Vampire - In the Beginning (Vampire Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

me.
    "Is she ready for the blood?" she asked, making her way quickly to my bedside.  Then, without so much as a glance in my direction, she picked up a tankard from the small table beside my bed, bites into her wrist, and holds it over the tankard, letting her blood flow freely into the container. Robert walked to her side and did the same. When he is satisfied that there is enough blood in the tankard, he says, "I will leave you to deal with this, Matilda." He then turned away from us, and walked from the room without once looking back in my direction.
     
    My gaze is still focused towards the door when Matilda grabs the back of my head, places the tankard to my lips, and whispers in my ear. "Drink my sweet Gwendolyn... Otherwise I will take the greatest delight in killing you myself." Of course, with no other option open to me - I drink.
     
    Chapter Seven
     
    Surprisingly, the days pass quickly. So much so that some days I awoke in a panic because I could no longer remember Tom’s face. I would then bury my head in the velvet cover until his face filled my vision, and then I would cry. Of course, I never shared my feelings with anyone in Vanike Manor, I had no friends, and even if I did, I would never have shared my fear and grief with them. 
     
    Sometimes I would catch a glimpse of Robert, but apart from the odd smile, he rarely talked to me. I think he had decided to avoid me due to Matilda’s jealousy. In fact, none of the vampires talked to me, and on my approach many of them would simply look straight through me. Sometimes it felt as if I didn’t exist and if they could not prey on my blood, they had decided not to bother with me at all.
     
    Strangely enough the servants were the same. None of them seemed to speak unless spoken to, and then it was just to answer a question with either a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’. It was as if they had been put under a spell. I was later to learn that vampires can bewitch humans and make them do their bidding. After I had discovered this fact, I often wondered if Robert had bewitched me into accepting his offer. This discovery played on my mind to such an extent that I finally decided that I would waylay Robert at the earliest opportunity and ask him.
     
    The opportunity arose unexpectedly. I had taken to walking by a small brook that ran through the woods behind the manor. I liked to take the exercise, although I had no need of it, for it seemed to be that the combined blood of Robert and Matilda had worked its magic, and I felt and looked in the best of glowing health. I would walk in the summer sun, and sometimes imagine that life had not changed at all. I would daydream that I still lived in the shelter of my parents’ and Tom’s love, and imagine that our fortunes had changed and that we all lived in the manor. It was on a day such as this when Robert disturbed me with his soft tread on the mossy ground.
     
    “I was told I would find you here.” He said as he pushed through the shrubbery to sit by my side. I was somewhat surprised by this revelation as I believed that no one knew that I walked by the brook.
    “Who told you of this?” I asked. Robert just looked at me and smiled, and I said in a sarcastic tone, “Oh yes, I forgot I am a prisoner, and I am watched!”
    “You know that you’re not a prisoner, this is your home.”
    I laughed a mirthless laugh. “Oh yes I forgot, I am not a prisoner because if I choose to leave I shall be food, and if I stay - this is my home, but then again I am watched… You make me laugh, Robert!”
    “Well, it is not my intention to make you feel like a prisoner! I fear only for your safety.”
    “Well I guess I should be grateful for that at least.” My voice was pert and antagonistic, but Robert did not respond and we both lapsed into silence.
     
    ****At last, unable to bear the silence any longer, I said, “Well it’s obvious that you wish to speak to me of something, so may I ask what it is so that I may return to