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"It doesn’t ly "How did it coh?"

"Well, George espied h had co for meand of course, I left iether miserable "I do love hi to harm him It really was for innocent fun"

Innocent fun that nearly got her killedor fed on by a vae had had the conscience to send her ho his Tutela plan

But that answered one question A va lover or e arise It would be hard to believe that George was the dayti the undead didn’t have was a conscience

Thirteen

Wherein Our Heroine Makes a Telling Decision

Victoria left Gwendolyn’s house relieved that her friend was unhurt, but deep in thought

She’d realized that there could be un to think of the creature After all, if an undead merely had to drink the special elixir, as to stopit?

Oragainst the side every ti every tie peppered the air as he navigated them down Fleet Street--a es and conveyances, as well as shoppers, shopkeepers, and street urchins

But it gave Victoria a bit of time to consider the situation

From what she knew about the elixir, it could only be made from the stamen of a special plant that bloomed rarely--perhaps once per century, or no more than twice Since little could be made, more vampires must want it than could have it That didn’t precludeit, but the supply couldn’t last forever And there couldn’t be an entire arave her soe could be daytiested, James could be the daytime undead She hadn’t un to occur the day he arrived at St Heath’s Row

Sara and George, as well as Jareath dinner party, and also at the ent’s Park when Victoria found the first victim, that didn’t mean they hadn’t been around She had, after all, spoken with Gwen and Brodebaugh, who could have told them Victoria was in the vicinity

Or, it could simply be that the daytime vampire was someone she didn’t know or hadn’t noticed After all, it didn’t have to be someone she’d seen It could be any minion of Lilith

And, yes indeed, it could also be Mr Bemis Goodwin

Oh, how she wanted it to be hiry eyes exa that wasn’t there, she felt tension rise Her fingers itched for a stake, ready to plunge it into his chest He had

But why?

Victoria turned the ugly thought over in her ed her vision, and her htbut she had to consider it

Why would a man she didn’t knoant to harm her?

Several deep breaths later--ones she’d had to focus on, draw in deeply, hold, and then release--Victoria had pared her scattered, berserker thoughts down

He either truly thought she was a murderess and wanted to see justice done--in which case, she was innocent and should have nothing to worry about But that wouldn’t explain his pointed comments about the undead

A wo about her He could be a va the elixir Obviously a vampire would want her, Illa Gardella, to die But that didn’t follow--for he’d said he’d been watching her for over a year Since she nearly killed the man in the Dials The elixir hadn’t been in existence for that long, and he appeared to have been living a norer than that

She concluded he couldn’t be undead himself