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.If it weren’t for her, Vincent wouldn’t have faced a death sentence and become beggared.Despite her remorse, Lydia could not bring herself to regret meeting him.Every smile he’d bestowed on her, every time she’d made him laugh, every kiss he’d stolen, every moment in his arms, all were memories she would cherish for the remainder of her existence.And she could never regret his Changing her into a vampire, giving her powers and experiences she’d never thought possible.Her chin lifted.She would not be a burden to Vincent any longer.She would undo all the trouble she’d caused him.And she would do everything in her power to teach him to find joy in his existence.***Vincent and Ian looked up from their chess game as Rafe entered the room.“It is time for Her Grace and Miss Price’s presentation.It shall be held in the music room.”“Splendid.” Ian rose from his seat.“I was growing quite weary of being trounced.”As they followed Rafe down the stairs, Vincent grew increasingly maddened with curiosity.Ian seemed to share his sentiment.“Come now, Rafe,” the duke prodded.“You’ve held your tongue for the entire time.What is this presentation that Miss Price and my wife have been cooking up?”The Spaniard sighed.“It’s only another phantasmagoria.”“A what?” Vincent blinked at the strange word.Ian laughed.“Ah, brilliant! I can imagine Miss Price was delighted to participate in creating such a production.Why didn’t you say so before?”Rafe scowled, seeming to be in a fouler mood than usual.“Because I only recently learned what the blasted things are called.”“What are they?” Vincent demanded, irritated with his ignorance.The duke clapped him on the shoulder.“They are the most astounding art form ever to be invented.Words cannot describe it.You, my friend, are in for a treat.”Ian opened the music-room door, gesturing for Rafe and Vincent to precede him.The duchess awaited them, dramatically garbed in a black cloak.Lydia and Lady Rosslyn stood behind her in matching costumes, solemn expressions on their faces.“If you gentlemen would please be seated.” Angelica gestured to a group of chairs placed in front the fireplace, which had been blocked off by a thick black curtain.Vincent, Ian, and a reluctant Rafe joined her.Suddenly, the lights went out and an ethereal melody trilled.Vincent glanced over his shoulder to see the duchess playing an odd instrument that resembled a crystal caterpillar spitted over a desk.The cylindrical object spun slowly on a shaft through a wheel, which Angelica operated with her foot.Lydia’s rich voice rose above the music.“Once upon a time, there lived a young woman who loved to paint.Her parents nurtured her gift.”Ian nudged him, and he turned back to the curtain, though he would have preferred to keep his eyes on Lydia.Vincent gaped as an image of a black-haired woman smiling up at a happy couple appeared to float before his eyes.He recognized it as one of Lydia’s paintings.Before he could wonder how it had manifested, the image seemed to retreat into a dark tunnel until it disappeared.He blinked, realizing that a transparent screen had been lowered in front of the curtain.Lydia continued the tale: “Then, tragedy fell.Her mother and father both perished from the fever.”Melancholic music played on the instrument as the next vision appeared of the young woman weeping as two coffins were loaded into a funeral hack.Vincent gasped as the realization struck.This story was about Lydia.As if confirming the thought, Lydia continued.“She was sent on a long journey across the ocean to live with her relatives.”The next picture showed the woman on the deck of a ship, her black skirts blowing in the wind as she faced a terrifying gale.“Once she arrived in the strange new land, she discovered that her family did not want her.Instead, they had decreed that she was to live with a monster in a haunted castle.” Lydia’s voice wavered then, and she glanced at Vincent with a wide, unreadable gaze.The music became eerie as a new image came into focus.The “monster” loomed over Lydia’s form, and though he was mostly cast in shadow, Vincent could recognize his own eyes as they reflected the lightning in the background over his castle.Agonizing pain pierced Vincent’s heart at Lydia’s description of him as a monster, both in words and in her skilled artistic rendering.He attempted to rise, to charge out of the room and this house, never to return.Ian clamped a hand on his shoulder and forced him back to his seat.Vincent tensed as Lydia took a shaky breath and continued the tale.“The monster did not want her either, so he did his best to be frightening.But the woman was not afraid.”Angelica played a playful tune on her strange instrument as the next picture was revealed.Vincent recognized the west hill with its great oak, where Lydia had liked to paint.This time, she had depicted him from the back, posing in a caricature of some sort of sinister beast, arms raised and hands reaching out like claws.Lydia’s likeness, however, was undaunted.A wide smile shone on her face, and she appeared to be on the verge of joyful applause.Lydia pressed on.“So the monster thought hard on how to get rid of her.He consulted a witch as well as two other monsters.It was decided that she should be taken to the great city, where many young women were sent to find homes.”A mournful note played as the picture depicted a dour Miss Hobson and a gleeful Vincent, holding up ball gowns and pointing their fingers in command.Vincent heard the real Miss Hobson sniff, offended at being called a witch.His brows drew together in confusion.Where was Lydia going with this?“The woman did not want to go to the city.She loved the haunted castle and, unbeknownst to herself, had begun to love the monster as well.Since she knew he did not want her, she obeyed him.”The music grew yet more tragic as a heartbroken Lydia was revealed, reaching out to a seemingly indifferent Vincent.No, I loved you from the start! Vincent opened his mouth to shout.Then the next part of the story choked off his words.“She met her family in the great city.She learned that her grandmother was the true monster, and the rest of her family bowed down to her as slaves.The monster she’d been sent to live with was indeed no monster at all.He was an angel.And the witch was in truth a saint.”Miss Hobson nodded in satisfaction as a haunting melody played.The next picture revealed a grotesque caricature of Lady Morley wielding a whip and Vincent holding Lydia in his arms, shielding her with gossamer wings.“The woman longed to prove her love to her guardian angel.” Lydia’s voice was filled with passion.“She pondered long and hard on the matter.Nothing would truly be worthy, yet perhaps if she showed him what was in her heart when she thought of him, he would feel it too.”And then the sun rose over a verdant meadow.From delicate pink to brightest gold, it filled the chamber with the glory of the dawn.Lydia gave him a sunrise so realistically portrayed that Vincent could feel its warmth upon his face and smell the wildflowers blooming in the field.Her sun did not burn him [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]