Bloodstone Heart

by T. Lynne Tolles

  “Darby is an amazing woman,” Anton said. Josh sensed sadness from Anton at that moment. “I know this is hard for you. We will get her back, just not tonight.” Josh smiled and Anton heard a knock at the door. “I better get that since Bernard is in the kitchen. Will you excuse me? Might be my date.”

  “Yeah, go.”

  “Just follow the rest out to the tent in the back. You can’t miss it.”

  “Right,” Josh said as he headed towards the crowd.

  Anton walked to the door and answered it to find Jules standing there looking amazingly gorgeous. When he bought the dress for her, he knew it was beautiful, but a dress is just a dress. The woman in the dress made it look stunning. Just as he had expected, the blue dress made her sapphire blue eyes look even more amazing than they usually did.

  “You look beautiful, Jules. Thank you so much for coming,” he said feeling a little like Dean and Blake had just felt.

  “You look pretty handsome yourself,” she said. “Can I come in?”

  Embarrassed by his stunned state, he said, “Of course, I’m sorry! Please, come in.” He took her hand gently, kissed it as she came in, and then closed the door and led her back to the back of the house and to the tent, never taking his eyes off of her, and smiling the entire time.

  Anton led her past the crowd and quickly made a beeline for a table in the back corner so he could have her all to himself.

  Chapter 26

  Bernard went down to the cottage to walk the guests of honor up to the house. Devon opened the door dressed in his tuxedo and Bernard said, "Master Devon, your dinner awaits."

  "Thank you, Bernard. Darby?" he said. "Are you ready, Sweetness?"

  She answered as she came down the hall, "I am."

  Bernard and Devon both stared at her. She looked stunning. Devon's mouth opened, but words could not be formed no matter how he tried. Bernard was the first to come around when he said, "Oh Miss Darby, you look radiant. How do you make such a simple dress look so very regal?"

  "Thank you, Bernard. You are so sweet." She looked towards Devon who still could not form words but smiled with such pride as he raced to her side and gently kissed her cheek.

  Her dress was a deep, rich wine color, made of silk, and strapless. The sheath was well fitted to the knees and then formed a flair much like a mermaid tail and a small train trailed behind her. Her neck, ears and wrist were draped in garnets almost the exact same color as the dress. Her hair was up in a cross between Sally's braided chignon and Rowan's dripping curls, perfectly complimenting her dress with her gorgeous blonde locks. The dark color of her dress contrasted nicely with her blue eyes and ivory skin.

  She said, “I'm not really sure how I'm going to get up the hill to the house in this dress without getting the train and hem filthy."

  "That's easy. I'll carry you,” Devon offered. “It wouldn't be the first time."

  She smiled as she wrapped her arms around Devon's neck and he swept her up off her feet like she was a pile of feather light blankets. Bernard turned and opened the door for Devon, then shut it behind them.

  As they walked up the hill to the front of the house, Darby said to Bernard, "You and Dominic shouldn't have gone to all this trouble. I keep telling Devon, I'm a cheap date. Pizza and beer and I'm a happy girl."

  "It's no effort at all for you, Miss Darby. It's been such a long time since anything happy has happened at this house, it is a thrill to have an occasion to celebrate." He smiled as he opened the front door and Devon set Darby down gently. She kissed him on the cheek, and then wiped the glossy pink lip print she had left behind off his face. They suddenly heard a familiar clickity-clack noise of what sounded like four hundred dogs running along the floor only to find Sammy dressed in his own little tuxedo jacket with a little black bow tie. Of course, he had his ball in his mouth and Darby bent down and rubbed his velvety ears lovingly, saying, "I promise, after dinner I'll throw the ball for you, okay?" As if he understood her words, his tail wagged frantically with anticipation.

  Darby started to walk towards the dining room with Devon following, when Bernard interrupted them by saying, "Not in the dining room tonight, Master Devon and Miss Darby. Tonight's special and we have set up a tent in the back for just this occasion."

  With raised eyebrows, both Darby and Devon steered to the right and followed Bernard to the back of the house to a set of French doors. The doors led to the lawn but tonight a parquet floor had been laid down instead and the entire lawn was covered with a humongous white tent. Thousands, maybe millions, of tiny white twinkle lights dripped from the ceiling, walls, and fixtures. Four huge crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling of the tent and there were more flowers than Darby had ever seen in any one place. Along one side of the tent was a long table with an ice sculpture of cupid and somehow it was illuminated from inside the ice as it morphed from one color to the next and slowly dripped. There were hors d'oeuvres of every kind covering the rest of the table along with a pyramid of stacked champagne glasses. In the middle, a dance floor was set up and a small orchestra behind that. The side of the tent behind the orchestra had no canvas and was left open to view the huge pond with its floating lit orbs that complemented the light of the rising quarter moon. Just to make sure no one got cold, there were heaters here and there making it perfectly cozy.

  But what was most amazing were all the happy faces of their friends and family yelling, "Surprise," as they stepped down into the tent and the orchestra began to play. Darby leaned into Devon's waiting arms as her eyes welled up and tears began to flow. All the guests were now huddled around the happy couple as they tried to progress further into the tent. Devon and Darby were stunned speechless as they were greeted by their closest friends and family. Congratulations were made and hugs were given and received. Tears of happiness were spilled and new acquaintances were made.

  When all the guests had greeted the guests of honor, Dominic stood up with a glass of champagne for a toast. "Thank you all for coming and celebrating such a happy occasion with us. Darby, we are thrilled to call you and yours, family. You've brought a ray of sunshine into this sad old house and hope into this dusty old heart," he said this as he put his hand over his heart. "Devon, we are so happy this saint of a girl never gave up on you for a second. I can't speak for everyone here, but I know I regret having had my doubts. Your mother, Gail, would be giving me such an earful if she were alive. But we have you back because of Darby and I won't ever make such a horrendous mistake again. I hope you two will have many years of happiness and joy as Mr. and Mrs. Bloomington. Congratulations!"

  The room roared, "Congratulations!"

  Dancing, drinking, laughing, and sheer merriment best described the evening's events. Rowan and Sally were the first to descend on Darby once the initial greetings were made and talk died down a bit. Rowan was giddy with excitement, yet somewhat reluctant to initiate a conversation, but Sally took care of that by dragging her and telling her it was for her own good.

  Darby and Rowan stood looking at one another for a moment before they both burst into tears. Darby hugged Rowan tightly and Rowan gushed with apologies and tears for doubting her sister’s cause in finding Devon.

  Darby pulled her away to look at her face and said, "Rowan, it's okay. It hurt at first and it was terribly lonely, but as time went on, I had my doubts too. I know how it looked. I had a lot of time to see it from everyone's point of view and it did look to be what you all assumed. Somehow though, I knew he was in trouble and he needed me. Maybe he was psychically calling to me or maybe it was something else, but I knew what I had to do. I wouldn't have wanted you to give up school to come out and help me. You were so close to graduating and you and Blake were settling into something wonderful, I couldn't have asked you even if I wanted to. I think it had to be done this way. I have no bad feelings about it, Rowan. I love you just as I always have."

  "I can't tell you what a relief it is to hear you say that," Rowan said as tears poured down her face.

 
"See.... I told you!" Sally said. "Really Darby, she's been beating herself up since you left, Blake too. But we're all so glad to see you both safe and together and now engaged. I can't think of two people more deserving of one another."

  "Thank you, Sally. Boy, I missed all of you so much. There were times I was so close to just calling Anton and having him send me the money to fly home, but something wouldn't let me. I'm sure glad I didn't. You should have seen him, Rowan, when we found him. You wouldn't have recognized him. He was so close to death, I think if we had come ten minutes later, he surely would have been gone."

  "Blake told us it was terrible. The things she did to him. Well, it's just horrible," Sally said.

  "You have no idea, Sally. Truly, when Blake saw him, he looked downright great, compared to when Dominic and I found him chained to that bed. I swear, I would have ripped her limb from limb if she had walked in that room. I've never felt such hate towards another person, not even Terrence Paine."

  Rowan felt for her sister and hugged her once more then pulled away and said, "Now let me see that ring!"

  Darby beamed and held her left hand in front of her for the girls to see. She told them, "Devon said it was the ring that Nathaniel gave Abby when he asked her to marry him. Isn't it lovely?"

  "It's beautiful," Sally said.

  "It's so you, Darby. He couldn't have bought one that looks more like you if he tried. It's absolutely perfect," Rowan said.

  "It is, isn't it?" Darby giggled. The three women looked like three teenage girls about to burst from excitement. From across the room, Devon, Blake, and Dean laughed at their juvenile display of giddiness. Dean looked at Devon and said, "You do realize you've set a precedent here that Blake and I are going to have to hear about until we do the same thing."

  Devon said, "Oh? What's that?"

  "Engagement rings...marriage...Sally and Rowan have been jumping up and down and squealing like teenagers for days now. It hurts my ears. Next they'll be asking Blake and me what our plans are."

  Blake turned from staring at the beautiful sight of Rowan's happy face across the room. "Do... Huh... What?... You're... No... Married? ...Uhhhghhh..." Devon laughed at his brother, who looked as if he was going to be sick. Blake then blurted, "Why? Why would you say that, Dean?"

  Dean said, "Blake, Blake, Blake...You may be older than I am, but apparently I know women better than you."

  Blake replied, "Pfffft. Right!"

  "Seriously, man. You get one girl engaged in a group of friends and you will find the others wondering why they aren't engaged yet. It's like knocking down dominoes."

  Blake looked to his brother for comfort only to see him smirking and nodding. "He's right, Blake. I'm afraid I've caused a chain reaction, little brother."

  Blake looked sick again much to Dean and Devon’s enjoyment. That's when Blake grabbed a passing Mark to ask him if this phenomenon was indeed a fact. Mark's face went as white as Blake's had gone. "Oh no, no, no, that can't be right. Devon, I'm going to have to beat you senseless if this is true." Dean and Devon nodded. Mark mumbled to himself, shaking his head.

  Dean and Devon laughed at him as he meandered back to Alyssa through the crowd, then Blake said, "What are you laughing about, Dean? You're in the same boat with me and Mark." As if lightning had struck him, his face slackened with shock and Blake found comfort in that.

  Devon said, "Guys, I'm sorry to have made your lives more difficult, but it couldn't be helped. Come on, the woman saved me when no one else even believed I was in danger. I was pretty sure she was the one before we came to Connecticut, but after all that's happened, there is absolutely no confusion about it, so why waste any more time?"

  Dean coughed saying, "Whipped!" under the cough to disguise it. Blake laughed and so did Devon, who responded, “Look at her, she's gorgeous - and sweet, and smart.... come on...if I'm going to be whipped, I want her to do it."

  Blake and Dean raised their glasses of champagne and said, "I'll drink to that."

  Devon said, "Cheers. And by the way, you two aren't doing too badly in that department either; if push comes to shove and the pressure is on for marriage, you both could do a lot worse. Sally and Rowan are pretty amazing in their own rights and beautiful to boot."

  "I'll say," Blake concurred.

  "I know. Sometimes I still don't know how I landed such a hottie," Dean said shaking his head.

  Devon said, "Just lucky, I guess."

  "Yeah, I guess. But that doesn't mean I don't want to see Mark's girlfriend Alyssa do a couple back flips in that dress."

  "You are such a dog, Dean."

  "That's D..A..W..G..to you, fang boy."

  "It never ends with you, fuzz face; you've always got to have the last word, don't you?"

  "Yes...yes, I do," Dean said matter-of-factly. All three of them laughed.

  Behind them a familiar voice said, "Boys...how are you?" They all turned to see Dr. Rowe.

  "Dr. Rowe! So glad you could come," Blake said, shaking his hand. "Dean, I don't think you've had the pleasure of meeting Dr. Rowe. He's been our family's doctor for as long as I can remember. He and Dominic have been great friends for even longer."

  Dean replied as he offered his hand, "It's a pleasure, Sir."

  Dr. Rowe looked down at his hand and then back up to Dean's eyes with a curious expression. Still gripping Dean's hand he whispered, "A werewolf?" He then looked at Blake and Devon who along with Dean nodded.

  Dr. Rowe said, "Fascinating! I'd love to sit down with you and pick your brain."

  Dean answered, "Sure, as long as you don't mean that in the literal sense." Dr. Rowe burst out a boisterous "Hoo-Ha" laugh that caught all the men off guard, but they followed in suit and laughed along with Dr. Rowe.

  After a moment, Dr. Rowe said, "Devon, I hear congratulations are in order. Darby seems to be a lovely girl."

  "Then you've met?"

  "Why yes, son. She was in the hospital under my care a few times. Don't you remember?"

  "I'm sorry, Dr. Rowe, I don't. I was a bit tied up, I suppose."

  "Indeed. Nasty one that Libby turned out to be. Just glad she and Anton never procreated."

  "Huh. Never thought of that. That certainly would have complicated things."

  "Indeed."

  "Please, Dr. Rowe, there's a ton of food and drink. Help yourself," Devon said.

  "Thank you son, I will."

  Dr. Rowe continued on into the room, stopping to greet Dominic on his way.

  On the dance floor, Jules and Anton were happily dancing under the dripping twinkle lights. They had taken a walk to see the pond with all its illuminated orbs bobbing on the ripples made by the wind. Like in the elevator, when Jules had finally dropped her guard, they had a long talk, getting to know one another, finding every little tidbit of information as a tiny gift to be treasured. He learned that when she was human, her mother had died when she was very young and she had to raise her twin brothers who grew to be huge, feared men that kept anyone who might be interested in her far, far away. Her father had been lost when his wife died and for Julianna, it had been much like taking care of three big babies.

  Anton could tell that she looked back on these memories with great fondness, but she never spoke of being turned. He sensed something very wrong had happened and she still seemed angry about it, even after so many years. He wondered what could have made her so angry, but he also knew from experience that she had a hot temper and he didn't want to push the issue. Maybe someday she would open up to him.

  On the dance floor with her close to him, he told her how his mother had died giving birth to him and how guilty he felt about that. Dominic wouldn't talk about it and after a while Anton quit asking. The only remembrance he had of his mother was the large portrait of her at the head of the stairs. Jules listened to his story intently as if reliving her own mother’s death. Anton sensed they had a lot of things in common. Her eyes had welled up at the end of his story and he was touched at her display of emotion. Their eyes lingere
d for a moment on each other’s as if they were searching each other's soul, when the song they were dancing to ended and reality poured back into their tiny bubble.

  "Can we sit the next one out?" Jules asked.

  "Anything you want. Can I get you a drink?"

  "That would be lovely. Champagne?" she said.

  "As you wish," he said as he walked her back to a small table in the corner where he thought they could continue to talk privately. He held out the chair as she sat down and smiled at him. "I'll be back in a flash!"

  He quickly moved to the table of stacked champagne glasses, grabbing two and an open bottle. When he turned he bumped into Dominic and Dr. Rowe.

  "Dr. Rowe, so nice of you to join us. I hope you are having a good time," Anton said.

  "I always have a wonderful time when your father and I get together. Two old gents talking about good old times and the trouble we used to get into."

  "Great. I'm so glad. Dad, you've outdone yourself. The party is perfect. Darby and Devon seem to be having a great time."

  "Thank you, Son. I'm glad. They certainly deserve some happiness."

  Dr. Rowe nodded. "Indeed."

  "And when will I get to meet your beautiful date? You seem to be keeping her all to yourself," Dominic asked.

  "You're right, I am being selfish," Anton said. "Soon, I promise, but speaking of that, I promised her some champagne and I don't want to break my promise, so I need to scoot."

  Dominic laughed and Dr. Rowe looked around in hopes of catching a glimpse of this beauty Dominic had mentioned. Anton turned and worked his way through the crowd of people. Once he got through to the cozy corner table, he found it empty with no sign of Jules anywhere. He set the glasses and the bottle on the table and headed for the pond, thinking she was just getting a bit of fresh air, but there was no sign of her. He headed through the crowd again towards the French doors to the house, still not finding her. He fully checked the house, thinking maybe she hadn't felt well and went to lie down on one of the beds or gone to a restroom, but the house was empty besides Sammy who was lying at the foot of the stairs in his little tuxedo, and Mr. Chow, the Himalayan cat that was snoozing on a blanket in the study on a big leather chair.