The Last Keeper

by Michelle Birbeck

  “Jayne, would you take your breakfast to the dining room this morning?” Helen said when Jayne returned with the medical kit and a light dress.

  “Yes, Mother,” she answered. “Feel better, Aunt Sere.”

  The medical kit was one that had been collected over the years, and contained everything ever needed. Any injury that didn’t require surgery, Helen had the supplies to treat.

  “Can you take your shirt off?”

  “It’s not as bad as it seems.”

  “Take your shirt off and we’ll see.”

  The sound of broken glass falling to the floor accompanied the removal of my shirt, and I felt a few smaller pieces dislodge in the process. It was a start, but there was far more glass decorating my back and neck, and some in my arms, as well.

  “What happened?” Helen asked, looking over my injuries.

  “I was checking the area round Ray’s house. Spotted a vampire taking a woman. She was unconscious, but she was pregnant. I couldn’t let him kill her. I don’t think she knew.” I braced myself for the pain as Helen picked up a scalpel.

  When my wounds healed around something, I felt it. Every part of it. The width of the object, the depth, and even the texture. In order to remove it, it either had to be pulled or cut out. Pulling it out was far more painful than having a scalpel slice through my skin.

  “You always were too kind for your own good. You know we don’t get involved like that.” She paused. “But I’m glad you did.”

  “There was no walking away. I just couldn’t.”

  “I know. Now, this is going to hurt. A lot. You look as if you have the entire window in here.”

  When she removed the first piece, I gasped. “I think I do.”

  The worst part, and the hardest, was that I needed to calm myself in order for Helen to work. If I didn’t, it would hurt twice as much. Forcing the muscles in my back to relax, I lowered my head and hoped it would be over soon.

  I tried to concentrate on the thud of glass hitting the towel on the wooden table. The soft fabric muffled the noise, making it sound as if someone was knocking on a door in the distance.

  The fresh wounds healed quickly but not before staining my back red. She didn’t stop to clean up; she would do that once she was finished.

  Helen was almost done when the doorbell rang. Jayne called out that she would answer it.

  “What time is it?” I asked, wondering who was calling this early.

  “Eight o’clock.”

  “What? I must have been out longer than I thought.”

  “You were unconscious?” Helen half-screamed. “Just how high was this window?”

  “Fourth story, and I fell with the vampire on top of me.” Then I realised who would be calling at eight in the morning. “Ray!”

  “No you don’t.” Helen forced me to stay when I tried to stand. “You’re going nowhere until I’m finished.”

  “May I at least put something on?”

  “I’m almost done, Serenity. Then you can see him as if this never happened.”

  Her plan held some merit. I’d be fine in a couple of minutes, and if he saw me like this, he would worry. If I saw me like this, I would, too. The fact I was obviously unconscious far longer than I thought was already a concern.

  “And after I’m done with your back, I want to take a look at your head. Make sure there’s no permanent damage.” There was a smile in her voice, and I knew she was only joking.

  But our plans of greeting Ray after my back was clean and free of glass didn’t turn out how I’d expected.

  “Serenity?” Ray’s worried voice sounded from the doorway as the last piece of glass hit the towel. “What happened?”

  I turned my head slightly to see him standing in the doorway, wide eyed. Jayne must have returned to the dining room.

  “I’m fine. Really, I don’t see why everyone is so worried.” I was growing tired of it.

  “There’s so much blood,” he whispered.

  “Be thankful you didn’t see her when she got home,” Helen told him.

  “May I please put my dress on?” I was well aware I was half-naked.

  “Just a second. I need to clean your back.” She walked around me to the kitchen sink.

  Glancing behind me again, I saw Ray still standing awkwardly in the doorway, his face as red as my back. His eyes weren’t full of disgust or fear at the blood; they were full of concern.

  “Honestly, Ray, I’ll be fine.” I offered him a small smile.

  He met my gaze but looked away quickly.

  Sitting half-naked in any given room in the house wasn’t a new state for me. Be it a piece of wood wedged into my leg or badly broken bones, it had all been done before in one form or another.

  “Ray, she really is fine,” Helen told him, when she returned with the cloth and a bowl of warm water. “Watch.”

  She ran the cloth down my back, ringing it out into the bowl. Repeating the process, she ran it down my back again and again. Then over my arms and up to my neck. Before long the water was cloudy, dirt from the glass and red from my blood mixing into a muddy brown.

  “See? She heals quicker than you can imagine. Why don’t you go into the dining room whilst we finish up?”

  There were shuffling footsteps as Ray retreated.

  “Now, how about we look at these ribs?”

  “Thank you,” I told her, not talking about my ribs.

  “Not to worry, dear. You are, perhaps, somewhat blasé about your injuries. Though I think a demonstration could have been executed a little better.” She chuckled.

  “I wasn’t going for a demonstration.” I sucked in a pained breath as she prodded my side.

  “You were right about there being two broken ones,” she said. “Let’s get them taped up.”

  She would have made an excellent nurse had she chosen to become one. Instead she insisted she was where she was needed, especially after the last time my ribs were broken.

  A couple of minutes more and I was done, giving me chance to pull on the light dress Jayne had brought down with the medical kit. I needed a good soak in the tub, but it could wait until Ray had gone. There was some explaining I needed to do first. And an apology wouldn’t be amiss, either.

  “Ray,” I said, standing in the dining room doorway. “Would you like some breakfast?”

  “I’m not sure I can handle anything to eat right now.” He smiled, just a touch.

  “Come sit with me in my study?”

  With a nod, he rose and silently followed me. There were two deep couches in there, making it my favourite room for reading. I took one, expecting him to take the other. I was surprised when he sat next to me.

  “Are you sure you’re fine?” His eyes were still wide. “There was a lot of blood.”

  “Apart from two broken ribs, which will be healed by tomorrow morning, I’m fine.”

  “How did it happen? Was it vampires?” There wasn’t even a pause before the word vampires.

  “It was a vampire, yes. I was trying to save a woman, and he caught me unawares. When I awoke, he was gone, but the woman was alive.” I patted his hand gently. “He caught me off guard and charged, sending us through a fourth-story window. Helen had to cut the glass out of my back because I healed around it before I got home.”

  “Are you sure you’re fine?” he asked again, running his hand over my arm.

  “Really, I am. Broken bones take the longest to heal, but flesh wounds close up relatively quickly. Would it bother you if I said I’ve had worse injuries?”

  “No. I’m just concerned. When I saw you in the kitchen with all that blood down your back, it scared me. I thought I might lose you.” He glanced down, whispering his words.

  “As your heart beats, so will mine. When your heart sleeps, so will mine,” I said with utter confidence. “Ray, there’s nothing anyone or anything can do that would mean you losing me. I’m here to stay until your time is up.”

  He smiled, but he was still squinting a little.
I was used to having Helen worry, and even Jayne on the rare occasion, but having Ray anxious for me touched me. With Ray it was different. He wanted to protect me, to care for me, though I was the one meant to protect and care for him.

  “Now, I rather fancy some breakfast.” I took his free hand. “Would you join me?”

  “I’d like that.”

  We ate breakfast in the dining room. I assumed Ray didn’t want to be back in the kitchen so soon.

  There was a slight pull on my ribs when I took a deep breath. They were healing nicely, and I’d be back to normal before dawn. But I wouldn’t be going out tonight, not if Helen had anything to say about it.

  After breakfast, Ray and I went to my study. I showed him some of our records, the ones I happened to be updating at the time. He hovered not out of interest over what I was showing him; he was hovering because he was still worried about me.

  “Ray, honestly, I’ll be perfectly fine by dawn.” I’d been talking to him for five minutes straight without a hint of acknowledgement.

  “I know,” he whispered, suddenly looking embarrassed.

  Oh! He wasn’t thinking about the injuries I’d sustained. The blush in his cheeks told me exactly what was running through his mind.

  I’d been half naked when he walked into the kitchen.

  “Ray, please don’t be embarrassed.” I set my book aside. “You couldn’t help but look. I understand that. And if it helps . . . I have every intention of letting you see much more at some point.” My cheeks heated up.

  “It was wrong of me to stare as I did.”

  “Regardless, you and I are together now, so seeing such things are normal, eventually. Or so I’m told.”

  After we got that embarrassing conversation out of the way, Helen called to say lunch was ready. I hadn’t realised the day was passing so quickly. Just after lunch, Ray said he was due home. He’d promised to do some errands for his mother, as she had her own to run. I offered to walk him home, but he refused, as I knew he would. I wasn’t overly worried about him walking alone. It was a gloriously sunny day, despite the chilly start, and most vampires would be hiding in the safety of their homes.

  “He took that rather well,” Helen said, when I returned inside.

  “Better than I expected. He was more worried over the etiquette of seeing me half naked.”

  “I’ll bet he was. You should have seen the colour of his face when I washed your back off. He would’ve fallen down had he not already been supporting himself with the doorframe.” She joined me as I laughed.

  We’d finished cleaning the kitchen, making sure all the glass had been swept up and everything put away, when the doorbell rang. In the hope it might be Ray, I raced to the door, almost tearing it off its hinges to answer it. I was surprised to see Liza Synclair standing on the doorstep with a parcel in her hands.

  “Good afternoon, Liz. This is a pleasant surprise.” I stood to the side and gestured for her to come in.

  “Good afternoon, Serenity. I thought I would come and spend some time with the young woman who has captured my son’s heart.” She smiled brightly.

  So that was why she’d asked him to do some errands.

  “I also have something for you.” She patted the lid of the parcel.

  “You didn’t have to do that,” I told her, but I wondered what she’d brought.

  “I realise you will have many dresses to choose from, but I saw this one and thought it would be perfect for you.” She set the box down on the sitting room table, and tossed its lid to one side. “Go on, have a look.”

  Upon peeling back the layers of tissue paper, I found myself staring at a mass of shimmering fabric. Picking up the straps, I took the dress from the box, letting the material slip from my fingers.

  Gorgeous was the first and only word I could use to describe the dress. Even gorgeous did it no justice at all. The light velvet was embroidered in bright, vibrant jades, oranges, and blues. The design of beautiful flowers flowed from just under the bust down to the waist and then swept down to the hem on the left. Matching embroidery adorned the straps where they met the dress.

  “Liz,” I breathed. “I can’t accept this. It’s beautiful beyond words.”

  “I was wearing this when I met Ray’s father.” There was a sad smile on her face as she reminisced. “My father brought it back from France, and the style was outrageous at the time. So much skin on display. My mother refused to let me out of the house unless I wore a stole with it. She was embarrassed that my father would buy something like this for me.”

  “Liz, I really can’t accept this,” I told her, touched that she would think to give me such a sentimental item.

  “Nonsense. I will never be able to fit into this again, and I have no desire to. You’re about the same size as I was, and it will be put to much better use with you than sitting in the back of my wardrobe gathering dust.” Her hand fluttered lightly over the fabric. “Besides, I’m sure Ray will simply be stunned when he sees you in it.”

  “Thank you. It truly is beautiful.”

  “Come now, we had best make sure it fits you.”

  The entire afternoon was spent going over and over the dress. The second I slipped it over my head, thankful the tape from my ribs had been removed, I knew it was going to be perfect, if a touch long. Helen had then ushered me up onto a stool and told me to stay perfectly still. An hour of crawling round the floor and she was finally done. It had taken three attempts to adjust the hem, making sure it was the right length. The first had been far too long, the second just a fraction. I thought all of them were perfect, but Liz and Helen insisted it had to just brush the floor as I walked. The third attempt reminded Helen that I wasn’t wearing any shoes and saw her scurrying to find the right pair.

  “Apart from the hem, it’s a perfect fit,” Helen said.

  “Doesn’t she look stunning?” Liz asked as the two of them stepped back to admire me.

  “It’s missing something.” Helen gave me a once-over.

  “I know.” I hopped down from the stool.

  Before anyone objected, I raced up the stairs to my room, careful not to catch the delicately pinned hem. It was fortunate I’d spent some time reorganising my belongings one long afternoon over late spring just after we’d moved in. I knew exactly where to look. Two boxes, one with a necklace I rarely wore, and one with a shawl I’d never worn. It had been a gift from William in an attempt to get me to dance more often—an attempt that had failed. The necklace was one of my most prized possessions.

  Taking both of the boxes downstairs, I carefully unwrapped the shawl first, draping the thin silk around my shoulders. The pattern wasn’t an exact match to the dress, but they complimented each other perfectly.

  When I brought out the necklace, there was a gasp of appreciation from Liz and one of shock from Helen.

  “Would you mind?” I asked, handing Helen the piece.

  “I don’t think I have ever seen anything like it,” Liz mused, as Helen swept my hair to the side and fastened the necklace in place.

  “It has been in the family for years.”

  It was actually a gift from my sister and dated back to the Celts. The Celtic Butterfly, as she’d called it, was a beautifully made silver necklace with a single polished jet stone in the centre. The knots making up the design looked like a pair of butterfly wings. She’d laughed when she told me why she’d chosen that particular stone.

  Calming.

  She’d been teasing me. Out of the two of us, I was the calm one.

  “You’re absolutely stunning,” Liz commented as I gave them a twirl of the almost-complete outfit.

  Helen had a motherly smile on her face. “Ray will be mesmerized.”

  Two weeks passed quickly, and I managed not to get myself thrown through any more windows.

  Ray spent every day at my house, or I spent the time at his. At least until I realised I hadn’t bought him a present. After hours of rattling around the house wondering what I could get him, I even
tually decided on something. It required me to spend several hours hunched over my desk, but it was worth every second.

  Helen took an entire week to make sure the dress was a perfect fit. I lost count of the number of times she had me up on that stool in the dining room, checking and double-checking her work. Personally, I didn’t know what all the fuss was about; Ray’s eyes were hardly going to be on my hemline.

  Naturally, Helen, Sam, and Jayne were also invited to the party, and Jayne had the time of her life getting ready with us. She was thrilled and promptly told her mother that she had to wear her lilac dress for the occasion. It was her favourite. Helen had chosen a simple, yet elegant, pale yellow one.

  When the three of us descended the stairs, Sam let out a whistle of appreciation and told us he would be fighting the men off with sticks. That earned him a soft thump from Helen.

  “Is everyone ready?” he asked, rubbing his shoulder playfully.

  “Yes.”

  I was nervous.

  This was the first birthday party I’d been to outside of my family. What if I tripped? What if he didn’t like his gift? What if Professor Baruti was there and I managed to expose myself for what I was?

  With a knowing smile, Sam went to fetch the carriage. I’d tried to persuade him to let me get someone else to take care of our transport for the evening, but he’d insisted. He wouldn’t even let me bring the car from the garage, insisting that the carriage was the only way to travel to the event.

  “Would you please stop pacing?” Helen asked me while we waited for Sam.

  “Sorry,” I muttered, not aware I’d started.

  “What do you have to be nervous about?” She put herself in my path. “He knows about you. He clearly loves you, even if he hasn’t said it yet. So take a deep breath, and stop fretting.”

  I sighed. “You’re right.”

  “Of course I am. Now, we have a party to get to.”

  Music was already playing when we arrived, slightly late. Ray was mingling with the guests, mostly young women and older men with their wives, some from the auction. The second I saw him all of my worries evaporated.