His eyes narrowed on my face, then nodded. “Very well.”

I swept past him and left him staring at my dead mother.

Someday, he will know that she conquered him.

Someday.

Chapter 10

The Journal of Andrew Wright- England

17th of July, 1819

I must admit I am quite upset at the day’s events. The morning started quite well. I took a stroll across the grounds, overseeing my workers, and enjoying the morning breeze. The lush English countryside spread out around me as the sun peeked through the clouds sailing across the blue sky above. Not a drop of rain in sight. Heavenly!

Despite the loveliness of the day, I slowly found myself falling into a pensive mood. My thoughts became tormented as I walked toward the manor. For nearly a year I have lived without the company of my family and the months of separation are now unbearable.

Many a young man would be glad to be rid of his parents and sisters for such a long length of time and enjoy the freedom of running the family estate, but I am not that sort of man. At times I am utterly despondent. I miss the sharp tongue of my mother, the calm tones of my father, the shy giggles of my youngest sister and, of course, the wild ways of my sister, Glynis.

It has been nearly a month since their last letter. At that time they were visiting in Italy and preparing to leave for Buda. Their diversion to Buda had been unexpected and was a disappointment for it prolonged their stay abroad. But when my mother has set her mind, nothing will stop her. Though I am terribly fond of my sister and I want her to be happy, I am not sure marriage is what she actually needs.

I admit I am the only member of the family who does not find Glynis troublesome. Honestly, I adore her grandiose ideas of a life of freedom from society’s restrictive ways, and I have always admired her desire to be treated as an equal to any man. Many women are satisfied to be treated as a gentle creature in need of being cared for and protected. Glynis will have none of that. She has always wanted to be acknowledged as an intelligent, opinionated individual in control of her own destiny. Perhaps it is wrong for me to support my sister’s wild ideas, but I do think she is a marvelous delight.

I miss all my family and I am quite desperate for them to return. The house seems so empty without them.

It was in the midst of my thoughts I looked up to see my wife rushing toward me in a flurry of pink.

“Andrew, Andrew, darling!”

She was beautiful with her brown curls bouncing and her face flushed as she ran toward me clutching her skirt up around her ankles.

“Andrew, dearest, a letter arrived in the post. It is from your father!”

I felt my face burst into a wide grin. “At last word from my wandering family. I have been beginning to worry.”

She ran into my arms, laughing with delight. “It was such a relief to see the letter. Hurry and open it!”

I anxiously took the envelope and pried it open.

Angeline drew close to me, peering down at my father’s looping handwriting. “What does he say?”

I quickly read, my lips moving silently. I began to chuckle as I read. “It seems that Glynis caused a little stir upon arriving in Buda. Father caught her in a sitting room trying to light up a smoking pipe.”

“Will your sister ever stop trying to be a man?” My wife laughed with delight.

“She does not want to be a man, Angeline. She just wants to have the power of a man,” I corrected her. “Father goes on and writes that Glynis has been behaving abominably in our mother’s eyes. Evidently, May and Glynis were invited to join a riding party, and Glynis showed up in trousers, declaring that it is silly to wear a dress to ride a horse.”

“Oh, my! What happened?”

“Mother wanted to wring her neck, but Father calmly sent Glynis to change. You know she always obeys Father. He goes on to write that May is recovering from her fainting spells and eating better now. Oh, this is interesting. Father says that a Count Dracula has asked to court Glynis.”

“A count? Really? A native of that land by the sound of the name.”

“I think so. Oh, yes, father writes that they are traveling to his country estate for a visit. That is interesting. It does sound rather serious. You do not think they would leave Glynis as a bride in that country, do you?”

My wife pursed her lips as she considered the possibility. “I do not know. Your mother is very intent on marrying her off.”

“But it would not be right. I would miss her dreadfully. I never did like this whole concept of traveling the Continent to find her a husband.” My brow furrowed. “No, no. I should not worry. She will do something to horrify the Count and then they shall come home.”

“I do not think they are ever going to find your sister a proper husband,” my wife confessed.

I nodded, my expression thoughtful. “Glynis has a mind of her own. She is very opinionated. I still remember how horrified mother was when she discovered Glynis wearing my clothes and preparing to clip her hair short, all in attempt to sneak into the parlor where my friends and I were having a discussion about politics.”

“She did that? How old was she?”

“It was about three years ago, so she was almost sixteen. My sister is very odd at times.” I smiled at the memory.

“You should hear her go on and on about Lord Byron. Do you know she hid away a copy of the New Monthly Magazine that had that horrible story by Lord Byron about a vampire? Your mother was very upset when she found it. She said that young ladies should not be reading such things,” Angeline said with a little laugh.

“I thought Byron claimed he hadn’t written that story? That chap Polidori wrote it, I believe. But more shocking than that is the fact that Glynis met Byron around four years ago right before the scandal of his adulterous affairs broke.”

This amazed my wife. “Really? However did she manage that?”

I explained: “She was friends with the sister of a young man I was acquainted with that had ties to Byron. Glynis found this out and managed to get an invitation to visit the family in their London home for two weeks. Would you not just know that Byron would show up with one of his mistresses one night? A horrible party got underway and Glynis came down the stairs dressed in the clothes of one of the older sisters of the family. I arrived at the house to visit my friend and found him in a drunken stupor on the front steps. I went into the house and found Glynis seated right next to Byron listening to the most randy poems. I grabbed her hand and marched her right out of there. I never told our parents and ever since that time Glynis has been simply mad for Byron. When he went abroad, she cried for days.” My voice grew hushed as the memory of my sister’s exploits brought bittersweet tears to the surface. I missed her terribly and when I thought of her, I felt this horrible sense of dread wash over me.

My wife placed her arms around me and said, “I do not think your mother will be able to marry her off. I just do not think it will happen. She will do something nefarious and end up back home.” She tucked her hand into the crook of my arm and kissed my cheek. Angelina smiled at me brightly, forcing dark thoughts from my mind. “Do not be so worried! They are fine, my love, and in good health. They are most likely on their way home as we speak.”

“I hope so, Angeline. I just have the most dreadful feeling inside of me. These last days I’ve had the most terrible dreams. When I wake up I cannot remember what I have dreamed. But I have such a strong sense of dread. I just cannot seem to shake it.” I looked at her seeking solace in her loving gaze. “My rational mind tells me that my fears cannot be reasonable, and yet, within me, I do believe they have come to harm.”

“Do not worry, Andrew. Soon the family will return and all will be well. I am sure of it,” she insisted. “Now, come on and smile, my dear husband, before we are drenched by the coming rain.”

Startled, I looked up into the once tranquil sky to see ominous storm clouds gathering above us. In the distance, thunder rumbled warningly. An intense cold engulfed us, and we both shivered.

Gazing into my wife’s eyes, I whispered, “I pray for them, but I fear that my prayer will go unanswered.”

She kissed the tear that slipped down my cheek and we hurried into the house as the storm erupted.

How, oh, how, do I console my frightened heart when my spirit refuses to be consoled?

Oh, please, please, let them all return safely.

The Journal of Lady Glynis Wright

The Castle

I awoke from my nightmares to find Cneajna anxiously searching the coffin we share.

“Hurry, Glynis. Sit up!”

I snapped upright, my eyes feeling bright and hard. I could feel the night strengthening my cold vampire body. I stretched out my limbs feeling the darkness caressing me.

“I am hungry,” I said to her.

She searched the velvet and silk throws we slept upon with a desperate look upon her face. “I know, I know. You must feed again. That is the way it always is in the beginning. But I must know something. Where is your ring?”

I furrowed my brow. “Ring?”

“Yes, darling, a ring. Like this!” Cneajna extended her hand.

I peered at the ring, trying to recall the events of another lifetime. The events before my rebirth were in a haze, my vampire sleep still clouding my mind as was the growing hunger. Then I remembered.

“Oh, yes, that ring. I threw it away and one of the gypsy women took it. I did not want the horrible thing.” I wrinkled my nose with disgust. “It was dreadfully ugly.”

Cneajna shook me with frustration. “These are our wedding rings! Our Master gave them to us!”

“Oh.” I swept my hair back from my face. I really did not care about a wedding ring. I was not married, at least not by my standards. I was quite sure that a priest would not marry vampires. Beyond that, there was the whole issue of entering a church. I wondered if I could enter consecrated ground. Besides, I was feeling much better tonight, almost like my old self. Yet, what was my old self? What did that mean?

I furrowed my brow.

Ah, yes, I remembered through a haze. There had been another life before this one. I must remember that.

“Glynis, the ring is important!”

“I suppose he will be furious with me that I threw it away,” I said. That thought actually made me smile.

“Hurry! We must get the ring back!”

I let her pull me from the coffin as I pondered the events of the last few days. There had been another life before this one. I had been a lady from England, highborn, wealthy, and very disagreeable. Puckering my brow, I concentrated. It was as if a door had closed on another world, and I was trying to see back through a keyhole.

“Glynis, now!” Cneajna snapped.

Slowly, I realized the language I now spoke was not my own. The language I could understand so well had been foreign and strange to my ears just a few days before. His blood and changed me and granted me some of his knowledge.

Cneajna grabbed my hand and forced me from the tomb. The tombs of the others remained silent as we hurried past them. Pulling me down the long corridor, Cneajna grew increasingly agitated.

“I feel odd,” I said.

“It is another sign of you becoming.”

“I cannot remember much from before…now.”

“Some vampires completely forget their human lives. They only remember when they are much older and bored with their immortal existence.”

“Do you remember yours?”

“Vaguely. But what I do remember fills me with longing and bitterness. It is best not to dwell on what was.”

I began to giggle. It all seemed so ludicrous.

Cneajna whirled around, her teeth flashing. “What is it?”

“I hate it here!”

“This is now your home!”

I continued to giggle. “You do not understand. All I ever wanted was to live a life that was not predestined by my parents and society.” I threw out my hands and twirled about. “I got my wish and it is a terrible joke on me!”