Victoria swallowed. The last time he had seen her nude and with bare arms was when they made love after returning from the theater—just before she drugged him, only two nights ago. "I believe it was yesterday morning, after you left to go to your club. "
He looked at her. "Yesterday? It appears to have healed quite rapidly. "
Her heart was pounding rampantly. "Yes, I am quite surprised. My aunt gave me some particularly effective salve. "
Phillip threw back the blankets so hard they whipped over her face, falling on her head then slipping down into her lap. He moved off the bed, naked and beautiful, and very, very angry.
He stalked over to look out of the window that spanned the height of the wall from ceiling to floor, crossing his arms in front of him. As he had done before, he spoke to the wall, not to her… though the words were for her.
"Victoria, I want to know why you were at my club last night dressed in men's clothing with that Italian man you claim is your cousin. And I want to know the truth
of how you received such a dangerous injury that has healed so quickly. "
She drew in a deep breath. She had wanted something to change. This would be it.
"I was at the club because we—Max and I, and yes, he is my distant cousin—learned that there was going to be an attack there. I wanted to be certain you were safe. "
"You wanted to be certain I was safe?" He spun from the window, and the yellow sunshine cast a beautiful golden shadow over his skin and hair. Unfortunately she was in no position to appreciate it. "What kind of nonsense are you speaking, Victoria? What could you do besides put yourself in danger?" He gestured to her arm. "It appears you already have!"
She was angry at the derision in his voice, and exhausted, and over the top with stress. She should have ended the conversation there, told him nothing else. Let him be angry.
But she didn't.
"I work with Max. It is part of our family legacy. "
"You work with Max? Marchionesses don't work. "
"I do. " She swallowed. "I hunt vampires. "
He stared at her. And stared.
And stared.
And then he said in a terrible voice, "You are mad. "
"I am not mad, Phillip. It's true. "
"You are mad. "
Her temper snapped. She vaulted off the bed and marched over to him, stopping so close that the hem of her night rail brushed against his bare legs. "Give me your hands. "
When he reluctantly offered them, she grabbed his wrists and said, "Try to break my grip. "
He tried, and he couldn't. She forced his arms down to his sides, watching the expression on his face turn from anger to shock to incomprehension.
She released him. "I am a vampire hunter. It is my family legacy. I have no choice; it is what I must do. "
Phillip stepped away from her, bumping into the window behind him. "I don't believe in vampires. "
"That is quite foolish of you, as one nearly bit you last night… just before you saw me. Max dispatched him whilst you were talking to me. "
He shook his head. "Whether they exist or not, you cannot hunt vampires, Victoria. You are a marchioness. You are a pillar of Society. I forbid it. As your husband, I forbid it. "
"Phillip, it is not something you can forbid. It is in my… my blood. It is my destiny. "
"You may believe that. You may think you have no choice, but if you do not leave the house to hunt vampires, you are making the choice not to follow your destiny. "
"And I should just ignore it when I learn that there are to be vampire attacks… at places such as Bridge and Stokes? Let people die? You escaped, Phillip, because Max told you a lie to get you to leave. But you did not see the carnage that was left behind… of some of your friends. It was beyond horrible. "