The only trouble with that altruistic fantasy?

When yet again there was no word on the uncle, Mary found herself sagging in her chair and letting out the breath in her lungs with relief.

Which was about as professional as her unconsciously trying to drive the kid to the mansion that first night after her mother’s death.

The truth was, however . . . that sometime in the past few days, a shift had happened in her heart. She had begun to think that—

“Ms. Luce?”

Mary sat up with a shout. “Oh, Bitty. Hi, how are you?”

The girl stepped back from the doorway. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“That’s okay. I was just about to head up and check on you.”

“Do you mind if I come in?”

“Please.”

Bitty was careful to close the door without making a sound, and Mary had to wonder if that was the result of having tiptoed around her father for so long. Tonight, the girl had her hair in a ponytail and a blue sweater on over the dress she’d worn two evenings before. Her shoes were her other pair, the ones that were brown and came up to her ankles.

“I need to tell you something.”

Mary indicated the chair opposite her. “Have a seat.”

When Bitty did, Mary rolled around so that she was free of the desk and they were facing each other without any obstacles. Crossing her legs, she steepled her fingers.

The girl stayed silent, her eyes traveling around the walls of the office. There wasn’t a lot to look at, other than a couple of drawings done by some of the kids and a map of Lake George that Mary had hung up because it reminded her of summers when she’d been young.

It was not a surprise when that stare drifted over to the box with Annalye’s urn in it.

“Whatever it is, Bitty, we can deal with it.”

“My mother lied,” the girl blurted. “I’m not nine. I’m thirteen.”

Mary was careful to show no surprise. “Okay. Well, that’s all right. That’s perfectly fine.”

Bitty looked over. “She was afraid I wasn’t young enough, that there was some kind of age limit to staying here or receiving help through the healer’s clinic. She told me she was worried about us getting separated.”

“You can live here until you transition, Bitty. It’s not a problem.”

“She tried to pick the youngest age I could pass for.”

“It’s all right. I promise.”

Bitty looked down at her hands. “I’m really sorry. That’s why she told me not to talk very much and to play with that doll. She didn’t want me to give it away.”

Mary sat back and took a deep breath. Now that she thought about it, the timing of everything made better sense if the girl was older. Vampire females went through their needings every ten years or so and Bitty’s mother was pregnant when they got here—and those young were usually carried for about eighteen months. So Annalye would have conceived when Bitty had been eleven, give or take. As opposed to seven.

What was worrisome, though, was how tiny the girl was. For an eight- or nine-year-old, she was a good body weight. That was not true for someone who was thirteen—even if you took into account the fact that the biggest growth spurt happened to young vampires during their transition.

“I’m really sorry,” Bitty said as she hung her head.

“Please don’t feel bad. We understand. I just wish we’d known so we could have put her mind at rest.”

“There’s something else.”

“You can tell me anything.”

“I lied about my uncle.”

Mary’s heart started pounding. “How so?”

“I don’t think he’s coming for me.”

“And why’s that?”

“She talked about him from time to time, but it was always in the past. You know, what they used to do when they were kids. She did it to distract me when things got bad with my father. I guess I just . . . I just wish he were coming for me, you know?”

“Yes. I do.”

“He’s never actually met me.”

“How does that make you feel?”

“Really alone. Especially because my mahmen is gone now.”

Mary nodded. “That makes a lot of sense to me.”

“My mahmen and I . . . we took care of each other. We had to.” Bitty frowned and stared at the box on the desk. “She tried to get us away from him three times. The first one was when I was an infant. I don’t remember that, but it didn’t go well. The second time . . .” Bitty trailed off. “The third time was when my leg was broken, and she took me to Havers because it wasn’t healing. That was when I got the pin put in—and then we went home and . . .”

Rhage, V and Butch went and got them out.

“I like your hellren,” Bitty said abruptly. “He’s funny.”

“A total stitch.”

“Is that a human phrase?”

“Yup. It means he’s a crack-up.”

Bitty frowned again and looked over. “So you were really human? I thought that you couldn’t be turned into a vampire.”

“I’m not. I mean, I haven’t been.” Mary flashed a smile. “See? Nothing pointy.”

“You have pretty teeth.”

“Thank you.”

Bitty’s eyes returned to the cardboard box. “So she’s really in there.”

“Her remains are.”