by P. L. Kurup
“Clara,” Samuel whispered, falling to his knees.
Amelia rushed over to him and tried to take his pulse, when he yanked back his hand.
“I’m alright. Just a dizzy spell,” he said.
His voice was calmer than before so she grasped his arms and helped him to his feet.
“Thank you,” he said.
“It’s my pleasure.”
She looked at him longer than she needed to and he asked, “What’s the matter?”
“It’s nothing. You remind me of someone that’s all.”
“A person you knew well?” he prompted.
“It’s more a memory of someone. I probably confused you with someone on TV.”
The temperature had dipped since last night and it was likely to snow. They continued with their walk, her shoes sliding on the frozen every so often.
“Do you like the house?” he asked her.
“So far I love every part of it. It’s more breathtaking than anything I’ve seen and I’ve visited my fair share of stately homes.”
“You can stay here as long as you wish. In fact, think of it as another home.”
“That’s very kind of you,” she said, enduring a bracing wind.
As before, breath curled out of her mouth in spirals. She was on the verge of looking for the same in him when, he turned his back on her and carried on. He ventured into the manor drawing room before she did and turned to face her.
“If there’s anything you’d like to make your stay more comfortable?”
“A mirror would be nice. I have no idea what I look like.”
“You look stunning... I’ll prepare lunch for you,” he said, taking a step.
“Stop,” Amelia shouted. “I’ll make lunch and I want you to eat with me.”
“I’ve already eaten,” he answered.
“Then you can watch me cook.”
She stormed out of the drawing room and Samuel followed. After they arrived in the kitchen she placed slices of cheese and tomato on two slices of bread before arranging them into a sandwich, then filled a glass with water from the tap. Samuel and Amelia sat on either end of the kitchen table, their eyes trained on each other.
“Would you like half my sandwich?” she queried.
“No.”
“I’ve never seen you eat. You disappear for large chunks of the day. You don’t seem to have any friends or family. You’re a mystery to me.”
“I don’t like people watching me eat. I like going for long walks in the woods, and I enjoy my own company.”
“Thank you for putting me in my place,” she half-joked.
“Now that we’ve broken the ice, how about tomorrow we go to London? Explore the sights perhaps.”
“I would love to go to Trafalgar Square,” she revealed.
“Trafalgar Square it is. You may spend the rest of the day doing whatever you wish.”
“That’s very kind of you,” Amelia replied.
She gulped down her sandwich, washed her plate and glass, and put them in a cupboard.
Amelia left the kitchen a happier person and Samuel waited a moment and went outside through the kitchen door.
xxx
Snaking through the grounds, he was swamped by images of the little girl’s death. It was a sign she could arrive on his doorstep any day. He was certain Lucas was unaware of Amelia’s whereabouts. However, it was only a matter of time before that barrier too was shattered.
Chapter 14
The next day, Amelia got dressed, threw on her coat and shoes and walked downstairs. Samuel’s absence didn’t concern her as she assumed he’d gone on one of his woodland walks. A quick glance to the window revealed a light smattering of snow had fallen overnight. She hadn’t forgotten his promise to take her to London and wished for his imminent arrival. The prospect of returning to her hometown created a warm feeling inside her. Hearing the beep of a car horn, she ran out of the kitchen and threw open the front door. Samuel sat in the driver’s seat with the engine running, and she rushed into the vehicle and hastily put on her seatbelt.
“Are you ready?” he asked her.
“More than ever.”
He drove on and it struck her how lightly he was dressed for a winter’s day. The combination of a pale blue shirt and beige trousers although dashing on him was likely to give him pneumonia by the end of the day. The car veered left though he soon corrected the error.
“Did you go on one of your walks?” she asked him.
“Yes and it was very refreshing.”
“Maybe I could join you next time,” she suggested.
“You won’t be able to keep up with me.”
“I’m sure I can. Besides, you’re paying me to be your assistant. The least I can do is keep you company.”
“We shall see. I thought we’ll visit Madame Tussauds first,” he proposed.
“Madame Tussauds it is,” she replied.
London’s skyline became visible in the distance and Amelia sat up, wishing the car would go faster. Samuel put his foot on the accelerator and the car darted forward. Her forehead furrowed at his ability to second guess her thoughts. The last tunnel before the city came up and she braced herself as the car passed through it. For several minutes the car was bathed in the orange lights from the underpass. The vehicle emerged on the other side and they saw the London Eye towering ahead of them. Arriving back in the city was bittersweet for her as thoughts of the café attack were foremost in her mind. She jerked against the door as he rounded a corner and her worries altered to something more immediate. His appalling driving. He weaved the car through narrow roads showing little thought for safety and she gripped the bottom of her seat.
“You could be in motor racing the way you drive,” she remarked.
“I will take it as a compliment.”
Her head shook at his apathy and she hoped the journey would end soon. The Mercedes rounded a corner and stopped in the centre of the road for no reason. She was on the verge of asking why when, a lorry jumped the red light and cut across their path. Amelia’s breathing intensified.
“If you hadn’t stopped we would’ve hit that lorry,” she gasped. “You can’t see the future can you?”
“No, but I heard the lorry travelling at too great a speed to stop at the lights,” he replied.
Amelia heard nothing and her face paled thinking about their near accident.
xxx
After parking the car, Samuel and Amelia wandered through London soaking up the hustle and bustle of the metropolis. She was so invigorated at being home she chose to ignore rather than forget the terrible things that had happened to her the last time she was there. They roamed famous streets bursting with Christmas shoppers. He allowed her to lead the way as she was more comfortable doing so. Suddenly, Amelia took his hand and moved at a less hurried pace. The act didn’t faze her and he squeezed her hand having acquired her confidence.
Observing the countless decorations strewn about her, she experienced a flash of Christmas at the orphanage; a lonely and dismal affair.
“I haven’t had anyone to spend Christmas with in years,” he blurted out.
“How can that be?” she asked curiously. “You must have friends?”
“No, I’m not very good at socialising.”
“My childhood was also less than enthusiastic,” she stated.
“Well, you’re a medical student now. You have the power to help people which is something I could never do.”
Amelia stopped abruptly and pointed out, “You saved my life two weeks ago. I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. Try not to be so hard on yourself.”
He pushed back a slither of hair from her face and moved to her lips, when they were interrupted by the blare of a car horn sounding in the distance.
He drew back and the moment was gone. “We should go to the museum before it closes.”
Amelia nodded and the couple took less busy roads to avoid the crowds.
They arrived at the entrance to Ma
dame Tussauds and stepped into a hall strewn with waxworks of famous people. Amelia took out her mobile phone and snapped pictures of actors, singers, Prime Ministers and sportsmen.
“Why don’t you stand next to one and I’ll take your photo,” she told Samuel.
“No I’d rather take one of yours. Throw me your phone,” he said.
Amelia did so and he took a picture of her standing next to someone more famous than either of them. He threw back her phone and she waited until he was too far away to notice before snapping a picture of him. She followed him and entered the final floor; The Chamber of Horrors.
“This is my favourite part,” she said as she caught up with him. “All the other kids were terrified of the exhibits but I love gore.”
“Gore is one of my favourite things too. In fact I can’t live without it.”
She thought nothing of the admission and together they witnessed set pieces depicting man at his worst. They rounded a corner and she and Samuel set eyes on the final exhibit, a piece showing the savagery of the French Revolution. His gaze went to the guillotine with its blade covered in fake blood, then to the basket which carried a freshly severed head.
“I think it’s awful what they did,” commented Amelia. “All those poor people they massacred.” Samuel winced at the device and she noticed the distress he showed in the garden returned with a vengeance. “Let’s get out of here.”
The couple travelled back to the streets and the tension from the previous few minutes lifted. He led the way this time and took side streets that would be alien to someone without a good knowledge of London. As they slipped by another street Amelia noticed something that stopped her where she was.
“Come on,” she said, striding forward.
“Amelia wait,” he hollered.
She didn’t listen and crossed the tiny road to arrive at the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral.
“Isn’t it amazing?” she expressed, looking at the structure.
Samuel approached her and seemed unenthused by the magnificence before him.
“Come on, let’s sneak a peek before Trafalgar,” she said.
Amelia grabbed his hand and pulled him up the steps. However, she couldn’t coax him inside.
“Why are you being so stubborn?” she asked him.
His meek expression resembled an injured fawn and she realised something was amiss.
“I don’t want to go in,” he said softly.
“If you don’t want to go in you don’t have to,” Amelia consoled. “I thought you might want to see the architecture that’s all.”
She and Samuel went down the steps and she believed he paused because he wasn’t the religious type. She’d forgotten that vampires couldn’t set foot on hallowed ground.
“When you live in a house like mine the last thing you want to do is go into a damp, cold building,” he commented.
“I know churches aren’t to everyone’s taste. At least we saw Madame Tussauds. Now let’s go to Trafalgar.”
She hooked her arm around his and they walked off like inseparable lovers. Amelia glanced at him every now and again and when they were half a mile from St Paul’s his pleasant demeanour had come back.
xxx
A good hour later they arrived at Trafalgar Square. In front of them was a twenty foot tall spruce lit up with Christmas lights. Christmas carollers sung merrily near the fountain and people took photos and fed the numerous pigeons
“The tree’s beautiful,” she exclaimed. “Every time I come here it feels like I’m at the centre of the universe.”
“I preferred it in the 1920s when the place had a lot more joie de verve,” Samuel said.
“You sound as if you experienced it first hand,” Amelia joked.
“I have.” Amelia drew back. “In films and books.”
They chuckled. He was about to say something, but instead looked at the crowd with alarm.
“We should go,” he said.
“Why? We just got here.”
He didn’t reply and the couple walked past the great monument in haste. The slow, romantic stroll they enjoyed when first entering London was replaced by a short, sharp stride. She gasped for air and wished he would slow down or better still stop. He did neither and their hefty pace returned them to their car forthwith. Once back in the car, he drove off, tyres screeching. Her face sank at the prospect of leaving her beloved city and she mentally berated him for taking her away from it.
Chapter 15
He said nothing during the journey and Amelia stared ahead not knowing the reason for the sudden departure. The London traffic was prolific and the car weaved between the lanes with little thought to safety. Samuel seemed downcast and his frequent gazes to the pavements and shops told her something was wrong. She opened her mouth to speak when he said, “Put on your seatbelt and lock the door.”
His voice was severe enough for her to do so without delay. As they left the city and the motorway spread out before them, he sat up in his seat and looked altogether more relaxed. Snowflakes fluttered onto the windscreen and he turned the wipers on to combat the deluge. She sighed wishing she was experiencing the snowfall in Trafalgar, a more magical place than the inside of a car.
“I hope you’re not too disappointed at leaving,” he said.
“I’m here to do a job. So how long we stay and where we go is entirely up to you,” she replied.
“I promise next time we will stay as long as you like. Maybe we can go to a theatre performance or the cinema.”
“You actually go to the cinema?” she asked sceptically.
“I saw a film called ‘My Fair Lady’ once.”
“That film came out in the sixties. You mean you saw it on TV.”
“Of course. The TV.”
“To be honest I enjoyed the day very much,” Amelia confessed.
“That’s what I wanted to hear.”
She leaned her head back and watched the landscape zipping by. The car’s speed meant they reached the country road in half the usual time. The windscreen wipers worked hard to scatter the snowflakes, the tyres skidded with increasing frequency. The storm had strengthened since they left London and she wondered if they would reach the manor at all. She looked out of her window and saw that the blanket of snow masked the dullness of the land, making it seem fairytale-esque.
The silence was unbearable and she attempted to turn on the radio only to hear an overload of static. It got chillier and she buried her hands in her pocket to stifle the cold. Samuel turned on the car heater and the warmth coming from the grill made her toes bounce. Though, she decided not to thank him as she was still angry at him for leaving at such short notice. He glanced at her. Once more he acted as if he heard what she thought. It’d happened too many times for her to dismiss it as mere coincidence. She said nothing about it and stared ahead at the snow. The windscreen wipers didn’t move fast enough to scrape the torrent of white mush tumbling down, and it was getting impossible to see the road.
“We should stop somewhere and let the storm pass,” she said.
“I can’t stop now. We’ll just have to plough through,” he answered.
He pressed on the accelerator pedal and the car darted forward.
“Something frightened you didn’t it?” she asked.
“Nothing frightened me. I felt tired and wanted to leave that’s all.”
“One of the traits of being a doctor is to tell when someone is lying.”
He slammed his foot on the brake and Amelia jerked forward.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
“Whatever you do don’t get out of the car,” he warned.
She watched him getting out and walking to the back of the car. Amelia turned in her seat and saw him staring at the road. For ten minutes he maintained a statuesque pose, his hair and clothes becoming smothered in snow. He returned to the car and she noticed he appeared less concerned.
“I take it no one’s following us,” she jested.
“Sit prope
rly, these roads are treacherous,” he told her.
Amelia faced the front and he drove on at a more cautious pace.
xxx
They drove into the manor courtyard and he parked next to her rundown Volkswagen. She opened the car door to be bombarded by a flurry of snowflakes that prevented her from leaving her seat. He offered her his hand and she took it and together they entered the manor foyer. The warmth of the indoors making her close her eyes briefly. Samuel helped her upstairs and on reaching the first landing, he looked deeply into her eyes. Amelia’s heart raced believing her was about to kiss her.
“I want you to stay in your room for the next few hours,” he said.
“You can’t tell me what to do...”
“Do as I say.”
He eased her inside her room and shut the door while she folded her arms across her chest and scowled.
xxx
Samuel shot upstairs and meticulously examined every one of the hundred and three manor house rooms until only one room remained; the attic room. Immortality had stripped him of physical reactions such as a racing heart. Still, he felt an overwhelming feeling of dread as he opened the bulky attic door. The barrier creaked open and he walked in to see everything was as it should be. It made no sense as seeing Clara in Trafalgar Square meant he should’ve found something in his home alerting him of her presence.
He bounded downstairs and searched the drawing room and the corridor leading to the kitchen. There was no one about yet his concentration was absolute. He sniffed the air and took in a wealth of scents dating back to when the house was first built, but discovered nothing out of place. Regardless, he strode outside and was attacked by the blizzard which remained intense. He turned fearful when he saw a single footprint pointing toward the lake.
“Show yourself, Clara,” he cried.
Something flickered in the water and he saw the faint outline of a woman lurking in the depths. Samuel dove into the water and searched for her amongst the underwater plants and fish. He spent ten minutes probing the lake’s murky depths, yet nothing came from it. He glanced up and saw the same woman looking down on him from the lakeside. Samuel’s eyes widened and he swam to shore and scrambled onto the frozen ground, but the lady vanished once again. His cobalt eyes roamed the length of the courtyard, but for all his searching, he found no trace of the Vampire Clara.