Hidden (Marchwood Vampire Series #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

The corners of Papa’s mouth
curled upwards.
    ‘ Is this true?’ Alexandre could not believe it. ‘I am to come
with you?’
    ‘ That’s not fair …’ Jacques began.
    ‘ Not just you, Alexandre,’ Papa said. ‘We are all to go. All
five of us.’
    ‘ But this is amazing!’ Jacques almost leapt around the
room.
    ‘ No!’ Isobel exclaimed. ‘I do not wish to go!’
    ‘ Incredible,’ Maman said, ignoring her daughter’s distress for
the moment. ‘He is funding the whole family?’ Her dawning smile
encompassed them all.
    ‘ Yes!’ Papa also allowed his smile to break
through.
    Alexandre had
been fully prepared to knuckle down and spend a gloomy year at his
books and yet instead he was now to accompany his parents across
the ocean to Turkey, to adventure and excitement. What excellent
fortune.
    ‘ I shall miss the whole season! I shall miss my friends and
everyone will be talking about us, saying we have been sent away
like criminals.’ Isobel all but stamped her foot. ‘Alexandre, this
is your doing.’
    ‘ I am sorry for your disappointment, Isobel, but come now, do
you not think we shall all have such fun travelling together?’
Alexandre replied, his eyes alight as the reality sank
in.
    ‘ Belle! How can you not want to go?’ Jacques asked. ‘You are
so boring.’
    ‘ Jacques,’ his mother reprimanded. ‘Do not be rude to your
sister. She has different priorities to you and it is a lot for her
to take in.’
    She turned to
Isobel who sat down heavily at the piano, looking most upset.
‘Isobel, my child, do not distress yourself. What Papa omitted to
say, is that we shall be travelling First Class and there will be
wonderful parties aboard our steamship. Think of the glamorous
stories you shall tell your friends when we return.’
    ‘ Well, that is something I suppose. But, Maman, will I not
need some new gowns if we are to travel First Class?’
    ‘ This one does not miss a trick,’ Papa said. ‘Very well. New
gowns for Isobel and, to be fair, new gowns for Maman.’
    ‘ Oh, Papa, I love you!’ Isobel jumped up from the piano stool,
ran across the room and threw her arms around her
father.
    ‘ Oh you’re such a girl, Isobel,’ Jacques said. ‘Who cares
about dresses and dances when we shall be travelling on the ocean
and visiting foreign shores? It will be wonderful.’
    Later that night, as Alexandre lay in bed unable to sleep, he
thought about his sudden good fortune. Thank you Lily. That kiss has changed the course of my
life . After years of begging to come and
being denied the opportunity, he could now accompany his parents on
one of their infamous digs.
    It was uncanny
that he had landed himself in such trouble, and yet from it had
come something so unexpected and wonderful. Turkey! What was it
like? What would the people be like? The women? No ... better not
go down that avenue too soon, or his parents would ship him
straight back to Paris.
    Maybe his life would now take on some meaningful direction
and he could find something he really wanted to do. At present he
was studying Engineering at the Académie Camillo. But it wasn’t his
passion, just a subject he was good at and at this moment he felt
nothing but enormous relief that he could escape it. In his heart,
he hoped another opportunity would present itself and he would
never have to resume his dull studies.
    How would he ever fall asleep
tonight? Too many things danced through his mind. The journey
overland would be long and arduous, possibly even dangerous and he
would have to be armed. It was almost too exciting to
contemplate .
    The departure date had been
brought forward and their tickets now bore the date March
12 th 1881, only two weeks from now. Hardly any time at all to
get properly prepared for a nine-month expedition in a strange
land.

Chapter
Three
    *
     
    Madison and
her foster parents reached a kind of compromise, a way to keep the
peace and try to get back to normal. Angie arranged for Maddy to
spend her