The Vampire's Mail Order Bride(10)

Knowing the basement was off limits made her want to immediately run down there and check it out, but that would have to be without Captain in her arms. Any further and she’d need a hand truck to get him the rest of the way. Fortunately, Stanhill set one of her bags down in front of a door, opened it and stood aside for her to enter.

There was no holding back a gasp this time. “Oh, this is beautiful.” It was less a room and more a suite, complete with a sitting area with a fireplace, an enormous four-poster bed and an adjoining bathroom. The place was bigger than her entire third-floor walk-up. Actually, the bed might be bigger on its own. She bent her head to whisper in Cappy’s ear, “If you destroy anything in this room, I will trade you for a dog.”

Stanhill brought her bags in and set them at the foot of the bed.

“Thank you. I’m going to keep Captain confined to this room for a few days. It’ll be easier for him to adjust to the new surroundings that way.” And it would give her a reason to keep her door shut.

“Very good, miss. Would you like a tour of the home? Can I get you something to eat?”

She smiled wistfully. “It was a long drive, so if it’s all right with you, after I get Captain set up, all I really want is a hot shower and a nap.”

“Of course. Should I wake you for dinner?”

“Yes! In fact, I’ll set my alarm. What time should I be down?”

“Six P.M. And if I can get you anything before then, just let me know.”

“I’m good. Just need Cappy’s bag of supplies and his box. Oh! Would I be able to use the Wi-Fi?”

“Certainly. Log on to Ellnet, then the password is twilight1665. I’ll leave you to it then, miss.”

Twilight, huh? Maybe Hugh Ellingham was a fan of the books. Then again, considering the town he lived in, it might also just be an attempt at humor. “Thanks again.”

Stanhill gave a little nod and left.

She put Captain on the bed, then jogged back down to the car and grabbed the rest of his stuff. Stanhill hadn’t hesitated to give her the Wi-Fi code or acted strangely around her at all. Except for the basement thing. If he suspected she was a phony, he’d hidden it well.

Now she just had to convince the man who actually owned this place. More than that—she had to make him believe she was his perfect match.





Being able to walk in daylight didn’t mean it was Hugh’s preference, nor did it change the fact that it was in a vampire’s nature to favor the evening hours over those awash in sunlight. Unless there was pressing business to attend to, he compromised by rising late, when the sun was lower in the sky and the shadows longer.

He walked into the kitchen to find Stanhill sitting at the table polishing silver. “Are we having company that I forgot about?”

Stanhill snorted. “Indeed, Ellingham. Your match has arrived early.”

“My what?” Then he swore softly. “She wasn’t due until next week.” He instantly retracted his fangs, his decision to appear as human as possible to deter his new guest’s advances firmly in place.

“Or the dowager blurred the truth a little.”

He scrubbed his hands over his face. “That’s more likely. Where is the love sick woman?”

“Asleep in the ivory suite for the last five hours.”

“Good. Maybe she’ll stay there.”

Stanhill set down a spoon and picked up a serving fork. “She doesn’t seem particularly love sick.”

Hugh poured a large black coffee and took it to the table. He sat across from Stanhill. “That’s promising. What does she seem like?”

“Nice. Pretty, probably more so when she’s not worn out from all that driving. Good natured. A light packer. For a woman coming for a month’s visit with a man she hopes to marry, she only brought one large suitcase and one small one.” Stanhill shrugged, then added, “And she’s an animal lover.”

“That’s an odd quality to call out. What makes you think that?”

Stanhill’s mouth bent oddly, and when he raised his gaze to Hugh’s, his eyes held a curious spark. “She brought her cat.”

“She did what?”

“Did you expect her to leave it alone for a month? Seems fairly harmless, though.”

Hugh inhaled. “Bloody hell. I smell it already.”

Stanhill frowned. “No, you don’t.” He picked up the bottle of silver polish. “This has ammonia in it. Calm down, your lordship.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Don’t act like a spoiled peer that needs to be spoon fed. It’s a cat, not a wrecking ball.”

Hugh grimaced. “You like her.”