The letter had indicated that, somehow Barrett and the vampire had met. And, it didn't seem like a pleasant meeting.
"You don't need to know. Pack your things. We leave by dawn tomorrow."
Barrett had responded darkly and sauntered away in his robe.
Ember watched him, still glued to the floor, as he trudged away. And somehow, she believed the vampire sending her brother a letter had something to do with his sudden change and his impassiveness.
However, she wasn't one to pry and insist on him telling her what had happened with the vampire. Not when she had hers to deal with.
Leaving would be the best decision. It was best they left off to another city for a fresh start.
Nevertheless, the Duke…
Ember jerked up onto her feet in a move and swept upstairs, bursting into a bedroom in haste.
Immediately she was in, she locked the door with a click and made it to her drawer to grab a paper and pen.
Then, she scribbled. And scribbled.
At the conclusion of the letter, she penned down a "Yours Sincerely, Miss Ember Hall."
She had asked her lady's maid to help deliver the letter to the mailman. However, she was a bit hesitant because Barrett's scolding her for having snuck Ember in without his knowledge was still fresh.
But, Ember had bribed her with one of her many heels and caused her to be left with no other choice.
Her letter was delivered to the Duke in a few hours, but she didn't get a response.
It was almost midnight when she gave up, resting and laying against her bed with a big sigh.
She would never get to meet the Duke before eventually moving out of Belmont.
The Duke would forever be a one-moment thing and nothing more. In a few hours, he would only be remembered as the first man to compromise her - wait, certainly not the first. The second, maybe?
Ember felt bile rise in her throat when she recalled the vampire's letter. She wondered why the vampire would pick interest in her out of all the ladies of the ton.
She was ugly. She had scars that made her look ugly. Even though she still wondered how the Duke could manage to love a face such as hers. Now, the vampire?
Certainly, he wouldn't be a man in his late fifties with multiple wrinkles and rotten teeth.
Goodness, was he?
A slight knock on her door made her jump.
Barret pushed the door open slowly and let himself in.
Ember sat in her bed, adjusting to receive him.
"Did I disturb your sleep?"
Ember shook her head slowly, wondering what her brother's visit was about.
"Father had a mark." he started the moment he settled on a chair beside Ember's bed. "We call it the devil's mark. It was a mark the vampire gave. And, he gave the mark to anyone he plans to kill or turn."
Ember frowned.
"Turn?"
"Yes. Turn. Into one of its kind. A vampire. Once you get that mark, it is either you get turned or get killed. Father had that Mark. And Violet did as well."
Ember heart sank.
Violet? His wife? Barrett often traveled to Hadham when he was still a permanent resident at Belmont. And, during one of his million trips, he met Violet. However, he had only gotten married to her when he relocated to Hadham, and Ember couldn't get the chance to attend his wedding.
So, the vampire had killed his wife.
Was that what the letter was about?
"Father knew the vampire would come after you. I don't know how he did, but he sent me a letter two weeks before his death and two days after he got the devil's mark. He asked me to protect you from it. But—"
His voice broke.
Ember had never caught a break from Barrett's voice. She always thought he could never know what stuttering or being at a loss for words felt like. She guessed he did after all.
"But, I was too scared of the reality of facing that thing again. When he died, I couldn't come right away because I was scared. I fear he might do to you the same thing he had done to Violet."
Ember reached for his rough hand and patted it gently.
"I won't let it do that to me. I won't let the vampire cost you another family member."
Her voice was laced with sincerity, and her eyes were determined. However, her heart spoke a different language, pounding hard and fast against her ribcage, threatening to rip right through it.
Barrett left her bedroom by midnight, leaving a funny-looking bracelet on her bedside table.
He said; "This contains vervain. Vervain is a toxic substance to the vampires. Once you are on it, the vampire can not exercise his power of erasing your memories or compelling you. Wear it and don't take it off."
Ember examined it carefully and was just about to wear it around her wrist when she heard a tiny thud on her window.
She abandons the bracelet onto the table and slowly crept up her window.
When the second thud came, she grabbed hold of her lamp, steadying it for defense.
However, when she looks out her window, nothing but the cold wind greets her.
She began to step back, settling the lamb back onto the table, when a hand wrapped around her mouth, sealing the scream that was about to make it out and slamming her back into a hard rock chest.
"Shh."
The familiar, husky voice whispers into her ear.
The Duke.