Bennett nodded. “Yes, and since neither of us wanted to live hidden behind the walls of one of Max’s castles or live elsewhere and pretend she was my servant, we moved to La Rioja, which is in the north of Spain. Years before, Max had purchased a vineyard in that area. The property was enormous, and while it would be years before the vineyard would reach its potential, as always, Max had planned ahead. Smack dab in the middle of that nowhere place he had a hacienda built, along with a few cottages where his people could stay when he was there. Again, since it was off the beaten path and away from prying eyes, Eliza and I moved into one of those cottages. The area was beautiful, as was the weather, and life was good for about two years until Eliza’s need for new started straining things.”

“Her need for new?”

“I believe the term nowadays is compulsive shopper,” Bennett said, her eyes pleating at the corners.

“Ohhh.”

“In a way, I could understand it. She’d come from a poor family, and they never had much, and now that she was with me, money wasn’t a problem.”

“So what happened?”

“We started arguing about it. Eliza was forever visiting the towns and villages in the area, sometimes gone for an entire day, and when she’d return, she’d be loaded down with trinkets and decorations we had no space for. Even the amount of food she bought usually spoiled before we could eat it all, yet that didn’t stop her from buying more. She was buying just to buy, and that’s when she began demanding I turn her because why buy…if she could just take things?”

“What?”

“Like the others, Eliza knew what I was, and from the get-go, I told her I’d never turn her. If that’s what she wanted, our affair would end. I’d erase her memories and move on. She swore to me she never wanted to be like me, swore to me she’d never ask, and she actually told the truth. Eliza didn’t ask. She commanded.”

“That’s ballsy.”

“Yes. She shrieked and ranted and raged for days. Doors were slammed, dishes were broken, even food was thrown a few times, but I stood my ground, and then she did something I didn’t see coming. One night during one of her tirades, she picked up a kitchen knife and drove it into her chest.”

“She did what?”

“Suddenly, the woman I loved was in my arms. Her dress was rapidly becoming soaked with blood, and I had to make a choice. Let her die…or turn her.”

“Jesus.”