needed to get a grip. This would never work. She wasn't one of his fly by night rolls in the hay. She would expect more, and he was in no position to get involved with a mortal. It would only end badly for both of them. The last thing he wanted to do was play with Emilia's affections. She was a lady, and she was one of the few women he actually liked and respected. He didn't want to mess that up. So he had best keep his distance until this was over. Then he would never have to see her again. He ignored the curious pangs in his stomach that depressing thought created.
Steadying himself he walked up to where she was standing, her back to him. "I think it best if we patrol the outskirts. It will probably take us three to four hours to cover this entire area if we do not encounter any trouble along the way."
The East End of London was renowned for housing all manner of criminals from petty thieves to seasoned murderers and rapists. If there was anything brewing, it would probably be happening here. Jasper had no plans of walking them into any danger. His campaign was only to scout the area and identify potential hot spots. If anything came up, Mick and he would come back. He was not going to take any chances with Emilia's wellbeing, no matter how well trained she may be.
After instructing his driver to meet them back at their current location in a few hours, they set off walking, Emilia having pocketed her pistol and knife. After weaving their way quietly around the outskirts of town, between abandoned buildings and empty parks for about forty-five minutes, Jasper started to relax. It looked like it would be a slow night. Very little gang activity seemed on the rise.
Glancing at his companion who had been surprisingly quiet, he chose to break the silence. "You have never married, Emilia?"
Startled by his deep melodic voice in the utter stillness, Emilia glanced at him before replying. "Well, that is not the sort of question a gentleman just asks a lady."
He grinned sheepishly. "Come now, my Lady. We are friends, are we not?"
Friends? Right. But she decided to answer the question. "I guess I have not yet met anyone that I wanted to marry. And at my age it is starting to seem rather unlikely."
Jasper frowned. Her age? She was barely 23.
"And you are happy about that?" he asked, intrigued.
Emilia smiled. "Not happy, exactly. But not unhappy either. I like my life as it is. I get to come and go as I please and I am ruled by no man. If I were to marry I do not think my husband would approve of me patrolling the East End with a vampire."
He laughed. "Why ever not? I am completely house trained," he teased, shifting into a mocking half bow mid-stride.
"Oh, I don't know. It could have something to do with the blood sucking, fang baring business," Emilia said, pretending to seriously contemplate her answer. "But that is just my guess, of course."
"Now now, I only show my fangs on special occasions."
Emilia laughed softly. She loved how he didn't take himself too seriously. "Well, noting the line of questioning you have taken, my I take the same liberty and ask you a personal question?"
Jasper glanced at her with his eyebrows raised. "Yes, I do brush my teeth." At Emilia's dramatic eye roll he chuckled and acquiesced.
Licking her lips nervously, not sure if it was appropriate to ask, Emilia gave in to her curiosity. "How did you... become a vampire?"
Startled by her choice of question, Jasper was momentarily quiet. He had thought she would want to ask him something about the women in his life, past or present because he had asked her something similar.
They were coming up on completing the first third of their patrol. The area was quiet, but not in a sinister, eerie way. Now and then they would stumble across a lone man with a bottle in hand or a vagrant sleeping out in the open, but nothing to raise any alarms. It was a cool evening, the air crisp and fresh and because they weren't in the centre of town, thankfully free of any bad odours. The full moon lighted their way without the need for artificial lighting which Jasper preferred. It meant that they didn't have to draw any attention to themselves.
"Well, I had just turned 30 when my father died and I inherited his title. Leaving Beth behind because I knew she hated sea travel I went to France to see to my father's business interests there. It was my penultimate evening onboard before we reached our destination that I decided to go up on deck because I could not sleep." He sounded ironic. "I met a woman there, someone I had seen throughout the voyage, but strangely enough only in the dining hall during supper time. She seemed to be travelling alone, and while I had contemplated speaking to her, I could never locate her by day."
Emilia pulled a face in the dark. A woman, she thought. Typical! She had probably been beautiful. The sudden onslaught of jealousy was foreign to her and slightly alarming.
"But that night she was on deck star gazing. Anne Laure was the most mesmerising creature I had ever beheld, and foolish as it seems in hindsight, I was completely enthralled by her. She invited me to her room," he paused for a second as though judging her reaction. When she didn't comment, he continued, "and offered me a drink that, unbeknownst to me, she had laced with a strong muscle relaxant. Within minutes I was paralysed."
Emilia's heart began to race involuntarily. A small smile passed over his lips, and she knew it had not escaped his notice.
"She bit me, drained me, and then force fed me her blood. I woke up the following evening as all the passengers were disembarking. I was disorientated, confused and hungry. That is, I think, when I realised what had happened to me. My senses were heightened, I could hear better, see better, smell better. Everything seemed clearer somehow. And nothing seemed more urgent to me than sinking my teeth into the source of the constant pounding all around me - heartbeats."
Emilia listened in wide eyed fascination as he went on to describe how he had wondered alone that first night in France as a newly turned vampire, how he had almost killed a man when Mick stumbled across him and offered him some relief.
"It took almost two years away from Beth until I was sure that I had adapted completely to an alternate lifestyle. No feeding on humans, animals only. With Mick's help I was able to successfully bury my urges for human blood and live completely and satisfactorily off the alternative," he finished.
"And the woman?" Emilia asked, appalled that someone would do that to him and then leave him all alone to fend for himself.
Jasper shrugged. "Gone. Never to be seen or heard from again."
They reached the end of an abandoned building, their bodies cast into the shadows by the high walls. Slowly they both came to a halt.
"She just left you? Without so much as a word or explanation?" Emilia was outraged. How dare she?
Amused, and strangely touched by her indignation, Jasper marvelled at the depth of her compassion. For all she knew he could be a ruthless killer, but she still felt badly that he had been treated so poorly.
"It was a long time ago, Emilia. I do not dwell on that which I cannot change. I am what I am. There is no going back."
Emilia looked up at him and her heart ached for his loss and his acceptance of who he now was. He had been so young when he had his life ripped from him and was cast into a world he knew nothing about. It was remarkable that he had become the man standing before her - brave, honest and good.
It was then that she noticed how close he was. One step forward and she would be standing right up against him. Her heart responded to what her mind recognised as close proximity.
Without warning his index finger came to rest at the base of her throat, over her pulse. "Fluttering like a butterfly," he whispered softly, seemingly fascinated.
Her skin burnt where his finger rested, her breath suspended as she waited for him to make the next move - afraid he wouldn't move away and terrified that he would. As though sensing her anguish, his eyes met hers and held.
Slowly he took that one step forward that brought them together, allowing her the time to back away if she didn't want what she knew was coming. He stared at her for a second longer, his mind memorising every flawless feature. Eyes never straying, his lips tenderly swooped down and meshed with hers, initially tracing their contours before deepening the kiss by several degrees. Her hands reached up to grip his shoulders, fearing her knees might give way.
So this is what I've been missing, she vaguely thought.
The kiss seemed to last forever, and still not long enough before ever so slowly, Jasper broke the contact, both their breathing ragged as they fought to keep their passions under control.
"My Lady, loathe as I am to stop, I fear this is not the time or the place." His eyes blazed with thwarted desire and something else, something she couldn't identify.
Emilia closed her eyes and rested her forehead against his. She needed a moment to gather her scattered wits. He was right, of course. This was not the time to let emotion overcome their better judgement. There was still work to be done. She let go of his shoulders and stepped back.
"When this is over, we need to talk."
Emilia nodded. Yes, they certainly did.