Lady Brookshire opened the door. “Good, you are ready. We must go.”
“Where are we going to go?” Ravenhunt told her nothing, probably to ensure she couldn’t stop him. There was so much pain in him. Did he want to be destroyed to escape that pain?
“I know where the queens reside,” Lady Brookshire said. “The places they go and the houses they use. As do my husbands—I mean, as does my husband. Sebastian knows these things, too. He is my brother by marriage.”
Lady Brookshire appeared flustered, but she took a composing breath and said more clearly, “We know about the vampire queens. There are three houses used by Queen Jade. We will find Ravenhunt and his sister at one of them.”
She hugged Ophelia. “Don’t worry. We will save him. I have gone up against the vampire queens before. There is always a way to give them what they want, while you get what you want.”
It was good to be embraced, but Ophelia couldn’t take much comfort from it. “I do not see how, my lady. Ravenhunt assured me I would despise him for what he did and that our love would never survive it. I want to believe it would. My love is the only thing that can save him. What if there truly is something so awful in his past that I can no longer love him?”
“We will cope with that when it happens.” Lady Brookshire faced her. “When the time comes, I will be able to help you.”
“How? How could you help me love Ravenhunt?”
“I have learned how love is the most precious thing. I think I could help you learn that, too.”
“I know it is precious,” Ophelia protested. “But it is not easy to love someone.”
“No.” A soft smile. “It definitely is not. But you understand that, and that is most of the battle.”
Ophelia did not argue. She had no time to dispute or debate love. What she must do was believe in it, believe in Ravenhunt, and save him.
Lady Brookshire strode to a wardrobe in the corner. “To go, we will need weapons. This could be a mission of combat, after all.” She swung open the doors.
Ophelia gaped at the contents. Crossbows. Stakes. Lethal daggers. Swords in scabbards. “These are yours?”
“For times when discussion will not work. They usually work better on gentlemen than on ladies. Men are much more enthralled by a woman carrying a weapon.”
“Enthralled? Not frightened? It sounded as if you mean men find it . . . arousing.”
“Exactly. Now, let us go.”
Ophelia was amazed at how comfortable the countess appeared in her husband’s clothing. As they walked down the stairs, Lady Brookshire explained, “Queen Jade is the queen of a smaller clan. We have learned that the very ancient vampires divided themselves into houses at one time, and a queen ran each house. As time went on, after many betrayals, murders, and slayings, the houses dissolved. Vampires became more independent in many ways. But the queens still have great power, and they wield it. Queen Jade is originally from the Himalayan Mountains, north of China. She has lived in England for hundreds of years.”
Ophelia nodded, drinking in every detail.
“She is queen of a lesser house,” Lady Brookshire continued. “If she demanded your power, it is probably because she wants to be stronger.”
“I can’t let her get it from Ravenhunt. The woman is ruthless—” She hesitated. “If vampire slayers know about the queens and their power, why do you not destroy them?”
“There is a long history of vampire slayers making deals with the queens.”
“Isn’t that wrong?”
“Not all slayers believed vampires should be completely eradicated. We can live together.”
“Is that really possible?” Ophelia stopped. “I am so sorry. I forgot that you and your husband are vampires. I did not mean any offense.”
Lady Brookshire smiled. “I am accustomed to it. Your doubt is quite understandable. But remember, any mortal can choose to be a threat to other mortals. Any human can become a murderer. In the same way, a vampire can choose not to be a predator and respect human life.”
“Ravenhunt didn’t.” She bit her lip. Did that not say he should be destroyed? Yet in her heart she didn’t want to believe that.
“I believe he has changed. Slayers watch the vampires. Ravenhunt has been changing his ways, and he has only chosen the worst of human society to feed upon. He drinks from men who prey on weaker people such as women and children. And he has ensured he left them alive. I suspect he has changed for you.”
“But why?” she asked.
“Perhaps love?”
Ophelia jerked in shock. She had thought a lot about whether she loved Ravenhunt. She had not really thought about whether he loved her. What was wrong with her? Most women in love thought of nothing else.
Did he care for her? He hadn’t wanted her to die when he took her power.
But that wasn’t quite a declaration of undying love.
“You think we can bargain with this woman, Jade, for Ravenhunt’s life,” she said to Lady Brookshire.
“You must show her all the respect you would show England’s royalty. They require it, and when they are angry there is always hell to pay. But yes, I believe we can. I also believe love can spare him. I know so many it has saved. He was the Marquis of Ravenhunt, was he not?”
Ophelia nodded. “He must have kept the name when he became a vampire, instead of his actual surname.”
“It is Rollingsworth. For his Christian name, we do have a Burke’s Peerage.”
Most young ladies knew the surnames of English peers, but once she had been cloistered away from the world, she had no longer been treated as normal. Why would she have to know it, as she would never be out in Society and would never marry?
Ravenhunt hadn’t told her his true name. He had required her love, but he had not even been willing to give her his name. Had he intended to embrace destruction all along?
As they reached a set of white double doors, one opened. Mr. Sebastian de Wynter stepped out, a crossbow held casually at his hip. His golden hair was loose, and fell to his shoulders. “Our evil queen Jade has acquired three buildings,” he drawled. “She resides in a new town house on the outskirts of Mayfair, owns a lavish estate in the country, and operates a brothel in the stews. As you know, my dear sister-by-marriage, many brothels are owned by the vampire queens.”
Lady Brookshire did not even blush. “Indeed, I do know that. Now, which one will she use? Do you have any clues, Ophelia?”
She remembered everything Ravenhunt had said about Jade. At first she kept me with her at all times, like a pet. “He lived in a house on the fringe of Mayfair with Jade. It was only blocks from his sister, but he was not allowed to go to her. If Jade is proud, would she use one of her more elaborate homes, such as the estate or the Mayfair house?”
“Very logical,” Mr. de Wynter praised.
“She would want somewhere she could quickly transport a mortal,” Lady Brookshire said.
Ophelia knew quite a lot about prisons. She had been kept prisoner in her house for years, then as one at Mrs. Darkwell’s. “I think Jade would take him back to the prison he had once lived in,” she said. “To teach him a lesson. I think she would have taken him to—”
She and Lady Brookshire said, at the exact moment, “The Mayfair house.”
“We think she will be using the Mayfair house.” Panting, Harry ran out into the hall, from the same door as Sebastian de Wynter.
Harry had a crossbow, held in a more ready position. Lord Brookshire followed Harry.
“The ladies have already figured that out,” de Wynter said respectfully.
But Ophelia felt a pang of doubt. She had never led anyone anywhere. “I know each second counts. What if I am wrong, Lady Brookshire?”
Lady Brookshire took her hand. “Believe in yourself, my dear. I suspect that is hard for you to do. It took me time to do so, and I was trained as a vampire slayer. I had to learn where I belonged. You told me you were kept a prisoner. Unfortunately, all along, you’ve believed you deserved such treatment. You do not. Look to your heart and your soul, and you will know what to do.”