A Discovery of Witches - Deborah Harkness [253]
Miriam took up the picture of the chemical wedding. She studied it carefully before turning her eyes to me. “Your mother was right. This is a picture of you. Matthew, too.”
“I know,” I said, meeting her gaze. “Do you know what it means?”
“Miriam?” Matthew said sharply.
“We can wait until tomorrow.” Marcus looked uneasy and rose to his feet. “It’s late.”
“She already knows,” Miriam said softly. “What comes after marriage, Diana? What’s the next step in alchemical transmutation after conjunctio?”
The room tilted, and I smelled the herbs in my tea from Sept-Tours.
“Conceptio.” My body turned to jelly, and I slid down the back of the chair as everything went black.
Chapter 36
My head was between my knees amid the utter pandemonium. Matthew’s hand kept my attention glued to the pattern in the worn Oriental rug under my feet. In the background Marcus was telling Sarah that if she approached me, his father would likely rip her head off.
“It’s a vampire thing,” Marcus said soothingly. “We’re very protective of our spouses.”
“When were they married?” asked Sarah, slightly dazed.
Miriam’s efforts to calm Em were far less soothing. “We call it shielding,” her bell-like soprano chimed. “Ever seen a hawk with its prey? That’s what Matthew’s doing.”
“But Diana’s not his prey, is she? He’s not going to . . . to bite her?” Em glanced at my neck.
“I shouldn’t think so,” Miriam said slowly, considering the question. “He’s not hungry, and she’s not bleeding. The danger is minimal.”
“Knock it off, Miriam,” said Marcus. “There’s nothing to worry about, Emily.”
“I can sit up now,” I mumbled.
“Don’t move. The blood flow to your head isn’t back to normal yet.” Matthew tried not to growl at me but couldn’t manage it.
Sarah made a strangled sound, her suspicions that Matthew was constantly monitoring my blood supply now confirmed.
“Do you think he’d let me walk past Diana to get her test results?” Miriam asked Marcus.
“That depends on how pissed off he is. If you’d blindsided my wife that way, I’d poleax you and then eat you for breakfast. I’d sit tight if I were you.”
Miriam’s chair scraped against the floor. “I’ll risk it.” She darted past.
“Damn,” Sarah breathed.
“She’s unusually quick,” Marcus reassured her, “even for a vampire.”
Matthew maneuvered me into a sitting position. Even that gentle movement made my head feel like it was exploding and set the room whirling. I closed my eyes momentarily, and when I opened them again, Matthew’s were looking back, full of concern.
“All right, mon coeur?”
“A little overwhelmed.”
Matthew’s fingers circled my wrist to take my pulse.
“I’m sorry, Matthew,” Marcus murmured. “I had no idea Miriam would behave like this.”
“You should be sorry,” his father said flatly, without looking up. “Start explaining what this visit is about—quickly.” The vein throbbed in Matthew’s forehead.
“Miriam—” Marcus began.
“I didn’t ask Miriam. I’m asking you,” his father snapped.
“What’s going on, Diana?” my aunt asked, looking wild. Marcus still had his arm around her shoulders.
“Miriam thinks the alchemical picture is about me and Matthew,” I said cautiously. “About the stage in the making of the philosopher’s stone called conjunctio, or marriage. The next step is conceptio.”
“Conceptio?” Sarah asked. “Does that mean what I think it does?”
“Probably. It’s Latin—for conception,” Matthew explained.
Sarah’s eyes widened. “As in children?”
But my mind was elsewhere, flipping through the pictures in Ashmole 782.
“Conceptio was missing, too.” I reached for Matthew. “Someone has it, just like we have conjunctio.”
Miriam glided into the room with impeccable