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My ht to s the luht ofofinside at the poor, pathetic loser he could estions and a pity lay?

Bitingat the corners of ns of emotional indifference With Cal, I’d slept with ame

"You will not cry in the rowl "You will not cry here You will not cry in the car You will finish up here, go hoe, like lava rising from the pit ofor, at least, ht of self-doubt How dare he? How dare hethis on? Secondhand accounts from Council officials? Had he watcheda telephoto lens was a great way to sketch someone’s character And, followed by the scanner, when I heard a voice outside the door Terror replacedto have a hard ti so her ass from the sparse collection of cells between her ears" I scrambled to restack the files on the table Should I hide? Should I try to crawl under the desk?

I slipped around the desk to the black leather armchair decorated with zebra-striped pillows I dropped the tote on the floor and crossedpatiently I concentrated onto slow ht now Pit stains would both tip off and offend Ophelia

The door clicked open behind h

She arched an eyebrow "Iris, we didn’t have an appoint carefully around the scanner, I pulled the shoe-box-sized carton out ofexcitey "I know, but I couldn’t wait to drop off the Clarenbault!"

For a ht passed over her eyes She looked like the schoolgirl she pretended to be She held out her hands and took the box fro it to find a sweet-faced porcelain princess in an intricately eown

"Oh, she is a beauty" Ophelia sighed "I am very pleased, Iris"

"Wonderful, but I’d be more comfortable if you didn’t look at the receipt while I’ her office to sit in her desk chair "You knohat I find interesting about you, Iris?"

"My puckish sense of huhtly on the last syllable

She tilted her head, resting her chin on her hand She eyed lee "You’ve never asked why I ask for dolls and toys and frilly dresses"

I cleared ure that’s your business"

"You’re not wrong," she said, glancing down at the framed portrait "You have a sister, yes? Gladiola How old is she now?"

"Seventeen going on forty," Ito think about besides the nuet aith it The sideways ass-staking was definitely in the lead

She snorted "You have no idea how apt that description can be I have a sister, too Georgina I was nine years older"

My brows rose Did she say "have"? I peered at the gray-eyed little girl in the portrait but decided it was in my best interest not to coht us over on one of the crossings just after the Mayflower It was ht, I would go aboveboard just to get a breath of fresh air while everybody else was asleep And I found that there was a va to stay under the radar He didn’t threaten me or try to bite I think he was just lonely"

I sat stock-still, afraid that Ophelia would realize howwith uts to n on in story here"

"When we landed, I expected hiet me, but he stayed near and watched I think he kne hard life would be in Massachusetts There was rarely enough food We had to work constantly just to scratch out the barest existence He turned me before I could die of as probably the flu

"I rose just in tiie had taken ill I couldn’t stand the idea of letting her be buried in an unrave My friend and sire, Joseph, ordered me not to turn her, but she was ie He had no choice but to take me before what served as the Council in those days They decided that they would let Georgie live but that I would be responsible for her for the rest of ie?" I asked "I take it she’s the proud recipient of frilly dresses and antique dolls?"

"She has beautiful taste," Ophelia said She leaned forward on her elbows, staring atthe sacrifices we have er sisters survive, if not thrive That survival may not come in the form ould hope, but we do the best we can"

Cryptic, thy name is Ophelia

In the face of my blank stare, she frowned, the classic frustration line for between her downy black brows She cleared her throat and tried a different tack "I’ve always appreciated your discretion when it coie’s special orders Very few people know about her existence"

I nodded "So why are you telling ood faith," she said "I want to level the playing field, so to speak You’re a person who kno to keep information to herself You’re so that information could hurt other people People who are important to you and to the vampire community"

Ophelia shuffled soe in her calendar "Soer, particularly if other people are aware of e know No matter e are or what our positions are, we have to keep in , so solanced down atthat information private, you let me know," Ophelia said "I may not be able to intervene directly, but I a to find that information You’d be amazed how I can work behind the scenes It’s a talent I think the two of us share"

I nodded slowly "I understand"

She beaie is mad for a first-edition copy of The Secret Garden She had one, but she put her thu what this vampire child could be capable of with an actual huie Ever