Miss Austen's Vampire Read Free

unlikely that she would come to before he returned, but just in case he left a few coins on the table next to the bed. He knew the extra money he’d paid the madam would not make it to the prostitutes and he felt he should compensate her for the time away from the brothel.
    Noticing the time, he hurried to dress for the dinner. When he glanced in the looking glass he saw he had a faint flush in his cheeks. The day’s activities had erased some of his usual pallor. He hoped it would last for a little while, at least until the guests had all imbibed in some of Agatha’s fine wine and would not be so perceptive to notice his unusual paleness.
    During the short carriage ride to Dartfourd Hall, Gabriel allowed himself to wonder who might grace the evening’s guest list. If the guests were to be of the political world the conversation held promise of being interesting, though not amusing. He held a foolish hope that someone, preferably a young lady, would be able to amuse him during the dinner. He smiled at the thought. It had been months, since before his change, that he was last amused by a woman. Recently, women had only been a means for sustenance and carnal gratification.

Chapter 3
    “Do you not suppose it to be so?” the large, florid man was asking Gabriel.
    Gabriel, however, had lost the thread of the dull conversation, something to do with the local MP’s stance on water rights.
    A small gathering of people, twelve altogether, were mingling in Agatha’s finely appointed drawing room, champagne flutes in hand. The large man, whose name Gabriel had not bothered to remember, continued talking on, not noticing Gabriel’s now obvious abstraction. Just as he had surmised, there were two unaccompanied women in the room, one rather plain and middle-aged, the other younger and more attractive, and his eye was following the attractive one. Graceful and willowy, she moved about the room as if floating, like she was unencumbered by legs and feet. Her blond hair, a halo about her face. Gabriel was entranced, and though he knew on an intellectual level that such feelings would be dangerous tonight, he did nothing to stop them. He knew he should turn away, ignore her presence, and focus on the tiresome conversation he was meant to be a part of, but he found himself making his excuses, leaving the man, and walking over to the woman.
    She was involved in a conversation that she seemed to be feigning interest in, and for a moment he, too, focused on the speaker, an elderly local politician he had known since childhood.
    When the speaker paused briefly, Gabriel made a quick bow to the man. “Mr. Jones, I’m not sure if you remember me, Gabriel Augustine.”
    Mr. Jones’s face lit up with recognition. “Of course, of course, indeed. Gabriel. It has been some number of years since last I saw you.”
    “Indeed it has.”
    A moment of silence reminded Mr. Jones of his manners. “Oh, Gabriel, may I introduce Miss Alice Goodhaven. Miss Goodhaven, Mr. Augustine.”
    Gabriel bowed to the woman who in turn bobbed a quick curtsy.
    “Mr. Augustine of Herrifield Court, brother of Her Ladyship, our hostess?” Miss Goodhaven asked, in a voice as lovely as her countenance.
    “Yes, though not to be confused with my younger brother, Francis.”
    “I met your brother earlier, and do not see how one could mistake one brother for the other.” She took a sip of her champagne without taking her eyes off Gabriel.
    Mr. Jones quietly slipped off to join another small group. Left alone with Gabriel, Miss Goodhaven whispered, “I was beginning to despair of ever getting to meet the most attractive man in the county.” Her face flushed as she spoke.
    Gabriel smiled at her. She was just as lovely up close and his mind went places he knew it shouldn’t. Perhaps if he took her outside to show her the gardens he could . . . But no, of course that was not possible.
    As he mentally shook himself, the plain woman stepped up and joined the two of them.