Married To The Mad Vampire Lord

In another part of the Dawson mansion, a maid led Rav and Evenly toward a long, dark corridor that stretched far into the corner of the estate and away from the main hall. The place hardly looked as though anyone walked there regularly, but not having the right to ask where the maid was taking them, the two of them, and the silent baby held in the vampiress's arms, could only follow.

They walked for a while until they reached the end of the large hall. Then the girl stopped before a brown door and opened it with one of the many keys from the bunch in her trembling, pale hands. Evenly noticed how it took several tries before the maid managed to fit the key into the hole, her hands shaking so badly from being close to vampires.

Evenly was almost tempted to take the key and open it herself, but at last the lock clicked and the maid pushed the door open with a creaking sound. The girl did not step inside; instead, she moved quickly to the side and lowered her head before saying, "This… this is the room you will be staying in."

She had been instructed by Lady Louisiana to give them this chamber, one that had never been used because it was tucked at the back and far away from the main halls.

"Your bath water will be brought, along with your trunks. Her ladyship said you can come down for supper once you have finished freshening up," the maid said with a trembling voice, clearly terrified that the vampires would suck her dry. She had never seen nor been so close to such creatures before, and her every instinct screamed for her to run as far away as she could.

Evenly spared the girl a glance and told her, "You may leave."

The maid almost tripped over her own hem as she sprinted away. Even Angel was surprised by her speed as he turned his little head to watch the human scurry off before looking back at Evenly, then resting his head silently against her shoulder. His red eyes turned to stare at Rav, who had not said a single word to anyone since they had entered the house and stood in the front hall, where no one had offered them a place to sit or given them anything.

Evenly still could not believe how rude the humans were. They had left them standing there and had taken Belle away from them without a word. Rohan had not stood with them either; he had strode away outside with a cold look in his eyes, and Evenly had not dared to ask where he was going. They were guests in this land, and she did not think they should venture out on their own. Since Rav, who was most familiar with his master, had not asked, she had not asked either.

So they had remained standing in the hall, Evenly's arms aching from holding the baby. But knowing Rav did not like carrying him, she had endured the aches and the exhaustion in silence.

It was only several minutes later that the lady of the house finally returned, wearing a forced smile plastered across her face as she apologized,

"I am sorry for keeping you standing. But then, knowing as your kind doesn't get tired or anything, I'm sure you won't hold it against us for keeping you waiting."

Evenly shifted the baby in her arms with a weary smile that didn't quite reach her eyes as she replied to the rude woman.

"Oh, but you see, my lady, I am not like the others. I do get tired, and hungry, and my arms ache just like any human's. But I suppose manners work differently here. Where I come from, guests are usually offered a seat before the hostess disappears with one of them. We would have considered what happened here very ill-mannered."

Lady Louisiana's expression fell at the indirect insult. Evenly did not see why she needed to let the human's rudeness slide. Though their two lands were different, she knew very well that leaving guests standing without courtesy was wrong.

"I see," Lady Louisiana had said flatly, unsmiling, before turning to one of the maids trailing behind her. "Take the couple to the back chamber, the one at the end."

Lady Louisiana then turned to Evenly again, smiling once more as she added, "You are our honorable guests, and we wouldn't want to offend you. However, we do hope you will keep that baby away from our servants and my family. No offence, but the way he is looking at me right now is quite unsettling. He's just an adorable little thing, but we weren't told a baby vampire would be coming along with the guests."

Evenly could not believe the woman was insensitive enough to say such a thing about her own grandson. Of course, Lady Louisiana did not know that the child was her grandson, but Evenly had still hoped that, just as Belle was kind and generous, her family might be as well. Instead, they turned out to be the complete opposite.

She had once heard somewhere that blood was thicker than water, and that even without knowing someone was your blood, it still called to you and pulled you toward them. But looking at Lady Louisiana now, she did not think her blood called to the baby at all, because the woman was staring at the innocent child with a wary disdain on her beautiful face.

Angel had shifted then, moving to nestle more deeply into Evenly's arms, as though sensing the other woman's dislike and seeking comfort away from it.

The woman might share Belle's hair and something in her smile might resemble Belle's, but she was nothing like her in heart. She was rude. Evenly thought to herself.

Now, stepping into the chamber given to them, Evenly suspected the Duchess had purposely given them this particular room to keep the baby far away from her so-called household.

"Honorable guests indeed," Evenly scoffed, taking in the modest single bed with no drapes around its posts. The room wasn't terrible, it was furnished well enough, but it was far from the sort of chamber true guests of honor would be given. For how grand the Dawson mansion appeared, Evenly could tell this was one of the least beautiful rooms.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Rav stride to the windows. He pushed one open and then stood there, his hands clasped behind his back, staring outside. She wondered briefly what he thought about the way they had been welcomed by the humans in Aragonia, since he had once assured her that they would be treated well.

This room was a clear sign of their unwelcome presence in this land and in this house. The thought of how they would stay here for weeks without actually talking to each other, while being treated as unwanted guests, made her realize how hard it would be to share a room. When she had envisioned coming here, she had thought the Dawson family would be gracious, but instead she now realized the lady was very rude.

Waking up yesterday with her head resting on Rav's shoulder had been embarrassing enough, she could hardly believe she had slept so peacefully leaning against him. She quickly dismissed the thought as three maids entered the room carrying in steaming bath water and their trunks.

Evenly moved to put Angel down so she could undress and bathe him first before they were expected downstairs. However, the moment she tried to place him on the bed, he clung to her with surprising strength and refused to be set down.

Evenly waited until the maids left the chamber before she sat down on the edge of the bed and shifted the baby to face her. His small body trembled, his lips quivered, and his eyes brimmed with unshed tears as he looked up at her.

Her heart ached. She felt guilty for keeping the baby away from Belle, but after Lady Louisiana's behavior, Evenly believed it was for the best. These humans would never welcome a vampire grandson, not even if they seemed to care for their daughter.

Just as her own father would never welcome her back now that she was a night creature, no matter his past love for her, so too would these people never accept Angel.

She felt truly sorry for the child. With tenderness, she caressed his small cheeks. "I know you want to go to your parents, Angel, but not right now. If you let me bathe you, we can go down afterward, and perhaps you'll see them there," she coaxed gently.

But his lips continued to quiver, his gaze darting restlessly around the room. Evenly frowned as she felt his little body trembling harder. His eyes suddenly flickered, shifting from red to his normal black and back again.

"Rav?" she called, not looking away from the restless baby. When she sensed him move from his silent vigil at the window, she said, "I think something is wrong with the baby."

A faint frown creased Rav's face as he turned his head toward her. "What's wrong with him?" he asked, his voice calm, unwilling to risk stepping closer to see for himself for the sake of his own peace of mind, not truly believing anything concerning could be wrong with Angel.

"Are you going to keep standing there, or are you going to come here and see for yourself?" Evenly demanded, her voice sharp with urgency as her worry grew over the baby's shaking little body in her arms.

She knew he did not like children, and she did not mind if he acted the part of a pretend father or not, for she did not need him. But still, he would not have his life, nor would she, if anything were to happen to the vampire Duke's son right under their watch.