Sorry for the cliffie, so here is the next chapter. Thanks to all of you who have read and reviewed, it means a lot!

Chapter 3

Beth didn't say anything as she looked wide-eyed at the man across from her. She quickly got up from her seat and started to leave. He felt her panic and her heart rate increase.

"Please," he said laying a cool hand on her arm, "I didn't mean to startle you. It's quite all right you know."

His touch was light, and now Beth could see him sniff her. He's a vampire, stupid.

"What …what do you want?" she stammered out.

He smiled again, "Just to sit down and talk. I'm sorry; I thought you knew who I was."

Beth resumed her seat and took a gulp of wine. "Um, I think my vampire radar is on the fritz." She smiled back at him. He was so easy going and charming it seemed natural.

"I don't think anything about you is on the 'fritz', Ms. Turner. You make an old man happy to be with a beautiful woman." He said flirtatiously.

Beth cocked an eyebrow. This guy didn't look over 30 but Beth knew that didn't mean much with vampires. Her reporter instincts kicked in, "Just how old are you, Mr. Conley?"

"Please call me Ewan," he leaned back with his drink. "You know I haven't thought about it recently. Let's see, not quite 700 years. I was born in 1320, outside of what is now Galway in Ireland."

Beth looked at him in shock. As she regained her composure, he could feel her curiosity, but there was also an underlying sadness about her. He found her interesting, and not much besides his work had interested him in a long time. It would be pleasant to spend more time with her.

"So I guess you're about the oldest vampire around, huh?" Beth checked to make sure they weren't being overheard.

"No, Ms. Turner, there are quite a few older than myself. I also have a sister who is about my age."

"Your real sister?"

"Yes, we were turned at the same time," Ewan said, quietly.

Beth felt she had intruded on his privacy, and said, "Oh, I didn't mean ….."

Ewan regarded her as she flushed. She smelled delicious, and the blood just under her skin made him glad he fed. He could tell she wasn't marked by any other vampire, although he scented two other males as well as a male human. He found her intriguing and definitely different than the Council had told him to expect. .

"Would you really like to hear about me?" He asked. Beth nodded.

"Well," Ewan began, "My family had lands and estates and my father was what would now be considered a baron. I was the second son; I had an older brother and sister. Since my brother would inherit, I was packed off to the church."

Beth didn't want to interrupt, but softly asked, "Did you mind that?"

"No, not really," he said, "Except I missed my sister Moira. The church in those days was the only place where you could be educated, and I enjoyed learning. We also helped the poor and sick. The monastery I was at was some distance from my family, so I was surprised to receive a message after I had been there a few years. My father was calling me home. It was 1348 and the plague had arrived at the Irish ports and made its way inland. My brother had been taken by the disease, and I was now the heir. My sister had married, but the plague killed her two children and husband and she returned to my father's house.

Ewan looked at Beth, who was listening raptly. "You have no idea, , the difference of that time," he glanced around the lounge, "it was dirty, hard, little food with more diseases than the plague. Thirty was considered old, if you made it that far. My father was a proud man, and determined that our lands would remain in the family. The disease did not discriminate and most of the population around our village was being decimated. My father heard of an estate in a neighboring county where no one seemed to be sick, so he sent us there to ride out the infection and stay healthy." Ewan smirked. "He had no idea he was sending us into a nest of vampires."

Ewan signaled the server and they waited for fresh drinks to arrive.

"Vampires?" Beth breathed after the server left.

"Yes, there were 3 of them. Moira and I soon found out what they were, but we didn't mind donating our blood to live in the castle away from the pestilence. In order to keep us healthy, the vampires made us drink small amounts of their blood. We stayed with them for many months and one of them, Quinn, fell in love my sister and offered to turn her. She felt the same, but refused unless he turned me as well. We found our family had all died and there were few left to work the land, so our estate was abandoned. Quinn turned both of us and we left Ireland after a time and traveled."

"Wow," Beth said, "and you lived through all that history.

"Actually, we tried to live around history and not be too conspicuous. As our kind ages we gain more power, and it's easier to stay hidden. But in the beginning it can be difficult. Fortunately, there were no fingerprints, internet or digital cameras." Ewan chuckled.

"Still, it must have been interesting. Where did you go after that?"

"We went to France. Our sire had some experience with winemaking and was able to buy a vineyard. He and my sister built it up, and bought two other vineyards in the Germanic states. We moved between them over the years to hide the fact we don't age."

"So you run a vineyard?"

"No, I wanted to travel, and after a few years at the winery I wandered around Europe, mostly attending the universities that were being established at that time."

"A perpetual student, I see," Beth laughed.

Ewan smiled as well. "Guilty, I'm afraid. But I've been nattering away about myself and we haven't touched on what I wanted to see you about."

Beth was on the alert. "What's that?"

"You see, I'm the Council historian, which means I keep the records for the tribe about our culture, events, and who's who. I get to travel, meet interesting people, and it keeps me busy. I've been sent to find out about some of the incidents that have happened in the last year or so in Los Angeles. I was hoping you could give me a fresh perspective, from the human point of view."

"Oh." Beth looked down at the table. Could she reveal the vampire cases she worked with Mick? Why didn't he approach Josef, wouldn't he be the logical choice? "I don't know if I can talk about them. After all, I'm not the only one involved. You should probably ask Josef Kostan."

"I will be speaking to Mr. Kostan and the other Elders; but I wanted an outsider's view before then." Ewan looked at her encouragingly. "I hope you'll be able to help me, it's very important to my work."

Beth always prided herself on being a good judge of character, and thought he was sincere, but the importance of the vampire secret had been too imprinted on her. "I'm sorry, I'd really like to help, but I can't talk about anything unless Josef or Mick says its okay. I hope you understand." She said apologetically.

Ewan nodded, "I value your discretion, even if I'm disappointed. If you happen to speak to Mr. Kostan, I would appreciate it if you wouldn't mention I'm in town yet. If he knows, then I'll be dragged into conferences, receptions, and all manner of boring meetings. I'll contact him soon."

She was relieved he wasn't too upset. She checked her watch and saw it was after midnight. "I'm afraid I'll have to be going. It may be mid-day to you, but I have to work in the morning."

Ewan immediately rose, taking her arm. "I'm so sorry, Ms. Turner, how thoughtless of me. I didn't mean to keep you so long. But when the company is enjoyable, time means nothing." He seemed to have recovered from his disappointment and was flirting again. Beth found she liked it.

He put some money on the table and waited with her for the valet to bring her car around. Ewan asked, "If you could stand it, would you care to have dinner tomorrow evening? I can make a reservation at the restaurant here for 7:30 if that would work for you."

He was so gracious that Beth said, "Yes, that would be fine." Besides, what else was she going to do—watch Pride and Prejudice again?

Beth's car arrived and Ewan walked her to the driver's door. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, ."

"Please call me Beth," she said as he took her hand. She saw his eyes flash to silver and back as his lips lingered over her skin.

"Hey," she said and drew back her hand with a grin, "I thought you were a monk or something."

He laughed, and replied, "Not for a long time now." He stepped back from the car, "I'll look forward to tomorrow evening."

As Ewan waited for his limo to arrive at the door, he reflected on Beth Turner. It was true he was the Council historian, but he had also been tasked to determine how much of a threat she was to the community. Her name had come up frequently as being involved with LA vampires and most of the Council felt she was a liability and should be eliminated. After meeting her, Ewan realized she was a valuable resource that could be used to the tribe's advantage. He also wanted to get to know her better for himself. It had been a long time since a human so charmed him. He needed to call Megan to tell her he would report to the Council that Beth Turner should live.

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Unaware she was being scrutinized, Beth grabbed her cell as she drove and turned it on. There were no messages. Mick hadn't called. Her heart ached as she kept it together to drive. She could call him, but what would that do? He wouldn't tell her what was bothering him; they were vampire issues, therefore, not for her to know. Was there a secret vampire thing that she was or wasn't doing? How was she to know? It was so frustrating.

Beth had considered going to Josef, he'd seemed sympathetic well, as much as Josef can sympathize, she thought. But perhaps she had a better option …..Ewan Conley, the mysterious vampire. He seemed open to talking, maybe he could give her a quick lesson in vamp/human relationships. Also there was one other thing he could help her with …..

For the first night in quite a while, Beth Turner was able to sleep soundly.

TBC

Don't worry, Mick will be back in the story soon, but he needs to figure out what he really wants.