“Who did you meet today?” he asked quietly, slowly moving closer to her at the edge of the pool.
“Who did I-what? I met…” she cleared her throat, suddenly flustered again, “lots of people, Gio. What does that-”
“You met someone new. A stranger. You had the scent of another immortal on you,” he said, keeping his voice carefully neutral.
She scowled at him. “I did not! I had a completely normal day. I didn’t meet any vampires. I think I’d know what to look for at this point, don’t you?” He could hear her pulse pick up, but he sensed it was from anger, not fear.
He glanced at Carwyn, who moved slightly closer to the pool, his hands in his pockets as he sauntered toward them.
“I smelled it too, B. It was faint, but it was there. It’s on your hands. Gio’s nose has always been sharper. Did you shake hands with anyone? Go anywhere new?”
She rolled her eyes and huffed in frustration. “I went to school and work. I went to dinner with my grandma and her friends. I went to a new Thai restaurant where none of the waiters looked any paler than usual, Carwyn. I didn’t meet a vampire!”
“Something,” Giovanni muttered, swimming over to the edge of the pool and lifting himself up. “There has to be something.” He strode over the patio, dripping cold water as he walked. He only remembered his nudity when he heard Beatrice gasp a little from the steps.
Carwyn rolled his eyes and tossed Giovanni a towel from the end of the chaise. “Cover yourself up. We all know she’d rather see me naked.”
He glanced over his shoulder toward Beatrice, who was blushing and staring at his feet. He smirked when he realized why her heart had been racing.
It didn’t appear to be anger.
He slung the towel around his waist and walked back toward her, holding a hand out to help her up. She was still looking anywhere but at him.
“Beatrice,” he said, trying to smother a smile. “I apologize. My behavior in the living room was unconscionable. It won’t happen again.” She still refused to look at him. He sighed and dropped his hand.
“It’s fine, Gio,” she said, bright red in the face. “Just don’t scare me like that again.”
“I’ll try not to.” He held out his hand again; this time she took it and allowed him to help her stand.
“And don’t think I didn’t feel the current thing when you grabbed me. Do not mess with my brain.”
He allowed her to see the edge of his smile. “Understood.”
She nodded, resolve clear in her eyes. “I’m going to go call my grandmother so she doesn’t worry. I’ll be up in the library when I’m done.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now go put some clothes on. Because if you want me to concentrate, you can’t dangle that much naked man in front of me. Vampire or not.”
Giovanni stifled a grin as he walked into the house, punching a laughing Carwyn as he walked by.
“Ow,” the priest pouted, back to his normally gregarious nature.
“Liar.”
“I’m practicing for wrestling!”
Giovanni couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face or the sense of satisfaction as he ran upstairs to get dressed.
She still hadn’t run.
He met them all in the library, where Carwyn started a fire and Caspar had already brought drinks for everyone. The butler sat next to the girl on the couch, leaving the two end chairs for the vampires to perch.
Neither vampire sat; Carwyn leaned a shoulder into the mantle and watched the room, while Giovanni roamed the length of the library. His mind was shuffling information, moving clues like a puzzle. Now that he could think more rationally, the pieces were beginning to fall into place. The anger, however, was only beginning to grow.
“Carwyn,” he heard Beatrice ask as he walked toward his locked cabinet, “why can you use the stereo and the remotes when Gio can’t? You’ve got the same current under your skin, right?”
Giovanni’s eyes shot to his friend’s, who simply shrugged a little before he answered.
“Well,” he winked at Beatrice. “Let’s just say I’m better grounded than Sparky over there.”
“Better groun-oh, elements! Fire. Earth. Air. Water. Are you an earth vampire, or something?”
He nodded and stared at her in the flickering light from the hearth. “Such a clever girl,” he murmured. “I wonder what else we can figure out together, hmm?” He glanced back to Giovanni, who only nodded silently at the back of the library.
“Beatrice,” the priest continued, “may I smell your hand, dear girl? Just once more. I promise not to get all fangy.”
Beatrice smiled and glanced over her shoulder at Giovanni.
“Sure.” She held out her hand. “But I’m pretty positive I didn’t meet a vampire today. My day was completely boring. The only exciting thing about it was a couple of new documents at work. And that’s…” She trailed off and Giovanni could see her make the connection. “I mean…the documents-”
She broke off abruptly when she saw the gleam in Carwyn’s eyes. He bent over her hand as if he was going to kiss it, but just like the night they met, he inhaled a deep, almost predatory, breath over her fingertips.
“Carwyn?” Giovanni asked with growing certainty.
“Parchment,” he muttered into her hand. His blue eyes shot up. “The new documents at the library-I need to know what they were. Where were they from? Were they bought? Donated? I need to know everything you can tell me about them.”
Giovanni felt electricity begin to charge the air as he moved closer to the couch, but the priest held up a hand as Beatrice’s eyes began to dart nervously around the room. Caspar reached over and patted the girl’s arm.
“Everyone take a step back,” the butler said soothingly. “I’m sure Beatrice is already an expert, gentlemen. Let her speak.”
She glanced gratefully at him, and Caspar smiled in encouragement.
“It’s-it was donated anonymously. It’s a letter. There are two of them. From the Italian Renaissance. Two friends, a philosopher and a-a poet. They were authenticated at the University of Ferrara. Dated 1484. From Florence.”
Giovanni was drawn to her voice, walking silently over to stand by the fire as she spoke. Her eyes lifted and met his.
Carwyn’s eyes darted between him and the young woman. “Who were the letters addressed to, B?”
“Giovanni…” she began, staring with her warm brown eyes. “Count Giovanni Pico della Mirandola. That’s who the letters were for.”
He looked away, hoping she had not seen the flicker of recognition at the old name. He ignored the burning in his chest as he walked back to the library table and collected himself. He glanced over to see Carwyn smiling at her.
“Anything else you can remember? It really would be helpful.”
She shook her head. “It sounded like they were mostly personal. I only read the translation on one. They were talking about a new servant, or squire, or-or something like that, and his education. There was something about meeting Lorenzo de Medici.” She blushed slightly and glanced back at him; his eyes were glued to her as she spoke. “Something about a scandal. I can’t-I can’t remember all of it. I’m sorry.”
“Oh, I think you’ve remembered plenty,” Caspar broke in. “I’m sure that’s what they needed to know.”
She looked for him in the back of the library. “Did a vampire donate those letters, Gio?”
He still didn’t speak but nodded as he stared into the fire.
Carwyn finally answered her. “I think that’s where you picked up the scent. He must have handled them before they were donated.”
Giovanni was careful to keep strict control of his features as his mind flew in a thousand directions, finally settling onto one inescapable conclusion.
He had been deceived.
“Gio?”
He heard her voice and knew what she wanted to ask.
“Giovanni?” she almost whispered.