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.”“It is more than sufficient for us,” von Ruden said.Though he remained seated, Hughcould see that he had began to take more careful notice of Ross: his size, his weight,the muscles flexing under his suit.“Perhaps you Americans know nothing of duty.Youare an emotional, immature people, I‟m afraid.”CHAPTER SEVENTEEN“I DON‟T KNOW ABOUT that last part,” Ross said, smiling to reveal the edges of histeeth, “but we live large in every way, including in our passions.” He didn‟t look at Gilly,but Hugh did.She was holding herself so rigid that she was almost trembling.Von Ruden pretended to be amused.“I confess I do not understand why you are here,”he said.“I doubt your people could adopt our ways.”“That remains to be seen,” Sir Averil said, not yet prepared to drop his feigned support.The rage had become palpable.Gillian broke her paralysis and moved closer to SirAveril.“May I bring you gentlemen drinks?” she asked, her voice cold enough to freeze thecontents of all the bottles in the room.“I would prefer to visit young Tobias,” von Ruden said.“I‟m afraid he is not up to visitors at present,” Gillian said.Come The Night – Roaring Twenties 03Page 301 of 530“Did you not say he was resting comfortably?” Conrad asked.“You would not perhapsbe making excuses, Frau Delvaux? Perhaps the boy is imperfect in some way?”Sir Averil‟s chest expanded in outrage, and Ross‟s face went blank.Gillian spoke beforehe could move.“He is not perfect,” she said.“But neither are any of us.”“We in the Fatherland value perfection and never fail to strive for it,” Conrad said.“Youand the boy will do no less when we return to my country.”“You will have no cause for regret,” Sir Averil said, clinging to his temper.“You may seemy grandson now, if you wish.”Hugh was startled.Toby was bound not to look his best in his current condition.Butapparently his father felt he had to reclaim the upper hand by any means open to him.The von Rudens rose and accompanied Sir Averil from the drawing room.Gillian andRoss began to follow, but Sir Averil stopped Gillian with a searing glance.“They can‟t stop me from going,” Ross said under his breath.Gillian avoided his gaze.“You must cease interfering,” she whispered.“Are you actually going to marry that jerk?”Hugh was aware that other eyes were beginning to turn toward them.“Keating,” he saidloudly, “I never did get to show you my new motor car.It‟s quite the rage.Gillian, willyou join us?”It was exactly the frivolous sort of thing Hugh might say in the midst of a serioussituation.The delegates briefly focused on him before losing interest.Come The Night – Roaring Twenties 03Page 302 of 530“I must go up to Toby,” Gillian protested.“Come on,” Hugh whispered.“You‟ve attracted too much attention as it is.” He herdedher and Ross out of the room and led them to the garage, where the Rolls-Royce andthe new Bentley four-seater sparkled like gemstones.Ross didn‟t waste any time.“You can‟t go through with it, Jill,” he said.She stared at her distorted image reflected in the glossy surface of the Bentley.“I haveno choice,” she said.“Do you still think Toby will benefit by living with those…those—” He seemed at a lossfor an epithet strong enough to use in a lady‟s presence.“They‟re no better than yourfather.They‟ll never value either you or Toby.They‟ve made that very clear.”“I do not expect affection.Toby will be safe with me and I will do my part to save ourkind.”Ross grabbed Gillian‟s shoulders and pulled her about to face him.“When are yougoing to wake up?” he demanded.“Your life—Toby‟s life—will be a living hell.„Perfection‟ is what they want.No one could live up to that.”“Listen to him, Gilly,” Hugh said.“He‟s right.”“If I refuse,” she said, “our father will send Toby away.”“He can‟t send Toby away,” Ross said.“Not if you two come with me now.”She met his eyes, her face gradually losing the glazed expression she‟d worn eversince she‟d met the Germans.“What?” she said.Come The Night – Roaring Twenties 03Page 303 of 530“Marry me, Gilly,” he said.“I know I don‟t have many prospects right now, but I‟ve gotsome ideas, and we‟ll find a decent place to live.Maybe Mexico, where my past won‟tmatter.You can live as independently as you want.Even if it‟s just a marriage ofconvenience, you know I‟d never hurt you or Toby.You‟ll be safe, Jill.Safe.”Passive in his arms, Gillian looked away.“No need for troublesome emotions,” shewhispered.“I won‟t ask anything of you, Jill.You won‟t have any duty except to yourself and Toby.”“And he will live apart from his own kind.”“We‟re his kind, Jill.You and me.”She moved away so slowly that she had put several feet between them before Rossrealized she had slipped free.“I can‟t,” she said, bowing her head.“Because you have to save the race? For God‟s sake, Jill, one person won‟t make anydifference.Whatever those schmucks believe, werewolves aren‟t in danger of extinctionyet.Look at Toby.He‟ll be able to Change.”“But there was always the risk—”“And they would have condemned him if he hadn‟t.”Hugh judged that their previous arguments had followed the same lines and had failedto move either one of them from their entrenched positions.“Gilly,” he said, “you‟vealways known that it could have gone either way.”“We don‟t have to have children, Jill,” Ross said, taking advantage of Gilly‟s bewilderedsilence.“And if you want a divorce after a few years, I won‟t stand in your way.”Come The Night – Roaring Twenties 03Page 304 of 530She lifted her head, and Hugh could have sworn he saw pain in her eyes.“My fatherwould never let us go.He would track us down, no matter where we went.”“And I‟d fight him.He‟s not all-powerful, Jill.He never was.” He stared at her, merciless.“Maybe I don‟t hold up so well against all these aristocrats, but I‟ll be damned if I‟ll letany of them drive me away.And that includes Sir Averil‟s daughter.”Gillian held his gaze.“If you fight them,” she said, “you will be defeated.Please, Ross.Don‟t antagonize the count or his family.”But Ross had had enough.He turned on his heel and strode out of the garage.Gilliansimply stood there, as puffed up with stubborn and unyielding pride as Sir Averil himself.“Why do you keep doing this, Gilly?” Hugh asked.“Is it just another way of punishingyourself for failing to be the paragon of ideal werewolf womanhood our fatherexpected?”She turned on him with a snarl on her face.“You?” she said.“You speak to me like that,when you‟ve never had to—” She exhaled and continued in a softer tone.“You havealready done quite enough.No more, Hugh.”“Gilly, I only—”But her expression was so fierce that he instinctively ducked his head, showingsubmission.She was gone before he realized what he‟d just seen.She‟s still here.The Gillian from New York is still alive [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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.”“It is more than sufficient for us,” von Ruden said.Though he remained seated, Hughcould see that he had began to take more careful notice of Ross: his size, his weight,the muscles flexing under his suit.“Perhaps you Americans know nothing of duty.Youare an emotional, immature people, I‟m afraid.”CHAPTER SEVENTEEN“I DON‟T KNOW ABOUT that last part,” Ross said, smiling to reveal the edges of histeeth, “but we live large in every way, including in our passions.” He didn‟t look at Gilly,but Hugh did.She was holding herself so rigid that she was almost trembling.Von Ruden pretended to be amused.“I confess I do not understand why you are here,”he said.“I doubt your people could adopt our ways.”“That remains to be seen,” Sir Averil said, not yet prepared to drop his feigned support.The rage had become palpable.Gillian broke her paralysis and moved closer to SirAveril.“May I bring you gentlemen drinks?” she asked, her voice cold enough to freeze thecontents of all the bottles in the room.“I would prefer to visit young Tobias,” von Ruden said.“I‟m afraid he is not up to visitors at present,” Gillian said.Come The Night – Roaring Twenties 03Page 301 of 530“Did you not say he was resting comfortably?” Conrad asked.“You would not perhapsbe making excuses, Frau Delvaux? Perhaps the boy is imperfect in some way?”Sir Averil‟s chest expanded in outrage, and Ross‟s face went blank.Gillian spoke beforehe could move.“He is not perfect,” she said.“But neither are any of us.”“We in the Fatherland value perfection and never fail to strive for it,” Conrad said.“Youand the boy will do no less when we return to my country.”“You will have no cause for regret,” Sir Averil said, clinging to his temper.“You may seemy grandson now, if you wish.”Hugh was startled.Toby was bound not to look his best in his current condition.Butapparently his father felt he had to reclaim the upper hand by any means open to him.The von Rudens rose and accompanied Sir Averil from the drawing room.Gillian andRoss began to follow, but Sir Averil stopped Gillian with a searing glance.“They can‟t stop me from going,” Ross said under his breath.Gillian avoided his gaze.“You must cease interfering,” she whispered.“Are you actually going to marry that jerk?”Hugh was aware that other eyes were beginning to turn toward them.“Keating,” he saidloudly, “I never did get to show you my new motor car.It‟s quite the rage.Gillian, willyou join us?”It was exactly the frivolous sort of thing Hugh might say in the midst of a serioussituation.The delegates briefly focused on him before losing interest.Come The Night – Roaring Twenties 03Page 302 of 530“I must go up to Toby,” Gillian protested.“Come on,” Hugh whispered.“You‟ve attracted too much attention as it is.” He herdedher and Ross out of the room and led them to the garage, where the Rolls-Royce andthe new Bentley four-seater sparkled like gemstones.Ross didn‟t waste any time.“You can‟t go through with it, Jill,” he said.She stared at her distorted image reflected in the glossy surface of the Bentley.“I haveno choice,” she said.“Do you still think Toby will benefit by living with those…those—” He seemed at a lossfor an epithet strong enough to use in a lady‟s presence.“They‟re no better than yourfather.They‟ll never value either you or Toby.They‟ve made that very clear.”“I do not expect affection.Toby will be safe with me and I will do my part to save ourkind.”Ross grabbed Gillian‟s shoulders and pulled her about to face him.“When are yougoing to wake up?” he demanded.“Your life—Toby‟s life—will be a living hell.„Perfection‟ is what they want.No one could live up to that.”“Listen to him, Gilly,” Hugh said.“He‟s right.”“If I refuse,” she said, “our father will send Toby away.”“He can‟t send Toby away,” Ross said.“Not if you two come with me now.”She met his eyes, her face gradually losing the glazed expression she‟d worn eversince she‟d met the Germans.“What?” she said.Come The Night – Roaring Twenties 03Page 303 of 530“Marry me, Gilly,” he said.“I know I don‟t have many prospects right now, but I‟ve gotsome ideas, and we‟ll find a decent place to live.Maybe Mexico, where my past won‟tmatter.You can live as independently as you want.Even if it‟s just a marriage ofconvenience, you know I‟d never hurt you or Toby.You‟ll be safe, Jill.Safe.”Passive in his arms, Gillian looked away.“No need for troublesome emotions,” shewhispered.“I won‟t ask anything of you, Jill.You won‟t have any duty except to yourself and Toby.”“And he will live apart from his own kind.”“We‟re his kind, Jill.You and me.”She moved away so slowly that she had put several feet between them before Rossrealized she had slipped free.“I can‟t,” she said, bowing her head.“Because you have to save the race? For God‟s sake, Jill, one person won‟t make anydifference.Whatever those schmucks believe, werewolves aren‟t in danger of extinctionyet.Look at Toby.He‟ll be able to Change.”“But there was always the risk—”“And they would have condemned him if he hadn‟t.”Hugh judged that their previous arguments had followed the same lines and had failedto move either one of them from their entrenched positions.“Gilly,” he said, “you‟vealways known that it could have gone either way.”“We don‟t have to have children, Jill,” Ross said, taking advantage of Gilly‟s bewilderedsilence.“And if you want a divorce after a few years, I won‟t stand in your way.”Come The Night – Roaring Twenties 03Page 304 of 530She lifted her head, and Hugh could have sworn he saw pain in her eyes.“My fatherwould never let us go.He would track us down, no matter where we went.”“And I‟d fight him.He‟s not all-powerful, Jill.He never was.” He stared at her, merciless.“Maybe I don‟t hold up so well against all these aristocrats, but I‟ll be damned if I‟ll letany of them drive me away.And that includes Sir Averil‟s daughter.”Gillian held his gaze.“If you fight them,” she said, “you will be defeated.Please, Ross.Don‟t antagonize the count or his family.”But Ross had had enough.He turned on his heel and strode out of the garage.Gilliansimply stood there, as puffed up with stubborn and unyielding pride as Sir Averil himself.“Why do you keep doing this, Gilly?” Hugh asked.“Is it just another way of punishingyourself for failing to be the paragon of ideal werewolf womanhood our fatherexpected?”She turned on him with a snarl on her face.“You?” she said.“You speak to me like that,when you‟ve never had to—” She exhaled and continued in a softer tone.“You havealready done quite enough.No more, Hugh.”“Gilly, I only—”But her expression was so fierce that he instinctively ducked his head, showingsubmission.She was gone before he realized what he‟d just seen.She‟s still here.The Gillian from New York is still alive [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]