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But this time, when I reached the narrow, dirt path, I had to push limbs from my face. I was taller than I had been the last time I'd traversed it; then I'd been short enough to skip beneath the boughs. Now branches crackled as I moved, until I made it to the clearing.
To the labyrinth.
The fence was low, only three or four feet tall, a delicate and rust-covered ring that ran for yards in both directions around the hedge maze Papa Breck had commissioned in the woods behind the house. The gate was ajar. He was here already, then.
The maze itself was simple, rings of concentric circles with dead ends and passageways along its length, a pattern I'd memorized many years ago. The web of boxwood had been our castle, defended by Nicholas and me against bands of marauders - usually his brothers. We'd used stick swords and cardboard shields, both of us fighting until his siblings grew bored and retreated back to the comfort of the main house. This had been our secret garden, our tiny kingdom of leaves.
I neared the glowing inner core of it, my footsteps nearly silent on the soft dirt path, the night silent but for the occasional rustling of trees or scampering in the undergrowth around me. And it was still silent when I met him in the middle.
Chapter Nine
THE SECRET GARDEN'S SECRETS
"I wondered how long it would take you to make it out here," Nicholas said, arms crossed over his chest as he looked at me. Two hurricane lamps cast a golden glow across his torso, which was currently covered by a Chicago Marathon T-shirt. He'd skipped the suit for a T-shirt, and he'd also skipped the suit pants for jeans.
I walked to the center of the circle and glanced up at him, my smile tenuous. "I'd nearly forgotten this was out here."
Nicholas made a sarcastic sound that bobbed his shoulders. "I doubt very much, Merit, that you'd forget about the castle."
Although a corner of his lip lifted as he said it, his expression sobered again quickly enough. He scanned my dress, then lifted his gaze to mine. "The vampires appear to have accomplished what your father was unable to do."
I stared at him for a second, unsure if he meant to insult me, or my father, or Ethan, although it felt like a shot at all three of us. I opted to ignore it, and walked around him to trace the perimeter of the circle that marked the inner core of the labyrinth. It was probably fifteen feet across, marked by facing gaps in the hedge that allowed entrance and egress, and curved wooden benches along the side walls that currently held the lamps.
"I didn't expect to find you outside Cadogan House," I admitted.
"I didn't expect to find you inside Cadogan House. Times change."
"People change?" I asked, glancing back over my shoulder.
His expression stayed the same. Blank, guarded.
I decided to start with niceties. "How have you been?"
"I'm more interested in how you've been. In the... thing you've become."
I lifted my brows. "The thing?"
"The vampire." He fairly spat out the word, as if the sound on his lips disgusted him. He looked away, glanced out at the woods. "People do change, apparently."
"Yes, they do," I agreed, but managed to keep my thoughts about his current attitude to myself. "I didn't know you were back in Chicago."
"I had business."
"You're back to stay?"
"We'll see."
More important question: "So you're working? In Chicago, I mean?"
His gaze shifted back to me, one dark eyebrow arched. "I'm not sure I'm comfortable discussing my plans with you."
It was my turn to arch an eyebrow. "You asked me to meet you out here, Nick, not the other way around. If you weren't comfortable discussing things with me, you probably should have let me stay in the house."
He looked at me for a long time. An intense time, those steel gray eyes fixed on mine, as if he could see through me to ferret out my intentions. I had to work not to shift my feet in the silence.
"I want to know why you're here," he finally said. "In my parents' home. In my family's home." Given the distrust in his voice, I guessed it wasn't a coincidence that Julia was the only Breckenridge at the party.
I clasped my hands behind my back, and looked at him. "It's time that I recall my family obligations."
He responded with a dry look. "I've known you for twenty years, Merit. Family obligations aren't high on your priority list, especially when those obligations involve black-tie affairs. Try me again."
I didn't know what he was up to, but I wasn't about to spill all my secrets. "Tell me why you were outside Cadogan House."
He glanced up at me, his expression a challenge: Why should I answer your questions?
"Quid pro quo," I told him. "You answer mine, and I'll answer yours."
He wet his bottom lip while he silently considered the offer, then looked up at me. "I'm investigating," he said.
"You're writing a story?"
"I didn't say I was writing a story. I said I was investigating."
Okay, so he was investigating, but not in order to write a story - about vampires or otherwise. So what was he investigating? And if he had questions, why was he looking for answers in a knot of paparazzi outside the House, instead of using his own connections? More importantly, why Nick, and why not Jamie?
Nick stuffed his hands into his pockets and bobbed his head at me. "Quid pro quo. Why are you here?"
A second of consideration before I told him. "We're doing our own investigating."
"Of whom?"
"Not precisely who, but what. We're trying to keep our people safe." Not the whole truth, but true enough.
"From what?"
I shook my head. It was time to dig a little deeper. "Quid pro quo. While we're discussing the Brecks, what's the family been up to? How's Jamie these days?"
Nick's expression changed so suddenly I nearly took a step back. His jaw hardened, nostrils flaring, and his hands clenched into fists. For a second, I could have sworn I felt a brief pulse of magic - but then it was gone.
"Stay. Away. From Jamie," he bit out.
I frowned, trying to figure out where the anger had come from. "I just asked how he was, Nick." Mostly to figure out if he's trying to sacrifice us to win props from Papa Breck, but Nick didn't need to know that. "Why do I need to stay away from him? What do you think I'm going to do?"
"He's my brother, Merit. Family history or not, personal history or not, I'll protect him."
I frowned at him, put my hands on my hips. "Are you under the impression that I'm going to harm your brother? Because I can tell you - promise you, in fact - that isn't the case."
