Let the Night Begin Read Online Free PDF Page B

had been alone. He had been flattered that out of all the men attending the party she had picked him, and so he went to her house and to her bed, and he ended up spending most of his time in Hertford glued to her side. During the day they played by the rules—shehad a reputation to consider—but at night…At night she made him feel more alive than if he was truly mortal.
    He poured two snifters and carried them to the small japanned table between two comfortable dark green wingbacks. She watched him, hesitating for but a moment before joining him as he sat.
    â€œYou need to tell me why you are here, Liv. You said ‘they’ know who you are. Who are ‘they’?”
    â€œI don’t know.” She sighed, but didn’t make him wait any longer. As he remembered, she’d always get straight to the point. “Two nights ago a messenger came to my door with an unsigned letter telling me that my nephew James had been kidnapped.”
    There was no denying the anger and fear in her voice and manner. “James?” He didn’t remember any child by that name.
    â€œRosemary’s boy.” She spoke absently, expecting him to know of whom she spoke—that is, assuming her own family was important enough for him to remember.
    Reign nodded. He did indeed remember Olivia’s younger sister, Rosemary. She had stood with Olivia at their wedding. It had been to her Olivia had run when she left. Rosemary had been killed eighteen years ago in a carriage accident. He had sent flowers to the funeral. He hadn’t known she had a son or he would have set up a trust for theboy. How come he never heard of Olivia raising him? He had people check on her periodically over the years and none had ever mentioned the boy.
    â€œYou and he are close?”
    â€œI raised him.” She smiled a little as she met his gaze, almost as though she expected him to express disbelief. But then her smile faded, replaced by naked anguish. “She died because of me, you know. If I had been able to travel during the day…”
    â€œYou cannot blame yourself.”
    â€œWho else is there to shoulder the responsibility?” She gestured toward him with her drink, bleak honesty in her eyes. “I blamed you for the longest time.”
    That hardly came as a surprise, nor was it a burden he couldn’t bear if it meant giving her peace of mind over something she could not have controlled. “Then blame me again, but you cannot hold yourself responsible for the circumstances surrounding your sister’s death.”
    Olivia shrugged, obviously unimpressed with words or the generosity they attempted to express. “It hardly matters now. Rosemary is gone, and so may James be if I do not adhere to his abductor’s demands.”
    Ah yes, this was what he had been waiting for. “Which are?”
    â€œI’m to go to Edinburgh within the week to await further instructions.”
    â€œEdinburgh? They took him to Edinburgh?”
    She glanced away, seemingly embarrassed, for what reason he couldn’t fathom. “I didn’t know it, but James had apparently gone to Scotland with friends.”
    Ah. James was as headstrong as his aunt it seemed. Still, the youngster should have enough respect to let her know when he left the country. “Have you talked to the families of the friends?”
    â€œYes. Apparently it had been planned by the boys and the father of one of them for some time.” The flush in her cheeks darkened. “Obviously James forgot that he hadn’t told me.”
    Obviously James was a spoiled, inconsiderate brat, but since Olivia was obviously hurt by her nephew’s neglect he wouldn’t comment any further. Instead he moved to more important matters. “Why do you believe they know what you are?”
    â€œThey made reference to my ‘proclivities.’”
    Reign almost laughed. “Proclivities? That could be anything from