Page 44 of Once Bitten, Twice Mine

“Did Mrs. Thomas mention an arrival time?”

“Sometime around luncheon.”

Caroline did the mental math and her time was coming up short. There was plenty of time for her to scarf down breakfast and get to town to see Dr. Murnau and still be back in time for luncheon, but that wasn’t taking into consideration any time spent there beyond a quick conversation. It wasn’t even mid-morning, and she still felt like she had lost most of her day.

“I can’t do both, can I?”

Lucy shook her head. “Mrs. Thomas wanted me to remind you that your fiancé paid a small fortune to get you the exact dress you wanted and your charity work—while admirable—could be put on hold for a single day.”

She wasn’t sure if that was true, but she didn’t know how to explain it without scaring Lucy and sending the household into a panic because there was no way she could keep it to herself. Once she knew more about the situation and how they could protect themselves, then she would let everyone know.

“I’ll write a note you can have sent to the doctor explaining my absence.”

She only hoped what he faced at the hospital wasn’t too dire.

* * *

Her fingers deftly moved the bobbins back and forth as she sank into the rhythm of weaving her lace. It had been far too long since she last worked on her veil. She was behind schedule, which was just another tally in her mounting list of failures.

A knock sounded at the door before Mrs. Thomas entered.

“Is Madame Gavreau here already?” she asked without taking her eyes away from her project.

“No, Miss Evans is here to see you.”

Caroline’s eyes shot up to the housekeeper. “Diya’s here? In person?”

“Yes, she’s waiting for you in the sitting room,” Mrs. Thomas said before leaving.

Caroline scrubbed her face with her hands. She should have expected Diya wouldn’t take well to her brush-off. Unfortunately, it was what she would do if their roles were reversed.

Sighing, Caroline stood. She would have to do everything in her power to send Diya away. No one could know Valeria was still there, not when Caroline still suspected she may be the vampire behind it all.

Vampire. It still felt outrageous to think of Valeria being an evil vampire. The previous evening she had been sweet. Mostly. Still, she hadn’t looked at her hungrily or spoken about how sweet her blood smelled.

Steeling herself, she walked into the sitting room. Diya paced before the window, clutching her deep red bonnet that matched the wool dress she wore. Her head snapped to Caroline, and almost instantly her look of concern melted away into a dazzling smile.

“Caro, there you are! I was beginning to worry.”

“Why? I’ve only been here.”

It didn’t feel good to lie to her best friend when her only crime was caring about her well-being, but she could mend any bruised feelings after the vampire was gone and everything was safe in their village again.

Diya rolled her eyes. “Do you really think I don’t know anything about what’s going on here?”

Her stomach sank. “I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I heard about Nelly, and I’m so sorry. That must have been a terrible shock.”

“Oh.” Caroline felt horrible at how relieved she was that this was what Diya knew. “It was a horrific tragedy. She’ll be greatly missed.”

God, it felt awful to speak of her in such a hollow way when her killer was at large—and likely sleeping upstairs—but from the look of sympathy on Diya’s face, she knew her best friend was buying her performance.

“And is your father doing better? I know he and your mother have gone to the seaside. Does he have the same illness as poor Nelly?”

Caroline was going to throttle Lucy if she couldn’t learn to keep a secret. At this point it was the only quality she wanted in a lady’s maid.

“He improved before he left. Dr. Murnau isn’t sure if he had the same affliction, but sent him away so he could heal in peace.”