Blackwood Farm - Anne Rice [14]
I wept inside thinking of my red-haired Mayfair! And on they talked.
“Thank God your readers think it’s fiction,” said Stirling, becoming faintly more heated, “and the Mayfair family is unaware of the truths you told; and a great family is one that has survived the ages, and treasures bonds of love. What else? You seek a family, always and everywhere. I see it in your Chronicles.”
“Stop, I won’t listen to you,” said Lestat sharply but without raising his voice. “I’m not here to be judged by you. You’ve had corruption in your ranks. You know you have. And I know full well myself. And now I find that you’re corrupt, disobeying your Elders to come here. You think I’d give you the Dark Blood?”
“I don’t want it,” said Stirling in suppressed amazement. “I don’t seek it. I wanted to see you, and hear your voice.”
“And now you have, and what will you do?”
“I told you. Write about it. Confess to the Elders. Describe it all.”
“Oh, no you won’t,” said Lestat. “You’ll leave out one key part.”
“And what is that?” asked Stirling.
“You’re such an admirable bunch,” said Lestat, shaking his head. “You can’t guess what part?”
“We try to be admirable,” said Stirling. “I’ll be condemned by the Elders. I might even be removed from Louisiana, though I doubt it. I have other important work to do.”
Again, there came that stab in my heart. I thought of the “great family of Mayfair.” I thought of my red-haired love, my Mayfair witch, whom I would never see again. Was that his important work? I wished with all my heart I could ask him.
Lestat appeared to be studying Stirling, who had fallen silent, staring at Lestat, perhaps doing that little mental trick of memorizing all the details about which he would write later on. Members of the Talamasca were especially trained to do it.
I tried to scan his mind, but I couldn’t get in, and I didn’t dare to try with Lestat. Lestat would know.
Lestat broke the silence.
“Revoke it, this Declaration of Enmity,” he said.
Stirling was startled. He thought for a moment and then he said:
“I can’t do that. I’m not one of the Elders. I can tell them that you asked me to revoke the Declaration. That’s all I can do.”
Lestat’s eyes softened. They drifted over Stirling and then to me. For a long moment Lestat and I looked at each other, and then I weakened and looked politely away.
I had glimpsed something as we looked at each other.
It was something I’d never heard mentioned in the Chronicles—a shade of difference between Lestat’s eyes. One eye was almost imperceptibly larger than the other, and colored by a little blood. I’m not sure that as a mortal I could have detected such a small difference. I was confused by having seen it now. If Lestat counted it as a flaw, he would hate me for seeing it.
Lestat was gazing at Stirling.
“We’ll make a deal, you and I,” he said.
“I’m relieved to hear it,” Stirling said. It had the same gentle arrogance of his earlier remarks.
“It’s a simple bargain,” said Lestat, “but if you refuse me, or if you go against me, I’ll go against you. I could have done that before now, I’m sure you know.”
“David Talbot won’t let you hurt us,” said Stirling with quiet spunk. “And there’s an old one, an ancient one, one of the grandest in your tales, and she, the great authority, won’t let you harm us either, isn’t that so?”
“Stirling!” I whispered before I could stop myself.
But Lestat seemed only to weigh this for a moment. Then:
“I could still hurt you,” he said. “I don’t play by anybody’s rules but my own. As for the ancient ones, don’t be so sure they want to govern. I think they want utter privacy and complete peace.”
Stirling reflected, then said quickly, “I see your point.”
“You despise me now, don’t you?” Lestat asked with engaging