“You can if you like. I’m not sure that’ll stop me from asking questions though,” Ruby said with a shrug. “It’ll probably just add more.”

Bennett’s face creased with amusement. “That’s a veiled threat if ever I heard one.” Bennett reached for her tea, taking a sip before returning it to the nightstand. “All right. So, after my wash out with Desiree, Max and I traveled to the Netherlands, as you know, and then returned to England in 1695. In 1702 we traveled to Spain, and then in 1718, we moved to Italy where, two years later, I met, fell in love with, and eventually turned a woman named Carina Marchesi…who killed herself shortly afterward.”

“Oh, my God. Why?”

“Because as much as you think you’re prepared for something like this, that’s not always the case. We were together for almost four years, and I had kept nothing from her. Carina knew all about what I needed to do to survive. She knew my ability to walk in sunlight was unique, and she knew that even though she’d seen me go a few days without having to feed, that wouldn’t be the case for her. I’d had years to come to terms with things, years to hone my willpower, years to discipline myself, but that restraint isn’t something that happens overnight.

“We spent months talking about it, months of me hammering home the reality of what she was asking, and in the end, I gave in to her wishes and turned her. Unlike Desiree, Carina didn’t become mean, or greedy, or arrogant. She became withdrawn. She was a vintner’s daughter, used to walking down rows and rows of grapes in the daylight, and now she had to travel those acres under the moon like a ghost. The hunger I took endless hours describing to her bested her every step of the way. She’d try to refuse to feed, pushing herself to a point none of us ever want to reach, a point when sensibilities cease to exist and a beast, untamed and voracious, escapes, and Carina’s beast did escape. Time and time again, savage and starving, she’d attack her prey like a crazed animal. No one survived, and with each death, another part of her died with it, until late one night, she crept to the tower in Max’s castle, locked herself in, and waited for the sun to rise.”

“That’s so sad.”

“Yes, it is,” Bennett said, picking up her tea to take a sip. “But I still hadn’t learned my lesson.”

“What do you mean?”