a shade of blue that appeared purple in the light of the gas lamps were fixed on Bella. Or perhaps it was the purple ascot he wore that gave him such an appearance. He was smiling, an expression that looked like it came to him easily. “Pardon me, my lady.” The man bowed gracefully. “May I have this dance?”
“I—ah—” Bella stammered. “I, well—” Maxine watched as the young woman blushed bright pink. Her blue eyes were wide in surprise, and she glanced to Maxine, then back to the man, clearly unsure of what to do.
“Go on.” Maxine nudged Bella’s elbow. “I will be quite fine here on my own.” She motioned her head out the window, knowing Eddie was there with a long-range rifle ready to assist her should something change. “Enjoy the dance.”
The man smiled to her and bowed his head slightly. “Thank you for loaning me your companion.” His voice was quiet, smooth, and there was something deeply seductive about him. “I promise I’ll return her unscathed.” He offered his hand to Bella.
Poor Bella did not stand a chance. The girl was already enamored; she could see it in her face. She put her hand in his, and he pulled her toward the dance floor where couples were waiting to begin.
Maxine watched them wistfully. There was no small portion of her that was jealous. The way they were smiling at each other. The attraction was instant and mutual. One dance turned into two. If there was a third, it would be an absolute scandal. She couldn’t imagine Bella knew or cared of such social etiquette. With a sad smile, Maxine looked out the window.
It was something she could never have. A relationship. Attraction. She looked down at her gloved hands. She was always going to be as she was—surrounded by others, but utterly alone. Some days it threatened to crush her. She shut her eyes and let herself stretch out her awareness to sense the emotions of those around her. Happiness, enjoyment, and the playful excitement that came with a party. She tried to take some of it into herself, but it was a poor salve.
She stayed at her post by the window, knowing she must look bored and uninterested in the goings-on of the room. While she wished to never be alone, she hoped her expression might discourage any would-be gentleman callers desperate for a companion.
It had always worked before, and it would work again this evening.
Even without knowing who she was and what she could do, she carried the feel of death about her. She was told by many others that she was somehow inherently eerie and unsettling. Even if the living could not see the world in the way she could, they knew something very other clung to her like moss from the branches of a tree.
The room was filled with men, women, and those who seemed to be either a mix of the two or neither at all, each one dressed in their finest. It was a joyful affair, and Bacchus would be proud. More than once she caught sight of Arthur Price with a man under one of his arms and the other around the waist of a young lady. He clearly enjoyed the company of any gender, and he was not shy about admitting it or showing it in public. She knew it was only by his extreme affluence that his proclivities were tolerated.
The room was alive with pleasure.
And she stood alone.
After forty-five minutes of nothing, with no vampires to be seen, she had lost her focus. Bella had disappeared with her young man, likely to talk in private on some balcony. Or to go do more lascivious things. She did not judge or bemoan the girl if that was her choice. Her life had clearly been one of suffering. She should enjoy herself whenever she was allowed.
Lost in her thoughts, Maxine failed to notice a shadow that had approached by her side.
“May I have this dance, my lady?”
The unexpected voice made her jump, and she looked up wide-eyed at who had spoken to her.
The man was tall. Easily six feet or more. He had brown hair, worn swept back in the fashion of the day. He had light brown eyes that shone with warmth and a smile that matched it. He was a bit older, perhaps in his mid-thirties. He was handsome in a way that was uniquely British. His accent when he had greeted her had given that away, as