“Do you have any idea how much inconvenience you’ve caused?” she asked Ned. “Not to mention what you did to Chloe. You do realize she’s one of the biggest pop stars in the world, don’t you?”
“I didn’t know that at the time,” Ned told her. “I just thought she was pretty.”
Jane made a noise of disgust. “You thought she was pretty,” she said, the sneer in her voice only partially manufactured. “Perhaps in the future you should do your thinking with this,” she said, rapping Ned on the head with her closed fist, “and not with … little Ned,” she concluded, glancing meaningfully at the young man’s crotch.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Byron trying very hard not to laugh. This caused her to want to begin laughing, and she was forced to turn her back to Ned and bite her lip while she regained her composure. Clearing her throat, she said, “I have half a mind to stake you.”
“No!” Ned said, clearly startled.
Jane winked at Byron and turned back to face the now frightened young man. “And why not?” she asked. “You’ve broken one of the vampire commandments. The punishment for that is staking.”
Ned looked at Byron. “But he never told me about any command—”
“And that’s his failing,” Jane snapped. “But my concern is with you.” She clasped her hands and tapped the tips of her index fingers together. “I’m afraid we have no choice.”
Ned began to weep. It broke Jane’s heart to see him cry, and she had to try very hard not to sit beside him and comfort him. It occurred to her that perhaps she had not fully considered the difficulty of playing the bad guy.
“Wait a moment,” Byron said. He moved to the couch and took the place to Ned’s right, putting his arm around the young man’s shoulders. “He’s right,” he said, looking up at Jane. “It’s my fault for not instructing him properly.”
“He still should have known,” Jane argued. “It’s only common sense.”
“Please,” Ned said, sniffling. “There must be some way I can make up for what I’ve done. I’ll do anything. Just tell me what to do.”
Jane and Byron exchanged glances. It was time for Byron to take over, and Jane wondered what he’d come up with.
“There might be an alternative,” Byron said cautiously.
Ned looked up. “What?” he asked. “What is it?”
Byron appeared to think. He shook his head. “I don’t know,” he said. “Perhaps not.”
Ned looked as if he might burst into tears again as he said, “Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”
Byron looked at Jane. “There is the option of penance,” he said. “If the guilty party commits an act of selfless devotion to our people, he might be forgiven. Is that not correct?”
Jane had no idea whether it was or was not. As far as she knew, they were making the entire thing up out of whole cloth. “I suppose so,” she said.
“Then perhaps he could assist us in the matter of Beverly Shrop,” said Byron.
“How so?” Jane asked, wanting very much to hear the answer herself.
Byron addressed Ned. “We’ve recently discovered that Beverly Shrop is one of our kind.”
Ned blinked. “She’s a vampire?” he said.
Byron nodded. “Yes. But in name only. I’m afraid she’s aligned herself with a human vampire hunter.” He looked at Ned, appearing concerned. “I don’t know if I can ask this of you,” he said.
“You can,” Ned assured him. “What is it?”
Byron took a deep breath. “If we had someone who was close to Beverly, someone in whom she might confide, we might be able to find out exactly what she and her human master have planned.”
Jane realized what Byron was asking before Ned did. The idea sickened her, but she said nothing. It was Byron’s game to play out now.
“Why would she tell me anything?” asked Ned. “She doesn’t even know who I am.”
Byron stroked the young man’s arm. “That’s exactly the point, my boy,” he said. “She already knows who—and what—I am. I could never gain her trust. But you are a complete mystery to her. Fresh blood, as it were.”
Ned swallowed hard. “What makes you think she would be interested in me?” he asked.
Byron laughed lightly. “You’re a very attractive young man,” he said, stroking Ned’s neck. “As you know, I myself was overcome by your considerable assets.”
“You thought I was my brother,” said Ned.
“Yes, well, there was a great deal of wine involved,” Byron replied testily. “Anyway, that’s not the point. The point is that Beverly Shrop is sure to find you desirable.”
Ned, understanding dawning on him, wrinkled his nose in disgust. “You want me to sleep with her?” he said.
“Crudely put,” said Byron. “But yes.”
Ned shuddered. “But she must be at least fifty,” he said. His eyes darted to Jane. “No offense,” he added.
Jane started to speak but was cut off by a look from Byron. Fifty! she thought. He thinks I’m fifty!
“I realize that the idea of romancing Miss Shrop may be distasteful,” Byron told Ned. “But it would help us—all of us—immensely. Besides, the alternative is not entirely pleasant.”
Again Ned looked at Jane. She saw fear in his eyes, and in order to keep herself from telling him that this was all a ruse she reminded herself that he thought her too old to be attractive.
“Byron is right,” she said firmly. “It’s either penance or staking. The law is very clear on the matter.”
Ned swallowed hard. “All right, then,” he said. “I’ll do it. I’ll be Beverly Shrop’s cougar bait.”
Byron smiled at Jane. “See?” he said. “I knew we could work something out.” He ran his fingers through Ned’s hair. “Grrrrowwwllll,” he purred.
Chapter 19
When Jane walked into Flyleaf Books on Tuesday morning she found Lucy in a peculiar mood. The manager was going through the mail and humming a tuneless but cheerful little song as she tossed the various envelopes into two piles. She seemed slightly more dressed up than usual, having traded her habitual summer combination of jeans and a T-shirt for a short-sleeved white silk shirt and a flowy skirt made out of deep purple batik fabric patterned with orange and gold birds. Her dark curly hair hung loose about her shoulders, and even from forty feet away Jane’s keen nose detected the scent of violets rising from her skin.
“What’s going on?” Jane asked, setting the cup of takeout coffee in her hand on the counter.
“Hmm?” Lucy said. “Nothing. Why?”
“You’re wearing real clothes,” said Jane. “And you smell nice.”
“Are you saying that I usually stink?” Lucy asked.
“Something’s up,” Jane insisted. “Out with it.”
Lucy smiled. “Ben and I have a lunch date,” she said. She then made another sound that turned into a cough.
“Did you just giggle?” said Jane. “And then try to cover it up?”
Lucy coughed again, but her attempt was halfhearted at best. “I did not giggle,” she said. “I do not giggle.”
“How many times have you seen him?” Jane asked.
Lucy shrugged. “Twice, I guess,” she answered. “Why?”
“Twice?” said Jane. “In the past year you haven’t gone out twice with anyone. You’ve gone out twice with Ben in five days. Three and a half, really, since you met him Friday night and it’s not even nine o’clock yet.”
“To be fair, one of those times was a picnic with Sarah,” Lucy said. “That’s not really a date date.”
“What did you do on the date date, then?” asked Jane.
“We were going to go out to dinner,” Lucy said. “But we ended up ordering in Chinese and watching a movie.”
“Interesting,” said Jane. She was enjoying teasing her friend. She didn’t often get to do it, so now she wanted to make the most of it. “And what was the movie?”
“I don’t remember,” Lucy said.
“Liar,” said Jane. “What was it?”
Lucy sighed. “I don’t want to tell you,” she said.