Blackwood Farm - Anne Rice [236]
“ ‘Don’t dare to question me,’ she said.
“The black one, as though nothing could perturb him, reached out for her and slipped his arm around her neck. He was taller than her by some inches. Probably he was my height. He brought her head down onto his shoulder and I saw her hand tremble as she let him do it, and he whispered to her,
“ ‘Petronia, my dearest, why, why always the rage?’
“He held her and she allowed herself to be held, and the Old Man wept as he collected himself, came forward, wounded, furious, helpless, shaking his head.
“ ‘My own,’ wept the Old Man, ‘and your pledges to me are worthless, your bond is worthless—.’
“ ‘Leave me alone, you fool,’ she said, raising her eyes and turning her head to look at him. ‘I’ve kept my pledges to you ten times over. I’ve given you immortality! What in hell do you want? And then on top of it riches undreamt of. This boy is nothing to you but something sentimental, like the photographs you keep of your precious Virginia Lee and your son William and your daughter Camille, as if these people were anything to you in the dust of time. They are not.’
“The Old Man sobbed. Then he spoke, blubbering.
“ ‘Stop her, Arion,’ he said. ‘Don’t let her go on. Stop her.’
“ ‘Wretched, miserable, old man,’ Petronia said. ‘Old forever. Nothing could give you youth. I despise you.’
“ ‘And that’s your reason for what you’ve done to me?’ I asked. It would have been wiser perhaps to say nothing, but in some way this case was being tried before Arion, the black one, and I had to make some effort or die full of regret.
“Petronia looked at me, and, as if seeing me for the first time, she smiled. And as always happened when she smiled, she looked serene and lovely. She was still in the arms of Arion, and Arion was stroking her loose full hair. It was utterly loving the way that Arion held her. Her breasts were against him, and he seemed to adore her.
“ ‘Don’t you want to live forever, Quinn?’ she asked me.
“She slipped gently out of the embrace of Arion, and she took from underneath her black velvet tunic a gold chain, and on the end of this chain was a key, and with this she unlocked my handsome prison.
“She opened the door. With the meanest fingers imaginable she grabbed my left arm and yanked me from the couch and out into the room, slamming me up against the bars. It sent a shudder of pain through me.
“Arion remained close, staring at me, and the Old Man was some distance away. He had taken a small picture from his coat and he looked at it piteously. I wondered if it was of Virginia Lee. He was whispering to himself insanely.
“ ‘Are you prepared to fight for immortality?’ Petronia asked of me.
“ ‘Not at all, not one wit,’ I said, ‘nor for my life. Not against the bully that I know you to be.’
“ ‘Bully!’ She mocked me. ‘You call me that? After you had your familiar attack me with flying shards of glass?’
“ ‘He did what he could to protect me. You were in Blackwood Manor. You meant to do me harm.’
“ ‘And why isn’t he here?’ she asked.
“ ‘Because he can’t be. You know this,’ I said. ‘I’m no match for you. I saw what you did to Manfred a moment ago. You play an unfair game with me. You always have.’
“ ‘Stubborn,’ she said as she smiled, cruelly this time, and shook her head. ‘Always your way. Pride, that’s your sin.’
“Arion reached out for me and took my head in both his hands, and I felt his soft silky thumbs against my cheeks. ‘Why don’t you let him go?’ he asked. ‘He’s innocent.’
“ ‘But that’s the best kind,’ said Petronia.
“ ‘Then you mean truly to do it,’ said Arion, stepping back, ‘not merely to kill him?’
“ ‘I mean to do it,’ she said nodding, ‘if I find him fit for it, if I find him strong.’
“Before I could protest, before I could mock, before I could sneer or plead or whatever might have come into my head, she picked me up and threw me, as she had done with Manfred, against the far wall. The blow to my head was terrific, and I thought, This