VROLOK (59 page)

“So good to see you again,” Quincy began. Isabella looked to the floor coyly, avoiding his gaze, acting shy but receptive to his compliments. As Isabella was acting like a demure and well-brought up young lady, another young lady entered the room who was not so demure. “This is my sister, Lucy,” Quincy said on her arrival.

“I am glad to meet you,” Isabella said, extending her hand to Lucy. Lucy sighed when Isabella said this with such meekness. Isabella chose to ignore Lucy’s rudeness and said, “This is my brother Cole.” Lucy looked over at Cole with absolutely no interest.

“Where are mother and father?” Lucy asked.

“In the drawing room.” Quincy was disgusted at his sister’s rude behaviour and wanted her away from this company as soon as possible. “Why don’t you go and speak to them?” At this Lucy knew her brother wanted rid of her, so she was determined to stay.

“Quincy, why do you want to be rid of me?” Lucy asked. Quincy was now getting angry with his sister.

“Lucy, if you can’t behave yourself you should not inflict your company on other people,” Quincy scolded.

Lucy sat down in a chair beside Isabella, trying to intimidate her. Isabella acted as if Lucy was being successful. When Isabella looked over, Lucy made a face and Isabella immediately looked to the floor and then looked up at Quincy with an uneasy smile on her face. Nicolae was watching Isabella’s flawless performance in front of Quincy and he wondered, did Isabella do this with everyone? Did she show everyone the side of her that they wanted to see?

Quincy and Lucy’s mother then entered the room and she knew by looking at Lucy that she was causing mischief. Mina looked at Isabella, who seemed slightly uncomfortable by Lucy’s brash nature and at Quincy, who desperately wanted Isabella to feel comfortable in his home.

“Lucy dear, I think your father wants to talk to you in the other room,” Mina said gently.

“Mother I am being entertained in this room by Quincy’s friends. Although this girl that my brother has taken a fancy to has not said much. Does she ever speak, I wonder?”

“Lucy!” Quincy shouted. “Leave the room!”

“You can’t order me to do anything,” Lucy retorted back at her brother. Mina had raised her children with such high spirits; she was now wishing she had been a bit stricter with them when they were young, but that was not in her nature.

“Lucy, I think you should go and talk to your father.”

“All right, mother. I will excuse myself from this riveting company and leave Quincy to be bored by himself.” With this Lucy left the room and slammed the door behind her. Isabella pretended to jump at the loud bang of the door.

“I do apologise for my sister,” Quincy said.

“Don’t apologise, I admire her vitality… I… I wish I could be more like her.”

“Sister, I think it is time we were going,” Isabella sensed Nicolae was annoyed.

“Yes, we should probably be leaving.” Isabella stood to leave. Quincy practically ran over to open the drawing room door.

“I have asked Arthur Holmwood to set up your ball; he is arranging it for the first of next month,” Quincy said as he escorted her out.

“It is most kind of you to go to so much trouble for us, Quincy.” By this time Lucy had re-entered the room.

“Oh Lord…save me from such banality,” Lucy said.

“I know how you feel,” Nicolae whispered.

Quincy threw Lucy a chastising look. Isabella, however, would have to wait to chastise Nicolae.

“Well, thank you again,” Isabella said.

“The ball will be the first of the month,” Quincy said.

“I look forward to it.” With this Isabella and Nicolae left the Harkers’ home.

Nicolae sat silent during the coach ride back to the inn.

Isabella was not in the mood to have him sulking for the rest of their stay there, so she asked, “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Nicolae replied abruptly.

“Your tone indicates that it is something.”

“You see, that is the Isabella I know, a woman with an answer for everything. Yet you turn into this shy meek woman, a totally different person from the one I know, when you are around Quincy.”

“I am the person Quincy wants me to be.”

“That is exactly what concerns me.”

“What do you mean, Nicolae?”

“You do it so well. You trick and manipulate them so well.”

“I am a Vampire, Nicolae, I trick and manipulate everyone. I have to and so do you.”

“Why don’t you kill them and be done with it. I cannot stand this deceit.”

“Killing them is not enough.”

“Why Isabella? Why is it not enough?”

“Because it isn’t.”

“Why, Isabella, why?” Nicolae asked.

“Because they have to suffer as I have.”

“As you have?”

“I mean as he did.”

“No. You said as you have.”

“Nicolae, if you want to leave, then leave.”

“I don’t want to leave you…” Nicolae turned from her. “Not yet, anyway.” Isabella placed her hand gently on his shoulder and Nicolae turned back to look at the woman he still loved. Nicolae’s heart lightened and he tried to end the tension between them. “I am sorry; I just want to kill someone.”

Isabella smiled but her smile was poignant; she knew and Nicolae knew that this issue would come between them again.

“I promise that you can kill someone at this ball he has arranged for me.”

“That will make me feel so much better,” Nicolae said sarcastically.

“Good.”

Arthur Holmwood’s house was quite different from the Harkers’. It was a grand old lavish English mansion. Even Isabella was impressed by it. It had thirty bedrooms and an exquisite ballroom. When Quincy saw her he rushed over to her and brought her over to one of his father’s old friends to introduce her.

“Isabella, this is Doctor Jack Seaward. Along with Arthur they are my family’s oldest and closest friends.” Isabella of course recognised the name immediately; this man would be the first to be punished.

“I am honoured to meet such a trusted friend of the Harkers.”

“Isn’t she stunning?” Quincy added.

“She certainly is,” Jack agreed.

Nicolae left Isabella’s side; he was sickened by this deception. He went over to the waiter to get a drink, and Lucy followed him.

“Your sister could not be as innocent as she makes out,” Lucy quizzed Nicolae. He was startled to have someone talking to him. He thought this was Isabella’s show and if truth be known, he did not want to be involved.

“Sorry to disappoint you—she really is that innocent; she has had a sheltered life,” Nicolae lied.

“Oh, I am not disappointed,” Lucy replied. “Just bored with these social drones,” Nicolae smiled.

“You sound like someone I used to know.”

“Who?”

“Oh, no one of any importance. So you are bored with Whitby?”

“I am. I was very disappointed in your sister, when I heard you were both from America I thought you both would be something different but it turned out you were just the same.”

“Well, perhaps I can prove to you I am not the same.”

Lucy for the first time realised how handsome Nicolae was; she had never looked at him before, not with her mind’s eye. “I doubt it,” Lucy said not wanting to give any hint her new found attraction to Nicolae.

“You could at least let me try,” Nicolae said.

“What is your name again?”

“You know what my name is,” Nicolae said.

“I don’t,” Nicolae looked suspiciously at Lucy who was trying her hardest to act indifferent towards him. “I don’t,” she repeated. Nicolae kept looking at Lucy he was smiling sceptically. “I really don’t, Cole.”

“Ah ha,” Nicolae said. Lucy and Nicolae started to laugh together. Isabella had not noticed Nicolae talking to Lucy but two other people in the room had.

“Look over there,” Mina said to her husband.

“It appears we may be getting rid of them both,” Jonathon said.

“That’s unkind, Jonathon.”

“I know the house will be a lot quieter without Lucy in it.”

It was the middle of the night and Jack Seaward was petrified. He was running towards the Harker’s house, falling over himself, panicking, constantly looking behind him, straining his eyes trying to see if anyone was following him. When Jack arrived at the front door he started pounding his fists upon it and shouting.

“Mina, Jonathon, please open the door!” Slowly the lights started to shine from the house into the gloom of the darkened street. Jack could hear someone coming down the stairs and he shouted again. “Hurry, let me in!” Jonathon let his old friend into the house. As soon as he was inside Jack turned around and locked and bolted the door behind him.

“What is wrong?” Mina asked. Jonathon helped him to a seat.

“It is happening again,” Jack said. By this time Lucy and Quincy had awakened and followed their parents down into the hall. Mina looked up at Quincy and Lucy and said.

“Quincy, Lucy, go back to bed.”

“No mother, not until we know what is wrong with Jack.”

“Nothing is wrong with him—go back to bed,” Jonathon scolded.

“But mother, there is obviously something wrong,” Quincy shouted.

“Go to bed, children!” Mina shouted. Both Lucy and Quincy were shocked. Neither of them remembered a single time in their lives when their mother had raised her voice to them. All three watched as the two youngest Harkers ascended the stairs and left their parents with Jack.

“I am sorry,” Jack said, trying to catch his breath.

“What have you seen?” Jonathon said.

“Him… I have seen him.”

“Jack,” Mina said calmly and softly. “You know that is impossible. We killed him.”

“I know, my head tells me it is impossible but I cannot dismiss the evidence of my own eyes…I saw him!” Jack shouted.

“Think about it rationally, Jack. We saw him turn to dust,” Jonathon said.

“I am telling you I saw him.”

“You couldn’t possibly have,” Jonathon stated. Jack opened his shirt collar and showed Mina and Jonathon two puncture marks on his neck.

“Now do you believe me?” Mina stumbled back into a chair and sat down, horrified. Was it truly happening again?

“All right, tell us exactly what happened,” Mina said, gathering her composure.

Jack Seaward was not able to sleep that night. He decided to go for a walk in the hope that it would tire him out. He got up and walked to the end of the street. The street was silent and all Jack could hear was the hum of the streetlights above his head. He walked for another mile, but then an unsettled feeling came over him.

He walked a few more steps and then the silence was suddenly broken. He heard someone running, and then heard whoever it was stumble and start running again. The sound of the steps was getting louder and louder. It seemed as if they were just around the corner. But then there was silence again.

Jack decided it was time to go home. He thought his mind was playing tricks on him. He started to walk briskly, refusing to run, thinking that he was being foolish. His head was telling him that there was nothing there and to run would be stupid—he was not a child. When he was within a few steps of home, he began to hear the running footsteps again and they sounded very close, as if they were behind him. He spun around, but nothing was there. All was silent again and he resumed walking, dismissing the noises as just nighttime jitters.

Then once more he heard them. Once more they sounded as if they were just behind him. This time Jack was afraid to turn around. He couldn’t make himself look behind—he was too afraid of what he might see. A gust of air touched the back of his neck. When Jack felt this he had to turn around, and again the street behind him was silent and empty.

A strong wind rustled through the trees that lined the avenue. It was so strong that a few leaves started to fall, and then fog poured into the street, engulfing him so that he could not see anything. The running started again and this time he heard voices, first close and then distant and then close again. These voices kept repeating the same phrase.