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"I a her face between his hands

"Is it our fault? Did we stay in the past too long, like Dad said?" Diana spoke so softly it was hard for even Gallowglass to hear

"Of course not," Gallowglass replied, his voice brusque "Peter Knox did this Nobody else is to blame"

"Let’s not worry about who’s to blaave hi Mattheould have plenty to say about Knox and Gerbert--later Right noas concerned with his wife

"E care of yourself and Sarah That’s enough for now"

Matthew brushed back the coppery strands that were stuck to Diana’s cheeks by the salt froo back downstairs," Diana said, drawing Gallowglass’s bright yellow bandanna to her eyes "Sarah needs er Wait for Marthe to bring the tea," Matthew said, sitting down next to her Diana slu in and out as she tried to hold back the tears

"I’ll leave you two," Gallowglass said gruffly

Matthew nodded in silent thanks

"Thank you, Gallowglass," Diana said, holding out the bandanna

"Keep it," he said, turning for the stairs

"We’re alone You don’t have to be strong now," Matthewstaircase

Gallowglass left Matthew and Diana twined together in an unbreakable knot, their faces twisted with pain and sorrow, each giving the other the comfort they could not find for themselves

I should never have suet my answers Emily turned to face her closest friend You should be with Stephen

I’d rather be here with hter than anywhere else, Rebecca Bishop said Stephen understands She turned back to the sight of Diana and Matthew, still locked in their sorrowful embrace

Do not fear Mattheill take care of her, Philippe said He was still trying to figure out Rebecca Bishop--she was an unusually challenging creature, and as skilled at keeping secrets as any vampire

They’ll take care of each other, Rebecca said, her hand over her heart, just as I knew they would

2

Matthew raced down the curving stone staircase that wound between his tower rooms at Sept-Tours and the main floor of the château He avoided the slippery spot on the thirtieth tread and the rough patch on the seventeenth where Baldwin’s sword had bashed the edge during one of their arguments

Matthew had built the tower addition as his private refuge, a place apart from the relentless busyness that always surrounded Philippe and Ysabeau Vae and noisy, with two orto live as one happy pack This seldos and lived in fine houses As a result, Matthew’s toas designed primarily for defense It had no doors to muffle a vampire’s stealthy approach and no way out except for the way you caements spoke volumes about his relationships with his brothers and sisters

Tonight his tower’s isolation see, a far cry from the busy life he and Diana had created in Elizabethan London, surrounded by family and friends Matthew’s job as a spy for the queen had been challenging but rewarding Froed to save a feitches fro into her powers as a witch They’d even taken in two orphaned children and given them a chance at a better future Their life in the sixteenth century had not always been easy, but their days had been filled with love and the sense of hope that followed Diana wherever she went Here at Sept-Tours, they seemed surrounded on all sides by death and de Clerer he kept so carefully in check whenever Diana was near hie--the sickness that Matthew had inherited from Ysabeau when she’d made hi no rooe in check, Matthew had reluctantly agreed to leave Diana in Ysabeau’s care while he walked around the castle grounds with his dogs, Fallon and Hector, trying to clear his head

Gallowglass was crooning a sea chantey in the château’s great hall For reasons Matthew couldn’t fathom, every other verse was punctuated by expletives and ultimatums After afiredrake" Gallowglass had one of the pikes down fro it slowly in the air "‘Farewell and adieu to you, ladies of Spain’ Get your arse down here, or Granny will poach you in white wine and feed you to the dogs ‘For we’ve received orders for to sail for old England’ What are you thinking, flying around the house like a deain’"

"What the hell are you doing?" Matthew delass turned wide blue eyes on Matthew The youngera black T-shirt adorned with a skull and crossbones So it froht hip The holes in his nephew’s jeans looked to be the result of wear, not war, and his hair was shaggy even by Gallowglassian standards Ysabeau had taken to calling hiroolass made a sudden upward thrust with the pike

There was a shriek of surprise, followed by a hail of pale green scales that shattered like isinglass when they hit the floor The blond hair on Gallowglass’s forearreen dust

He sneezed

Corra, Diana’s faallery with her talons, chattering ue She waved hello to Mattheith her barbed tail, piercing a priceless tapestry depicting a unicorn in a garden Mattheinced

"I had her cornered in the chapel, up by the altar, but Corra is a cunning lass," Gallowglass said with a touch of pride "She was hiding atop Granddad’s toy Now look at her Up in the rafters, vainglorious as the devil and twice as h one of Ysabeau’s favorite draperies Granny is going to have a stroke"

"If Corra is anything like herher won’t end well," Matthew saidwith her instead"

"Oh, aye That works very ith Auntie Diana" Gallowglass sniffed "Whatever possessed you to let Corra out of your sight?"

"The more active the firedrake is, the calmer Diana seems," Matthew said