dusk

by originella

Elizabeth Partridge is the daughter of the fire chief of Forks, Washington. When she decides to move to Forks at seventeen, she never knew what could happen. While hiking, she is attacked by a rogue vampire, and Carlisle rushes to save her life. Blessed with weather and psychic telekinesis, she soon meets a Nomad, Alexander, who has chronokinesis - can these two vamps find love?

11. The Honeymoon

Chapter Eleven: The Honeymoon

I am whisked upstairs immediately by Bella, Alice, Rosalie, and Esme, and Alice shows me my new luggage, engraved with my initials—E.V.C.—and I am promptly relieved of my wedding dress and put into comfortable traveling clothes. Now, comfort and Alice don't mix, but Bella managed to persuade Alice, somewhat, on my wardrobe to make it more travel appropriate. I was put into a simple cotton dress and flats, along with a simple sweater to top it all off. My engagement ring was kept on its original finger, while my wedding ring was put onto a platinum chain around my neck.

Before anything else, I slip from the room as Alice and Rosalie complete my final packing preparations and make my way down the hall to Sarah's bedroom. Opening the door, I see her brushing out her hair before she goes to sleep, her long nightgown new, and yet another gift from Alice. I stand in the doorway, waiting for her to notice me and, when she does, her eyes light up.

"Mama!" she cries out, dashing forward, her brown hair flying, and holding out her arms. "I missed you!"

I smile and scoop her up, kissing her on the cheek. "Thank you, sweetheart. I missed you, too, really."

She nods, putting her face against my neck. "Aunt Rosalie said that you and Daddy were going far away..."

"Yes, pet, we are," I reply. "But it's just for a little while."

Sarah pulls back to look at me before hopping out of my arms. "How long?"

"Two weeks."

"Where are you going?"

I give her a smile and turn to look at the massive antique globe she has in her bedroom, a gift from Carlisle. "Come over here, sweetheart, and I'll show you."

Compliant, Sarah takes ahold of my hand and I gently pull her towards the globe. "Far away?" she asks, looking at it.

I smile. "A bit, yes." I point to the United States on the globe. "See, here?" I ask, pointing to the left side. "Right up here," I say, pointing to the top of it, "this is where we are—we're so far north that we're almost in Canada—that's here." I point to Canada.

"Where are you and Daddy going?" she persists.

"This is South America," I say, pointing to the continent below North America. "See where it says Rio de Janeiro?"

Sarah peers closer. "Yes."

"Well, all around it is a big body of water—the South Atlantic Ocean, and Daddy and I are going to stay in a beautiful house on an island."

"What's an island?" Sarah asks.

"A small piece of land surrounded by water."

"How small?"

"Well, smaller than this," I say, pointing to North America again. "See this right here?" I ask her, pointing to Hawaii.

"Yes."

"Those are islands," I tell her. "There used to be royalty there."

"Royalty?"

"Kings and queens," I reply. "Why don't you tell Aunt Rosalie to tell you all about them for a bedtime story?"

Sarah grins. "Okay, Mama!" She sighs a little. "Do you have to go now?"

I nod. "Soon, yes."

She nods. "Okay, Mama." She throws her arms around me. "I love you."

"I love you, too, sweetheart. Be good."

"Promise," she replies.

After I say a quick goodbye to the twins, I return to Alice's room, where Emmett and Jasper show up to bring my luggage to the getaway car, and Edward and Carlisle showed up behind them. After Emmett and Jasper hugged me, they trooped off to put the luggage downstairs while I turned to Edward and Carlisle. I flashed them both a smile, waiting for what would come next.

Carlisle hands me a key. "I gave the other one to Richard," he tells me. "This is to the house on Isle Esme. I know you'll have a wonderful time."

I grip the key briefly before Alice takes it and slips it into my carry-on bag. I step up to Carlisle and throw my arms around him, knowing that I will miss him terribly. "I love you, Carlisle, thank you," I say softly to him. Letting him go, I next turn to Esme, and she and I embrace readily. "I love you, too," I say quietly to her, before breaking away and turning to Rosalie. "Take care of my daughter and my boys," I say to her, standing on my toes to more easily embrace her.

"As if they were my own," she replies.

I next turn to Alice, and quickly we fall into each other's arms. "Thank you for being such a fashionable sister," I whisper.

She laughs. "Always," she replies.

Breaking away from Alice, I next turn to Edward, and he quickly lifts me up and spins me around. "I know you'll have a great honeymoon," he says. "Maybe work on taking your shield down a little more..."

"Thanks for the tip," I say, stepping away from him and turning, at last, to Bella. "Thank you for being the best friend and sister a girl could ask for," I tell her.

Bella smiles and throws her arms around me. "Forever," she replies. Pulling back, she walks me downstairs, with the rest of them following, and we walk out the door together. Richard is standing amongst the crowd of well-wishers, and I can spot Alex and Katherine standing next to him, waiting to say goodbye.

I cross my fingers, hoping that Katherine wasn't upset at not being chosen for a Bridesmaid and quickly look at Edward, who shakes his head. I approach them and hold them briefly before they lead me away from the crowd for a moment. Perplexed, I ask, "Hey, is everything okay?"

Alex nods. "Fine."

"Couldn't be better," Katherine replies. "We actually have some news."

"Yeah?" I ask.

Alex smiles. "I've asked Katherine to marry me, and she's accepted," he replies.

I clap my hands. "That's amazing!"

"We also really need to tell you that the two of us are starting at the University of Alaska next fall," Katherine tells me.

I raise my eyebrows. "Really?"

Alex nods. "Yes. We've gotten to know the Denali's over the last few days and we've decided to become Denali's ourselves."

"What are you saying?" I ask.

"We're saying that we're joining their coven," Katherine says patiently. "We're moving to Alaska after we elope in Vegas—the Denali's are coming to witness," she says proudly. "I absolutely cannot wait to become Katherine Denali."

I smile. "Well, I am very happy for the both of you," I say, and embrace them both. I keep talking to them for a moment before excusing myself to stand with Edward as Jasper and Emmett pull our car up. I embrace Richard and we kiss for all to see until Emmett and Jasper get out of the car. They give Richard a half-hug before they each hug me one more time and I wave to all my guests, blowing a kiss to Theo and Chadwick, who would both be starting at New York University in the fall.

We drive off from the house and into the night; I know it is around a three-and-a-half-hour drive from Forks to the SeaTac Airport, but Richard would make it there in an hour or so. As we drive along the highway, I find myself at peace, and feel a jolt of electricity when Richard puts a hand on my leg. All our luggage is securely put inside the trunk, and I know that we have plenty of clothes to go around, and, even though we have a sixteen-and-a-half-hour flight, I am crossing my fingers that they will have interesting films and that they won't be suspicious if we don't eat. Personally, I think Richard slightly impairing their memory will come in handy in this situation.

We make it to the airport in one piece, arriving less than two hours before our red-eye flight to Rio de Janeiro. We park Richard's car in a parking garage, and he puts his pre-paid ticket for two weeks on the dashboard so that nobody will disturb the vehicle. He grabs a cart for all our luggage and pushes it through the airport effortlessly, and I must admit I enjoy it when people stop to stare at us. We check our bags and head to the premium security line, which goes must faster than we anticipated—the guards almost seemed as if they didn't want to cross us. Once through the scrutiny line, we head to the first-class lounge to wait, and just spend our time looking out the window, or on our laptops, or having our noses in random books.

Richard keeps track of time and, sooner than expected, we are being called for our flight. It isn't too terribly difficult to find our gate and we are permitted to board immediately. I find I enjoy my plush window seat—it was one of the few things I'd asked for—and we decline the dinner and the champagne. I admit that I loved testing my strength around these humans, despite only being a year old, and found that I was perfectly at ease with them. In that moment, I vowed never to taste human blood; yes, I may feel the urge to kill again if I was wronged somehow, but I would never allow the blood of a human to knowingly pass through my lips.

We take off shortly thereafter, and I find myself leaning back against the seat as we go airborne, and I shut my eyes, despite the knowledge that sleep will never come again. I feel Richard's hand in mine, and feel peace at last as the pilot informs us where we are a few hours later. Finally, after four movies or so, Richard and I are relieved to see that we are preparing to land. The plan was to collect our luggage from baggage claim, and then get into the car that Carlisle and Esme had booked for the two of us. It would take us to the marina and drop us off, whereupon we would get onto the family boat, which Richard would use to take us to the island.

We landed in one piece and collected our carry-on bags before being permitted to disembark the plane. We found baggage claim without much issue and soon managed to leave the area. We soon found our driver, his sign reading MR. AND MRS. CULLEN, and we followed him to his vehicle, a very nice town car, sleek and black. It was a lovely afternoon in Brazil, and the driver made a few comments and asked us some questions, but we mainly told him we were from Forks, Washington and we were there for our honeymoon. He looked a little taken aback, because we were forever frozen looking seventeen and nineteen, but didn't question us further about it.

He dropped us off at the marina, and Richard gave him a generous tip to help us bring our luggage to the small boat. Once our things were loaded, the man wished us a good honeymoon before leaving, presumably to drive his next customer. Richard fired up the boat as the sun began to set, and I knew we would reach the island by nightfall. I was very impressed when my husband got the GPS system to work and we chartered our course for Isle Esme, and I crossed my fingers that the journey would go smoothly.

Soon, we arrive on the island, and Richard docks the boat close by the front door. It only takes two trips to get our luggage into the house and I am perplexed when Richard then suggests a late-night swim. I cock an eyebrow.

"What a suggestion," I say, wrapping my arms around him. "Are you taking a page from someone's seduction handbook?"

He laughs. "Yes. Edward's."

"Edward's?" I ask.

Richard smiles, putting his forehead against mine. "He suggested it."

"Did he?" I ask.

"He did. He thinks it's relaxing after such a long trip."

I nod. "Okay, then." I drive into one of his bags at random and produce a pair of swim trunks for him. "I'll go get on one of the ridiculously expensive bikinis that Alice bought for me and I'll meet you outside shortly."

Richard grins at me. "Done," he says, kissing me and running outside, throwing his shirt onto a pile of sand and kicking off his shoes in one go.

Shaking my head, I delve into my own suitcase, finding a hot pink and white lace bikini top and bottom, and hope that Richard will like it. Feeling modest all of a sudden, I dash into the bathroom, gripping the bikini and my bag of toiletries. I shut and lock the door before I take off my traveling clothes and quickly rinse off in the shower. Then I dry off and slip the bikini on, not feeling sexy in the least. I take the pins out of my hair and it falls like a black curtain down my back, and I quickly move to ease a brush through it. Once I think that I've done all I can do, I grab a towel and wrap it around myself, and fetch a second one for my runner husband.

I slip out of the bathroom and walk out the French doors to the bedroom, which open right on the beach. The sand is cool and soft against my feet as I walk down the beach, seeing Richard already submerged in the water. I throw off the towel and leave it with his scattered clothes on a log, and make my way to the edge of the water. Dipping my painted toe into it, I find its temperature is to my liking as I make my way towards him. The moon is full on that late August night, and I gently touch his back, and my husband reaches out and puts an arm around me.

"Do you like it?" I ask him.

"The moon?"

"Yes."

He smiles. "We'll see many more full ones, my darling."

"Many," I reply.

He turns and looks down at me. "I love you, Elizabeth Vivian Cullen."

I turn and look up at him. "I love you, Richard Walter Cullen."

He takes ahold of my waist then, using the light of the moon to look at all the bikini had to offer him. "So beautiful," he whispers, looking over every inch of me that he was allowed; it was quite delicious when he shuddered with desire.

"Want to go inside?" I asked him.

"Yes," he whispers, finding my lips underneath the light of the moon. "Now," he whispers, his teeth gently sinking into my neck.

I cry out in a mixture of pain, desire, and excitement, and let out a squeal when he lifts me up and takes me back onto the beach. He grabs the towels and our clothes, and we quickly dry off at the entrance to the house before he lifts me onto the massive white bed. He gets to his feet and shuts the patio doors and locks them, drawing the curtains and then locks all the doors in the house while I remove the bikini completely and pull up the goose down comforter up to my chin.

When Richard arrives back in the room, he shudders once more, guessing from my bare shoulders that my body is absent of any clothing. He takes off his suit trunks, now dry due to him running around the house, and stands before me, as alabaster as I am. He steps forward, easing the comforter back and gazes down at me.

"Are you ready?" he asks.

I nod up at him, the apprehension beginning to melt away. This was it; this was real. This wouldn't be hurried about in the darkness of his family home in Aspen; this would be such a wonderful and unforgettable experience. Now, Richard was my husband, as I was his wife, and we belonged to each other. I belonged to him; he belonged to me; nothing would ever change that fact.

"I'm ready," I reply.

He smiles down at me, at my words, at my face—I knew not what. He climbs onto the bed beside me, and puts his left leg over mine, leaving his right leg on the other side. He reaches down and cups my face in his hands, and traces my lips with his thumb. "I love you—so much," he breaths.

"I love you, too," I say softly, and pull him down to me.

My next recollection is still being wrapped inside Richard, and I feel nothing but pure wedded bliss. I turn and look at my husband, and his eyes are shut; had we been human, I would have assumed he was asleep. I bend ever so slightly and brush my lips against his cheek, and he shudders again.

Then, he pushes me down and gets into position.

"Richard!" I cry out, in mock shock. "Again?!"

He smiles, opening his eyes. "Always again," he replies, and it happens again.

One of the most amazing things about the honeymoon, other than the obvious, was going to the mainland to hunt. I read before our trip that jaguars lurked in some of the South American jungles and I had a thing for the blood of large cats. Delighted on our fourth day of our vacation was I when Richard and I got dressed and my husband fired up the boat to take us to the mainland. The ocean was clear and beautiful on that early September afternoon, and I enjoyed the heat on my skin. I looked up at Richard, and found him staring at me, and I would've given anything to blush from his gaze.

"You're sparkling," he tells me.

I laugh. "So are you."

We follow the instructions that Edward had given us about parking the boat in a not-so-obvious place, and managed to find one pretty secluded location. Climbing up the sandy bank, I immediately caught the scent of some kind of wild cat and found myself letting out an instinctual gasp. Turning to Richard, I saw he smelled it, too, and we took off in between the trees with giant banana leaves. I found some vines a few feet off the forest floor and jumped into the air, grabbing ahold of the vines and pulled myself along them. Richard's chuckle erupted suddenly from behind me and he jumped, too, leaping almost as quickly as I was along the forests' canopy.

I caught wind of the jaguar due north and leapt downwards, hurtling towards it. When I crept up on top of a rock, I saw a pair of them lurking around one another, almost as if they were preparing to strike. I dove downwards and Richard did the same, and we attacked our kill effortlessly. Once the roars of the spotted cats had subsided, we got to our feet, and it was then that I raised my eyes and saw two vampires standing directly in front of us. They were quite tall and impressive looking, decorated with animal skins, their hair almost as dark and as wild as the expressions they gave us. Though their eyes were red, I knew we were safe, due to our vampirism.

"Senna and Zafrina?" I ask, stepping forward.

"Yes," boomed one of them. "I am Zafrina."

"I am Senna," the second one said.

"Who are you?" Zafrina asks, looking at our fresh kill and our eyes. "You are either nomads or you're from Alaska...or Forks."

"Forks," Richard replies, and Senna and Zafrina turn and look at him for the first time. "We are from Forks."

"You are Cullen's?" Senna asks.

I nod. "Yes. I'm Beth Cullen and this is my husband, Richard Cullen. I was adopted by the Cullen's over a year ago, and my husband and I are on our honeymoon."

"How old are you?" Zafrina asks me.

"One year," I reply. "I was changed when I was seventeen."

"And you?" Senna asks Richard.

"Sixty-six years," Richard replies easily. "I was nineteen when I was changed."

"We were changed long ago," Zafrina replies; she is about two inches taller than her coven mate, Senna, and stands at six-feet-one.

"You drink human blood?" Richard asks, getting a good look at their eyes.

"Yes," Senna replies.

"We understand you must hunt," Zafrina continues, "but do your best not to do so very often—we are quite protective of our animals here."

"Of course," I say. "We're here for two weeks, but we can usually go four days at the most without a hunt."

Senna nods. "Fine."

Zafrina grins. "You are staying at Isle Esme?"

Richard nods. "Yes."

"Give Carlisle our best," Senna says.

"Please," Zafrina says, "we've known him for a good seventy years."

"Not a problem," I reply.

"But first," Zafrina says, "is it true you are moving to London?"

I nod. "Yes. In just three weeks."

Zafrina smiles. "Excellent," she replies, and focuses her crimson eyes upon us.

Richard gasps, and I turn to look at him, and I see his eyes widening. "It's incredible," he tells me, his eyes wide. "Big Ben... We're standing right next to Big Ben!"

I shake my head. "Visual projection?" I ask, turning to Zafrina.

"She can't see it," Senna whispers to her.

Zafrina locks her eyes to mine. "You are a shield?" she asks. I nod. "I've been working on taking it down," I say, and relax my shoulders, allowing myself to take it down. I reach out and take Richard's hand, and suddenly we're standing just below Big Ben itself. I feel my eyes widen in wonderment—it is truly a supernatural moment for me. In all these months of being a vampire, I'd never been so impressed; I quickly reminded myself to have Edward call Benjamin to show me everything that he can do. "Oh, my..." I whisper.

Zafrina stops the vision, and we are again standing in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest and the sister share a smile. "Very good," Zafrina praises me.

"Much like your sister," Senna puts in.

I smile. "I've been told that," I reply.

Richard and I say goodbye to them and manage to find our way back to our boat. When we are about halfway back, I suddenly spring up into the air again and grab ahold of the vines, peeking at him from behind me. I feel delicious as his laugh ripples through the immediate area, and further when he jumps in the air, following me vine to vine. We reach the boat in good time and I swing inside from a vine, and Richard does the same. He turns the key to work the boat and navigates it accordingly back to Isle Esme; the water is as shimmering blue as before, and it is quite difficult to take my eyes off it.

Richard drives quickly, as the sun is hot and bright and it would take a lot of explaining if anyone saw us. However, I quickly dismissed the thought, since Richard could simply obliterate anyone's memory from seeing sparkling beings. We arrive back at Isle Esme in good time, hopping off the boat and back onto the sand, which cools my feet in their sandals, which I quickly kick off. I dash inside, Richard taking a more leisurely pace, and make my way to my suitcase, where I know I have yet another piece of expensive lingerie to debut for Richard.

I make a grab for one I'd seen Alice ordering a few weeks ago and take it into the bathroom, shutting and locking the door behind me. It normally would resemble a bathing suit—a very sexy bathing suit—to an untrained eye, but once you touched it, the silk betrayed that notion. It had thin spaghetti straps covered with lace, and thin lace which would cover the upper breast and a bit of the stomach. The rest was a thicker black material, which would come to rest, just like a bathing suit would, just on your hips. I also had made a grab for thigh-high pantyhose, which I pulled up my legs now after getting on this ridiculous, yet lovely, piece of lingerie. I found my hair still smelled sweet from my shower that morning and took it out of its tie, shaking it out and running a brush through it just to be sure. I found the expensive shampoo and conditioner Alice and Rosalie had bought for me caused my hair to be fuller, something Richard seemed to love, so I vowed to continue to buy it.

Next, I put on some silvery eyeshadow and thickening mascara, along with just a bit of corresponding blush and flash of red lipstick. I poke my head out of the bathroom door, and spot Richard, sitting upon the edge of the bed, facing the two French doors and watching the sea simply gliding by. His back is bare, and I feel a shiver of delight—he wanted me as much as I did him. Creeping across the floor, my plan was to climb up onto the bed and crawl towards him, taking him by surprise. But, since my newborn vampire-hood seemed to have never begun in the first place, I could almost never surprise him in any regard, even though I may want to. Just as I'd crept to the edge of the bed, Richard turned around then, and his eyes widened at my costume.

"You look beautiful," he tells me, and gets to his knees before me on the bed, and I move to follow suit. "Amazing..." He whispers, running his hands up and down my arms. "Mine," he tells me, moving my hair away from my shoulder and nibbling at it.

I throw my arms around him, tucking my head beside his neck. "Yours..." I whisper in a moment of passion to him, encircling my arms around his torso. "Mine," I say, running my fingers across his chest.

"Yours," he assures me. "Forever."

"Forever," I say, raising my eyes to his, and he covers his lips with mine.

The flight back seemed shorter than the one down to Isle Esme, and the two weeks of our trip seemed to fly quickly by. I'd manipulated the weather on our return journey to be overcast, yet I couldn't seem to do anything about the humidity. We reached the small marina and parked the boat efficiently, our hired car waiting for us. The gentleman helped us load our luggage into the back and we had a leisurely ride back to the airport, looking out at the city and the passerby as we went.

We reached the airport, our plane waiting for us upon the runway, and Richard and our driver handled our baggage. As I sat there in the car, I remembered Bella telling me how she'd called Rosalie and asked her to help protect her from Edward's determination for her to terminate her pregnancy. I wondered then what it would have been like to carry a baby, and knew now that it was something that I could not do. I'd often considered having a child to raise, and recalled when, at eleven, when the abuse with Andy went full throttle, and, at just fourteen, the news that I was pregnant shocked my mother.

We never discussed it, and when I gave birth—weeks before my mother, I now know, was due to have Sarah—I gave the child up for adoption. All I was permitted to do was merely glance at her, before she was handed off to the adoptive couple, childless friends of Andy's from the entertainment industry. I'd met with them on a few occasions and they'd seemed friendly enough, and I'd asked them to have the name Henrietta somewhere within my daughter's name, as it was the most beautiful name I could come up with when I was barely fifteen years old. They assured me they would and took her away, and I never saw or heard from them again.

"Ready?"

I turn and see my beautiful husband, leaning in through the open car door. "Yeah." I slip my carry-on bag over my arm and slip out of the car, leaning into him as he puts his arm around my waist. We walk up the steps of the plane, and I see our luggage being loaded into its base as we head inside and find our assigned seats.

"I may have bribed the airline for all of first-class," Richard tells me.

I turn and look at him. "What are you saying?"

He puts his lips to my ear. "I'm saying that it is a small flight to Seattle today, and that not many businessmen and women will be disappointed."

I cup his chin in my hand. "You're amazing," I say, leaning in to kiss him. We decline the champagne and in-flight meals again, instead opting to pick a few films to watch during the many hours in the air instead. After the coach section fills up, the doors are closed and locked as we make our way towards the location where we can legally get into the air. As we get into position to do so, I turn to Richard. "I have to tell you something."

"What?"

I lower my eyes. "Remember what Andy did?"

He stiffens. "Of course," he replies, tightening his grip upon me.

"It began when I was eight—the sexual abuse," I say, verbalizing it for the very first time. "I was fourteen when it reached a new development."

"A new development?" Richard asks, his lips barely moving, so, to any humans walking by, it wouldn't seem as if we were having a conversation at all. "Beth...?"

I nod. "Yes. Yes, Andy got me pregnant."

Richard clenches his fist and slams it against his seats' arm. "What happened?"

"Gave her up for adoption."

"Her? It was a girl?"

I nod a second time. "Yes. All I know is that they supposedly called her 'Henrietta'. Their last name was Collins, and their first names were Martin and Josephine. That's all I know, really—I was only fourteen."

Richard immediately throws his arms around me. "I'm so sorry," he whispers, tightening his grip upon me then. "We'll find her. We'll ask Jasper to speak to J. Jenks—"

"No." My voice is firm. "They told me to write her a letter, and they'd give it to her on her eighteenth birthday. If she really wants me, then great. If not..." I shrug. "I know Edward will know about it, and maybe Alice, but I'm going to block this conversation from them ever having access to it. It's still difficult for me, and I don't want them to pity me."

"I could tell them to not..."

I shake my head, cupping his cheek. "Richard, please. Don't."

He nods. "If you're sure..."

"I am."

Richard nods, dropping the subject and simply holding onto me for the duration of the flight time. We land safely in Seattle a few hours later, and get off the plane rather quickly, due to being the only ones in first class. We make our way to baggage claim, finding our things without incident and making our way with one of those carts to the proper parking lot, which Richard still had a ticket for. We managed to find his car through the mazes of tunnels and such and loaded our things in the trunk and, while I pulled the car around, I peeked and noticed Richard returning the cart to the parking lot kiosk. We then swapped seats and I settled into the passenger seat as we made our way out of the parking lot and towards the freeway. It was about nine o'clock in the morning, so Richard and I projected being home before noon, due to our ability to drive faster as vampires without much detection. We'd decided to go the Tacoma way on the freeway, to avoid any more humans. We'd fed the night before we were due to leave Isle Esme, and had seen Senna and Zafrina many more times before leaving South America, and had promised to give their best to Carlisle, although we thought that Alice would have been able to tell him for us.

"Okay?" Richard asked as we'd gotten safely through Olympia.

I nod. "Fine."

"You know, if you change your mind and want to ask Jasper to contact J. Jenks about Henrietta, I won't blame you."

I reach between our seats and take his hand. "I know you won't blame me, Richard, because you are a wonderful man who is considerate above all things."

"Well, hopefully not above all things," he replies.

I try and fail not to giggle. "I think you proved just how considerate you are on our honeymoon, Mr. Cullen," I say softly.

He grips my hand tightly. "I'm serious, Beth. If you want to find her..."

I shake my head. "I'll let her find me. Eighteen years? Can't be far..."

"The years get shorter as you go on," he replies, "although sometimes I find myself thinking about my childhood in New York."

"Do you remember much about it?" I ask him.

He sighs. "I remember my mother being pregnant," he replies, "but, looking back on it, with my father never being home..."

My eyebrows knit together. "Are you saying that you think your mother had an affair?" I question him.

Richard shrugs. "She could have."

"Would you have held it against her?"

"Knowing my father, probably not."

I purse my lips, staring at the rainstorm through the windshield and making no efforts to do away with it. "Any suspicions on who your mother would have had an affair with?" I ask, in a moment of genuine curiosity.

"My uncle—my father's younger brother," he replies. "My mother cared a lot about him, and his job kept him in town."

"What did he do?" I want to know.

"He had his own schoolhouse in the center of town," Richard tells me. "I was named after him, and he was a wonderful man. I remember after my mother died, he attended the funeral..." He shakes his head.

I grip his hand. "What happened?" I ask him.

Due to Richard's fast driving, we've entered McCleary, a city between Olympia and Aberdeen. On the edge of the Capitol State Forest, Richard pulls off the road, and we are enclosed in some trees. My husband gets out of the car and leaves the door open, walking away, and I rush to follow him.

"Richard?"

He climbs up a hill without difficulty and I rush to follow him, finding myself shaky in this unfamiliar terrain. He faces away from me, looking out at the impressive expansion of trees which surround us, even from this great height. "He came to the funeral, and asked my father to speak to him privately," he replies.

I step forward. "Did he?"

"Yes. For years, I told people that I simply recall my mother dying remaining in New York, but that's not what happened."

"What did happen, Richard?"

"I stayed until after she died... I was with her when she had my small sister and... She was dead when she came out."

"Stillborn?" I said softly.

"She was, yes. Stillborn, not one breath taken. I remember our maid stripping the sheets from my mother's bed and handing them to me—I think she was in a state of shock. She told me to go outside to our backyard and to burn them, and then to wash in hot water so as I didn't smell of death. I remember watching her bundle the body of my tiny sister into a sheet and passing it off to one of our workers and telling him to dispose of it. Then she cleaned up Mother as best she could before the coroner came..."

"The funeral?" I ask.

"Yes, yes, the funeral. My uncle asked to see my father alone and I followed them, unseen, into the house—we lived just down the road from the church. He said he knew of my father's plans to marry again and I remembered wanting to scream at him... 'How could you even consider something like that when Mother has only just died?' but of course I said nothing of the kind. I remember her name was Miss Margaret White and that she was the daughter of a local doctor—she was only a few years older than I was."

"What happened, Richard?"

"He told my father the truth—that he and my mother had been sharing each other's bed for years now, whenever he'd left town. He said that I was his and that he wanted me to come and live with him, but my father refused, saying that I was his son and he was the one who belonged in a grave to slander his wife like that... There was a scuffle," Richard tells me before I can ask. "They raged at one another before anyone could intervene. My father got his pistol and shot my uncle, and was in such hysterics that he did not see me slip from the house, a witness to his crime. I called the constable myself and showed him what my father had done. They committed him that very day, for of course any man who had just lost his wife had to be insane, especially when my testimony had been given..."

"Is that all?"

"No. No, I was sent to live with my aunt immediately thereafter, for people thought my mother's family wouldn't be tainted..."

"So, your father was alive when you were changed?"

"Yes."

"But why did he not come forward and offer to help with your medical care?"

"Because my uncle was right," Richard says.

"Right?" I demand then, confused. "About what?"

My husband turns to face me. "My uncle was my biological father. Like Edward, I pretend to be a new heir to my family every so often so as I never run out of the fortune. Since my father never could have a child—the medical experts pronounced him sterile—I became curious. In the early 1990's after I graduated from college about DNA testing, so I looked into it and paid off a hospital to get in touch with a coroner's office, who exhumed the man I believed to be my father, John Kingsley. The DNA test proved it, that while I am a Kingsley by birth, John Kingsley is not my father, but my uncle."

"You had them exhume your uncle's body?"

"Yes, that proved more difficult to find, given the fact that he was buried in the late 1920's versus when my father died, in the early 1960's."

"So, you are the son of the younger Kingsley son?" I ask.

"Yes. Too bad we were never able to publicly acknowledge it."

"You think he knew?" I ask, approaching him and leaning against his shoulder. "Do you think your uncle knew that he was your biological father?"

"I like to think so," Richard replies, turning and embracing me. "I know he would have loved you, and Sarah, and the boys, very much."

"That's kind of you, Richard, really."

He tightens his grip upon me then, and, for the first time, I feel a glimmer of hope for the future. "Promise me something?"

"What?"

"If Henrietta doesn't contact you until she's eighteen, give it until she's twenty-one, and then contact her, okay?"

"Richard..."

"Promise me Beth."

I sigh. "I promise, I will contact Henrietta by the time she's twenty-one if she doesn't contact me by the time she's eighteen."

"Thank you. I just don't want you missing out on anything."

"What? Like humanity?"

"Like reality," he replies.

I giggle. "Nothing about this is real, Richard. We're unreal."

"Undead," he clarifies.

"Same difference."

He chuckles, covering his lips with mine. "Home?" he asks.

For a few more weeks, anyway, I think to myself. "Home," I reply.