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“I put ht me”
“And this Tom, he was your brother?” Brother Andrew eyed him over the cup
“Just someone I knew once” Marcus turned away
“I think you are someone who has traveled far, and been known by many names,” Brother Andrew commented “Like me Like Brother Matthew”
“The chevalier de Clermont?” Marcus was surprised “I have never heard hi else, except for his Christian name Matthew”
“And yet today he answered to Sebastien, when one of the German soldiers called out to him” Brother Andrew sipped at his tea “What other names do you answer to, Brother Chauncey?”
Somehow, Brother Andrew had divined that Marcus was not who he seemed to be
“I answer to Doc,” Marcus replied,for the door “The linidalene warm her hands before she applies it Twice or three tihtness in your chest”
“Once my wife answered to Beulah Before that, she had another naave her” Brother Andrew’s eyes were unfocused, as though he had forgotten Marcus was in the room “When ere er remembered it She said the only name that mattered was the name she took when she was made free”
Marcus thought of all the naone by in his life—Marcus and Galen, Chauncey and MacNeil, Doc, and boy, and once even son If he ever married, and his wife asked him his true name, which one would he share with her?
—
THE NEXT DAY, Bethleheress had left town, and the s of the Sun Inn were flung open to air out the roo with uards and the camp followers—except for Gerty, who had decided to stay in Bethlehe nonstop in her native language Some of the brethren were already at work in the fields to the south of town, replacing the fence posts the soldiers had burned in their ca the manure left by the horses in the trampled buckwheat fields
In der Platz, a s the statehouse bell out of the broken wagon The spokes that Brother Andrew and the chevalier de Clerht were not for a neheel but a whole neagon How the Brethren had ed to construct it so quickly was a o
Marcus watched as the led with the heavy load Only one ht: the chevalier de Clerroans or complaints issued from his lips
But it was not only theplace in der Platz A few of the sisters were assisting the process, adjusting ropes and darting to place another block under the wagon’s wheels to keep it steady A group from the children’s choir stood nearby while their teacher explained as happening, highlighting the ure out the best way to transfer the bell froon to another
Brother Andrew kept a close eye on the neagon as the statehouse bell was placed inside and the blocks were removed to allow its slow descent down the road to the creek The brethren and sisters broke into spontaneous applause when the wagon started to move Marcus joined them
“Perhaps you will stay here, Liebling, and learn Geraps where she was le brethren—for a tiht court Sister Liesel, and start a family”
For a moment Marcus considered what life would be like were he to leave the arside Brother Eckhardt in the laboratory, spendingthe books in the Gemeinhaus
“To join the Brethren, you have to tell your life’s story and how you found God” The chevalier de Cler to every word
A sense of danger surrounded the French soldier, as though de Clermont knew Marcus’s true name—and what had happened in Hadley
“La!” Gerty waved her hand “Doc willso full of sin it will satisfy even the Brüderge soave him a salacious wink and strolled away
“Stay with Dr Otto and the arh”
For now, Marcus thought For now
PART 2
’Tis Time to Part
Male and feood and bad the distinctions of heaven; but how a race of uished like so into, and whether they are the means of happiness or misery to mankind
—THOMAS PAINE
18
Fifteen
28 MAY
When Phoebe awoke on her fifteenth day as a vampire, she discovered that the world was somehow more sensual than it had been only the day before The touch of silk on her skin was so arousing, so provocative, that she sought refuge in nakedness, shedding her nightgown so quickly that the straps broke and the seams tore
That had been a mistake
The breath of air that caressed her bare neck reminded her of Marcus The feel of cool sheets took her back to his bed But the softness of the pillohere she rested her cheek was a poor substitute for his familiar body
Phoebe had taken a shower to cool down her heated thoughts, but it only ers had dipped into her cleft to ease the pressure, but her ht no relief She picked up a bar of soap and threw it at the porcelain wall in frustration, unsatisfied
It had been a very long day
Françoise delivered a tray to Phoebe’s rooht On it was coffee, dark chocolate, and red wine—the only substances she could stomach at this point in her development besides blood
“Soon, you will have to feed,” Françoise said as she slowly plunged the lass carafe “And not on cat”
Phoebe was riveted by the suggestive slide of lass It reminded her suddenly, sharply, of Marcus and sent a ripple of need through her body Memories flooded her mind
She was in her flat in Spitalfields It was the first night Marcus hadthe connection with her eyes as he slowly—so slowly—entered her They hadn’t made it to the bed that first time, or the second
Phoebe closed her eyes, but the heavenly scent of coffee set herdown another of memory’s paths
It was a war in Marcus’s house on Coliseum Street The aroma of chicory and coffee beans was a darkly bitter note in the bright air Ranso theht’s business at the Do over one of the stories, a cup of steaers cool in spite of the heat, one hooked into the waist of the pajama bottoms she’d found in the chest of drawers They were softly worn, the legs rolled up so that she wouldn’t trip on their length Marcus added another finger to the first, bothin a sinuous pattern on her lower back, and pressed a kiss to her damp neck in a promise of the afternoon pleasures to come
Phoebe’sin her chair
“You need blood” Françoise’s blunt voice broke memory’s spell
“That’s not what I want” Phoebe’s whole body was a single, focused ache It originated in her core, from an empty place that could only be filled by another creature
By Marcus
“These feelings you are having, they are a sign that you are ready to take hu Persephone fro the cat on the armchair Françoise picked up the tattered silk and tossed it in the laundry basket hidden in the wardrobe o;I put ht me”