Alexander-Fyn-Sanguinarian

of simply being cared for by her, he could not bear to let it go.
    He wanted desperately to make her love him—to make her want him.
    “The first night you came here you thought you heard a woman scream.”
    She looked at him, startled. “Yes, I did hear a scream. Hodder said it was seagulls and you said it was the wind.”
    “It was a woman. I killed her.” He watched her reaction. She held his gaze, her body tensed. “Evangeline, I am an assassin for the British government. Usually I go in search of my assignment, but sometimes, when it is vital the subversive be removed as soon as possible, they send them to me. Shipman was told I was part of a group of reactionaries ready to overthrow the monarchy. You heard the things he said.”
    There was a subtle change in her facial expression and he knew he was getting through. He pressed home his point. “I saw your reaction to some of the drivel he spoke. He insulted the queen, you heard that yourself.” He watched her intently. “The woman who was here the night you arrived was part of a plot to compromise and disgrace a number of prominent cabinet members. My contacts told her I would assist her and she came here to meet me. I killed her, too, as I was instructed to do. What she had planned, along with her cronies, would have destabilized the government. I do what I do because I am loyal to my queen and country.” Her countenance softened considerably.
    “Then there is the money.”
    She looked at him sharply. “Money?”
    “The government pays well and I need money to look after Dominica and for the upkeep of the castle. Until I get my inheritance Sanguinarian 213
    there is simply not enough money for me to run things properly. All the money from the Ravenscroft investments is sitting in the Bank of England waiting for me to marry. So I kill for my country and keep the wolf from my door at the same time. I did not want you to know, Evangeline. I’m sorry you found out.”
    She shuddered. “It must be horrible feeling that you have no choice but to do such a thing just because you need the money they pay you.”
    He was winning her over. “I have to protect my sister, not to mention the tenants who all rely upon me. If the estate had to be parceled up and sold off, the farmers and crofters would lose their homes. What I do benefits everyone, not just me.”
    “If you inherit you need not kill anymore,” she said.
    “That’s true, but if not, I will go on just getting by. Just managing to keep roofs over all our heads, which is better than the alternative.”
    Evangeline sipped her wine, before saying, “You cannot deny you drank his blood.”
    “No.” He grimaced and swallowed more wine. He swore he could still taste the man’s foul blood on his tongue. “It was disgusting, bitter and sour at the same time.”
    “How else would blood taste?”
    “It can be sweet and delicious from the right person. So sweet I want to hold it in my mouth before swallowing.” He closed his eyes as the delicious, pure taste of Dominica’s blood filled his senses.
    “You’re making me retch,” she protested, clutching at her stomach.
    “You asked,” he shot back.
    “Now I am asking you to stop.”
    “I just need you to know that I am not the terrible person you think me. I am a man like any other, well”—he swirled the wine around his glass—“a vampire like any other.”
    There was a long silence between them as he allowed Evangeline to consider his words. She was such a sweet little bundle, sitting there 214
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    all wrapped up in her shawl, her small feet tucked beneath her.
    Women of the blood were slender for the most part, yet they were taller and seemed more substantial than ordinary women. Evangeline sat nestled in the leather wing chair like a tiny flowering violet in a pot too big for it. He liked her fair hair and the warm blush on her cheeks. He liked how different she was from him and Dominica.
    Perhaps differences had been what attracted his grandfather to his grandmother. Disparity as opposed to sameness.
    “We did so well together this morning,” he said quietly.
    “That was when I was grateful to you for what I thought was your kindness to Mrs. Brackett. Now I find it was all lies. You lied to me, Lord Ravenscroft.”
    “I cannot deny I lied. It was the only way I thought I might get another chance to show you that I am not the monster you want to believe me.”
    “You’re so arrogant, so convinced you have a right