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She straightened her dress. “Jeeves!” she shrieked.

“Here, miss,” Jeeves said, still holding the knife.

“Your head?” Lady Elizabeth demanded, brow frowning in concern.

“Clear enough to hold this gentleman.”

Lady Elizabeth looked at me in the gloom and shook her head.

“No, it’s quite all right, Jeeves. This is not the person who attacked. In fact, you are holding the Marquis Du Mont hostage. Please accept our apologies, my lord.”

Lady Elizabeth’s voice rolled over me, leaving me fascinated. The soft tones left me wishing that Elizabeth would say more. Her voice was like velvet, with none of the affectations that women’s voices usually held.

Suddenly, I realised I was staring and pivoted my gaze towards Jeeves. The servant had a nasty cut on the side of his head, which would become a large lump by morning.

“That needs checking out. And cleaning at the very least,” I suggested as Jeeves put the blade away.

I wonder what Jeeves would have said if I had told him I could’ve taken the knife any time I wanted to. Inwardly, I smiled as I wondered even further what Jeeves would’ve done if I claimed a stab wound wouldn’t have killed me.

“You recognise me, Lady…” I paused, searching for a name.

“Elizabeth Barrington. I should, my lord, you are one of my brothers closest set.”

Interest fully roused, I studied Elizabeth in interest, now puzzled as to what she was doing in the slums. Truthfully, she looked nothing like Barrington. Elizabeth had dark auburn hair that fell in ringlets down her back and was tall like him but very slender. Her eyes were violet and framed by long, curling lashes.

“Apologies for not recognising you. Such a terrible insult to a beautiful lady.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, I am afraid.Damn,my dress is filthy.”

Shocked, I rocked on my heels. A most un-ladylike word to say. Elizabeth smiled grimly. “A little shocked, Marquis Du Mont? Try having David as a brother, and you’ll find yourself picking up the most terrible language.”

Amused, I laughed at Elizabeth’s bluntness.

There was no denying my attraction. This was the companion Caroline should’ve strived to be. Elizabeth was witty andcharming. However, I realised immediately I couldn’t make Elizabeth a Vam’pir.

The girl was Barrington’s younger sister, and there was no way on earth that I would deprive him of Elizabeth’s witty company.

Barrington was one of my best friends, and although I admit to not paying much attention to his sister, Barrington doted on her. Now, it was easy to see why. I had screwed up the Hamiltons’ lives, causing untold damage, and I wouldn’t do that to a friend.

A little upset, I sighed. If only Elizabeth been someone else’s sibling. But that didn’t mean that I would not avail myself of Elizabeth’s company. Friends were always welcome.

“If I know Barrington, he had you climbing trees and swimming in the ponds on your estate,” I replied.

Elizabeth nodded her head and laughed.

“But what will Barrington say to you arriving home in this state, I wonder? Barrington wouldn’t be too pleased to learn that you were walking around the slums of London late at night.”

Elizabeth frowned and peered down at her dress again.

“Suppose I can’t sneak in, can I? There is no way to explain this type of damage. Wait, I’ll send Jeeves on ahead to fetch a cloak. Then I can creep in through the servant’s quarters. That’s my plan.”

Elizabeth looked pleased with her reasoning.

“You’ve forgotten one thing,” I said.

Elizabeth frowned, going over her plan in her head. “What’s that?”

“Me. I know that you’ve been running around the slums. Why shouldn’t Barrington learn your activities? Barrington would be utterly devastated should anything befall you. Lady Elizabeth, you owe me a satisfactory explanation. Should it be reasonable,then I’ll never tell your brother. Offer me a lame excuse, and I will tell Barrington exactly what you’ve been doing.”