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DRINK, PRETTY CREATURE, DRINK

Her touch had changed hiard had been troubled by dreams Dreams in which Genevieve, soed cat, lapped at his blood It had always been in his stars The way things were, he would sooner or later have been tapped by a vaiven blood freely rather than be drained by force He had certainly been more fortunate than Penelope

&039;Charles,&039; Florence Stoker said, &039;I&039;ve been running on for close to an hour, and I declare you&039;ve not heard a single word It&039;s plain frohts are in the sickroouilty, he let Florence continue in her belief After all, he should be thinking of his fiancee They were in the drawing room, aardly superfluous Florence consumed cup after tiny cup of tea Mrs Churchward occasionally darted in with a noncoularly appear with hts, he paid theiven so of herself in return She ran and turned about like quicksilver in his mind

Penelope was attended by Dr Ravna, the specialist in nervous disorders A vampire, he had a reputation in the field of diseases of the un-dead Dr Ravna ith the invalid now, atteard had been in his daze for two nights and had neglected his duties in Whitechapel Penelope&039;s infirmity provided an excuse but an excuse was all it was He could not stop thinking of Genevieve He was afraid he wanted her to drink fro of an opened wrist but the full embrace of the Dark Kiss Genevieve was an extraordinary woether, they could live through the centuries It was a te will have to be cancelled,&039; Florence said &039;A great pity&039;

There had been no possibility of a forement to Penelope was now at an end It would be best if lawyers could be kept out of it There was no real fault on either part, he hoped, but neither he nor Penelope was the person they had been when they entered into their understanding With all the other troubles, the last thing he needed was a suit for breach of promise It was hardly likely, but Mrs Churchas old-fashioned and hter had been insulted

Genevieve&039;s lips had been cool, her touch gentle, her tongue roughly pleasant as a cat&039;s The draining of his blood, so slow and so tender, had been an exquisite sensation, instantly addictive He wondered what she was doing just now

&039;I cannot understand what Lord Godal of,&039; Florence continued &039;He has acted most peculiarly&039;

&039;How unlike Art&039;

A screech sounded through the ceiling, barely huard&039;s heart contracted Penelope was in pain

The Jack the Ripper business was dragging on without fruit The faith expressed in his abilities as an investigative agent by the Diogenes Club and the Liht well be misplaced He had, after all, accoy had arrived fro him that Colonel Moran had been severely reprimanded for his interference Also there had been a peculiarhim that Mr Yaer be inconveniencing Mlle Dieudonne Apparently, a coe Deaths no longer felt obliged to carry it out Beauregard es of The Tilary-in-reverse, had occurred at the home of Dr Jekyll Apparently, an unknown person effected an entry into his laboratory and scattered fifty gold sovereigns over the ashes of the elder va

&039;Sometimes I wish I had never heard of vampires,&039; Florence said &039;I told Braardand he heard Mrs Yeovil scuttling past the room to admit the caller

&039;Another isher, I should think&039;

Yesterday, Kate Reed, Penelope&039;s new-born journalist friend, had come by and loitered in e sympathetically, then found an excuse to dash off soood example

The front door was pulled open, and a familiar voice explained: &039;I don&039;t have a card, I&039;m sorry&039;

Genevieve He was on his feet and in the hallway before he could think, Florence trailing after him She stood on the doorstep

&039;Charles,&039; she said &039;I assumed I would find you here&039;

She stepped past Mrs Yeovil and slipped off her green cloak The housekeeper hung it up

&039;Charles,&039; Florence proised and made an introduction Genevieve, on her best behaviour, touched Florence&039;s hand and made a passable curtsey Mrs Churchas in the hallway now, coard made a further introduction

&039;I understand you are in need of a doctor familiar with infirmities of the un-dead,&039; Genevieve explained to Penelope&039;s mother &039;I have not a little experience&039;

&039;Dr Ravna of Harley Street is with us, Miss Dieudonne I should think his services sufficient&039;

&039;Ravna?&039; Her face betrayed her opinion

&039;Genevieve?&039; he asked

&039;There&039;s no polite way of saying it, Charles Ravna is a crank and a buffoon He&039;s been a vampire six months, and already he&039;s declared hie You&039;d be better off with Jekyll or Moreau, and I wouldn&039;t trust thehly recommended,&039; Mrs Churchward insisted &039;He is welcome in all the best houses&039;

Genevieve waved that aside &039;Society has been known to make mistakes&039;

&039;I hardly think&039;

&039;Mrs Churchward, you hter&039;

She fixed her eyes on Penelope&039;s lance The wound on his wrist tickled He was sure everyone noticed how often he fidgeted with his cuff

&039;Very well,&039; Mrs Churchward said

&039;Think of it as a second opinion,&039; Genevieve said

Leaving Florence and Mrs Yeovil behind, Genevieve and Beauregard followed Mrs Churchward upstairs When Mrs Churchward opened the sick-roos dead and forgotten The roo a pale half-circle on the bed

Dr Ravna, sleeves rolled up, was bending over the patient, taking a set of tongs to a wriggling black thing fastened to her chest The bedclothes were rolled back, and Penelope&039;s chemise was open A half-dozen black streaks were fixed to her breast and belly

&039;Leeches,&039; Genevieve exclaiard sed his nausea

&039;You damned fool!&039; Genevieve pushed the specialist aside and laid her hand on Penelope&039;s brow The patient&039;s skin was yellowish and shiny She was red around the eyes and angry marks dotted her exposed body

&039;The impure blood must be drawn out,&039; Dr Ravna explained &039;She has drunk froloves She plucked a leech fro like things Bloodspots welled where their an to protest, but Genevieve stared him silent When the job was done, she rolled up the bedspread, and tucked it around Penelope&039;s neck