Chapter Five
Awareness came slowly. Adalyn’s eyes fluttered open, wincing against the light streaming through the window.
She didn’t recognize the bedroom she found herself in, and wondered where she was.
Her head felt like someone had taken a hammer and bashed her brain.
When she moved, pain struck hard and fast, robbing her of breath.
Her side throbbed, her head stung, and that’s when the night before played out like a horrible movie.
Marilisa. Her best friend. Gone.
The memory crashed over her. An ocean of grief that rolled over her in waves.
The shard in her soul ripped her heart out, turning the world lifeless and grey.
She curled on her non-bruised side and let her defenses down to allow her grief out, crying until the pillow had soaked up all her tears.
Once the storm passed, she carefully rolled onto her back and stared up at the vaulted ceiling, reaching up to touch the bandage on her head.
Life was damn hard. She’d had nothing until Marilisa took her in, and now she had nothing once again.
She wished she could trade places with her friend because everything that happened was Adalyn’s fault.
She was the one who brought Lori to Marilisa’s door.
Why should her sister continue to live when Marilisa’s life had ended?
A new path emerged, and Adalyn made a vow to herself, that if it was the last thing she ever did on this Earth, she’d make Lori suffer.
The door opened and a man stood there, staring at her. Older with near-white hair and wrinkles lining his kind face. Adalyn sat up but couldn’t summon any emotion except exhaustion.
“Good morning,” he greeted with a soft smile. “How are you feeling?”
“Not great,” she replied. “Um. Where am I?”
“Welcome to the Huntley Chateau.”
“Huntley.” Memories flooded back. “He saved me?”
Why had Gareth shown up? Why did he save her? Questions that had no immediate answers.
“That he did. My name is Lionel, if you need anything.”
“Um, my clothes?”
Kindness radiated from his eyes. “They were ruined so Lord Huntley had new ones delivered. They’re on the dresser.”
She looked over and saw a couple of bags that rested on the top. Name brand ones that were going to be damn hard to pay back.
“Thank him for me,” she said quietly. “Please let him know I’ll find a way to reimburse him.”
“Lord Huntley does not expect repayment.”
She didn’t know what to say to that, so she nodded like she agreed. However, it wasn’t something she’d forget.
“Please feel free to freshen up in your bathroom.” He gestured to a closed door. “Use all the amenities. When you’re ready, come downstairs to the dining room and I’ll have breakfast waiting for you.”
For a moment, she stared into space. The next few days were going to be rough, but the first thing she needed to discover was where Marilisa’s body had been taken.
Adalyn wished she could rewind the clock.
She wasn’t a violent person, but if she had a do-over she’d do anything to rid the world of a truly awful person.
The past was set in stone, so she could only go forward, but her plan now was to make Lori pay.
Moving slowly, she rose and headed into the ensuite bathroom, grimacing with each step.
The mirror revealed a bruised face, busted lip, hair in knots.
She couldn’t care less. In a drawer she found a brush and took a few minutes to straighten it out, then shucked her panties and shirt and headed into the shower.
The heat was heavenly and she leaned against the tile, soaking up the steam.
Twenty minutes later, she left the bedroom wearing her new clothes. Black slacks and a long sleeve shirt. Almost instantly, she realized that Gareth’s house was huge. It took her a few minutes to find some stairs and then she wandered around on the ground level until she saw someone cleaning.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m looking for Lionel.”
“Hello,” the woman said with a kind smile that put Adalyn at ease. “He’s in the kitchen. Let me take you there.”
“Thank you. I greatly appreciate it.”
There were a few more turns before the woman pointed to the kitchen. She entered the very large space where several people cleaned, peeled and chopped vegetables. Lionel smiled at her.
“You found us,” he remarked. “Miss Adalyn, this is the head cook, Mrs. Brenda. Over there is Amy and Jessie.”
“Nice to meet you,” Adalyn murmured. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Oh, no, child,” said Mrs. Brenda. “If you’d like to go to the dining room, I can bring you breakfast.”
Adalyn smiled shyly. “Would you mind if I eat here?”
Mrs. Brenda’s eyebrows rose. “Oh. Well, of course. Here you go.”
She put several pancakes on a plate, some scrambled eggs, and toast.
“Thank you. This smells delicious.”
“My pleasure,” Mrs. Brenda said, sounding pleased. “Lord Huntley expressed his regret not joining you today. He has a lot of business to attend to.”
“Oh, of course,” she said. “I suspect he probably has a lot to do since he’s peerage.”
Standing at the island, the first bite must have revived her stomach because she quickly consumed the food. It had been a while since her last meal and everything tasted exceptional.
Once she was done mopping up the last crumbs with her toast, she looked around, intending to thank the cook. Only to realize everyone stared at her.
“Um,” she said, self-consciously. “It was really good.”
Mrs. Brenda beamed and took the dish and silverware. “My pleasure. I love feeding someone with a healthy appetite.”
“Does Lord Huntley eat food?”
“He does,” she answered. “He’s a born vampire, so he’s able to consume food.”
Adalyn remembered there were two types of vampires.
Born and made. Born vampires gained their vampirism sometime in their twenties after they went through The Change.
From what little she knew, it was a deeply personal moment in every born vampire’s life.
Early humans called them demons, but their unique physiology was simple biology.
Much like a human baby growing up, there were milestones in each person’s life.
Born vampires were no different, and once they hit their own maturation, they transformed.
Vampirism gave them better reflexes, better healing abilities, better hearing and sight.
Longer lifespan than a human. Once they metamorphized, for lack of a better description, they took their place within the vampire society.
Made vampires existed only on blood, and could only be made by express permission of the vampire king.
Plus, they would never hold any type of status within vampire society.
Unauthorized made vampires were hunted down and annihilated. That didn’t stop the black market for turning people, of course, but it wasn’t as popular as one would think.
“Super healing would be great.” She looked down at her hands. At the scrapes she had from last night. “I have a couple of questions, if I may.”
“Certainly.”
“Do you, um, know where my friend’s body was taken?”
Sympathy softened his face. “Lord Huntley had her taken to a funeral home. I can get you that information.”
“Yes, please.”
Lionel left the kitchen, and Adalyn turned to the cook. “Mrs. Brenda, can I help you with washing the dishes?”
The cook blinked. “Oh, thank you, but I have it under control.”
Lionel returned just a few minutes later holding a business card. “Here you go.”
“Thank you,” she said, reading the card. “Please tell Lord Huntley that I can’t express how grateful I am that he helped me, and I promise I’ll pay him back. Is it possible you can call me an Uber or something?”
“Lord Huntley expects you to stay.”
Adalyn shook her head. “We only had a brief encounter, and I don’t want to be a burden.”
Lionel frowned. “But—”
“Do you want to go to the funeral home?” Mrs. Brenda asked.
“Yes,” she replied.
“Well, then, we can get Chester to drive her there, right, Lionel?”
He visually relaxed. “Certainly. I’ll call him now.”
He pulled out a cell phone and turned as he placed the call. Mrs. Brenda reached over to take her hand.
“What would you like for dinner?”
“Oh, I don’t think I’ll be back,” Adalyn replied as she squeezed Mrs. Brenda’s hand. “Kindness is rare, so thank you. I appreciate everything.”
Mrs. Brenda looked confused. “I’m very certain Lord Huntley expressed he wanted you at the dinner table.”
“Um, I didn’t meet Gareth, I mean, Lord Huntley in the best way. And, I am very unworthy to sit at his table. It was so lovely to meet you, and maybe we can run into each other again, sometime or another.”
Mrs. Brenda smile softened her whole face. “That would be nice. Although, I have a feeling we’ll be seeing you again sooner than you might think.”
Lionel ended the call. “Chester is pulling the car around now. If you’ll follow me, Miss Adalyn.”
Adalyn waved good-bye at the three women and then trailed after Lionel. He led her to the front door, where the foyer was larger than her apartment above Marilisa’s shop. That would be the second thing she had to visit, to decide if she was going to reopen the shop or close it.
Right before she got into the car, she turned and hugged Lionel. “Thank you.”
He looked a little flustered. “Uh, my pleasure, miss.”
Then she slid into the car and waved as Chester drove her away from Lord Huntley’s estate. She stared out the back window, at the huge mansion, until she couldn’t see it anymore.