page5 (1/2)
The children sensed the strangeness of the randhtly, tucking their heads into the curves of my neck as if to hide fro on the house
“I was talking to Freyja Before we finished, Marcus said he was going to the village,” Ysabeau explained, a splinter of panic in her tone “But Alain was concerned, so we followed him Marcus seemed fine, at first But then he bolted”
“Marcus ran away from Sept-Tours?” It didn’t seem possible Marcus adored Ysabeau, and she had specifically requested he stay with her over the summer
“He took a path west, and we assu told me to stay with him” Ysabeau drew another serrated breath “Then Marcus turned north, toward Montluçon”
“Toward Baldwin?” My brother-in-law had a house there, built long ago when the area was known simply as Lucius’s Mountain
“No Not toward Baldwin Toward Paris” Matthew’s eyes darkened
Ysabeau nodded “He was not running away He was running back—to Phoebe”
“So,” I said, stunned Everybody had assured me that Phoebe would make the transition from warmblooded human to vampire without a probleements made
Sensing an to squirm and asked to be put down
“Freyja said it all went according to plan Phoebe’s a vampire now” Matthew lifted Philip from my arms and put him on the floor beside o after Marcus and find out what’s wrong”
“Alain is outside,” Ysabeau said “Take hi a second pair of eyes in such a situation”
Matthew kissed me Like h to reone He sently to her forehead
“Be careful,” I murmured, more out of habit than actual concern
“Always,” Matthew replied, giving o
—
AFTER THE EXCITEMENT of their grandet settled back to sleep Wide awake myself with nerves and unanswered questions, I went down to the kitchen There, as expected, I found Marthe and Ysabeau
Usually, the sprawling set of connected rooly ware fired up and ready to bake so for Marthe to transfor, however, the room felt dark and cold, in spite of the illuminated sconces and the colorful Dutch tiles that decorated the walls
“Of all the things I dislike about beingat home for news has to be the worst” I plunked myself onto one of the stools that surrounded the enorravity in this doine what it was like with nothing but handwritten es”
“None of us liked it” Marthe put a stea with a croissant filled with alar
“Heaven,” I said, sniffing the aroma of dark leaves and nutty sweetness that rose from the cup
“I should have gone with them” Ysabeau had made no effort to twist her hair back into place or ree of dirt fro less than impeccable
“Mattheanted you here,” Marthe said, dusting flour on the table with a practiced gesture She rean to knead it with the heels of her hands
“You cannot always get what you want,” Ysabeau said, with none of Mick Jagger’s irony
“Can someone tell me exactly what happened to set Marcus off?” I sipped atcrucial
“Nothing” Ysabeau, like her son, could be miserly with information
“So must have,” I said
“Truly, nothing happened There was a dinner party with Phoebe’s family,” said Ysabeau “Freyja assured me it all went very well”
“What did Charlesdelicious, I’m sure”
Marthe’s hands stilled and she scowled at hed
“Why is that funny?” I de a bite of the flaky croissant There was so ue
“Because Phoebe was just made into a vampire, and you want to knohat she ate for her last supper For a , this seems like an odd detail for such a momentous time,” Ysabeau explained
“Of course it does You’ve never had one of Charles’s roasted chickens,” I said “All that garlic And the lemon Divine”
“There was duck instead,” Marthe reported “And salmon And beef”
“Did CharlesMarthe’s work The dark bread was one of Charles’s specialties—and Phoebe’s favorite “And for dessert, was there pompe aux pommes?”
Phoebe loved her sweets, and the only time I’d seen her waver in her determination to become a vampire hen Marcus took her to the bakery in Saint-Lucien and explained that the apple pastry in the ould taste revolting if she went through with her plan
“Both,” Marthe replied
“Phoebe must have been thrilled,” I said, impressed with the scope of the menu
“According to Freyja, she has not been eating ht her lower lip in her teeth
“So that’s why Marcus left?” Given that Phoebe would never eat a proper huain as a vampire, this seemed like an overreaction
“No Marcus left because Phoebe called hiood-bye” Ysabeau shook her head “They are both so impulsive”
“They’re modern, that’s all,” I said
It wasn’t surprising that Phoebe and Marcus had grown impatient with the Byzantine labyrinth of vampire rituals and dos and don’ts First, Baldwin, the head of the de Clermont clan, had been asked to forement and her wish to becoiven Marcus’s colorful past and Matthew’s scandalous decision tocould their itimate
Then, Marcus and Phoebe chose a maker from a very short list of possible candidates It could not be a ly against any hint of incest a members of his clan Children were to be cared for as children Mates were to be sought outside the family But there were other considerations, as well Phoebe’s enetic strength to make healthy vampire children And because the vampire chosen would be forever linked to the de Clerround had to be above reproach
Once Phoebe and Marcus had decided upon ould transform her into a vae, and Ysabeau oversaw the practicalities of housing, finances, and employment, with help from Matthew’s daemon friend Hamish Osborne It was a complicated business to abandon your life as a wared, as well as leaves of absence fronations six months later
Now that Phoebe was a va her firstconnections between physical hunger and sexual desire, Phoebe’s contact with other males would be limited And in order to forestall any possible hasty decisions made in the first flush of vaain until Baldwin felt she could ether Traditionally, vae time required for a va capable of so with prospective eness of the randhtly, tucking their heads into the curves of my neck as if to hide fro on the house