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Rafael’s glare deepened as the apothecary nodded in agreement.

My God, he can hear them, Cassandra realized with shock. Anthony had said vampires have exceptional hearing.

A lump formed in her throat as she remembered all the parties and gatherings the Duchess of Burnrath hosted at which Rafael had been a guest, likely against his will. He’d always been unobtrusively tucked in a dark alcove, wearing his hair down to hide his scars. Yet no matter how inconspicuous he’d tried to be, people noticed him. Cruel speculation and malicious whispers always abounded when the Spaniard was in attendance…and he’d heard them all. Cassandra’s heart clenched in sympathy. No wonder he despised being out among people.

“I understand Lady Rosslyn is, ah, living in sin with him?” The apothecary flushed.

Cassandra flashed him a glare at his rudeness. It didn’t require preternatural auditory function for her to hear his gossip. But he was too far in his cups to notice.

Densmore did, and gave her a leer before returning to his conversation. “I wonder what she sees in him. Not only is his face a veritable ruin, but with only one arm—”

“It’s not his arm that interests me,” Cassandra cut in coolly.

Rafael’s gaze whipped in her direction. He looked like he didn’t know whether to be outraged or pleased at her brazen remark. In truth, she surprised herself. Rafael was her jailer. Why did she feel the urge to defend him?

Mr. Crowley guffawed while Densmore fumbled for a response.

Wakley broke the uncomfortable silence. “How was he injured, my lady?”

“He will not say,” she said pointedly. “And do not presume to ask him. He finds the subject most vexing.”

Rafael gave her a grateful nod from the shadows across the room.

Cassandra found herself wishing she wasn’t here. After all of her excitement and pleading to attend this party, all she wanted to do was whisk Rafael away from these nosy people and their rude questions.

I can’t believe I want to rescue a vampire. Perhaps I am as mad as people say. She shook her head. She’d never given a damn what people said. Why should she start now?

Densmore grew more malevolent in his whispered remarks about Rafael as Thomas Wakley continued to speculate on his injury. Rafael’s growing anger and discomfort became more apparent. They needed to leave before he punched someone—or bit them.

Cassandra crossed the room to stand at his side, leaving no doubt as to where her loyalties lay. Rafael’s eyes widened as if he didn’t expect her support. Now, standing with him, she once more questioned her feelings. Why am I being loyal to my captor? She lifted her chin. Because nobody deserves to be treated the way he is. The vampire could have drained them all. Instead, he bore their cruel remarks with stoic dignity. And it was not as if he had imprisoned her by choice.

She placed a hand on the vampire’s sleeve, fighting back a wicked tremor at the minute touch. “I’m afraid I am coming down with a most dreadful headache. May we please go home, Rafael?”

He gave her a surprised look at her intimate use of his name, but nodded curtly.

Sir Patrick clucked sympathetically. “I’ll order your carriage brought around.”

Once they were ensconced in the carriage, Rafael said, “I did not need you to rescue me, Countess.” He regarded her sternly. “And as for your earlier defense of my value to you, are you aware that those men thought you were referring to my—”

“Your cock?” Cassandra supplied helpfully, praying she wasn’t blushing. “Yes, that was my intention.”

He blinked in surprise and she felt a thrill of satisfaction that she was able to shock him.

Before he could scold her, she spoke again. “Wakley was attacked by vampires, wasn’t he?”

Rafael nodded. “The previous Lord’s third-in-command had seen Wakley repeatedly visiting St. Pancras cemetery at night and suspected him of being a hunter. He and the vampires who rest there knocked Wakley unconscious and set his house on fire, planning to kill him.”

“Why didn’t they just drain his blood?”

He sighed impatiently. “Because it is forbidden to kill mortals that way. It must look like an accident.”

She frowned. “But what they did was no accident.”

“Precisely.”

“Is that why you saved Wakley?”

Rafael shrugged. “That and it didn’t take too much investigation to learn that the man was innocent of any crimes against our kind. I only wish I could have arrived in time to stop them.”