Once she was as calm as she could be, Meadow went to the attached bathroom and ran a bath. Her brother had insisted on installing hot water, electric lights, and flushing toilets. Thank goodness, because Meadow didn’t want to squat over a pot.
As she soaked in the tub, she relaxed a little more and was nearly asleep when Nora and the maid returned. Before she knew it, she was dressed in a long skirt and a shirt with ruffles down the front and giant, puffy sleeves.
Which only made her look even bigger than she already was.
With a sigh, she pushed aside how ridiculous she must look and forced herself to follow Nora. It was time to go out into the world and take in her new reality.
Chapter Six
Grace Black sat inside Dr. River Vale’s examination room and plucked at her skirts.
After a lot of delays, today was the day he would magically repair her eyes, which should allow her to see for the first time in her life.
Oh, Dr. Vale had made it clear that she might only see vague shapes in dim lighting, and that she’d have to wear darkened glasses in sunny weather or risk damaging her eyes. And maybe to those with sight, they’d still pity her.
However, Grace had been born blind, had never really understood seeing something or creating a picture, or even what a color was supposed to be. To be able to notice something without a sound or scent or temperature would be brilliant to her.
Not to mention it would give her yet another way to be on alert for danger.
Her older brother, Everett, was the shifter Dark Lord of London. And he’d finally relented and told her about the French vampires and how they might go after him, especially through her, to get revenge for the past.
While her brother hadn’t fought in the Napoleonic Wars—he hadn’t even been born yet—a lot of British shifters had. And since they’d helped the British vampires kill most of the French female vampires, as part of a war tactic, it had left many male French vampires unable to find their fated ones. And the longer a vampire’s heart didn’t beat, the greater the risk of insanity.
Which made them extremely dangerous, but especially for someone like her.
While Everett had never called her a liability, Grace knew she was one. In recent years, it had become fashionable for rich and powerful humans to “own” a shifter and dose them with opium to make them compliant. Those like Grace, who couldn’t see, or those who couldn’t hear, were the easiest targets.
Her brother had kept her safe in the Scottish Highlands for years. But now, with the French vampires on English soil and looking for revenge? They’d forced Everett to bring her to London to keep a closer eye on her.
And the city was too much for her, in so many ways.
It was too loud, had too many smells, and she couldn’t even judge the time of day by the warmth of the sun. Everett had explained that since many households still used coal to cook and heat their homes, the smoke blocked out the sun sometimes.
Longing crashed over her, and Grace missed her home in the wilds of Scotland. And yet, as much as she yearned for cleaner air and less noise, she would never find her fated one back home. None of the males in the nearby villages had stirred her inner wolf, and whilst her metabolism had slowed down to give her time to find her fated one, she would eventually get old.
And both female and beast wanted more out of life. To maybe even be a mother, or at least a wife, and run her own household. Because as much as she loved her older brother, he could be a wee bit overprotective at times.
Before she could castigate herself over thinking unkind thoughts about Everett, there was a knock on the door before the knob turned, and someone stepped inside.
Dr. River Vale’s voice filled her ears. “Hello, Grace. Ready for the big day?”
He shut the door and walked closer as she said, “Aye, Dr. Vale. I’m a wee bit nervous, but more than ready.”
“And you understand that you’ll have to spend the night in our patient guest room, right? Nothing should go wrong, but if I need to adjust my treatment, or you just need time to get used to the changes, I want to be available to help.”
“Aye, I know. I had to convince my brother, and that was no easy feat, but he eventually agreed.”
“I can only imagine,” he drawled. “But Black only wants what’s best for you. I’m an older brother, too, and my younger sister arrived here yesterday, so I get it better than most.”
Grace frowned. “Your other sister is here in this time too?”
She knew River was from the future, and that his older sister, Yesenia, was a time-wielder. But their younger sister had still been in the future, the last she’d heard.
“Meadow is her name, and yes. But my wife is with her, and I didn’t want to delay your treatment yet again, Grace.”
“If she needs you, then I would understand.”
“No, it’s unfair to you. And I would trust Nora with my life. Now, let me quickly check your vital signs, and if everything looks good, we’ll get started. Sound okay?”
