I Read What?!

(Hilariously, I actually wrote this last night and forgot to hit post. Oops!)

So last time, we met a vampire. A different vampire I mean. One who has his own connection with Maureen! And who may or may not have information about her disappearance!



I was going to make a vampire dad joke about Jonathan, but it doesn't really work in this series. It's hard to tell for sure, because of Jack's relative isolation as a vampire, but it doesn't really seem like the sire-childe relationship that we see so often in vampire literature is a thing here.

Or at least, it's not as important. Maureen presumably did come to Jonathan for help, but before that, they'd gone their separate ways so thoroughly that Jack (who knew all about Maureen's general vampirism) had never heard of the guy.

And I guess it makes sense. The vampire creation in this universe is definitely not as accidental as in other universes, but it also takes a really long time for it to kick in. (Unless they want to jump the gun and test it early, I suppose, but there's no guarantee that it works.) That's more than enough time for people to grow apart. Or get separated forcibly, like Jack and Maureen.

So anyway, back in the action. Jonathan Barrett apologizes to Escott in a very sorry-not-sorry kind of way:

Barrett straightened a little and smoothed his clothes, not taking his eyes from either of us. “I apologize for the intrusion upon you, Mr. Escott.” His tone was slightly hostile and devoid of any regret. “Perhaps you will both excuse my desire to protect myself.”

I feel like you didn't necessarily have to resort to mind-whammying right out the gate. Especially since it has to be pretty fucking easy to realize Jack's a vampire too. He looks twenty-three, and he hasn't seen Maureen in five years. Since Maureen is a) a vampire, and b) presumably not a pedophile, you probably should have figured this out.

Escott merely points out that there was no need to influence him to give information. But, Jonathan retorts, he doesn't know Escott. The information could have been false or incomplete. They might have been friends of Gaylen, instead of Maureen.

I don't know, dude. I know Gaylen was scary, but she wasn't exactly subtle. They haven't shot or abducted ANYONE yet.

This of course leads into a macho stand-off:

“What do you know about Gaylen?” I asked.

“Enough,” he replied, echoing me. “How is it that you know her?”

“She was looking for Maureen and found me instead.”

“And what happened to her?”

“She’s no longer a threat to Maureen.”

“That hardly answers my question.”

I ignored the sarcastic note. “Where’s Maureen?”

He studied me carefully, probably gauging my past relationship with her, perhaps even trying to see me through her eyes. That was what I was doing to him. “I don’t know.”

I DO think Jack could probably stand to be a little more forthcoming here. But leaving petty jealousy aside, Jonathan did start things off on the wrong foot.

It would be interesting to see Jack through Jonathan's eyes. Unfortunately, I'm not aware that Ms. Elrod's written anything with the two of them from Jonathan's point of view. (Jonathan has his own series, but it's an origin story.)

It's the sort of thing that I'd love to see in fanfic, but as mentioned, Ms. Elrod isn't in support of that. And I firmly believe that it's an author's right to feel however they feel when it comes to fanfiction. But it's a missed opportunity, in my opinion.

Jonathan shares when he last saw Maureen: she'd come by on the night that Gaylen escaped. She stayed during the day and left the following dusk. Jonathan hasn't heard from her since.

Oh, and Jonathan definitely knows about Jack:

“I know you can appreciate how important privacy and discretion are to those of our nature. You should be more mindful of those dark glasses. They are a dreadful giveaway.”

Okay, so you really didn't need to mind-whammy Charles after all. And don't think I didn't notice how you IMMEDIATELY decide to put your younger counterpart/rival on the defensive. Jack's not the only one feeling threatened and a little jealous.

There's some back and forth, which leads to Barrett clearly picking up some of the Jack/Escott vibes:

“The primary points should be sufficient. May we begin with your life and death?”

Something like amusement seemed to light Barrett’s eyes from within. “So you do know that much about us. Are you Mr. Fleming’s protector?”

Escott didn’t reply.

So Jonathan gives us his backstory. The gist is, he was a lawyer's son who had gone to England to study and got himself introduced to some debauchery:

“Those were wild, delightful days, and the nights were made even better when I became acquainted with a certain lady of astonishing charm who taught me some unique skills in the art of love. I was but a rough, untutored colonial then, for a time I believed that that was how all men and women enjoyed themselves—I grew wiser about such things later on.

I'm incredibly amused by the thought that young Jonathan had about as much knowledge of sex as a Bridgerton girl and thought everyone sucked blood when horny.

And of course, Jonathan has to give his own dramatic reveal of his age:

“Then war came up and I was commanded home again, that or be left without funds. Being a dutiful son, I returned. I was so dutiful that it got me killed. My father was loyal to the Crown, y’see.”

“What war are you referring to?”

“The one that sundered our respective countries, Mr. Escott. The American Revolution, as it is now called.” He paused to let that sink in and enjoyed our reaction.

I can't begrudge him that. I'm told I look a little younger than my age, and thus enjoy reactions I get when I admit I'm almost forty. If I were a vampire, I'd have far too much fun with dramatic reveals. (And obviously, he's picked up on Jack being young, since he expects to impress both of them.)

Anyway, Jonathan's father was a Loyalist, not a "damned traitor to his God-appointed sovereign" and I'm actually a little fascinated by this. American patriotism being what it is, we almost never see Revolutionary War material where the heroes are English loyalists. Possibly Ms. Elrod simply chose the detail to contrast with the VERY American Jack Fleming, but it's interesting nonetheless.

I am amused by Jonathan's retelling of his death:

His eyes drifted inward, briefly. “I was not old then, Mr. Escott. I was young; very, very, young.” He shifted, crossing one leg over the other. “But I was talking about the rebellion. My dear father was a Loyalist and not a damned traitor to our God-appointed sovereign. Of course, his attitude may have been tempered by the fact that Long Island was then protected by British troops. We were safe and secure from the rebels, so they said, but they couldn’t be everywhere at once. I was shot down in cold blood by a pimply-faced bumpkin cowering in some trees on my father’s land. The cowardly, dishonorable, half-witted bastard thought I was General Howe.”

After at least 160 years, his disgust was sincere and still fresh.

Jonathan is a bit of a snob. Unsurprisingly, that makes me like him more.

Anyway, Jonathan woke up in a grave and was too embarrassed to explain to his family what happened. It sounds like he might have overcome that, but eventually his family went "back" to England. Tied to the land, Jonathan stayed behind.

Escott asks how he supported himself. Jonathan smiles but says that's none of his business. Might be a giggalo. Nothing wrong with that. Anyway, he did a lot of reading and eventually, decades later, met the Dumont sisters.

I don't remember how old Gaylen was in Lifeblood. Seventies maybe? I feel like that's accurate. I'm too lazy to look. She and Maureen had met Jonathan when Maureen was in her thirties or forties. So this must have been the late 1800s.

So Jonathan gives his version of events: he and Maureen were in love. Gaylen was in the background, strange and clingy:

“What was she like?”

“Strange,” he repeated unhelpfully. “Normal on the outside, but there was a soft and rotten core of sickness within that never showed itself until you really got to know her. She liked to use people, but only in petty ways, mind you. She’d never put on a manner to make you think she was imposing on your goodwill.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are some people you like to do things for, simply because they’re nice and know how to say thank you. On the surface, Gaylen seemed to be one of them. She was pleasant company, and careful never to go too far, but she was really using people in her own way. As an outsider to their family with some larger experience, I could see how she worked all things around her to her favor… oh, but she was ever so nice about it.

Anyway, after Maureen's accident, Gaylen fell apart.

There's a bit I like here:

“The accident that killed her?”

“Yes. She told you about the fire wagon? I’m surprised; she hated talking about it, even thinking about it made her feel sick.”

Having suffered a violent death myself, I could understand.

I feel like I remember Jack spending a lot of the book out of sorts and a little jealous of Jonathan. I don't remember it being a possessive kind of jealousy, but more based on the fact that Jonathan knew her for so long and Maureen had gone to Jonathan when she left.

But this bit here is interesting. Jonathan, probably not intentionally, has just given Jack something of a reassurance/compliment: Maureen's accident is something she never wanted to talk about with Jonathan. But she was willing to talk about it with Jack.

And Jack doesn't actually notice, beyond empathizing based on his own violent death. (Jack, honey, understatement. Also, have you considered therapy?) Because he isn't a possessive dude at heart, and it's not about status. It's about the hurt bewilderment at the disappearance of someone you love, without understanding why.

Anyway, Jonathan explains that Maureen's revival was a miracle, but she wanted to go back and comfort her sister. Jonathan thought it was a terrible idea, but ended up helping. It was okay for a while, then Gaylen started her campaign for vampirism. Eventually she went too far and Maureen realized that Gaylen was sick and put her in the institution. She and Jonathan split up at that point.

And relevant to my interest in vampiric society:

“But you kept in touch?”

“Out of mutual self-interest and because of what we’d become. Those of our kind are despairingly rare.” His glance rested on me a moment and I couldn’t read his expression.

You two COULD be friends, you know. I don't really think your respective class issues would let you be more than that. But still.

Anyway, we learn that Maureen paid for the asylum. Basically she and Gaylen had already inherited substantial money from their parents, and Maureen herself had made a clever will giving her share of the estate to a non-existent cousin. If the cousin did not appear within a year of her demise, it went to Gaylen. Then Maureen made a new identity.

Escott, being Escott, asks about other women.

Escott stirred in his chair. “And the others?”

“What do you mean, sir?”

“Since your decease you must have been involved with women other than Maureen.”

Barrett was amused. “Of course I was. I’d changed, but not into a damned monk.”

“Did any of them return after they died?”

He didn’t answer, but Escott continued to wait for one. “No, none of them,” he said with a flare of anger. “Not one of them. D’ye want to know how many there were and all that we did together?”

Escott ignored the question. “What about the lady you knew in England? What was her story?”

“I was her lover, not her bloody biographer.”

The dynamic between Escott and Jonathan is actually possibly more interesting than the one between Jonathan and Jack. Jonathan and Jack clash, and jealousy over Maureen aside, I think a lot of that is simply a matter of class and temperament. Jonathan's landed gentry, and English enough in sensibility that that actually means something. Jack's working class: grew up on a farm, went to war, and went into journalism. Jonathan, through his retelling of his origin, comes across as a passionate romantic in a way that Jack really doesn't. Jonathan doesn't seem to engage with people or society the way that Jack does.

Notice, he's very close to Emily Francher, but she's not here. Not the way Escott is, or the way Bobbi would be.

So yeah, Jack and Jonathan don't see eye to eye. But Escott makes Jonathan ANGRY. And that's really interesting.

We still don't know about Escott. He's got an English accent, a posh one, even though "actor" isn't exactly a posh profession. We know he's colder than Jack is, and, though I'm not basing this on anything specific, I've always had the sense that he has a better capacity for cruelty.

And he is almost certainly provoking Barrett on purpose.

This leads Jonathan into telling about Nora Jones:

“Her name was Nora Jones and she made her living by accepting such gifts as we lads could afford to give her, but mind you, she was no whore—don’t ever think that. She was a lovely girl, truly lovely and lovable. Not all the students were poor, and I was doubly blessed with a bit of paternal lucre and good looks, both of which she took to like butter to warm bread.”

“Did she not warn you of the possible consequences of her relationship with you?”

“No, she did not. It was her way; she liked ‘em young and fairly innocent, and was pleased to keep ‘em so. I’ve also come to think that she honestly did not know there would even be consequences.”

“Your resurrection must have been quite traumatic for you.”

His face grew hard at the memory. “It was, and I’d rather not speak of it.”

There's some interesting compare and contrast between Jonathan and Jack here. And probably why Elrod was inspired to write Jonathan's origin story.

In someways, they're similar: both shot to death, both woke up without their vampire sire. But Jack and Maureen had a relationship, not a fling, and Jack understood well what he was getting into. (And to be fair, it sounded like Maureen did too. Jonathan's a good dude.) Jonathan must have been terrified. And one wonders how he did manage to survive, without the basic knowledge that Jack had. Jonathan's death was also much more sudden. Jack had three or four days of torture to get used to the idea of dying and to see it as a mercy. Jonathan had no warning at all.

Anyway, they talk about the night Maureen came to Jonathan. But unfortunately, there isn't much to tell. Jonathan has a pretty secure position. He reveals that Miss Francher does know about him, but doesn't mind as he's good at his job. (Technically, he's a secretary, but it's a bit obvious that he's more than that.)

We get a bit of backstory on Miss Francher and the blond girl, Laura. Miss Francher had been devastated when her mother died, but Jonathan and then-fourteen year old Laura got her through it. Things had just settled down when Maureen came, frantic and afraid.

Interesting. I wonder if she mentioned Jack at all. Did Jonathan know who Jack was before the introductions with Miss Francher?

Anyway, Jonathan had recommended she call the police and wait for Gaylen to get caught again, but Maureen was very panicked. And this is interesting too:

“Did Miss Francher know of this?”

“I saw no need to trouble her with my personal problems. I told her Maureen was an old friend dropping by for a visit and she was content with that.”

Jack wonders if Jonathan "helped" her become accommodating. But I don't get that sense. I do, however, think that Jonathan has a pretty old-fashioned idea of how relationships work. And I'm not terribly surprised that he and Maureen didn't work out.

It is a nice, subtle contrast to Jack's relationship with Bobbi. Bobbi and Jack have such a frank, open and honest relationship that it's impossible to imagine a similar situation there. And just to drive that home, we had that bit in the beginning of this book, that showed us that Bobbi knows exactly where Jack was going, and why, and had no problem with it.

If the roles were reversed, Bobbi would be in this room.

Unfortunately, Maureen didn't stay. Jonathan had invited her to stay as long as she liked and she'd settled in. Interestingly, they'd had a disagreement. (Maureen apparently didn't approve of Jonathan's job. He'd told her it was none of her business. And things deteriorated from there.) She'd stayed the day, because there was nowhere else to go, but left right after sunset without a goodbye or thank you.

I kind of love the gender reversal element here. You'd expect to see the man disapproving of a woman living as a kept companion. Not the reverse.

I also wonder if some of Maureen's anger or bitterness was less about Jonathan's lifestyle and more about having just had to leave behind her own partner. It's hard to say, of course, because we don't really know Maureen. But Jonathan still seems pretty hurt by the argument, which implies to me that it was somewhat out of character for her.

After that, there was no contact, and Jack muses that he wasn't the only one Maureen had hurt. Aw.

Jack's empathy is such a nice character beat.

Anyway, Jonathan doesn't think that Gaylen found Maureen, figuring that once she got over her initial panic, she could take care of herself. OH, and THIS is interesting:

“Was your disagreement serious enough for her to cut you off just like that?”

“I suppose it was, from her point of view. No woman likes to see herself supplanted by another in a man’s heart, even a man she’s long ago discarded.”

“Are you referring to your employer?” asked Escott in that carefully neutral tone of his, which meant he thought his question was important.

Barrett fastened him with a cold eye. “As I told Maureen, that is none of your business.”

The interesting thing about Maureen as a character is that we only know her through the eyes of one man. Well, two, now. And both men have their own issues which color their recollection.

WAS Maureen jealous?

She could have been, of course. But it's also interesting that Jonathan says this, now, in front of the man who replaced HIM in MAUREEN's heart. And it's interesting that Jack hears it: a man whose love went to another man for safety and protection.

I'm reminded of one of my Lifeblood reviews. The idea that a man might well look at a situation in a different way than a woman does. When Jack talked about having never invited Bobbi back to his own place. And how I thought that Bobbi probably sees the situation in a very different way than Jack does.

I feel that here too. The female-adjacent side of me is instinctively saying that Jonathan's wrong. I don't know how or why. But I am absolutely certain that was not her motivation.

I don't think Jonathan Barrett understands women nearly as much as he thinks he does.

They ask him about the call. He remembers it, but there's nothing useful. Fair enough.

But now, things shift a bit. Jonathan's said what he knows. Now he has his own questions:

“That’s no surprise.” He turned his attention to me. “How well did you know her?”

“Very well.”

“That’s evident, laddie. You must have been something special to her altogether. So why hasn’t she tried to contact you, eh? Had a fight with her, too?”

“She left to protect me from Gaylen, that’s all I know.”

“And you said you met Gaylen?”

“She met me.”

I enjoy how this is entirely dialogue, with no coloration at all. And yet, I feel the emotional shift considerably. And I enjoy how "laddie" does not make this scene any more comfortable at all.

It does come out that Gaylen's dead.

He thought it over for a time, reading more off my face than I felt comfortable about. “How, then, did it happen? How did she come to find you?”

“It doesn’t matter, she just did. She thought I might know where Maureen was, but I couldn’t help her.”

“Perhaps not to find Maureen, maybe she wanted your help in other ways—and don’t look so dark, laddie, I knew her, too, and far better. I knew what she wanted and how badly she wanted it, and if you turned her down, I shan’t think ill of you. I said she was sick. Sometimes death is the best cure for her kind of misery. You did turn her down? She really is dead?”

“She is,” confirmed Escott. “Heart failure.”

And again, Escott is Jack's protector. But this "laddie" does feel legitimately different than the one before. Jonathan might mean it this time.

Jack gets some brooding time here, going to the window. Seeing the horses outside: a very convenient and comfortable food source. A very convenient and comfortable situation in general.

I could understand Maureen’s reaction to it all. In her day she had been well off and certainly attractive. Then Barrett came into her life, offering her love and a possibility of eternal youth in exchange for her money and protection. It could have been that way, an old story with a new twist that Barrett apparently repeated if he had the same arrangement with Emily Francher. No wonder Maureen had been upset, but I didn’t think she’d have simply gone off without a final word to him. She had manners as well, she would have surely left him some kind of a note.

And maybe Jack snaps a little here:

I turned back into the room. They were both looking at me; Escott alert and Barrett… watchful. I focused my full attention on him, freezing hard onto his brilliant eyes, reaching into his mind.

“Where is Maureen? Tell me.”

Escott held his breath. There was total silence except for his heart thudding a little faster than normal.

“You know how to find her,” I said. “Where is she?”

Barrett looked slightly surprised, not blank, as I’d expected.

“Tell me.”

His face darkened.

“Where is she?”

Rather understandably, Jonathan isn't happy about this:

He stood up to face me square on: a tall man, well built, wearing modern, elegant clothes. Hard, primitive fury flooded and marred his features. I’d done exactly the wrong thing by trying to influence an answer from him.

His hands had worked into fists. He made an effort to keep his voice steady.

“I have already told you I do not know where she is.” He was shaking from his anger, but holding himself carefully in check. “And remember this, Fleming, no one has ever called me a liar and lived… Keep that in mind before you say aught else.”

It might be a while before they get to the friendship stage. But I feel like Barrett's the kind of guy who's anger runs hot and quick. And I'm not sure Jack's really even angry. Just desperate and lashing out. (And maybe a little bit of PTSD coloring the whole thing.)

For his part, Escott's sitting really fucking still and I love that Jack is still monitoring his heartbeat. It distracts him enough to think and force out his next words:

“If… if you should ever see her again—” I paused, but he held back, listening “—tell her Gaylen is dead. Tell her I only want to know that she’s all right.” My mouth was very dry. “If she doesn’t want to see me again, I’ll respect her decision.”

Barrett was a perceptive man; he could see what it had cost me to say that. His expression softened and he gave a slight nod. “And you’ll do the same for me?”

“Yes.”

He nodded again. “If I should ever see her again, I will tell her that for you. If…”

I'm doing too many excerpts again, but the emotions! The emotions!

Honestly, I'm not sure Jack DID do the wrong thing when influencing Barrett. Well. Yes, if we're talking morality. Mind control is one of those murky areas. But Elrod is very good at establishing a character very quickly. And what we've established for Barrett is that he's passionate and romantic. He's the sort to understand grand gestures.

He's OFFENDED by what Jack did, sure. But I think he gets the desperation, in both the attack and the defeat. And it's what shifts him over from patronizing condescension to something a little more genuine.

I don't think we'll hear Barrett call him "laddie" again, any time soon.

Back in the car, Escott and Jack process. There are a few follow-up questions for the gardener, but it seems like the trail's run cold. They believe Barrett's story, and Jack is coming to the bitter conclusion that Maureen left him, for good.

Oof.

There is a rather nice moment where Escott and Jack commiserate over how oppressive the Francher place is. And Escott does get a few details from the gardener, specifically the cab that Maureen used. It's something to follow up on, at least.

But Escott is apparently a more suspicious mind, and he wants Jack to do some investigating at the house tonight: there's a lot Barrett hadn't said in his interview that Escott wants to know. Like Jack, he can't believe the trail stops here. And unlike Jack, he's ruthlessly pragmatic enough to want to keep digging.

The chapter ends with a dry warning not to get caught.