Chapter 84
Previously: The Rose of Whitby – Chapter 83
Darcy’s not sure what all the commotion is about, she was feeling lovely up until Gregory showed up, could they please focus on that? But that’s her daddy’s maid, so she tries to be nice despite her drac’s hackles being up as it fights against the sense of cold helplessness, fighting back with… with she doesn’t really know what, but it’s like a little swirl in her blood, as if she isn’t fully alone, as if there’s the merest hint of another presence in her mind. Not the way Gregory is there, no, supportive and strong and by her side. She can be strong like this! “I was sleeping under it. I probably got warm and opened it sleepily.”
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“Probably? You don’t remember?” The girl still sounds urgent, and then her eyes go even wider. “I fell asleep! Why did I fall asleep?” She clasps her own hands around her neck and… whimpers? Arthur would have to call that a whimper. “Oh no, this is very bad!” And then she runs off, with no regard for the noise she’s making, calling for Mr Bloxham, the head butler.
Despite that Darcy insists to Arthur that she was fine, adds in a low whisper. “Until Gregory shook me awake.”
Arthur’s not sure what to make of all this- why is the maid acting so scared? And why is Darcy… kind of leaning away from Gregory’s hovering? Who also thinks something is wrong… He stays where he is, holding her. “Well, something scared that girl…”
“Somebody was in here.” Gregory declares, locks his eyes on Darcy for another moment, then looks at Arthur and suddenly grins again before he turns cat and stalks about the room, jumps up on the windowsill and declares that it smells of cologne.
Arthur looks a question at Darcy, but doesn’t get to ask because returning steps sound out in the hallway. He waves at Gregory to turn back, and he just about does before Mr Bloxham arrives in the room. He only asks for Darcy’s leave to enter in a very perfunctory way, too, and comes over to look at the brown smudge on her neck in great concern. “My lady, do you remember opening the window to anyone- or anything? Are you feeling at all weak or faint?”
Of course she’s feeling weak, she does that sometimes after Gregory looks at her, and she often doesn’t quite remember what he did, but that’s not what the butler is asking, she thinks, as she sits back up on her own. “A bit when I woke up, but I was feeling fine. Peaceful. I liked the fresh air. That’s all.”
She can’t possibly say that she remembers smiling at the thought of a bat. These people still think Daddy is a hunter and they are really mean to bats and rats and all her other night friends, so if she admits to that, they’ll say bad things.
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“You remember nothing further? No… presences, no dreams?” Mr Bloxham presses, and clearly, Arthur thinks, he knows exactly what he’s thinking is going on. And Gregory did say he could smell someone else had been there. Arthur gives him a look, though, to not say anything, since he doesn’t know how vampire hunter staff think about aberrations.
Wonders of wonders, Gregory closes his mouth again.
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Dreams? Darcy tries to remember, feels a blush and smile creep onto her face without meaning to, because no, she can’t remember anything specific, but her drac is feeling so elated, so happy, she has a warm sensation sitting deep in her stomach, melting away the last bit of the coldness Gregory had put there. That’s not really an answer, though. She just looks at Mr Bloxham and says the best she can: “Nothing bad, no, maybe I had nice dreams, I felt happy.”
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Mr Bloxham doesn’t look reassured, unfortunately, Arthur thinks. But he turns to the maid instead. “And you don’t remember falling asleep?”
The girl shakes her head, then looks unsure. “I remember sitting down for some darning by the candle, and then suddenly becoming very tired.” She looks towards the dressing room, then gasps. “Oh! I had something to drink.”
She rushes off, brings the glass to the butler, who studies the left-over liquid in it, sniffs it, then dips the tip of his finger into it to taste it. After a long moment, he frowns. “Drugged, I believe.” He turns towards them, very serious.
“My lady, gentlemen, I do believe there may have been a vampire attack here. One by one powerful enough to affect your memory. If you have been lured into letting him in, this house is no longer safe. Of course, you may stay out the night. It is unlikely that he will be back tonight, as he has achieved his goal. Tomorrow, we will evacuate the household, and I urge you to leave London. If this was your first encounter and you are in luck, you will shake him.”
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Darcy’s drac growls at being told there was an attack and they may shake the vampire, that’s… that feels horrible! But still, what if the man is right? She can’t let anything happen to Arthur! Her arms are around him in an instant, and she nods at the butler, narrowing her eyes, realising that they have nothing to pack and Arthur and Gregory are fully dressed anyway. “We could depart right now. If I am the one who drew him, then I should not remain where I pose a danger to you.”
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Arthur is startled by her vehemence, but… if there is a hostile vampire out there, he’d rather be behind the castle’s wards.
The butler frowns, pulls out his pocket watch, then nods. “The first train will depart in a little over an hour. If you prefer, I can have some of the men escort you there.”
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Feeling much better for her arms around Arthur and with Gregory a few steps away… Somehow, that little prickle at the back of her mind makes Darcy feel she can do anything, she can be strong and protective and in charge. “No, we have imposed on you too much already. See to your people, Daddy’s people. I don’t want anybody hurt. Especially with him off on a mission. He wouldn’t want that. We can see to ourselves from here on.” Standing up, she thanks her maid, apologises to her, too, then urges Gregory and Arthur on, they should get ready.
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Arthur thinks the butler looks sceptical, but maybe also a bit relieved, and of course he doesn’t argue with Darcy. He only tells them to be careful- If it’s a vampire who can manipulate memories, they’re dealing with at least a minstrel, and he might be able to do other kinds of mind control. Which Arthur doesn’t like the sound of at all.
But then… it’s still possible that it’s a false alarm, right? But on the other hand, Gregory did say he smelled someone, and Darcy doesn’t seem to remember anyone being there, and Mr Bloxham is definitely taking it seriously.
In any case, the sooner they are back behind the castle wards, the better. Especially since Darcy is a dhampir, and the book said that vampires are likely to kill dhampirs. This one didn’t, yet, and that makes Arthur think that maybe it wasn’t a random attack, that there’s some kind of scheme going on. Or what if it was another dhampir, rather than a vampire, he thinks, his thoughts straying to Quincy and that red hair of his.
There isn’t much to do to get ready, anyway, they only have to wait for Darcy to change clothes and then pick up their coats in the hall.
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Darcy hates the duplicity of telling the first cab to bring them to the train station only to take a second cab to Arthur’s house. And she’s sniffing the air all the while, there’s something… something close that makes her want to jump out of the cab and run after it into the dark. Maybe there is something to this whole idea of a vampire, but… why would her drac wag its tail at the thought? No, she refuses to believe she was attacked!
But still, she has to keep Arthur safe, and that means she doesn’t stop holding his hand until they are safely back at the castle… and um, does he feel safe sleeping alone? “The sofa in my room is comfortable.”
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Arthur can’t remember the last time he was this apprehensive about being out and about the city at night. Or, well, actually he can, it would’ve been back in August, before… everything.
So he breathes a sigh of relief when his front door closes behind them, and an even bigger one when that in the library’s mezzanine does and puts them suddenly hundreds of miles away from London, and any vampires stalking the night. And he does very much appreciate Darcy’s hand in his. He isn’t sure either of them would be a match for a really powerful vampire, especially one who can just make them forget things, but being together is still better than being alone.
Of course, Darcy’s offer of her sofa makes him blush- he’s really not supposed to be sleeping in her room. On the other hand… They’re at the castle, and there’s no servants here, so who’d know? And… and maybe that way, they can warn each other if any vampire weirdness happens. So he accepts.
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“Go get your night-things. I won’t look,” Darcy tells him. Just about to get him pillows, she has a thought, or rather, her drac is trying to drag her into a certain direction and it’s blasted right to do so! Squeezing Arthur’s hand, she runs off to wake John. He wouldn’t want to not know and he likes protecting people, he should be there. She wants him close. She missed him! And he is so very dear to her. If they are in danger, no, she wants him and Arthur close so she can keep an eye on them!
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Obviously, the thought of being in his pyjamas and sleeping in the same room has Arthur keep blushing… but as he heads to his room to get his things, he wonders why. They slept in the same room, basically, in the cabin. And Darcy’s barged into his room early enough in the morning now a bunch of times that he was still in his pyjamas.
Yes, it’s not appropriate and all, but it’s not like Darcy’s going to make anything of it? And of course pyjamas are different from street clothes, but it’s not like he’s not wearing anything. Especially not if he puts a dressing gown on top, then he’s basically as layered up as he is in everyday life.
No, he decides, it’s maybe a little embarrassing, but it’s just them, it’s fine. And keeping each other safe from danger is way more important than modesty and propriety, anyway.
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It’s way too fucking early! Why is it always so early when something happens? But okay, apparently Darcy just insists that he comes over to her bed and hey, why would he protest against that? John missed his girl, and she said something about keeping everybody safe and fuck yes, he can do that! Not Gregory, Gregory can go fuck himself… but then, huh, he normally never shows up when he’s around, so maybe that’s also why Darcy is bringing him over. In any case, he’s yawning even while he has his naked arm around Darcy’s middle and stumbles into her room. He knows that room well enough to not bump into things, he definitely knows his way to her bed.
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Arthur’s just about gotten settled under the blankets on Darcy’s couch when she returns- with John in tow. That drives the blush right back into his face. Though, going by the fact that John’s eyes don’t seem to be open at all, Arthur thinks John’s basically sleep-walking and probably doesn’t even notice him.
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Once she has John walking to his proper spot in her bed, Darcy dashes back off, is only gone for a little bit, then runs back in with Arthur’s stuffed genet, but then hovers in front of the sofa. She’s holding it out, halfway, finds herself looking back and forth between the sofa and her bed and just… steps from foot to foot because she has such an impulse to nest him in properly. Nice and safe and warm in the bed. She feels mean making him sleep on a sofa when the bed is large enough, but he’s already blushing and she doesn’t know what to do. How to be good for him.
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Arthur reaches out for the genet, murmurs a “thank you” for it. Now that he’s lying down, he can feel tiredness hitting him like a lead blanket. He’s been up for way, way too long, he just wants some sleep, but it’s nice to have his plushie for a cuddle.
What Darcy’s hesitancy is about, he isn’t sure, and too tired to figure out. Maybe she’s wondering whether she shouldn’t have gotten John or something? “It’s okay,” he tells her, anyway, because whatever it is- he’s comfy here, and now he just wants to go to sleep.
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Taking that as Arthur telling her he wants to stay where he is (she’s probably just too much again), she tells him “Sleep well, Arthur-dear,” and gets herself into bed, pulls her dress off under the cover and quietly thanks the house for putting her nightgown where she can put it on. As per usual when John is here, Gregory isn’t, and she’s so glad for that, her drac feels like now she can go back to sleeping as peacefully as she did before. And she does, curled into John’s arms, of course she does.
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When John wakes up, he feels like he forgot something… oh, right, Darcy grabbed him in the middle of the night. That’s her bed he’s in. If all the purple wouldn’t give it away, her being clamped around his middle definitely would. She always does that and he finds himself grinning like the happily-in-love dolt he is. His girl couldn’t wait until the morning to see him again.
Wait… right, there also was something about keeping everybody safe. Sitting up slightly, moving slowly because he knows by now that otherwise he’ll get Darcy holding on full force, he looks around. Yupp, that would be an Arthur on the sofa.
Awkward.
But then again, why? Darcy got everybody into her room and fetched him for protection. He’s the man of the house, that includes looking out for their local pacifist mage. If they were that worried, this might have something to do with Arthur’s asshole father and, well, that guy is on his ‘punch on sight’-list, so sure, let him sleep over there, safely close to the dhampir and the aberration.
The one thing John cares about is Gregory not being here and luckily, nope, he isn’t. So fine, then, early watch it is. Can he reach his book on the nightstand? “Thanks, house spirit”, he murmurs. That wouldn’t have worked without a bit of cheating, Darcy is even clingier than normal. Putting a protective hand on her hair, he settles in comfortably against the headboard, readjusts the blanket to cover him so he doesn’t freeze, and keeps glancing over the top of the book, just to make sure to keep an eye on the situation.
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When Arthur wakes up, he’s very disoriented- he’s comfortable, but that’s not his bed, it’s not wide enough. And he feels all fuzzy-headed from too little sleep, but also, there’s light in the room, which means he overslept… Also, that’s not his room, he doesn’t have… a purple couch?
Then he remembers what happened the night before, and where he is, and he lifts his head enough to see, yupp, Darcy’s bed. With, presumably, Darcy in it, that mound of blankets by John’s side is probably her. And, yes, John is there, sitting up against the headboard, awake and reading and now looking over, so of course Arthur blushes, but also offers a quiet: “Good morning.”
“Morning,” is John’s chuckled answer before he adds: “Be glad she let you sleep over there or this would be more awkward.”
Arthur vaguely remembers Darcy’s hesitancy the night before- or rather, earlier this morning. Was that what that was about? “Uh… yes,” he agrees, heartfelt. He sits up, stuffing his genet out of sight under the blanket, rubs his eyes and face to try and get his mind in gear and the cobwebs cleared out.
John helps that along by asking for a better report on the situation, after all, there ought to be a good reason why Darcy pulled something like this.
Right, yes. Arthur takes a deep breath, and then gives him the details of the situation- the suspected vampire attack, what Art’s people seemed to take for signs of it, the open window, the blood-looking smudge on her neck, the possibly-drugged maid. But he also mentions that Darcy said she felt fine. Though she doesn’t seem to clearly remember opening that window… Oh, and Gregory smelled someone in the room, said he smelled cologne. Which makes him look around and wonder: Where is Gregory? He… can’t quite remember seeing him after they got to the castle.
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Brushing Darcy’s hair aside, John takes a look. No, she didn’t clean up and, with a cough, he recognizes that pattern. He’s cleaned it off himself before, after all. Gently turning her head (Darcy’s only reaction being to snore a bit louder when he turns her on her back,) he doesn’t find any other signs on her though. “I have to agree with the butler, that’s definitely a bite licked over sloppily. But aren’t vampires supposed to hate dhampirs?” There’s a slight blush stealing onto his face, but he keeps going. “Darcy’s not worried and I know when that kind of pattern happens… I want to go protective, but uh, are we sure she wasn’t making out with that vampire?”
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Obviously, Arthur’s blush returns full force. “Uuuuuh… I mean, that’s kind of what I was wondering- about the vampires supposedly hating dhampirs and, um… shouldn’t one have tried to kill her? And if he didn’t… why not? But… but, um, if it was… a nice vampire and all… Why doesn’t she remember?” He frowns. “That… that’s really shady, isn’t it? Like, how can she know if she was okay with what happened if she doesn’t remember? And making her forget means that… that she can’t ask for help if she needs it.” He grimaces. “I don’t… like it? Is it some kind of scheme? Who is this vampire? What does he want? …Is it even a vampire? Maybe it’s a dhampir?”
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While he runs a hand down his face, John groans. “I don’t fucking know the answers to any of that.” He also doesn’t like his brain wondering if she made out with that vampire because it’s a pretty boy of a vampire and Gregory made her do it. Selling her as exotic blood to get his gross molly hands on a vampire sounds just like Gregory, and the vampire wiping her mind… Hey, that might be a mercy, but no, he doesn’t like it either. “So, assume the worst until we get any proof to the contrary? Keep her safe. That’s what I care about.”
“Yeah, I don’t know any of those answers, either, and that’s why I’m concerned… Also, how powerful that vampire or dhampir is. If he can make her forget, what else can he make her do? I remember reading something about vampires being able to make you think you’re in love with them or something. And Art’s people were really concerned, they’re evacuating the house and everything. And of course vampire hunters are really biased when it comes to vampires and dhampirs, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t dangerous and powerful and can’t have agendas that fuck us over…” Arthur nods. “Yeah, let’s err on the side of caution and keep her and ourselves as safe as we can.”
That gets a snort out of John, he remembers how fucking useless that session on ‘how to fight a vampire’ from Jack made him feel. “Fucking lot we can do there, but yeah, let’s do it. I’m locked in here until Darcy wakes up and if we’re playing it safe, how about we don’t break the group up, so breakfast?”
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“Locked in?” Arthur asks, but nods to the suggestion of breakfast. His growling stomach agrees, too. Apparently his body thinks that if he’s not going to give it enough sleep, he should at least feed it instead. Speaking of the group… “Uh… where’s Gregory, though?”
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Nodding, John shoves the blanket down a bit to show Darcy’s arms in their typical deathgrip around him before shrugging. “Not here, is all I care about on that front.”
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“…How can she hold on while sleeping?” Arthur wonders, because… shouldn’t her muscles be relaxed when she’s sleeping? But also, that’s kind of cute… Though not really his business if she’s cute when cuddling with John or not, is it? “And, well, it’d be bad if he ran into that vampire probably?”
What if the vampire mind-controlled him? Or followed him back or something? Or, well, hurt him? But there isn’t really anything Arthur can do right now, running off half-cocked when he has no idea where to start looking if Gregory isn’t in the castle makes no sense, and if Gregory is in the castle, there’s no reason to worry, is there?
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“It’s a Darcy-thing.” John’s long accepted it as just a loveable quirk of his girl, just a way she shows her love (yeah, the wrong one she would say, but he’ll take it). “Not much we can do if he runs off, but I am not sleeping in the same room with him, so this suits me well enough.” Covering Darcy up again after gently ruffling through her hair, John shrugs and asks the house for breakfast.