A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness [164]
“And how will you do that?” Ysabeau taunted. “Would you become a vampire, then, and join us in our hunting?” She laughed, but there was neither joy nor mirth in the sound. “No doubt that’s what Domenico suggested. One simple bite, the draining of your veins, the exchange of our blood for yours. The Congregation would have no grounds to intrude on your business then.”
“What do you mean?” I asked numbly.
“Don’t you see?” Ysabeau snarled. “If you must be with Matthew, then become one of us and put him—and yourself—out of danger. The witches may want to keep you as their own, but they cannot object to your relationship if you are a vampire, too.”
A low rumble started in Marthe’s throat.
“Is that why Matthew went away? Did the Congregation order him to make me a vampire?”
“Matthew would never make you a manjasang,” Marthe said scornfully, her eyes snapping with fury.
“No.” Ysabeau’s voice was softly malicious. “He has always loved fragile things, as I told you.”
This was one of the secrets that Matthew was keeping. If I were a vampire, there would be no prohibitions looming over us and thus no reason to fear the Congregation. All I had to do was become something else.
I contemplated the prospect with surprisingly little panic or fear. I could be with Matthew, and I might even be taller. Ysabeau would do it. Her eyes glittered as she took in the way my hand moved to my neck.
But there were my visions to consider, not to mention the power of the wind and the water. I didn’t yet understand the magical potential in my blood. And as a vampire I might never solve the mystery of Ashmole 782.
“I promised him,” Marthe said, her voice rough. “Diana must stay as she is—a witch.”
Ysabeau bared her teeth slightly, unpleasantly, and nodded.
“Did you also promise not to tell me what really happened in Oxford?”
Matthew’s mother scrutinized me closely. “You must ask Matthew when he returns. It is not my tale to tell.”
I had other questions as well—questions that Matthew might have been too distracted to mark as off-limits.
“Can you tell me why it matters that it was a creature who tried to break in to the lab, rather than a human?”
There was silence while Ysabeau considered my words. Finally, she replied.
“Clever girl. I did not promise Matthew to remain silent about appropriate rules of conduct, after all.” She looked at me with a touch of approval. “Such behavior is not acceptable among creatures. We must hope it was a mischievous daemon who does not realize the seriousness of what he has done. Matthew might forgive that.”
“He has always forgiven daemons,” Marthe muttered darkly.
“What if it wasn’t a daemon?”
“If it was a vampire, it represents a terrible insult. We are territorial creatures. A vampire does not cross into another vampire’s house or land without permission.”
“Would Matthew forgive such an insult?” Given the look on Matthew’s face when he’d thrown a punch at the car, I suspected that the answer was no.
“Perhaps,” Ysabeau said doubtfully. “Nothing was taken, nothing was harmed. But it is more likely Matthew would demand some form of retribution.”
Once more I’d been dropped into the Middle Ages, with the maintenance of honor and reputation the primary concern.
“And if it was a witch?” I asked softly.
Matthew’s mother turned her face away. “For a witch to do such a thing would be an act of aggression. No apology would be adequate.”
Alarm bells sounded.
I flung the covers aside and swung my legs out of bed. “The break-in was meant to provoke Matthew. He went to Oxford thinking he could make a good-faith deal with Knox. We have to warn him.”
Ysabeau’s hands were firm on my knees and shoulder, stopping my motion.
“He already knows, Diana.”
That information settled in my mind. “Is that why he wouldn’t take me to Oxford with him? Is he in danger?”
“Of course he is in danger,” Ysabeau said sharply. “But he will do what he can to put an end to this.” She lifted my legs back onto the bed and tucked the covers tightly