The First Vampire

by Alicia Ryan

  Nevertheless, she planted her feet in the soft carpet and vowed to put Ash out of her mind. She was here to work, and since work was the only thing she had left, she couldn’t afford to screw it up.

  An hour later she opened the door to the war room to make good on her vow. Three laptops were set up on the large white table that occupied the center of the room. She walked around the table, following the tiny aisle that had been left clear between the center table and the stacks of boxes that took up most of the far wall.

  Reaching her destination, she removed one of the laptops and replaced it with her own, then watched the screen flare predictably to life. With that small success under her belt, Ariana got to her feet and looked around the room to try to figure out where to start. At least a dozen document boxes sat on the floor along the wall to her right. It looked like as good a place as any.

  She pulled the first box out from the wall and took off the lid. A single sheet of white paper indicated that the box contained the offering memoranda and subscription agreements of some of the funds in which Ash’s money was currently invested.

  She pulled the lid off the second box. It contained proxy statements and annual reports for various public companies. The third box held similar documents for private companies of which Ash owned all or a portion of the equity.

  She looked at the front of each of those boxes. The fund box was labeled one of twelve. The public company box was one of six. The private company box was one of fourteen.

  Ariana let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding. She hoped Justin had already done a summary of all these. If not, this was going to take forever.

  She walked down and pulled the lids off the other three boxes—real estate, bonds, and “other,” respectively. The “other” box was only one of four, so Ariana decided to start there.

  Halfway through a catalogue of art, antiques, boats, and cars, Ariana heard the door open. She looked up over her computer screen to see Nancy gingerly poking her head into the room.

  “Morning, Nancy,” Ariana said with a smile.

  “Good morning, Miss Chambers. What can I bring you for your breakfast?”

  Ariana thought a moment. She was hungry. “Do you have eggs?” she asked. “I could go for some scrambled eggs and a glass of juice if it’s not too much trouble.”

  “Not at all,” Nancy replied. “I’ll be back shortly.”

  Ariana wondered at the new formality as Nancy disappeared from the doorway. She took her glasses off and got up to stretch.

  The sun had fully risen and Ariana went to look out the window. The war room faced the back of the house and looked down on an elaborate garden. Manicured hedges topped by budding flowers created a cloverleaf shape around a fountain at its center. Gargoyles spit arcs of water out to the four winds. Classical urns filled with more flowers guarded the entryways to various paths that led off in different directions from the center cloverleaf design.

  In moments Nancy was back bearing a tray laden with food. Ariana ran to hold the door for her.

  “Oh, thank you, dear.” Nancy carried the tray around to where Ariana’s computer was set up. She removed the cloth napkin that had covered half the tray, and Ariana looked down at a veritable feast of eggs, ham, cereal, yogurt, juice, milk, and coffee. “Wow. Nancy, you didn’t need to go to all this trouble,” she said. “I don’t even usually eat breakfast.”

  Nancy smoothed her gray dress and cast a baleful eye at Ariana. “Well, a few good breakfasts won’t do you any harm, especially if you’re going to be getting up with the chickens.”

  Ariana laughed. “You needn’t worry about that. I’m not usually a morning person either. Once I get over the jet lag, you won’t see me until long after the sun is up.”

  “You and the master will get along well then,” Nancy said pertly.

  Master? Ariana repeated silently, just managing to hold her tongue. “Is he a night owl, too?”

  “Quite, I’m afraid,” Nancy said. “He gets up late and works in his study for several hours before we are even allowed to check on him. You probably won’t see him until this afternoon when Mr. Justin gets here. He’s due in at 4:00, I believe.”

  “Oh.” Ariana was disappointed.

  “If you’ll excuse me, Miss Chambers.” Nancy gave a little bow and moved toward the door.

  Ariana frowned. “Nancy,” she called out.

  The older woman looked back at her.

  “Please call me Ariana. Even though I’m working here and not just a house guest, I’d much prefer it if we were informal.”

  Nancy smiled. “We’re British, Miss Ariana. We can only be so informal, but I will try.” Nancy took two more steps and then turned back once more. “I’m sorry if I was a little terse earlier. I didn’t realize yesterday who you were, and I was worried I had been too casual in my attitude toward you.”

  Ariana stared blankly at the woman. “Who am I?”

  Nancy laughed. “Not what I expected when Ben told me you were a multi-millionaire, a successful businesswoman, and that you’ve come here to take over managing the master’s fortune.”

  Now it was Ariana’s turn to laugh. “It sounds infinitely better when you say it like that. In reality it’s a lot of number crunching and drinking too much coffee, getting too little sleep and having to increase my eyeglass prescription twice a year.”

  Nancy harrumphed and headed for the door. “All the more reason to eat a hearty breakfast,” she called out over her shoulder. “Or,” her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, “to snag a rich husband.”

  Ariana couldn’t hide her surprise. Was Nancy matchmaking? She decided to nip this in the bud and smiled gently at the older woman. “As you mentioned, Nancy, I don’t really need a rich husband.”

  Nancy’s smile never faltered. “Well then, I guess that leaves you free to appreciate the master’s other... qualities.” Her gray brows wiggled naughtily on the last word. “Just ring the kitchen when you’re done with the tray, dear.” She exited through the swinging door, before a puzzled and slightly shocked Ariana could finish setting her straight.

  CHAPTER 22

  Around 1:00, Ariana decided she needed a break, so she picked up the empty breakfast tray and set out to find the kitchen. A few minutes stroll in what she thought was the right direction and a turn down a short stair brought her to her destination. She swung open a well-varnished wooden door and poked her head inside.

  “Hello?” she called.

  Nancy and Ben both hopped off the stools on which they’d been sitting and stood as if they were in the infantry.

  “Miss Chambers,” Nancy said with an air of shock, “you should have rung for one of us.” She scurried to take the tray from Ariana’s hand.

  “Oh, it’s all right, Nancy. I needed the exercise. In fact, I thought I’d take a walk in the garden out back, but I wanted to ask if there was good route for an hour’s walk or if there was anything to be aware of out there.”

  Ben’s wizened forehead creased as he thought for a moment. “If you leave the house from the center doorway and go down the stairs into the garden, take the path on the left, at nine o’clock, and follow it until you come to a fork. At the first fork, go left. You’ll come to two more forks. Go right at both of those, and you’ll be back at the center fountain in about an hour.”

  “Left, right, right,” Ariana repeated. “Got it. Thanks, Ben.”

  Ariana retraced her steps back through the manor’s empty halls to the main entryway and out the back door. Much-welcomed sunlight warmed her face, and Ariana stood for a moment to let it sink in. She felt a strange sense of relief, but put it down as a natural reaction to the first rays of spring sunshine. No house, no matter how sumptuous, could compete with that.

  Passing between two urns filled with lavender flowers, Ariana started down the left-most path. The shaped hedge rose gradually as she meandered, starting out about hip high at the path’s entrance and growing so that it towered over her head.

>   Occasionally there was a break in the hedge to showcase some kind of flowering plant or bush. Ariana had no idea what any of them were. She’d never had much of a green thumb. She was really only good at one thing—making money. She smiled to herself. You might say she had a green thumb after all.

  After about ten minutes, Ariana came to a junction. In the center was another fountain, smaller than the one up by the house, but Ariana liked it better. In this one, sculpted mer-children played with dolphins that sporadically shot streams of water out of their blow holes. The children were extraordinarily lifelike, except for their tails, with each posed as if he had just managed to avoid getting squirted by one of the playful fish.

  Paths led off from this juncture in three directions. Not exactly a fork, she thought, but she took the path to her left as Ben had instructed. She wondered for an instant how long it would take someone to find her if she took a wrong turn and got lost. She had no idea how big this garden-cum-maze really was.

  Banishing that thought, she quickened her pace and soon the path opened into what seemed like a room. The hedge on her left fell away in a large semicircle while the hedge on her right continued straight ahead. In the green, open space between them was a reflecting pool. Two benches of white marble veined with gray sat along its edge.

  A clinging vine covered much of the hedge in the “room” that was formed around the pool, and Ariana went to get a closer look. The vines had large, heart-shaped leaves and were covered in closed blossoms. They must not yet be in season. Ariana reached out her hand.

  “You shouldn’t touch those.”

  Ariana drew back as if she’d been burned and turned around to see who had spoken.

  A pale young boy with brown hair stood about three feet behind her, wearing a sheepish look on his face.

  He smiled shyly at her. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just that moonflowers are temperamental, and they are Mr. Samson’s favorites.”

  “Moonflowers?” Ariana queried, still waiting for her stomach to dislodge from her throat.

  The boy moved to stand beside her; he couldn’t be a day over 15. What was he doing out here?

  “That’s right. They’re closed during the day, but open every night when the light of the moon hits them.” He swung his hand in a wide arc. “This is the moon garden. Almost all the flowers in this space are night blooming.”

  Rapidly losing his shyness, the boy stuck out his hand. “I’m Eric. My father’s company does the landscaping for the manor and I help out. I plan to be a botanist. Mr. Samson says I can go to any college I want if I can keep the moon garden blooming year round.”

  Ariana shook her head slightly as she shook the boy’s hand. “That’s great, Eric. And it’s nice to meet you. I’m Ariana. I also work for Mr. Samson. I’m staying at the manor for a while.”

  “You’re American?”

  “That’s right. I’m from New York.” Ariana still couldn’t get used to saying that. She’d been in New York for years, but she didn’t feel like a New Yorker. She was and would always be a Southerner at heart.

  She looked back at the flower-laden vines. “Do they bloom every night? I think I’d like to come down and see that.”

  “Oh yes. The moon will come over the hedge tonight just after 11:00. All the flowers will open within about two minutes, though, so you have to be on time.”

  Ariana smiled. “Thanks for the tip.” She took a step back toward the path. “I guess I’ll continue my walk. I didn’t realize this was a maze when I started out. If I go right at the next two junctures, that will bring me back to the manor?”

  The boy nodded. “That’s right. And remember, if all else fails, you can always find your way out of a maze by putting your hand on one wall and keeping it there as you walk. It won’t be the shortest way out, but it will always get you to the exit eventually.”

  Ariana couldn’t hide her surprise, but it made sense. The entrance of the maze did have to connect to the exit somehow. If you followed one wall continuously you would eventually come to the other end. “Hmm. I hope I never need it, but that’s pretty cool. Thanks, Eric.”

  The boy smiled and waved. “You’re welcome.”

  Ariana enjoyed the rest of her walk immensely. Eric’s friendly demeanor had somehow made the whole maze less threatening and much more of an adventure. Each turn revealed some new spectacle—a fountain, an unexpected flower or sculpture. It really was an interesting walk.

  She hadn’t expected that. The maze had seemed so man-made, and Ariana preferred nature wild. That’s why she never went to Central Park. It always felt like a giant soccer field to her. Not real. This maze was designed to revel in being not real—to the point of being surreal. It was a unique approach.

  Back at the house, Ariana put aside the box of “other” that she’d gone through in the morning and pulled the box of fund documents closer to her chair. No more putting off the inevitable. She began a list of the funds, their liquidity dates, and early withdrawal penalties. Presumably Justin would be able to tell her the amounts Ash had invested in each fund and at what time.

  Her list grew as she made her way through the box. When she began to squint, she noticed the fading light outside and checked her watch; it was 4:30. She was momentarily proud of herself for keeping her mind off Ash for virtually the whole day. Just then Nancy again poked her head in and announced that Mr. Justin had arrived, and she would be serving tea for the three of them in the room across the hall in 15 minutes.

  Ariana moved to tidy up the stacks of paper that now cluttered the table. After getting some of them back in order, she hefted the first box she’d looked through back into its place along the wall. Taking a step back, she ran into something.

  She couldn’t stifle a little scream as she whirled around. “Jesus!” she exclaimed, when she realized the something was Ash. “Is everybody around here trying to give me a heart attack?”

  “I’m sorry to startle you,” Ash said, grinning and not looking at all sorry. “I came to see how you were doing and to let you know Justin has arrived. I believe Nancy is setting out some refreshments.”

  Ariana studied him as she tried to catch her breath. He was stunning in dark jeans and a white cotton shirt. His dark hair and eyes contrasted against the fine white fabric. His eyes, as always, seemed to bore holes into her.

  She turned away, stepping over a box to get back to her computer. “I know. I’m just tidying up here.” She looked up at him again. “I’ll be there in a minute.”

  Ash stood for a moment, and Ariana got the distinct impression he wasn’t used to being dismissed. But he took the hint without comment and went across the hall, leaving Ariana with a moment in which to reign in her unkempt workspace and even more unruly thoughts.

  CHAPTER 23

  Ariana slid back the door to the sitting room and looked at the two men. Ash stood in front of an unlit stone fireplace with his back to the door. He didn’t turn when she entered, and Ariana wondered at the tension visibly tightening his broad shoulders.

  In a chair facing her sat a tall, lean man with dark hair that was graying noticeably at the temples. He rose and came toward her, the creases in his gray suit springing back into perfect position.

  “You must be Ariana,” he said with a broad smile that revealed impeccably perfect teeth. He surprised her by kissing her hand instead of shaking it.

  “I can do that,” he said impishly as he raised his head. “I’m English.”

  Ariana laughed. “And you must be Justin?”

  His gray eyes watched her closely, and his smile faltered for a brief moment. It was quickly restored, and Ariana dismissed the twinge of foreboding it created in her gut.

  “That’s right,” he said. “Justin Markham at your service.” He gave a small bow and released her hand. “I hear we’ll be spending no small amount of time together over the next couple of weeks. I’m delighted you seem a pleasant enough person and not some black-clad, pencil-thin, stiletto-wearing ur
banite.”

  Ariana looked down at her jeans and sweater set and marveled that her favorite outfit had finally come in handy. Justin handed her a cup of tea and motioned for her to sit in the chair next to his.

  Ariana sank down into the soft leather and took sip of tea. Ash still stood at the fireplace, one elbow resting on the mantle, but he had turned to face the two of them.

  “So, Ariana, tell me a little about yourself,” Justin said. “I guess you know I was at Goldman Sachs in London for more years than I care to count before I came to work for Ash. What’s your story?”

  Ariana turned to Justin. His warm gray eyes invited her to talk, but she was ever-conscious of Ash’s eyes on her as well. “There’s not much to tell, really,” she said. “I grew up on a farm, went to college, went to law school, went to business school, and then worked in private equity and at a hedge fund before joining Roger Plumber at Tailwind.”

  Justin’s keen gray eyes studied her again. “You are too modest, Ariana. You were at the top of your class at prestigious schools, a star performer at every place you ever worked, and you’ve been almost as big a part of Tailwind’s success as has Roger.”

  Ariana put her teacup down in its delicate saucer. “All of which makes me decidedly uninteresting at parties, I’m afraid.”

  Again, Justin’s eyes lingered on her face, seeing too much. He opened his mouth as if to say more, but was interrupted by Ash’s sudden burst of laughter.

  Ariana wondered what he found so amusing. She was about to ask him, but Justin continued on as if nothing had happened. “Perhaps,” he said, “but I’m sure it makes you very interesting at work, and, speaking of work, we should probably get started.” Justin rose from his chair and made his way over to the cart of refreshments Nancy had presumably wheeled in earlier and started stacking finger food on a delicate china plate. “I’ll just bring a few of these sandwiches with us so we don’t go hungry,” he said, smiling in her direction.