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Kit had loved me all along; I had been blind enough not to recognise it. We enjoyed ourselves, and that mattered most.

Without love and fun, what is the purpose of life?

???

At this point, I suppose that I should tell you the reason I am writing this story. Naturally, it is because of a woman. A special one, and I want Eden to understand me and the reasons why I say that we are destined.

In the past, I said that I have not truly loved anyone apart from Inka, but this woman and I are soul mates, and this is fact. See, I lost her once through death, and I met her years later with her soul reborn into another. If we weren’t meant to be together, then she wouldn’t have returned.

I’ll give you some background to this, and once more, the tale contains another of my biggest regrets.

It was in the year 1868 that Lady Caroline Hamilton was born. Caroline was beautiful, and the only girl of five children. Her parents owned a large estate in Somerset and two townhouses in London. Needless to say, Caroline was nobility.

Being the youngest and only girl, Caroline was desperately spoiled and denied nothing. This twisted what might have been akind child into a brat. Unfortunately, in Caroline, I made one of my biggest mistakes to date.

I could only see Caroline’s beauty and its impact on her victims. My desperate need for a playmate clouded my judgment. Sadly, I hadn’t seen Nathan for a long time, and I was lonely.

Loneliness is no excuse for what I did to Caroline and her family. Yet, it is all I can offer. Vam’pirs try to live up to the principles we set. If you take human life, then ensure they are scum. Thieves and murderers, rapists, and soul destroyers. Over time, there have always been plenty of dark, spoiled souls to provide nourishment for us.

Vampires didn’t share the beliefs of the Vam’pirs. Nor did they abide by our rules. Vam’pirs ensured that the people we killed were evil or already dying from some illness. Vampires just took life and mixed it with black rituals.

They didn’t care whose life they destroyed, and that is why they are vampires and not Vam’pirs. A subtle difference exists.

However, Lady Caroline Hamilton was sixteen when she was brought to London for her debut. She looked like a porcelain doll, and I was mesmerised.

Caroline had blond ringlets that tumbled down her back in a riot of curls. Cat green eyes assessed a person’s soul, and a full mouth smiled happily. Caroline’s nose was small and pert, and her skin had a peaches and cream complexion. Her figure was tiny and curvy. There was a little scar at the corner of her chin caused by playing roughly with her older brother, James.

James was the middle child born and third in line to inherit her father’s title and estate. He soon became first.

I first saw Lady Caroline at a ball at the beginning of the season. Husband searching was not that intense, and the balls held were just to let people feel their feet. The serious ballshappened later on, but these early ones were ideal for young ladies, such as Caroline, to get used to the attention.

Not that the vain madam needed to get used to it. Caroline already realised what a beauty she was and made no qualms about it. Her parents couldn’t see their angel’s true disposition and found it hard to accept that she had difficulty making friends.

In fact, I didn’t know Caroline to own one friend while I knew her. Caroline was antagonistic towards the other girls that she met, fearing that they might steal attention away. She was never rude, but her insults were veiled under politeness.

Caroline’s nastiness targeted those obstructing her objectives. Those deemed not a threat were ignored—or she was dismissive of them.

Her attitude didn’t matter. Members of both sexes always surrounded Caroline as the other girls came to realise quickly that she was going to be a main attraction. In their own ambitions, they overlooked her superior ways.

Honestly, Caroline needed a good spanking. When we first met, a friend who happened to be the second son of a duke had invited me to a ball. That evening was his wife’s birthday, and they were holding a surprise ball.

The chap rattled off several names that I knew from Whites (a gentleman’s establishment where gaming and such happened) that were coming and bored I thought I might go. No sooner entered the room when I saw her.

Caroline was glancing coyly from under her fan at some young rake and smiling behind it. His viewpoint was somewhat disadvantaged; however, I could see the smile and immediately knew I desired her. She wore the smirk of a practised hunter and that was something that I was attracted to. I noticed Lord Davenport, a close acquaintance of mine at the time, and heintroduced me to Caroline’s mother. She was another beautiful woman, and I saw where her daughter got it from.

“Lady Hamilton, Victoria, allow me to introduce my close friend Marquis Jacques Du Mont,” Davenport said, bowing.

“How do you do, Lord Davenport, Marquis Du Mont?” Victoria replied, fluttering a fan. “May I present my daughter to you, Lady Caroline?”

Caroline turned towards me, and her gaze widened in interest.

I cut a fine figure in those days and had discovered a dye that allowed me to dull the whiteness of my skin.

Caroline herself was dressed in a silk dress, the colour of her eyes. And with one look, I was ensnared.

“Lord Davenport, Marquis Du Mont.” Caroline nodded slightly and curtsied like a true lady should.

Davenport began a conversation with the Lady Victoria, who he knew from old. I turned towards Caroline and asked an inane question.