Free Immortal Earth (Vampires For Earth Book 1) by Sarah Warden Page A

Countess, I did come here the old fashioned way, this evening …” Henry said.
    Isi cut him off, “Do call me Isidora, Henry.”
    He looked up at her, and smiled, “Isidora,” he smiled again, “as I was saying, I did take the usual horse-drawn carriage to the ball this evening, but I would very much like to get your first hand opinion of the horseless carriage that I’ve been working on. You seem to be a woman of the most rare intelligence, and I would highly value your input.”
    He fixed Isi with one of the most direct and commanding stares that she had ever been subject to, and continued, “You must come to my workshop, and soon, Isidora.”
    Act like a great man is nothing, and he will soon think that you are his everything.
    Isi smiled at the memory of her mother’s advice; advice that was serving Isi so well on this night, hundreds of years before it was given.
    “I may have some time available for you, early next week,” Isi said, “but I cannot promise you anything, Henry. My husband, Count Solovyov, and I, are here to try to expand our own business, since the appetite for good Russian vodka has been growing so steadily in your country, of late.”
    Isi looked down at her hands, and nervously pulled on her gloves, needing their tightness to enclose and fortify her for her next words.
    “That being said, I am in the liquor trade by marriage, but I have always been a woman of science, at heart … strange, isn’t it, that the heart should be so far from what the mind chooses to marry …”
    Isi sighed and looked into the distance.
    Henry Ford’s once confident demeanor had been deflated considerably over the past few minutes; rising in joy at every implication that Isi’s marriage was an unhappy one, and crashing back to earth with every sign that she would not agree to see him in private. He was hooked on the line of one woman, and she was about to reel him in.
    “In any event, Henry, yes, I would love to see your workshop. Count Solovyov will be traveling north, to Canada, this coming Monday, so my day should be free, if you could accommodate a visit then?”
    The fish leapt off of the line, and danced through the air on fins of joy.
    “Marvelous,” Henry said, “we shall make a day of it!”
    Isi was blushing, overwhelmed and flattered by Henry’s excitement. She reached next to her and retrieved her purse. Mission accomplished, she had to make a graceful exit now.
    “Well, Mr. Ford, I must say that I’ve had quite the interesting evening, much thanks to you. I do think, though, that the hour has grown late, and I must excuse myself. Until Monday then, Henry?”
    Isi stood up from the booth that they’d been occupying. Henry Ford stood as well, took Isi’s hand in his, and brought it close to his lips.
    “These next five days cannot pass quickly enough, Countess.”
    Henry guided Isi through the maze of dancing couples in the starlit tent, and out to her waiting carriage.
    As he watched her horse-car pull away, Henry muttered, “Damn it all to hell, she is the most striking woman that I have ever met … positively bewitching.”
    Henry stood and stared after Isi’s carriage, long after it had passed from his sight.
     

 
    TWELVE
     
     
     
    Afon Solovyov’s lithe six-foot frame was pacing, up and down the apartment, from one end to the other, stopping only occasionally to thrust his head through the open living room window to inhale deeply … straining to catch the first notes of Isi’s scent that would herald her return to him.
    Nanook K’eyush had folded his enormous self into a delicate Victorian side chair, and was perched in concentration over a chessboard, seated opposite from Jian Hu. Jian was studiously ignoring Afon’s agitated pacing, and stayed focused on teaching Nanook the basics of chess.
    “The knight cannot move that way,” Jian said. “Only the bishop and queen may move diagonally, in an unlimited fashion. The king may move in any direction, but only one