And was surprised when Cole once again took her hand from where it lay on her knee and squeezed it.
She was more surprised, at herself, when she leaned against his shoulder to rest.
He didn’t move away.
THEY ARRIVED AT THE BOARDINGHOUSE to find that the rest of their party had had an uneventful day. Cody and Brendan had scoured the churches with burial grounds, but had run out of daylight time to go on to the other cemeteries.
Brendan Vincent announced he would head to the small office of the Pinkerton agency, which dealt with many secret matters of state, so as to see that the cemetery was cleaned of the evidence of combat before morning.
Before letting Brendan go, Cody hunkered down by his wife and asked, “Alex, do you think that it’s safe?”
Megan was surprised by Cody, Alex and the question.
Alex hesitated before answering him. “Cody, you know that—that I can’t see things on command.”
He nodded. “I was hoping that you might have a sense.”
“I’m not feeling that it’s unsafe. I was worried when you all left this morning, but that was quite natural, don’t you think? I can’t conjure a vision of the cemetery, but…I don’t think we have a choice, do we?”
Cody looked at her awhile longer, smiled and nodded. “All right, Brendan. We don’t have much of a choice.”
“One of us should go with the crew,” Cole said. “Me, I suppose. I know where…I know where the corpses lie.”
“Well, that’s foolish. If we did miss any of the creatures,
you’ll be as vulnerable as any of the men,” Megan told him. “I can go.”
“You were falling asleep on the way back,” Cole said. “I’ll go. You must have realized by now that I do know exactly what I’m up against and how to fight this enemy.” He was irritated when he first started speaking, but she supposed, even if she did have a natural immunity, she ruffled his pride when she suggested that he wasn’t competent—or that he didn’t have the strength. He spoke more gently when he added, “You were fighting that bunch several minutes before I reached you. You have to be far more worn-out. I’ll go.”
Megan frowned, wanting to protest, but Cody put an end to that. “He knows what he’s doing, Megan. Let him handle the situation.”
Cody left with Brendan. Alex rose. “I have a plate of supper for you, Megan. I saved a plate for Cole, too, but…anyway. You need to have dinner. And sustenance.”
Sustenance appeared to be a steaming cup of tomato soup; she knew that it was not. But though Megan hadn’t thought that she was hungry, she was famished.
Cody went out while she was eating. Alex stood looking out the window in the boardinghouse kitchen; there was an actual kitchen building behind the house, but Martha had put in a sink with a water pump and a stove when she had begun letting out rooms. Megan knew that when she wasn’t cooking breakfast for a household of guests inside the house, she prepared food for her children and herself in the kitchen building out back.
Alex seemed anxious as she peered out.
Then she turned and smiled. “Cody is taking a few precautions. He’s setting up an alarm system, arranging
crosses, sprinkling holy water around Martha’s little carriage house, as well.”
“Thank God,” Megan said.
Alex smiled at her, a twinkle of amusement in her eyes. “You knew Martha before you were brought here, didn’t you?”
Caught off guard, Megan nodded. “I was afraid to say so. Brendan Vincent is so staunch a Unionist, I was afraid he would think that Martha was a Confederate spy if I let on that we knew each other.”
“Is she a spy?” Alex asked.
“No,” Megan said, with a stone-serious expression Alex could not misinterpret.
Alex smiled and took a seat at the table across from Megan.
“But you are.”
Megan shook her head. “I was a courier, and sometimes I carried information that fell into my lap. I was never actually a spy. And now…well, we’re all fighting a different war.” Megan looked at the woman, staring into her eyes. “Your turn, Alex, please. What was Cody talking about when he asked you if it was going to be safe for Brendan and Cole?”
Alex sat back. She was quiet for a minute. “I have dreams. I see things that happen, or may happen. When I can, I try to prevent them from happening. Actually, I was once brought in for being a spy, but—” she smiled “—I became friends with the U.S. government instead.”
“Who?” Megan demanded, wondering if highest government and military leaders in the land really understood the reality and seriousness of the vampire situation.
“We’re not totally sure we trust you yet, you know,” Alex replied.
“I am Cody’s sister.”
Alex smiled, curling her fingers around the cup of tea she had poured for herself. “I believe that biologically, yes, you’re his sister. But this country is currently full of brothers who grew up in the same house, loving the same two parents, going to war against one another. I’ve personally seen this travesty ripping apart the country. So, whether we all believe you’re Cody’s sister is rather a moot point. None of us knows you.”
“Martha knows me. And you know Martha, too, don’t you?”
Alex laughed. “Yes, I do. I know a lot of people in Washington.”
“Then ask Martha about me,” Megan suggested with both force and exasperation at this tension between them.
“I’ll probably do that.”
They sat in silence for some minutes, whatever had spiked up between them dissipating for the most part. Though questions still remained.
“And you do trust some vampires,” Megan said.
“Some,” Alex agreed, smiling. She hesitated for a moment. “Actually, I have good reason to believe in the goodness of some vampires—as do Cody, Cole and Brendan.” She stood. “You are looking a bit worse for wear. Why, actually, you look like you’ve been digging in a cemetery. I had the tub filled in the back kitchen. I’ll add some water and you can take a bath.”
“I’m not going to take your bath,” Megan protested.
“Oh, seriously, I insist. You look like you need it much more than I do!” Alex told her. “I’ll put more water on to boil.”
It would be good to take a long, hot bath.
Alex provided her with a nightdress and robe and a cake of her own soap; it smelled deliciously of lavender. It seemed such a luxury that night—she hadn’t seen decent soap in a long time. It was growing scarce in the
