"Maybe I'll get to see the ghost," Duncan said.
"Ghost?" Ramsey said. "What ghost?"
"The castle's haunted by a lovely ghost," Vicki said. "You'd like her."
"Perhaps another night," Ramsey said, rising. "It's getting late and I've not yet had my dinner." He looked at Antonio. "Do you mind if I hunt in the town?"
Vicki glanced from one to the other, thinking that she must be watching vampire etiquette in action.
"So long as you only take the blood," Antonio said, "and not the life."
"As you wish. I'll see you all tomorrow night."
With a courtly bow, Ramsey left the house.
"If you'll tell me where to bed down, I think I'll turn in," Duncan said.
"I'll show you," Vicki said.
Leading the way, she went up the stairs, wondering if she should tell Duncan that he would be sleeping in Lady Kathryn's chambers. She doubted if a vampire hunter would be afraid of a spirit, but you never knew.
"Here we are," Vicki said. Opening the door, she felt a distinct chill as she stepped into the bedroom.
"It's customary to knock when one enters a lady's bedchamber," Lady Kathryn said imperiously.
"Oh, I didn't know you were here," Vicki said. She glanced at Duncan. He was staring at the ghost, who sat in front of a low dressing table, idly brushing her ghostly tresses.
"Tom, this is Lady Kathryn. Lady Kathryn, this is Tom Duncan. He's a friend of mine."
Rising, Lady Kathryn glided toward them. "Sir Duncan, I'm pleased to meet you," she said, extending her hand.
Looking nonplussed, Duncan hesitated a moment, and then, to Vicki's surprise, he bowed over Lady Kathryn's hand.
"The pleasure is all mine, Lady Kathryn," he replied gallantly.
Looking pleased, Lady Kathryn rewarded him with a smile and then looked at Vicki.
"What brings the two of you to my room at this late hour?"
"Tom needs a place to sleep," Vicki explained. "And since this is the only room with a bed besides mine… "
"It's all right," Tom interjected. "I can sleep on the sofa downstairs."
"I won't hear of such a thing," Lady Kathryn said. "What kind of hostess would I be to allow a guest to sleep on the couch? You may use my room, of course. I'll share Victoria's."
Tom glanced at Vicki. "Is that okay with you?"
"Sure." Since Lady Kathryn didn't really sleep, sharing a room didn't include sharing a bed. However, since the ghost no longer had any concept of time, Vicki figured she wouldn't have much use for the bed, either, since Lady Kathryn would probably want to spend the night chatting. "Good night, Tom."
"Yeah, good night," he said, trying not to stare at Lady Kathryn. The ghost was flitting around near the ceiling and then, in the blink of an eye, she was gone. Tom glanced around the room. "Where'd she go?"
"Who knows? See you tomorrow."
Vicki left the room and Tom closed the door behind her.
In the corridor, she heard him mutter, "I've seen a lot of things in my day, but a ghost!
Man, now I've seen everything."
Grinning, she hurried downstairs to where Antonio was waiting for her.
Chapter 35
Antonio stood at the front window staring out into the night. It was amazing, how much his life had changed since he met Victoria. Not so long ago, his nights had been peaceful, almost monotonous. He had risen with the setting of the sun, sought his prey, then spent the rest of the dark hours in restful pursuits. He had enjoyed going to the theater or to the movies, or spending an evening reading a good book. He had taken long walks. He had spent time in each of his various abodes. The house in Oregon was the most modern. He probably should have taken Victoria there, but the castle was his favorite place, probably because of Lady Kathryn. They had spent many a night together, two lost and lonely souls who found comfort in each other's company.
And now Victoria was here. He turned at the sound of her footsteps coming down the stairs, his nostrils flaring as she entered the room. She smelled of soap and shampoo and woman. A woman ripe for the taking…
She smiled at him. "You're not too upset about Duncan staying here, are you?"
"No."
"I'm glad, especially since he's about to marry my best friend. Bobbie Sue took him home to meet her folks earlier this week." She sat down on the sofa, looking pensive.
"Would you like to meet my mom and my sister?"
He lifted one brow in obvious amusement. "I think a better question would be, would they like to meet me?"
"Well, sure, why wouldn't they? We wouldn't have to tell them you're a vampire, you know."
"And if we stayed longer than an hour or two, how would you explain the fact that I do not eat or drink or cast an image in a mirror? And would they not think it odd that I could not be found during the day?"
"Yes, I suppose so."
If they went to St. Louis, her mother and Karen would assume Antonio was on vacation, so she wouldn't be able to excuse his absences during the day by telling them he was at work, although she might be able to come up with some plausible excuse, like he was the head of a big company that was looking to open an office in St. Louis. Of course, the fact that he didn't eat posed another problem. Her family would expect them to stay at the house. Antonio might be able to skip a meal or two, but not all three.
But the mirror thing would be the biggest obstacle. One wall in Karen's living room was mirrored from floor to ceiling, as was one of the walls in the dining room. The closet doors in the bedrooms were mirrored, as well. Her sister's house was small, and she believed that the mirrors made the rooms look larger.
"So, we won't go visit my folks," she said with a dismissive shrug. "It's no big deal."
But it was one more aspect of her life that he couldn't share.
Sitting down on the sofa, he put his arm around her waist and drew her close. With a little sigh, she rested her head on his shoulder. "This is nice," she murmured. "Just the two of us, alone in front of the fire."
He nodded, thinking how much he would miss her when she was gone.
Chapter 36
Vicki woke late again the next morning. Rising, she was filled with a mingled sense of anticipation and dread. If all went as planned, they would be rid of Falco by nightfall. It sounded so simple, but there were a hundred things that could go wrong, any one of which could get one or all of them killed.
While showering, she told herself there was nothing to worry about. Antonio would protect her. Ramsey and Duncan were both vampire hunters, and Ramsey was a vampire. They knew what they were doing.
"Everything will be all right." She repeated the words over and over again as she dried her hair.
A look out the window showed that it was drizzling, and she dressed accordingly in a pair of jeans and a bulky green sweater.
Tom Duncan was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee when she went downstairs. "Morning."
"Hi." She poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down across from him. "Are you hungry?"
"I could eat."
"What would you like?"
He shrugged. "Anything you feel like fixing is fine with me."
"Scrambled eggs and bacon sound okay?"
"Perfect."
She finished her coffee, then set about making breakfast. "Have you and Bobbie Sue set the date yet?"
"She wants to get married in February, on Valentine's Day."
Vicki smiled, thinking how romantic that sounded. If she were getting married in February, she would want her attendants to wear red and carry red and white flowers.
"She wants you to be her maid of honor, but that's probably no surprise."
"Not really." She opened a package of bacon and dropped several slices in a frying pan and put it on the stove. "She said you're going to give up hunting."
"Yeah, it's time."
Vicki scrambled some eggs and poured them into another pan. "Do you think you'll miss it, hunting, I mean?"
"Probably for a while. It's quite a high when you're closing in on your quarry. Adrenaline pumping, heart pounding in excitement when you find the vampire's lair and you know he's yours for the taking."
Vicki turned away from the stove, sickened by his description. She couldn't help imagining Duncan finding Antonio's resting place and…
"You look a little green," Tom remarked. "I guess what I do for a living doesn't make for very good breakfast conversation."
"Not really," she agreed with a weak smile.
She served breakfast a few minutes later. Sitting there doing something as mundane as eating bacon and eggs made her think of Antonio again. He'd said he no longer missed solid food. How long would it take to adjust to a warm liquid diet? Would years have to pass before she got used to never seeing the sun again, or enjoying a cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter night, or pigging out on her favorite candy, or eating popcorn at the movies? What was it like to never see your reflection in a mirror again? How did female vampires put on their make-up?
"Vicki?"
She looked up at the sound of Tom's voice. "Did you say something?"
"Where were you just now?"
"Oh, just lost in thought."
"Want to tell me what you were thinking about?"
"Vampires, of course. Isn't that what we're all thinking about these days?"
"Vampires?" Tom asked. "Or one particular vampire?"
"Actually, I was wondering what it would be like to be one."
Duncan swore a vile oath, then immediately apologized.
"I guess you've never considered it," Vicki said.
"I can't imagine anyone in their right mind even thinking about it. They're all killers.
Doesn't matter if they're handsome and charming or repulsive and meaner than hell, underneath, they're all killers. Sure, some have learned to survive without killing, but most don't want to. After they've been vampires for a while, they no longer consider themselves as human and they no longer give any thought to taking human life. We're food, prey, fodder, nothing more."