“Come to rob my sister then,have you?""Certainly not," Mother replied, her smile brittle."This fashion for talking to the dead is pure poppycock,if you ask me.Dead is dead.""Agatha,that's rude even for you," Mrs. Gordon said."Shall we begin,Mrs. Willoughby, before my sister's abominable manners drive you clear away?”

“We welcome our beloved dead." Determined, I lifted my eyelids and searched the room. The feather in Mrs. Thompson's white curls bounced in a draft. Mr. Hunt's whiskers quivered. Lord Marshall sat entirely too near to Mother; his knee must surely be pressed against hers. The candle flickered. Someone cleared their throat. The poodle whined, bored.No spirits. They'd been hounding me all week; the least they could do was show themselves when they were needed. It was just rude otherwise. "Spirits," I snapped. "I said you are welcome here." Colin coughed once. "As long as you mean us no ill," I amended, remembering the surge of the angry spirit at the Whitestone Manor pond.”

“Hey, get off my sister,” Kieran barked from the other side.“Get lost, Black,” I called out. “And she’s not your sister.”“May as well be.”“Well, you stop kissing Solange and I’ll stop kissing Hunter.”Silence.""Chapter 24”

“He shrugged one shouler, looked away. "It's not so bad,not really.""Why do you stay?" I asked quietly. "Is it because your mother mentioned me?""I knew I shouldn't have told you that," he muttered."What did she say, Colin?"He didn't answer right away. "Colin?"He sighed, raked a hand through his hair. "She spoke of a girl with violet eyes.That's all.""Do you still miss her?""Aye." He came closer."Is that why you stay? To honor her memory? Even though my mother is horrid?"His eyes locked onto mine. "I stay for you, Violet."I suddenly felt warm all over. "For me?”

“You can have a normal life. It's not too late for you."I nearly laughed. "You've clearly never met my parents. Normal was never an option.”

“A scratch at the door interrupted us. Colin dropped and rolled under the bed again. One of the maids poked her head in. "Miss?"I tried not to look as if I was hiding a handsome young lad under the mattress."Yes?""Lord Jasper sent me up to see if you need help getting ready for a ball." She smiled proudly. "I have a fair hand with a curling iron.""Oh.Thank you." I needed to get Colin out before I ended up naked in the middle of my bedroom. "I,um, could I get some hot water? To wash my face?""Certainly,miss. I'll have the footmen bring up the bathtub, if you like, before all the fine ladies start calling for their own baths.""That would be great, thanks." I'd never actually been in a full reclining tub before. We had a battered hip bath in the kitchen.The maid curtsied and closed the door behind her. I let out a breath. Colin crawled back out. "They need to sweep under there," he said, sneezing.”

“He’s supposed to look out for you.”“I do!” Kieran sounded offended. “You should be proud of her. Hart requested her presence personally at the Drake coronation.”I closed my eyes briefly. We were doomed.“You went to a vampire ceremony?” Grandpa asked evenly.“He didn’t know?” Kieran asked.“No, he didn’t.”“Sorry.”Grandpa vibrated with rage. “I will not tolerate this kind of behavior in my family!”“It’s different now,” Kieran tried to assuage him. “I’m dating Solange Drake. They’re a good family.”Grandpa went red, then purple. Kieran took a step back. I whacked Grandpa between the shoulder blades.“Grandpa, breathe!”