To all the reviewers:
I think I meant to write this earlier but I've only got round to it now; I can still remember when I started this fic and 20 reviews seemed like a big goal and well, people with over 50 were practically gods. But I'm now well over a hundred and I'd like to thank you all for your support, without it I'd probably still be on chapter 3. There's quite a bit of romance in this chapter (if you can get past the first half of it), and I hope it'll make the motivation and reasonings clear in future chapters but anyway I hope you all enjoy the rest of the story.
Only 5 more chapters to go!
Disclaimer: Of course I own it! I bought the rights on eBay last week, didn't I mention it earlier?*
* (And so I don't get sued: That was a joke for anyone silly enough to think otherwise. Vampirates belongs to Justin Somper and eBay to EBay Inc)
PS. And this'll probably sound really big headed but, I'm really proud of the ending of this chapter, so let me know what you think of it!
Grace had hoped everyone would have forgotten her little mishap earlier (or 'near life experience' as she liked to think of it) by the time they had gotten back to the guesthouse. But apparently it wasn't to be. Kyna had been horrified when she found out what had happened. She was surprised at how much fuss one woman could make, but then again, Grace reasoned, she had never had had a mothering figure in her life and for all she knew this was probably normal maternal behaviour.
"Grace you simply must rest, we can't have you ill when your brother arrives, now can we?" Grudgingly, Grace agreed and now, two days later, she was regretting it. It was now the 30th; the night before the night of the grand ball. She hadn't left the hotel since then: Lorcan and Catalina had sided with Kyna claiming she needed to rest, despite her protests, as always Josephine had remained silent, obviously too angry with her to care.
The whole family plus the two extra girls sat in a downstairs parlour: Anna and Clare practicing a fluttery looking dance; Josephine watching them, an amused expression on her face; Davin curled up, asleep in his mother's lap; Lorcan and Catalina whispering a quite conversation between themselves and Grace; watching them all, observing but not interfering, just like the Captain had told her. She was sick of it. How could he expect her to stand there and just let things unfold as they should when the cost would be Lorcan's life? How could she let him die? He looked so happy, sitting with Catalina, his true love, surrounded by the family he loved so dearly. He laughed as he stood up, taking Catalina's delicate pallid hand in his own and pulling her upright. She laughed as well, a smile lighting up her face. Grace felt guilty. She didn't like Catalina, but something truly awful must have befallen her if she was no longer with Lorcan.
"Anyone up for a walk through the park?" Lorcan now asked, already grabbing a dark grey overcoat.
"I want to come!" Anna exclaimed with a chaotic twirl, as she attempted, to dance and converse at the same time.
"I'll go as well," Grace added, "I could do with some fresh air"
"Josephine?"
The black haired girl looked up, at Lorcan, then his fiancée and then a final glance towards Grace. "No, I think I'll stay here if it's all the same"
He shrugged, "Mother? Clare?"
Clare was on the verge of speaking, but her mother answered for her, "No. It's late, neither of us is going and neither is Anna for that matter. If people were being murdered in our little town then think how dangerous it s here in the big city." She spoke sternly, then her voice softened, "I won't stop you three from going, though I wish I could. Particularly you, Grace; you're ill, whether you care to admit it or not"
Grace was torn, a range of emotions and thoughts flickered through her mind. She wanted to go and she wanted to stay. On one hand she was touched to hear Kyna cared about her in the same way she cared about her children and now she knew no one else was going besides the happy couple and her, it seemed a lot less refreshing idea.
"Maybe mother's right, Grace, you should rest"
Grace hesitated before coming to a decision. She shook her head definitely. Dublin was the city of Lorcan's death she was hardly going to leave him alone with a vampire in the middle of the night, even if said vampire did love him. Plus, she really could do with some fresh air, "I'm tired of sitting around all day, I need a chance to stretch my legs" Lorcan shrugged silently, before handing Catalina a velvet baby blue cloak. Grace stood up, joining them, tying a red cloak, also made of velvet, around her own neck.
She was glad for the extra layer as soon as she stepped outside, even Lorcan was shivering, only Catalina seemed undeterred as they exited the street they were staying on. The couple clinked arms as they walked down the city streets, which were, for the most part, empty. It was past dusk, but the lower sky remained bathed in yellow light, the sun lingering stubbornly, refusing to abandon them completely.
The couple walked hand in hand. Grace felt a familiar morbidity wash over her. She knew if a stranger were to pass by they'd see a couple strolling leisurely in the moonlight. And if they looked closer they might see another girl following. But they'd never see further than that, they'd never wonder who any of them were. They'd never know that the girl who followed was heartbroken. They'd only see the surface; just two lovers and her.
She kept her distance as they walked, staying a few paces behind the pair, who lead the way, apparently having no trouble navigating their way in the foreign city. She could hear them speaking softly to one another; and, it gave her some small grim satisfaction to hear they were arguing, although it sounded more like a lover's quarrel than anything serious.
"Lorcan I've been thinking…" he smiled at his fiancée spoke, "What about?"
"Us."
"What about us?"
She took a deep breathe, "We should buy a second home, perhaps even here in the city"
He looked amused, "A second home? What do we need a second home for? We already own land in Mureş anyway."
"Exactly in Mureş, in Romania. You're not telling me you want to move to another county are you?"
"No. My home is here, in Éire. My family home is here. Why would we need another home, in Ireland or elsewhere?"
-As he spoke Grace couldn't help but remember what he had said as they walked in the gardens behind the manor. He had told her he'd give anything to leave. Had something changed? She listened more closely, hoping he would elaborate but Catalina answered instead, "Because, you said it yourself, your family home is here. It's where your familylive. I want a new home, for our family."
"And what of my sisters? My brother? My mother? What of them?"
"They would have your old home or if you prefer we could build them a new home and we could live in Connemara, if you don't want to live elsewhere."
He paused, making the two girls stop in the middle of the street, "You misunderstood me, Miss. de Bánffy, I meant who would look after them if I were gone?"
"Your mother is a capable woman and when she was….incapable, your brother could manage things or we could always find someone else
He shook his head fiercely, "No. I will not abandon them. My father is dead there is no one else "
She shrugged delicately, as if she couldn't care either way, "I believe this is the turn to the green"
Grace looked away from the couple, noticing Catalina was right. A cast iron gate decorated a stone wall taller than herself; in fact the only way she could tell it was the park was through the wrought gate, which the other two had already entered. She made to follow them, but paused as she notice a sign hanging on the fence, "You do realise this is someone's private property, right?"
Lorcan shrugged, "If anyone asks we'll say we're visiting one of the houses, but it's doubtful anyone's going to bother us, we are the ton* after all."
"That's not a very ethical view is it?"
He laughed, "Are you telling me you've never done anything wrong before?"
"No, but at least I don't go out of my way to be bad"
"Are you sure? Because I heard Anna and Clare talking the other day, about a ship of the damned nonetheless. They said you had told them a story or something. Naturally I was horrified that my sisters had heard such a terrible thing."
Grace blushed guiltily and looked down at her feet as they headed deeper into the garden. He elbowed her ribs lightly and chuckled, "I'm only joking, Grace"
She couldn't help grinning at that.
"What?"
"You never call me Grace, it's always Miss Tempest or Lady Grace"
"Sorry"
"No I like it"
Grace couldn't help but notice, ass they walked, Catalina fell further behind. She thought about stopping, but Lorcan seemed happy enough to carry on. And she was happy enough without Catalina.
"So are you going to tell me about it?"
"About what?" Grace said jolting in surprise, and feeling slightly guilty at her previous thoughts.
"The ship of the damned, of course, I only got a really mixed up version from my sisters. Something about a wooden figurehead being struck by lighting and coming to life and joining some hell-bent crew"
"It was the other way round actually, she turned into a figurehead"
"And is that it, or is there more to it?"
"There's more to it, but I think you'll here it for yourself one day"
"Whatever do you mean?"
"You'll see" She smiled, thinking of Darcy, she could bet within the first ten minutes of her two friends meeting each other Lorcan had heard her whole life story, Darcy wasn't one to hide anything, not like some vampires… "Is there a different story you want to here? A ship like that has plenty of stories, although I only know a few"
"You speak as if the ship is real. Do you have your own story to go with it?"
"Would you believe me if I did?"
He laughed, "Probably not, but I'd like to here it all the same"
"Me and my brother were out sailing on our little boat in the middle of a storm and the boat capsized and I started to drawn and-"
"Let me guess," Lorcan interrupted, "You were fighting for you life in the cruel, cold water close to death when you caught sigh of a ghostly ship sent to carry you away to Davy Jones' locker. But luckily, you were rescued by your brother"
She laughed, "Not exactly, it was the 'ghostly ship' which rescued me. A boy saw me and dived into the ocean to save me. He fished me out and then looked me in a cabin on board the ship for a week!"
He grinned, "How cruel! Did you escape?"
Grace knew he was only humouring her, but she was enjoying it and she could tell he was too. Anyway, it wasn't like he was going to remember any of this. "I tried but I only succeed once and then I was locked up again, and do you know what he told me? It was for my own safety. That he wanted to protect me from the monstrous crew who wanted to drink my blood"
Lorcan snorted in disbelief, "Maybe he told you that to scare you into never leaving and stay with him forever and ever"
Now it was Grace's turn for disbelief, although part of her wanted to burst into tears at the same time, "Anyway my brother rescues me, we happily ever after until I meet you. The end."
"And what happened to the poor demon boy who feel in love with the cruel Miss. Tempest?" Lorcan said, mockingly.
"He went mad with grief and starved himself"
Lorcan laughed, "Idiot. If it was me I'd steal you back"
"It's just a story" Grace said dryly. She bit hard on her lip to stop herself from crying, "And anyway he wasn't in love with me"
"Of course he was, you said it yourself; it's a story. All stories need romance"
"Not this one"
He shrugged. Grace looked away and towards the garden, pretending to admire the scenery. In other circumstances she would have admired it greatly, but now it was just a bunch of leaves and petals. They walked in silence for a while, and Grace noticed Catalina had fallen even further behind. She was just another part of the scenery now.
"I'm sorry, I upset you"
Grace turned back to look at again Lorcan, "I'm not upset"
"Yes, you are. And even if you weren't I think you will be"
"What do you mean"
"Do you remember when we were speaking on the coach, and I asked you how it was possible for someone to love more than one person?"
"Yes, I remember"
"I wasn't talking about my family"
Her breathe caught in her throat, he couldn't mean it? Admittedly it hadn't sounded like he was talking about family, but if he wasn't….the thought scared her and thrilled her at the same time. He caught her expression, and she noticed his eyes were sad.
"Josephine thinks we're in love, you know"
"She told…"
"-No, she said I should stop encouraging a woman who I'm not betrothed to."
"And what did you say" Grace replied in a whisper, she couldn't speak any louder, there was lump in her throat preventing her from speaking.
"I told her we're only friends"
"And are we?"
"I don't know, Grace. I enjoy you're company. But is that love? I love Catalina, that I do know. Maybe in another life it would have been different…"
"Maybe in another life…" She echoed sadly.
But it's funny, Grace thought, if a stranger were to look by in passing they'd see a couple strolling leisurely in the moonlight. And if they looked a bit closer, they might notice another girl following. But they'd never see further than that, they'd never wonder who any of them were, they never know the couple couldn't be together in this lifetime. They'd only see the surface; just two lovers and her.
* Pronounced "Tone" which in this sense refers to a part of high society.
