Chapter 14

He left her to sleep the afternoon away and he settled into his coffin and had a good rest, too. He had been tired from his trip and the ordeal of finding Franchesca in the woods had taken it all out of him. He also was feeling the need of a good feeding again. Maybe Soames had been right and he never should have fed on her husband that night! The serum had been working so well and he had stopped his bloodlust for quite some time.

It was dinnertime now and Soames made them a nice supper. They ate together upstairs in the bedroom. Afterward, he helped her wash up a little and brushed her long hair and gave her her medicine. She was feeling better and he was happy for that. He had wanted everything to be perfect for his arrival home to her bearing his gifts... 'Ahh, well', he thought, 'Life is not perfect.'

"Franchesca!" he said excitedly. "Are you ready to see what I've brought back for you?"

She was excited, like a little girl, "Yes!" she said, feeling better now from the hot meal, sponge bath and the laudanum. And she sat up and waited for him to return to the room with his packages. He walked in with all kinds of boxes in all shapes and sizes! Some were hat boxes, too. And he showed her all his treasures for her. They were most exquisite. The nightgowns were so delicate and spun from the finest of silks. The laces were tatted by the most skillful of hands. She loved everything and was very impressed by his taste.

He finally brought in the biggest of boxes and set it aside on a table. "This is your wedding attire, my love. I don't want to show you now, as you know it's customary for the bride to be, to keep it a secret till her wedding day. And Simone never showed me, but she said I would truly be delighted at her creation and she hoped you would be pleased, too. "So I will leave it here with you, until our wedding day." And he leaned over and kissed her. She was dying to look in the box, but it could wait till the next day and she was getting very sleepy.

"You get some sleep now, my sweet", I have things to attend to. I will see you in the morning. "And no roaming the halls tonight!" he added with a wink. "Yes, master." she answered with a coy smile. And he left the room. She fell asleep in no time flat.

"Soames, I've got to find those two hooligans!" he exclaimed, "They will pay for what they've done to her!" And he grabbed his long black cloak and his silver raven headed cane and was out the door.

The two boys were each in their own family cottages in their beds sleeping when Eric found them. He had used his special sonar tracking skills to locate them. He had to morph tonight in the form of a bat and flew to their windows. It made thing so much easier.

The first boy, the older one was sound asleep in his room. Eric flew up to the window and could see his long lanky frame sprawled out in bed. He tapped at the window until the boy awakened. He was filled with fright at the sight of a vampire bat flitting about right outside his bedroom window! He went to get up to shut the window but alas! It was too late, Eric changed form and slowly walked up to the poor kid as he cowered in fright and stumbled backward onto his bed.