Chapter 103
Miles Edwards stood in the grand foyer of his missing brother’s house. The Constables had been thorough at his insistence, but had found nothing missing or any evidence of foul play. All that anyone knew was that no one had seen Clifford Edwards or his manservant and driver for several days. His junior partner at the bank had no idea of his whereabouts and could offer no information beyond that he had last seen him at the firm itself, in London the previous week.
Robert Milliken had confirmed that he had spent the entire past week with friends from France at an estate in northeast London or at his summer home. The Edwards home was untouched as was its guest house and the servant’s quarters above the carriage house. In fact the broken window pane in the door had been repaired perfectly by Thomas.
To the constables, it was a mystery, and Miles Edwards didn’t like it one bit. He realized that he would inherit his brother’s estate and his share of the bank of Edwards & Milliken, but he was disturbed by his brother’s sudden disappearance nonetheless. Edwards had only been an Adept vampire for some three weeks, and had only recently told his older brother.
They were both large men, but his older brother had been paunchy and flabby whereas Miles was muscular and fit. He wondered if there was any connection between his telling his brother that he now was a vampire, and his disappearance. If so, why did the manservant disappear too? He was hesitant even to tell Arnaud Moreau, the one who had brought him over. What if Moreau was the one who had done it? After all, before he brought him over, Moreau had asked him a lot of questions about his older brother. He could go to no one with his suspicions. Who could he accuse?
Reaching into his pocket he felt a grisly item that he had found in the guest house and had taken before going to the constables. It was a piece of an ear and he suspected that it had been bitten from his brother’s ear. The bite looked small, childlike in size. He well knew his brother’s penchant for little girls and accepted it. He didn’t care either way really as long as he wasn’t harmed or as long as he profited personally. He preferred to forcibly rape teenaged or young adult women himself, but allowed that his brother had been… different. Wondering about an abducted child being able to bite a piece out of his brother’s ear, he thought now this is a riddle needing to be solved! He resolved to investigate this matter further. With his inheritance ensured, he eventually would have no shortage of money to spread around to get answers about who was behind this.
He was still mystified about why his desire for women had left him. His newfound strength and other abilities were welcome to be sure. Thinking that it was just a setback that would resolve itself, he had foregone mentioning it to Moreau. But now he wondered if his desire for women might not return at all. He was very distressed about that and resolved that he’d ask Moreau about it whenever he saw him again. They were close in size and strength, so he was no longer cowed by Moreau since his imprinting had been completed. He would press for an answer to his impotency. What he didn’t know was that Moreau had deliberately allowed his libido to die, not wanting a vampire with his unbridled lust causing trouble while Moreau’s investigation into his own brother’s death was ongoing.
Edwards’ thoughts turned again to the riddle of the piece of human ear. It occurred to him then that he might want to investigate his brother’s junior partner, Robert Milliken. He would start by learning what he could of the man, and then he might look into his alibi and learn what he could about the guests from France that he spent time with around the time of his brother’s disappearance. There would be enough money spread around to get answers.
***
At Edinburg the four of them received a warm welcome. Angus was at the shipyard attending to some maintenance on Elsie. He was pleasantly surprised to see the foursome that afternoon when he arrived home. They had traveled by coach but without a driver so that they could run and hunt along the way. Alandra got to do a fair bit of driving. During the time they were at Edinburg, Angus and the other officers of the crew of Elsie’s Cloud were all made aware of the investments being held in London in their names. They were all overwhelmed with gratitude and were greatly amused at the circumstances behind the sudden good fortune of Crowe & Barnard Foundry. Ian had shared the story with Alandra while they were traveling and she could hardly stop laughing. They were all thoroughly enjoying themselves after the strain of the kidnapping and the rigorous regimen of the imprinting that they had to oversee after that.
They stayed at Edinburg two weeks before reluctantly saying their goodbyes. Sailing to Dover together, the two couples parted company there. Ian and Alandra said that they intended to be at the chateau by early autumn before going to Lausanne for the winter. Henri and Marie sailed for Calais, France that same afternoon. The following morning, Ian and Alandra sailed for London. Three days later they sailed for Lisbon, Portugal.
***
Robert and Margaret sat in their study one evening. Robert said “I have an observation to share with you. I had to kill both Clifford Edwards and his driver you know.”
“Yes. They deserved to die.”
“Yes. Clifford told me some things about Aimee that were quite disturbing. I don’t think he was lying either. Margaret, I think that Aimee may be a vampire.”
There was only the sound of a grandfather clock in the foyer keeping time then for a brief interval, and then Margaret said “My! That’s quite an observation! How sure are you about that? I saw her knock over a glass of milk at the dinner table.”
“I remember that but like I said, I don’t think the man was lying. He didn’t know that I was about to kill him. He thought he’d been rescued.”
“Surely you don’t intend doing anything about this!”
“Oh no! You saw their reaction at her being kidnapped. It wasn’t fear, but love and concern for her that drove them all. There’s no way that I’d ever do anything to make that family an enemy! Besides, if she is one, she damned sure can hide it well! I can honestly say that I’d never have suspected. That bit of clumsiness at the dinner table was the master’s stroke. They have trained her superbly!”
“Do you think they actually brought her over; her, a six-year old child?”
“No. Likely they rescued her from one of the raids they’ve done on covens over there. Maybe even the most recent one involving what, thirteen vampires? Maybe one of the rogue vampires had done that and they took pity on Aimee and trained her?”
“Well if they did, they’ve done a superb job and have proven to me that such a thing can be done after all.” She sat then, thinking about all of what Robert had revealed. Then she spoke “I think that we’d best never bring it up to any one of them. Such a thing is best forgotten. I suspect the whole clan would go to war over her. Imagine what a dangerous mess that could be for one who tried to expose her and order her death! There would be an unimaginable war between the Lafayettes and whoever made that attempt. That would attract far more attention to us than the mistake a child might make in public somewhere.”
“You’re right. I have no intention of ever pursuing it. I like every single one of them and I value them as friends. They’re a marvelous group. I’d never think of turning them against us for such a thing.”
“Good then. It’s best forgotten. Besides that, I like all of them very much too. And Aimee is a real sweetheart even if she is a child vampire. She’s a little angel.”
“You know, I was puzzled that Clifford seemed to know what a vampire is. He never said the word, but he was matter-of-fact about explaining what he saw to me. I keep going back to that. It nags at me, like there is something I don’t see here.”
Getting up and walking seductively toward Robert, Margaret said “I wouldn’t worry too much about it. You need to save your energy for more pressing needs.” She sat down in his lap and began to kiss him softly at first, and then with more urgency and passion, unbuttoning his shirt and sliding her hand insid
e to gently rub his chest and stomach. He responded in kind and shortly he sprang from the sofa with her still in his arms and in two bounds was at the foot of the stairs, and in one more bound they were upstairs rocketing towards their bedroom as Margaret laughed giddily.
***
Henri and Marie rejoined the family at Paris, staying at the new place leased in the name of Laforge. They had both taken to wearing wigs when in public in France at times. Today was one of those times being that they were staying at the Laforge suites. They’d already begun to reduce their appearance in public anywhere as the Lafayettes in preparation for the generational move. Henri was giving that some thought lately, thinking about doing it earlier because of the anticipated birth of the two babies the following spring.
Celeste had been asked to sing and they wanted Aimee to accompany her on the violin so the family all agreed, providing that Aimee didn’t display all of her talent on stage. She was instructed to play simply and not with all of the technique at her command, but she was allowed to not make any errors. The family had no doubt that vampires other than themselves might be there that night. The two were warmly received and cries of ‘Viva La Nightingale’ and ‘Viva Aimee’ were heard afterward.
Celeste’s Aunt Caryn begged for them to allow Aimee to model for her while they were there, so that was arranged. Little Aimee performed flawlessly and was allowed to not fake fidgeting for the occasion. She rose to the occasion, showing off for her new big sister, Jennifer.
When Caryn had been introduced to both Jennifer, Thomas, and his son, she had likened the fresh bubbly upbeat personality of Jennifer to that of Alyssa. But inexplicably she was more impressed with the kind eyes and the warm gentle smile of Thomas. She spoke then to Henri almost in passing about an equipment malfunction at her facility. Thomas spoke up then and asked if he could look at it. While the others were out and about, he repaired and lubricated it. He said no more about it, but Caryn soon saw that it was working and sought him out to thank him.
She offered him a job keeping everything running at the facility and offered to let him and his son live in the back of the loft which was presently only half full, being used for storage of fabrics, thread, and sundries associated with clothing. He accepted the job, being as he’d taken an instant liking to her, and besides that he thought that she was most attractive.
The rest of the family departed without incident for the Chateau, excepting for Louis who had to go to Luxembourg for banking business. Mustafa was told that he’d be traveling to Italy before winter on banking business, so his stay at the chateau would be brief.
Chapter 104
Ian and Alandra had caught up on all necessary business and had visited with Alandra’s parents for two weeks as well. They left Tom and Celita in charge of Barcelona House again and sailed for Marseille, where they spent a day and night with Lorn and Corinne at their Red Dolphin Tavern. The remodeling was done and the place was doing a brisk business. The area around it was not quite as seedy now thanks to several property purchases by the Lafayettes, unknown to Lorn and Corinne. They were very happy and had two happy children. The next day Ian and Alandra departed for the chateau, arriving in early evening.
They were just in time for music and dancing, so after warm greetings had been exchanged they all had an enjoyable evening.
Later Henri announced that they were going to have a family council, so they all sat and listened to what he had to say. Aimee came and sat between Ian and Alandra and held one of their hands in each of hers.
“I’ve been thinking about our pending move to the Swiss Confederation.” Turning to Ian and Alandra he said “I’ve explained to Jennifer the reasons for our having to move from time to time.” Then to all of them he said “I think we ought to consider moving sooner. There are going to be two babies born in the springtime. We could move to Geneva after they’re born and establish ourselves as the Laforges there. We could still come here and be the Lafayettes and friends in the wintertime for a year or two. When we finally do leave this place for good, we just went away as we had for a year or two in succession, but never came back. It might be better to do it that way. In Geneva we’d be known to leave for the winter for a couple of years. Marie and I would like to know what all of you think about that.”
There was a general discussion among the members then. Jennifer said “What about Thomas and his son?”
Henri replied “They can come, or stay here for a while as far as I’m concerned.”
Marie said “Don’t be too sure that Thomas will want to come. He’s become quite interested in Celeste’s Aunt Caryn.”
Celeste nodded her head in agreement as all eyes turned to her. “He’s in Paris now because Aunt Caryn doesn’t want him to leave, and it’s fair to say that he doesn’t want to leave either.” she said with a twinkle in her eyes.
Sophia said “Can there be any problem with Jennifer seeing him whenever she’s in France?” Marie looked at Henri and said “No. It shouldn’t be a problem at all. The worst that can happen is that Jennifer has to say that she knows both the Laforges and the Lafayettes. And that won’t be a lie.” At that everyone laughed.
Marie continued “Well, even if this next one is a wig generation, it will be more fun than we’ve had in forever following a move. We’ll have the babies, and we’re such a fine big family now. It will be a lot different than other wig generations.”
There were questioning looks exchanged among all present then except for Henri and Marie. Finally Liridona spoke up and said “What’s a ‘wig generation’?”
The others all leaned forward a bit to hear the answer to the riddle. Marie sipped her tea and then after setting the cup and saucer down she said “Children, a wig generation comes every second generation. We didn’t wear wigs during our time as the Lafayettes, so as the Laforges, we’ll both wear wigs in public during their twenty years.” There was a scattering of laughter. Aimee held her hands over her mouth and giggled. Marie looked at Aimee and laughingly said “Don’t laugh too hard young lady. A six-year old child who never ages can’t be explained away. That means that you’ll be wearing wigs too. In fact you’ll be wearing them as much as us.”
Aimee rolled her eyes around looking at the group then as they all laughed at her. Ian said “I think that you’d be beautiful with glossy black hair, just like Marie’s.” She giggled then, liking the idea of disguising herself to deceive humans.
Liri then said “Do we have to wear wigs too?”
“Praise God, no! Henri and I are nearly as old as dirt and have been bouncing around Europe so many years now that we have to do this in case we run into an old human that we used to know.” At that everyone laughed really hard, but then Marie said “Don’t laugh too hard now because all of you will have to do this when we move away from Geneva.”
Ian then spoke. “But what if we move to America?”
There was silence then and finally Henri spoke. “That will be a different kettle of fish altogether.”
“For Alandra and I it makes no difference. We’ll adjust to whatever happens and will make it work for us. We want to winter at Lausanne this year and to take Aimee with us.” Turning to her he said “I have spoken to Marie and Henri and have sent a pair of your boots to Lausanne already with instructions to make you a pair of ice skates.”
She threw her hands to her cheeks and squirmed. “Oh my! Oh my!” Then she looked at Ian and said “What are ice skates?” At that everyone laughed as Ian explained to her. Alandra added that she would get to ride in a sleigh while she was there.
“What’s a sleigh?” Everyone laughed again at that as Ian explained to Aimee.
So it was settled that the generational move would be done this way.
***
They spent a few days at the chateau and went riding and swimming although the days were a bit cooler. Aimee taught Jennifer to hand fish then, which she’d never done before. She was completely taken w
ith the waterfall and loved the rope swing too. Everyone enjoyed the time spent there and all agreed that Jennifer was a welcome addition to the family. She was so naturally cheerful that she boosted everyone’s mood just by being present. She and Sophia were always laughing and joking about something it seemed. Mustafa and Louis had come through their transition smoothly and had resumed their lives as if nothing had ever changed. Their years of practice in martial arts, swordsmanship, and firearms from their boyhood had the result that after they had imprinted, they were both deadly additions to the family’s fighting force.
One day in early October Alandra, Ian, and Aimee were packed to go and said their goodbyes to everyone and set off for Lausanne. They drove and let Aimee drive too, which enabled them to stop anywhere they wanted for her to have a little wild time that way. The trip was uneventful and Aimee was never bored. She ‘ooohd’ the first time she saw a snowy peak in the distance and loved the changes of types of trees and foliage. Ian was silent as they passed the former site of the Francoise mansion. He could barely look at it any more if he happened to be passing by. The former staff was still living there though, as was evident from the fields and livestock. No construction was evident at all.
***
In Lausanne, they picked up her skates at the blacksmith shop and Ian attended to getting a small herd of goats for the winter. He had leased the same chalet for them on Lake Geneva. They got to sail across Lake Geneva to Evian les Baines on the last excursion ship that would sail that year, spending two days there before sailing back.
The days flew by and soon the passes were snowed in. The cove had finally frozen so Ian and Alandra got out their skates and after they’d gotten used to them again they let Aimee come out on the ice with them to learn to skate. She took to it like a duck to water and by the end of the day was a good skater, but still didn’t know how to stop very well. She crashed into some snow-covered bushes three times after gaining too much speed. Ian and Alandra both laughed themselves silly watching her antics. She was absolutely in love with ice skating and with no one around to see her, she was a little blur out there at times. They could hear her laughing no matter where she was.