“I knew if I turned her, she’d become a monster. The signs were already there, for Christ’s sake, but I couldn’t bring myself to let her die. And as I knew she would, when she awoke a vampire, Eliza became as she is now. Vindictive and greedy…a true sociopath.”

“I’m taking it you didn’t stay together for too long after that.”

“No. Not at all. With her newly found strength and senses, Eliza began seeking out the wealthy, and after draining them dry and ripping out their hearts, she’d abscond with all their jewels and money. She’d come back covered in blood, bleating about their lame attempts in asking for mercy, and then the next night, she’d do it all over again. So, a few months after I turned her, I arranged safe passage for Eliza, and put her and her stolen belongings on the first ship sailing back to England out of Bilbao. From there, I found out she took another ship back to the States, and traveling to Boston, she proceeded to dismember the family she’d worked for. Husband, wife, four children, and three servants all dead and for absolutely no goddamned reason other than she could,” Bennett said, glancing at Ruby. “Look up monster in the dictionary, and you’ll see a picture of Eliza. I guarantee it.”

“I believe you, and I’m kind of hesitant to ask about numbers seven and eight. I mean, yikes.”

“They were practically angels compared to Eliza. Actually, Clara was an angel. She was sweet and demure…a school teacher if you can believe that.”

“How in the world did you meet a school teacher?”

“In a book shop, of course,” Bennett said, smiling. “It was 1888, and I was living in the northeast of England in a place called Staithes. It was a fishing village with the most beautiful harbor and cliffs I’d ever seen. I lived up on a hill, away from the daily goings-on in the village, descending only when I needed supplies. One day I walked into this tiny book shop, and Clara was there. She was very prim and very proper. She had her hair up in a tight bun, and she was wearing the plainest dark brown dress imaginable. There were no embellishments, and if the neck had been any higher, it would have covered her face, and I couldn’t help but wonder why someone as cute as she would try to downplay that fact. It wasn’t until several months later when she explained she dressed like that so she wouldn’t attract men.”

“Oh. Smart woman.”