Merrick (11 page)

“William Lacy!”

The tavern was in
an uproar. I laughed as my friends leapt upon me, bringing me to my knees in a
dog pile of shoves and embraces.

“How’d you get out
of it, Lacy?”

“Did you bribe
them with your books?”

“Was the judge
swayed by those big brown eyes?”

“Give the man a
drink,” Jeremy complained, shoving the others off to fasten his arm about my
neck and drag me to the large corner table that served as evening headquarters
for our strange army of drinkers, poets and hustlers.

I grasped him
close in a hug, grinning. “You were supposed to break me out of prison,
blockhead.”

“I tried,” he
protested, “But I kept getting stuck in Molly’s thighs.” He hugged me again,
mussing my hair, and shoved me into a chair. “Sit. Drink. Be merry!”

“To Lacy’s
freedom!” boomed Jeremy’s father the barkeeper, and the rounds began.

The evening was a
whirlwind of greetings and well wishes. Girls I knew and girls I’d never met
competed to cover me in kisses. The noise and action was so constant I could
only laugh along as I tried to keep up.

Only hours later,
when I stumbled into the alley behind the tavern with Jeremy and David, did I
have a moment to exhale and get my bearings.

“So what happened,
Lacy?” Jeremy asked, lighting his pipe.

“Aye, come clean,”
said David.

Please forgive
me.

“He was a kind
man,” I said with a shrug. “He decided to show mercy.”

“What’d he do, buy
you out?” Jeremy asked.

“As I understand
it.”

“Christ Almighty,”
David said. “That charm of yours. You must be a fine apprentice.” A slice of
light hit the alley as the door opened behind him, and two girls crooned for
him to come inside. He jumped up at once and followed them in, forgetting us.

Jeremy laughed and
sat down on a barrel beside me, passing me his pipe. “Any tales to tell?” he
asked.

I puffed on the
pipe, coughing a bit. It had been awhile, and I grimaced faintly at the pipe.
It seemed I’d lost the taste for it. “I learned a bit of botany,” I said.
“Spent many a fair morning in the dewy woods.”

He snorted. “You
mean it?” He reached into his pocket for a flask. “How was the old Master? We
all heard tales.”

My brow creased.
“Where would you hear tales?”

“The Constable’s a
gossip, and his wife’s a friend of John’s mum’s neighbor, or somethin’ or
other. We heard he was the Grim Reaper on a black mare, hood and all.”

“He had the
countenance.”

“And the manner?”

“Not in the least.
I was lucky.”

Jeremy nodded,
studying me for a moment. “Spoke with your mum. She got a letter from the man.
Seemed very pleased. Said he sounded like a right gentleman, promised to teach
you well.”

Please forgive
me.
My guts ached. My chest ached. I took the flask from him and drank.

“What’s the
matter, old chap? You miss the backwoods already?” Jeremy clapped me on the
shoulder.

I tipped the flask
back again and stood. “I’m glad to see you.”

“It’s mutual, my
funny friend. I missed you dearly. The bums can’t hold court without you.”

I laughed. We went
back inside.

Lillian woke me up
with her warm, wet mouth. I rubbed my eyes and looked down, blinking at the
shape moving under the sheet, then reached down to squeeze her shoulder as I
lay my head back and closed my eyes to enjoy her attention.

But as I woke,
even as I groaned beneath her skillful tongue, I felt a troubling nagging at
the corner of my mind.

His amber gaze
flashed in my memory.

I exhaled, my brow
creased, and tried to focus on the pleasure of the moment. But it was his mouth
I remembered. His mouth, his hands, his eyes and his teeth.

Please forgive
me.

Lillian crawled up
to flop beside me with a self-satisfied smile. I managed a smirk and kissed her
forehead, pulling her close, but she felt all wrong in my arms.

“You’re in your
thoughts again,” she scolded in her brassy Scottish trill.

I was staring at
the ceiling, and blinked to look at her. “Yes,” I admitted.

“What’s that
bandage on your leg?”

“A mishap in the
forest. I was clipped by a tomahawk.”

She laughed,
delighted. “Everyone missed you so,” she remarked. “I wondered who this boy was
who’d become such a legend.”

“Just a lowly
peddler.”

Lillian grinned,
then gave a long stretch against my side. “Well, I must be on my way, again,”
she sighed, and rolled out of bed to gather her things and dress.

I watched her,
taking in her pert little breasts and fine round behind with a lack of passion
that made me a little uneasy. Still, I mustered a smile and kissed her before
she left the little room above the tavern that Jeremy’s father had provided me.

The morning was
meant to be spent making the book store rounds, but instead I found myself in a
tea shop, frowning into my cup.

By afternoon, I
decided to return to my mother’s home. She looked as happy to see me as she had
the day before, and I was as happy to see her. She looked glad and well, her
long black hair hanging loose and shining in the sun that came through the
parlor window. I had hardly had a chance to speak to her the night before, when
she’d had to rush out to her job at the inn, and now I was glad to sit with her
at the table and clasp her hand in mine.

“I am so happy you
are safe, William,” she murmured in her low, melodic voice, her white smile
lighting up her caramel face. How lovely she was! How sweet! It made my heart
ache.

“I am happier for
you, Mum.” I squeezed her hand.

She sipped her
tea, and soon she was chattering on. I listened contentedly to her gossip and
musings – she was always full of stories from the inn, and I always loved to
hear them.

After a lull, she
changed the subject. “I had nearly hoped you would stay, William.”

I blinked at her.
“Stay? You mean…”

“With Master
Merrick.” She smoothed her skirt. “He is a kind man, isn’t he?”

“Yes,” I said.
“Very kind. How do you know?”

“He wrote a
letter. Shall I show you?”

I nodded stiffly,
my fingers tight on my cup. When she laid it before me, it took me a moment to
muster the will to reach for it. It was dated two weeks after the constable had
dropped me off at the side of the road.

Dear Mrs. Lacy,

I must apologize for my failure to
contact you at an earlier date. I write to inform you of your son’s safe arrival
and to assure you that he will be well looked after. He is a fine, intelligent
young man, whose grace and manners give glowing testament to the mother he
speaks so highly of. I have been much impressed by his maturity and his
willingness to make the best of his circumstances, and I give you my word that
while he is in my care, I will teach and provide for him to the best of my
ability. As I write, William is on his daily walk. From what he has told me, I
gather that you are something of a child of nature. It is my hope that when you
see him next, he will share what he has learned of the local plants and their
special qualities. Until then, please do not worry over your fine son, and nor
of your own dilemma; I have spoken with the magistrate and secured the
dissolution of those unfortunate clauses which had threatened your freedom and
your good name. I dearly hope that this news will put your mind at ease. Please
send word at any time, Madam. I am pleased to be at your service.

Most humbly yours,

Silas Merrick

I dropped the page
gently on the table and held my cup again, silently staring at the fine black
script.

“Are you sure you
couldn’t be an apothecary, William?” Mum asked with her gentle laugh.

I swallowed. “It
did occur to me that perhaps I could, Mum.”

“Tell me, did you
find nature to your liking, my dear?”

“I did.”

“How did you like
the forest?”

I looked at my
dear mother, her eyes alight with curiosity, and smothered the sorrow within
me. Reaching for my satchel, I gathered up a smile. “I nearly forgot, Mum. A
gift for you.”

I had found it in
my satchel halfway back to the city, along with a note that was now folded in
my pocket. My mother’s face bloomed with delight when she saw the title of the
fine leather-bound book, and I couldn’t help but smile in earnest.

“Oh, William,” she
breathed as she flipped through the pages. “What a beautiful thing this is.”

“He thought you
would like it.” Damn the lump in my throat. It had been there for five days
now, since that morning I’d woken up to the empty cottage. I had wept in the
coach merely in an effort to satisfy it, but still it remained.

Please forgive
me, William.

I stood from the
table and walked to the window. I hung a hand on my hip and rubbed my mouth,
looking bleakly out at through the lead windows at the same flurry of
pedestrians that kept the city streets bustling day after day. Across the road,
a young drunk was slumped unconscious against the curb, open-mouthed and
filthy. A pair of bright young women in light-colored gowns sashayed past him,
giggling sweetly over God knew what without ever glancing down.

“You must write to
thank him on our behalf,” Mum remarked from behind me.

I closed my eyes
for a moment, taking a deep breath and releasing it. I was remembering how I’d
lain awake all through that last night, alone in the bed, determined not to
sleep lest I miss him slipping through.
Where is he? And how
could
he?

“Are you all
right, my love?”

Forcing a pleasant
face, I turned back to her, crossing my arms. “Yes, Mum.”

“You’ve had quite
an ordeal,” she said gently, and looked thoughtful as she continued. “Are you
glad to be back in the city?”

I glanced back at
the view from the window. “I don’t know, Mum,” I murmured uncertainly.

“You have my
blood,” Mum said knowingly. “You have a part of you for the wilds.”

“Why have you
stayed here?” I asked then, curiously. “It seems to me you might have found a
way to leave.”

She cocked her
head, looking away for a thoughtful moment. “Well, there is opportunity here. I
did not know if I would remarry…and I wanted you to have an education and a
trade.”

I looked down and
turned back to the window. My aching heart now longed to lead her out of this
clean and comfortable little home, put her in a carriage, take her far from the
city and walk with her into the misty gray woods and the dandelion pasture and
along the edge of the silver marsh…

“And there was no
easy place to go,” she added, a bit reluctantly. “I am not a good fit for any
European village, and I do not know my mother’s people. This is a comfortable
place for me.”

“But for the air
and the trees,” I murmured, looking up at the blue sky.

She rose from her
chair and joined me at the window, reaching up to smooth my hair. “You should
rest, William. You don’t look like you’ve slept a minute.”

I nodded and then
slowly turned to embrace her, closing my eyes as she rubbed my back. She
spoiled me for a bit, feeding me toast and jam and adorably tucking me into
bed, before she left for work.

Lying in her soft
bed, I pulled the note from my pocket and unfolded it.

I think your
mother will find some delight in this. Send her my regards. Please forgive me,
William. You will be in my thoughts.

I folded it again,
idly pressing it to my lips as I stared at the ceiling.

A recent rain had
left the cobblestones shining under the gaslights, and my boot heels echoed
softly as I strolled slowly along the waterfront.

I came here
nightly, now. The air was fresher here, and I needed it.

“You’re not the
same since you’ve been back,” Jeremy had accused me that morning. “What
happened to you out there?”

I wished I could
tell him.

It had been
fifteen days since I’d set foot back in New York City, and not an hour had
passed I hadn’t thought of Merrick.

Why
had he
done it? I grew tired of the question, but I crumbled inside when I settled on
the obvious answer: he simply hadn’t wanted me there.

He could have kept
me. Instead, he had gone to lengths to…

“Sir.”

I stopped at the
unknown voice and casually turned, readying myself to move quickly if the voice
happened to belong to a tough.

It did not.
Leaning against a lamp post, hands in his pockets, was a tall, slender, and
exceedingly fashionable young man. He was dressed in dark breeches tucked into
fine leather boots, and his black cropped jacket cut a satisfying shape over
his fresh white shirt with its elegant cravat. He was as lovely as a girl, with
a mop of soft auburn hair that fell in pleasing curls about his smooth forehead
and his high cheekbones. The entire ensemble dripped with the chic sensibility
one only achieved through close connections to the most fashionable streets of
Europe. In short, he was as fine a dandy as I’d ever seen.

I looked curiously
at him, feeling as though I had seen him before, but I couldn’t quite place
him. “Yes?”

He had very blue
eyes – so blue that they stood out brightly, even at a distance. “I’m looking
for the Thirsty Fish.”

I looked
skeptically at him. He would stand out there like a beacon. “Are you?”

“I’m told it’s
this way?” He gestured to the direction I’d come from.

“No,” I said. “Up
Pine Street. Straight behind you.”

He dipped his head
in a nod. “Many thanks, sir.”

I nodded back and
slowly continued on my way, sneaking an uneasy glance backwards as he remained
where he stood. There was something strange about him.

Darkness enveloped
me. My arms were trapped under a heavy mass of fabric, and I ducked low,
lunging against the arms that entrapped me. There seemed to be two sets of
them, and they were much too strong for me. I was lifted from the ground,
shouting and thrashing.

“This one here,”
came a merry command, and I recognized the voice of the auburn-haired dandy.

My shoulder and
side landed hard as I was thrown down, and when I struggled to rise my limbs
knocked against what sounded and felt like wood barricades on either side of
me.

“Don’t get all
black and blue,” the dandy scolded. But I thrashed anew as a rope was wound
around my ankles. I was no match for the closed space and the arms that held
me, and soon I was trussed and panting. Then I was pulled up onto a raised
cushion between two large bodies, and I realized I was in a carriage.

The sack was
pulled from my head at last, and I found myself glaring at the auburn-haired
young man. I tried to betray none of my shock, but a chill went up my spine.

His eyes were not
merely very blue. They were luminous. Just like Merrick’s, they shined just too
brightly, shimmered too beautifully, and caught more light than they should –
as though they held some glow within.

Christ.

“Let me check his
bonds,” the dandy said. “Dramatic forest chases are not at all my style.”

Forest chase?
What
in… “You’ve made a mistake, Sir,” I said sharply, just before the thugs roughly
lifted me and turned me around.

The dandy scoffed
lightly behind my back as he tugged the ropes binding my wrists. “I haven’t
made a mistake in decades.” He clapped me on the back as he would a horse after
checking its saddle, and I was deposited back in my seat.

“What do you
want?”

He gave a kittenish
smile and reached into his waist coat, producing a few coins which he dropped
into the palms of the thugs before dismissing them with a few flicks of his
hand.

“Dogs,” I spat at
their backs, seething. As the second exited I lifted my bound feet and kicked
his rear. He tumbled face first into the street and then sprang up with a
snarl.

“Ah!” The dandy
held up his hands. “You’ve been paid much for little. Get on while you’re
ahead. Shut the door and bid the driver to depart.
Merci.
”

The coach lurched
forward.

Alone in the cabin
with him, my heart began to pound. What a terrible little comedy by Fate! Six
weeks before, I had never believed in such things as vampires. Since then, one
had stolen my heart and broken it; and now, another was about to drain it.
Where had the bastards come from so suddenly? “I said, what do you want?”

“Just a little
sunshine,” the dandy replied, drawing a pipe from his pocket. “In a foggy
place.” He lit the pipe with a dainty flick of a match. He was really
startlingly lovely, with cherubic pink lips and thick, feathery eyelashes. On
his little finger was a silver ring set with a large sapphire that nearly
rivaled his eyes in brilliance.

With a little
smile, he lifted those eyes to mine. “Did he bite you?”

“Who?”

“We have two days
in this coach, Lacy. Don’t be coy. You know who.”

Two days? For
God’s sake! “I demand to know your name!”

Dramatic
astonishment showed in his eyes. “Did I forget to
introduce
myself?”
Everything about him was slightly theatrical. It made him seem unlike a real
person. I supposed he wasn’t, technically. He tossed his hair lightly as he
lifted his chin. “I am Theodore Verlaine. You may call me Theo.”

Theo
.

I stared at him,
trying not to show my thoughts on my face. Here was a French vampire named Theo.
Was he not certainly the same French vampire named Theo whose letter I’d read
in Merrick’s cavern?

Did that make my
predicament better, or worse?

Damn it all.

“I’ve brought you
some food,” Theodore said brightly, and lifted a basket beside him. Lifting the
lid, he proudly showed me an assortment of fruits, breads, and cheeses.

I glowered at him.
Did the twit expect me to eat with my hands bound?

“Oh, I’ll help you
eat, of course. Speaking of supper…” he turned to the window and leaned to peer
out of it.

“What is your
business?” I snapped. “Tell me where you intend to take me!”

“Back to Silas,
silly boy.” He was distracted, intent on the streets rushing past us. “Don’t
pretend you’d rather not go.”

Back to
Silas
?
That raised an uproar in my head, but there was no sense to it. I needed a
moment. I needed to stop the carriage. So I shouted at him. “If I want to go
anywhere, I can go myself!”

He ignored me.
Furious, I kicked my legs up. “Hey!”

Theo yelped as my
boots hit his shin. “
Merde!
You animal!” He flashed me a petulant scowl
and lifted a finger to wag it at me. “You’d better behave if you don’t want –”

I kicked him
again, quite enjoying his yowl of offense before he leaned forward and grabbed
my knees.

I gritted my
teeth, stifling a sound of pain. He seemed to exert no effort at all, and yet
my legs were pressed so hard downward beneath his hands I felt my bones creak
in protest.

“Do you feel how
strong I am?” he asked with a huff. “Or do I have to break something?” He
squeezed.

I hissed. “I get
it, you girly bastard!”

“Good.” He let go,
and the wagging finger return. “Now, if I’m to be stuck here with you for three
days, we’ll be needing a bit more civility. Shit.” He straightened his jacket,
gave me a haughty sniff, and turned back to the window.

I looked at him,
aghast. The audacity! As if this were
my
idea! What an infuriating,
pompous little chit! And Merrick had
his
letter on his desk? I wished I
could recall each word, but all I remembered was a charismatic arrogance and a
penchant for the word “shit.” It was certainly a positive match.

“Aha,” Theo said
suddenly, and rapped on the top of the carriage. A moment later, he was
swinging lightly out of the car. He slammed the door shut behind him, and I
heard his boot heels moving quickly away.

“Driver!” I
bellowed, and threw my legs against the door with all my might. It was quite
hard to get the momentum I needed, and so my efforts fell in vain. Then I tried
to turn my back on the door and open it with my bound hands, but I could not
get the grip I needed. “Driver!” I continued to shout as I struggled, until I
heard a boot kicking angrily against the walls and a nasal voice ordering me to
quiet down.

I slumped back in
the seat with a huff.

Back to Silas.
Had
Merrick bid his friend to fetch me? Surely not. He had been cordial to my
mother, and I felt sure he would not have risked worrying her with my sudden
disappearance.

No, this graceless
abduction was entirely out of Merrick’s character. Could there be some
emergency at hand? No…surely if that were the case, Theo would not seem so
unbothered – not that I doubted he was a shallow little mite, but I guessed
he’d show a bit more strain under a real crisis.

Then what? Was
Theo snatching me off of the street without Merrick’s knowledge? The signs
pointed that way. But why?

Less than five
minutes after he’d run off, Theo returned. There was a pretty flush in his
cheeks, and his lips looked even pinker. His eyes, too, looked glossier and
sparkled even more than before.

I stared, feeling
a little numb.

Blue eyes met mine
with a wry gleam. “What’s the matter, Will-iam?”

My mouth stayed
stubbornly closed. How could I help but imagine what he had just done? Had he
not just drunk a person’s blood? Had he drunk it all? Had he killed? Of course
he had. A man? A woman? Someone I knew, perhaps?
God!
“Who was it?” I
asked through gritted teeth.

Theo snickered a
bit. “Who was it,” he repeated, and straightened his cuffs. “Heavens, how would
I know?
Merde,
I hate traveling by coach! I’m bored already.”

“This is
unnecessary!” I shouted suddenly, and pulled against my bonds in a moment of
fury. “Release me!”

Theo scowled.
“Stop kicking up a fuss!”

“Then tell me the
meaning of this!”

He began to shift
around on his bench, looking for a comfortable way to sprawl or lean. “This is
miserable,” he muttered. “Complete shit.”

“Answer me!” I
shouted.

“Christ, are you
always so impatient?” Theo shed his jacket, then glanced down at my feet. “Your
feet won’t fall off or anything, will they? Stuck in those boots for days?”

What kind of
idiotic question was that? I glowered at him, refusing to answer.

“I am taking you
back to Silas,” he said with a sigh. “It’s a surprise.”

“Why?”

“Because he likes
you.”

Then why did he
send me away?
I bit my tongue. “Then why didn’t he send for me himself?”

“Because he’s an
idiot. This is nice, us talking. Why don’t we play cards?”

“With my hands
tied?”

The look of
disappointment on his face told me he hadn’t thought of that. “
Merde,
”
he muttered. “You’re right.”

“Then untie me.”

“Maybe later,” he
dismissed. “Now, Will-iam, tell me about yourself.”

“Are you a
vampire?”

“Of course I am.
How did you know? Was it the eyes?” he grinned at me. “Aren’t they lovely? One
of many perks.”

“You killed
someone back there.”

“
Oui.
”

“What if I knew
the person?” My throat burned with indignation. “You just snatched –”

Theo groaned and
fell back into the corner with a look of agony. “
Spare
me the scolding!
A man has got to eat, Will-iam. Leave it at that.”

“Stop saying my
name like that.”

“You are a
handful
!”
Theo complained, scowling. “I do hope you quiet down.”

Fortunately for
him, I had nothing more to say for a moment. I simply glared at him, seething.
But why was I angry? Theo was taking me back to Merrick, and though I doubted
Merrick was one for surprises, the little bastard had said Merrick liked me…

A moment of grim
clarity hit me: I was bound hand and foot, being taken out of the city against
my will by one vampire to be delivered to another, and I was trying to look for
a bright side that involved Merrick opening his arms to me. Christ, I was
pathetic. I slumped back in the cushion, sullen.

“Are you not
pleased?”

Theo was looking
at me curiously, his arms crossed and resting lightly at his trim waist.

“Why should I be
pleased?”

“Why, because you
are heading back to where you belong!”

“Against my will,”
I snapped. “Without notice to my friends or partners, leaving my things to be
pillaged and sold, and my mother to fret! You idiot, how could I be pleased?”

Surprise showed on
his face. “That’s a fair point,” he admitted. “But, anyway, that will all work
itself out –”

“And tied in
filthy ropes!” I shouted. “What is the matter with you?”

He pressed his
fingers to his fine brow as though I had given him a pain. “Stop shouting at
me.”

“This is absurd!
Take me back to the city! Merrick can find me himself, if…”

“Control
yourself!” Theo snipped. “For shit’s sake, we have two days to –”

“Cut these ropes and
let me go!” I roared.

Theo shook his
head, raised his hands and rolled his eyes upwards in a sort of exasperated
prayer. Then he reached forward and caught my throat in his hand, pinning my
head to the back of the coach.