Amelia gave her a hug. “I’ll be in touch, and I’ll see you at work on Monday.” Amelia heard Alexis sigh. They were determined to keep her here.

Once Daisy, Wilder, and the guards were gone, Alexis said, “Is there anything I can get for you, Principessa? I can have someone bring tea or—”

“I am not your Principessa.” Amelia was immediately annoyed. They were trying to make her this Principessa thing whether she wanted to or not. “And no, I don’t need anything. I’ll go back to my room and try to get my head around this craziness.”

Despite her words, Alexis still bowed her head before she left. As she walked off she hesitated and said, “She needs you.”

Amelia didn’t know what to say about that. Alexis had always just ignored her or scowled in previous meetings. Now she looked and sounded almost pleading. It was weird. She headed for the stairs, and stopped at the bottom when she heard piano music coming from the drawing room. The music was beautiful, and beautifully played.

Amelia couldn’t help but follow the music to the drawing room doors. Instinctively she knew that Byron was behind the doors. She felt it in her blood, her bones, and her throbbing bite. Before she could stop herself she opened the doors and peeked through.

She saw Byron, eyes closed, and not just playing the piano but also lost in the music. Although the music was hauntingly beautiful, as was Byron whilst playing, she looked dishevelled. Her tie and jacket were off, crumpled on the floor beside the piano.

That was so unlike Byron. She was so careful, so smart, so dapper, and she never treated her clothes like that. Amelia also noticed the whiskey decanter on top of the piano, much less full than earlier. Next to it was a glass of whiskey, and another with dark red liquid like Byron had drunk in Monaco.

It hit Amelia then. Had Byron been drinking blood right in front of her, all through that holiday? If only she had opened her eyes, she would have noticed all these things.

She started to retreat, but jumped when in a nanosecond Byron was in front of her.

“Please don’t leave. Come and talk to me?”

Amelia looked at Byron and saw worrying signs. Her eyes had red in them, her breathing was heavy, and her hair was messy. She almost looked ill somehow.

“Are you feeling okay, Byron?”

“Yes, now you’re here. Come in.” Byron took her hand and pulled her into the room. When the door shut behind her, she felt uneasy for the first time in Byron’s company.

Byron lifted Amelia’s hand to her lips and kissed it. “Please tell me you forgive me. I need you to forgive me, my shining girl.”

This was not a side of Byron she had seen before. She was emotionally unstable and needy.