Howard spent the next few nights poring over the deciphered notebooks that Mr. Wiltshire had had hidden away in his manor. While he also read the three notebooks concerning alchemy, he spent most of his time reading the notebook containing Mr. Wiltshire's account of Nathan's last days.

Between the spirit 'Nathan's' accounts, the flesh and blood Nathan's diary, police reports, and magical means Mr. Wiltshire had spent decades compiling this information into a rough narrative. It was this narrative that held Howard's interest. Just as Mr. Wiltshire had before him, he was now focused on learning about his childhood best friend's ultimate demise.

What Howard found in the narrative was eye-opening. Nathan had always been a confirmed bachelor, at least as far as Howard had known. Despite his popularity with the ladies, Nathan had always said that he had yet to meet the "one."

It wasn't that Nathan was unpopular. He was a fairly good-looking young man who stood to inherit the Wiltshire fortune. Not only that, but he was "old money" not Nouveau riche. As a result, he had plenty of young women vying for his attention. But Nathan had wanted someone who cared about him and his own abilities as opposed to his money. In short, Nathan was a romantic.

Mr. Wiltshire seemed to have wanted much the same for his son. After all, he could have arranged a suitable marriage for his son if he had wanted to. Instead, he had let his only child try to find a mate on his own.

As far as Howard knew, Nathan had never met the "one." However, Nathan had had an ongoing relationship in secret during his final days. Plus, it was a rather serious one as well.

He had met her by chance. Back in those days, portables had yet to be discovered. Instead, everyone got their information via the printed word. Thus, it was not uncommon for people to go to bookstores after work to pick up reading material. Apparently, one evening Nathan had met the young lady in the magazine section of the store. He had been picking up the evening edition of the Arkham Advertiser while she had been looking at a fashion magazine. Nathan had accidentally run into the poor girl while reading the newspaper's headlines and it had sparked a conversation. The next thing they knew they were having a coffee in the local cafe.

Over the next few weeks, they began seeing a lot of one another. He and Jenny (the lady in question) never went to the upper-class establishments. Jenny had told Nathan early on that she was a member of the middle class and therefore was most comfortable in middle-class establishments.

As a result, they spent most of their evenings meeting for dinner at family restaurants as opposed to the ones that Nathan usually frequented. Meanwhile, Nathan had told his father that he would be going to his club in the evening and not to wait up for him.

As time passed, the relationship became more and more serious until Nathan was considering introducing her to his father. By this point, he had been seeing Jenny almost nightly for a few months. For Nathan, this was an extraordinary time.

It was then that Jenny revealed her primary secret. She was a vampire.

This revelation shocked Nathan to the core. Like his father, Nathan knew of the existence of magic. He had also more than dabbled in alchemy. However, he had never dreamed that creatures such as vampires actually existed. Not only that, but he could not believe that the woman he had finally fallen in love with was a member of this mythical race.

It was only when she showed him proof that he actually believed her. She had taken a steak knife and deeply cut her forearm. The cut closed within seconds. It was fully healed within a minute. After she wiped away the remaining blood, there was no trace of the wound. Not even alchemy could heal a wound that quickly.

Why? Nathan had wondered. Why had such a thing happened? He had finally found someone that he wanted to be with, only to find out that she wasn't human. It wasn't like they could now grow old together. Nor could they ever have children. This was not what he had hoped for when he had met Jenny.

In shock, he had left the restaurant behind and he did not speak with Jenny again for months.

---

It was early spring when Nathan next heard from Jenny. It was in the form of a letter sent to his club. In the missive, Jenny apologized for not telling Nathan her secret earlier, but that she was afraid that she would frighten Nathan to the point where he would no longer speak with her. She had waited until she was confident that Nathan would not run from the truth before revealing her curse. However, despite waiting for months Nathan had still fled from her company.

Jenny poured out her heart and soul into the letter. She freely let Nathan know of her affection for him. She also asked that they meet once again so that she could tell Nathan about those feelings face to face.

Nathan had reluctantly gone to the meeting after much thought. When they met, Jenny informed Nathan that she truly liked him and that she hoped they would at least remain friends. She also explained that vampires were forbidden to reveal their existence to normal mortals. However, Nathan had an air of magic around him. Therefore, she thought he would understand the importance of keeping the existence of vampirism secret, just as he kept his own dealings in the occult secret.

Nathan agreed to keep her secret, but he also let her know he did not trust her. She said that she understood. Despite this, the two agreed to remain friends, and they planned to meet once again.

By the fall, things had heated up between them. They were back to meeting on a nearly nightly basis. That was when disaster struck.