"Mary didn"t tell me," he said, raising his hands in defense. "She"s a good woman, Henry"s wife ... widow."
William tensed, a wave of grief pa.s.sing over his face. Tatiana felt it as well. He looked at Marcello then Tatiana. Tatiana tried to turn away in shame. Her father"s words stopped her.
"You did what I couldn"t," he said. "Your brother ... I couldn"t cover up for him anymore. He was mad."
Tatiana frowned. She stepped closer, her eyes glimmering as she read into her father"s mind. She found his love for her and his fear of what she was, though he was trying hard to overcome it. She also found his shame over his son. She saw how her father discovered Henry"s pa.s.sion for prost.i.tutes, a pa.s.sion that ended in violence and death. But he had no proof of the crimes, only his suspicions, gathered together by little facts and clues--a bloodied glove, an odd comment, a l.u.s.tful look.
Suddenly, Tatiana tensed, feeling the heat of a vision swimming before her eyes. She saw a woman"s body, strangled by Henry"s hand. She saw another beaten b.l.o.o.d.y like Alice. Another still stabbed. Another hung. Another ... another ... another ...
endless.
"How long have you known?" she whispered in horror. "How long?"
"After Alice, after you left us, I went to London to speak with him. I mentioned you and he seemed relieved. I looked into his eyes and knew. A father should know his son, but I didn"t know mine. I had him followed, watched." William began to sob, running his hand in his hair as he fell to the ground in grief.
Tatiana went to kneel beside him. She felt Marcello moving away to give them privacy. She watched him stroll down the long line of gravestones before turning to her father once more.
"How did you find me?" Tatiana hesitated before reaching out to touch him. She ran a light hand over his shoulder.
"I was at Henry"s home. I saw you through the front window. This morning, I saw my grandson and knew by Mary"s face you"d been there."
"How is William?" Tatiana asked softly.
"Well. Very well." Her father smiled. "Strong. Handsome."
To Tatiana"s surprise her father darted forward and gave her a big hug. She felt his shiver as he pressed his warmth to her cold.
"I"ve missed you, girl. Please, come home. I don"t care what"s happened to you. I don"t care. So help me, I don"t. Just come home. Come back to Eastwich."
Tatiana looked at Marcello. Their eyes locked from across the distance. Slowly, he nodded his head at her.
"Yes," she whispered, realizing that was what she wanted. She couldn"t have a little family of her own, or a normal life. But this was her family. This is what she wanted. She wanted her father nearby. She wanted to watch baby William grow to be a good man. She wanted Marcello.
William"s face broke out into a smile. He grabbed her face in his hands, kissing her cheeks in enthusiasm. "I"ve kept your room, just as you left--"
"I am a vampire father and a witch. I can"t live at the house with you." Tatiana motioned meaningfully to the graveyard.
"Oh, yes," William said, a little disconcerted. Then, shaking himself, he swore, "It doesn"t matter. We"ll make arrangements. I just want you home."
Tatiana kissed his cheeks, urging him to his feet and back to Henry"s home before he caught an illness from the cold air. She watched in silence until he faded from sight. Then, silently she drifted toward Marcello, who waited patient and still for her.
The blue moonlight cast shadows of the graves. Tree limbs stretched and danced along the dark sky in eerie streaks. Stopping before him, she felt her heart break.
"I release you from your bond to me," Marcello said softly. He didn"t move to touch her. "You"re free to go home."
He turned to leave. Tatiana cried out, reaching to stop him. "Marcello, wait."
Marcello stopped, studying her carefully. She couldn"t read him. Never had she wanted to more desperately.
"Just ask me,bella mia . Ask what it is you are trying to pry from my mind," he whispered. "I will not lie to you."
"Come with me," she said in a rush. "Not because you have to, but because you want to come. I should never have made you take part of my burden. I should"ve let you go that night we buried Alice. Forgive me, please, say you forgive me."
"There is nothing to forgive," he said through the tremors. "For you have also saved me, Tatiana."
"Saved you?" Tatiana dared to step closer. He was her lover, her best friend. She would have him be more. She would have him be her everything--for he already was. Without him, she wasn"t sane, wasn"t whole. "It is you who balance me, Marcello.
Please, say you"ll come with me. I--I love you. I"ve loved you since Tuscany, before Paris, since before England. I"ve loved you since before my birth. You, so much more than the rest of this nightmare, are my destiny. Please, say you"ll come with me to Eastwich. We can let Glas...o...b..ry Castle, make it our home. We can be a family--us, my father, Mary, baby William. We"ll have a home."
Marcello swept forward, pulling her instantly into his arms. He kissed her, deep and long, pouring his soul into her. He broke free only to hold her tight, cupping the back of her head into his chest. His lips whispered next to her temple, as he said, "Whatever love this heart of mine can feel is yours. It always has been. If we are cursed, then so be it. We will be cursed together."
"Then you will come with me?" She looked at him in awe, in hope. She felt the truth in his words and all barriers were lost between them until there was no more doubt.
"Yes, yes,bella mia , I will follow you anywhere. Let us go to Glas...o...b..ry and make it our home. Together we will guard over your family line and keep them safe." Marcello lifted her up and again tasted her lips. "I had imagined my heart as dead for so long. Only when seeing you in the forest with Henry, did my heart truly beat for the first time. You were so brave, so strong, so beautiful. I love you."
Tatiana shivered at his hoa.r.s.e words.
"We are eternity, my love, forever." Marcello grinned, swirling her around happily in his arms, dancing her up into the night air as they lifted above the gravestones closer to the stars. The distance of the city spread out beneath them, but they couldn"t see it. They could only see each other.
"Yes," Tatiana whispered, happier than she"d ever been in her whole life--mortal or undead. She grinned at him, holding his face gently in her hands. She wrapped her arms around his thick neck and held on, content to let him carry her.
"Il nostro amore e"eterno," he said against her lips as his kissed deepened.
"Yes, our love is forever," she translated, understanding his words perfectly as if his language, his soul, were her own.
Tonight, forever, she belonged only to Marcello. "We are bound for all eternity."
The End
To read more excerpts from Mich.e.l.le M Pillow please visit her website www.mich.e.l.lepillow.com and be sure to sign up for her mailing list to hear about her new releases.
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