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Genevieve wasn&039;t sure about that Kate had only known the Count for a few hours at the end of four centuries of life Kernassy was one of il principe&039;s Carpathians, and they tended to be a brutal lot It ht be that this one&039;s e

&039;Still, it&039;s a ru into all this&039;

&039;She ed off on an adventure,&039; Genevieve said &039;Penelope&039;

A cloud of fatigue passed over Charles&039;s face

&039;Poor Penny,&039; he said, quietly He blamed himself too much for what had happened to Penelope Churchward, for what she had made of herself

&039;She does turn up rather like the proverbial bad one,&039; said Kate &039;Penny, Iwith Dracula?&039;

Charles tried to shrug but couldn&039;t lift his shoulders

It was still a moot point whether Genevieve had stolen Charles away from Penelope, or whether Penny had abandoned him for her father-in-darkness, the ill-reht neither was entirely true Charles had left Penelope to her own devices because he felt a greater duty, and Genevieve happened to coincide with that duty If it had been otherwise, she knew he&039;d have kept his promise to Penelope, no matter how unhappy it would have made them both

He was, in many ways, an impossible man

&039;Do you see her?&039; Kate asked them both

&039;She has called,&039; Genevieve admitted &039;Infrequently&039;

&039;I&039;o,&039; Charles said, re

Not for Genevieve, it wasn&039;t And not, she suspected, for Penelope, or for Kate

At the end of his life, Charles was forgiving

Kate and Charles had known Penelope well as a warirl, of course Genevieve knew her first as one of those new-borns who didn&039;t understand anything Just after turning, Penelope had drunk bad blood and made an invalid of herself for a decade A quack who treated her with leeches hadn&039;t helped , Genevieve - working then as a doctor - had saved Penelope&039;s life That had been her duty, so she supposed she wasn&039;t that different from Charles

&039;She was the first to tell me I should turn,&039; Charles said &039;She wanted us to beco, if one wanted to be advanced&039;

Kate shot Genevieve an alaru at therandchildren, &039;I know you don&039;tI cannot do&039;

Kate covered her face, to hide the tears

&039;I&039; Kate&039;s elbow &039;It&039;s nothing wrong with you Or you either, Gene It&039;s s, he was fading before their eyes Every day, perhaps every hour, he beca substance

&039;You&039;re not too old, Charles,&039; Genevieve said &039;You can turn I&039;m sure of it&039;

He shook his head

&039;You could be young again,&039; Kate sighed

&039;He grew young,&039; Charles said &039;Count Dracula I doubt if he&039;d much pleasure of renewed youth He has always struck me as a profoundly sad individual When he turned, he lost sos&039;

He looked serene, but Genevieve heard his excitement His heart beat faster His broas da

&039;Am I so selfish?&039; he asked &039;To want to leave?&039;

Later, after nightfall, they sat together, and talked about the past, forcing themselves not to talk of the present and future Kate pros she hadher time away from him this century

She had realised, of course, how close Charles and Kate had grown in the First World War Now she sa they had fixed so enes Club, who weekend with in 1923 She al there in the bloody ue at once absurd and terrifying

She was a creature of a slower age, where time was measured by seasons, not atch ticks She had never adjusted to this century of jet planes and Sputniks, of Cineh more than she ever would and been affected nised her own untouchability as weakness

Kate would have to do instead She talked about the Second World War, which she&039;d seen froround as Charles had from maps and despatches Her commitments were so selfless, to make the world a more just place Her passion burned with a fierceness Genevieve regretted she could never match If there was a God, Kate rew tired but insisted on staying with &039;the girls&039;, nodding at their conversation, dozing even

&039;It looks like Lord Ruthven won&039;t be Prime Minister after the next election,&039; Kate said &039;He&039;s never really recovered froone before When Winston took over in the war, I swore that was the last of hi I could do without, politicians whose careers go on forever Then again, Ruthven is such a chaain as a different person&039;

Genevieve asked Kate about new filed? Who had she seen recently? Who was famous?

&039;The Daily Mirror ran a poll about va as the most admired, the most disliked It was to do with an exhibition at Madaine is the most admired vampire in Great Britain today?&039;

Genevieve couldn&039;t think &039;Edmund Hillary?&039;

&039;Good try No, Cliff Richard&039;

&039;Who?&039;

&039;A pop singer "Living Doll"?&039;

Genevieve had heard the song

&039;Think of it, Genevieve He&039;s never going to get old, never going to lose his voice Would there ever have been a Caruso if Farinelli had still been around? Could Wagner have competed with a hundred-year-old Mozart? In forty years&039; tiers who haven&039;t yet been born should be co into their own, Cliff Richard will still be there,doll&039;

&039;They say few vampires achieve distinction in the arts,&039; Genevieve said

&039;There&039;ve been exceptions Trust me, Mr Richard is not one of the about Genevieve laughed

&039;History is dwindling into a hit parade,&039; Kate said &039;And we have all been doing the Dracula Cha Cha Cha for too long&039;

A bell sounded

Swiftly, Genevieve answered the door It was a liveried footoodbye, slitting the envelope open with an extruded thued cards shuffled out She returned to the ued

&039;We&039;ve been invited to a party,&039; Genevieve announced &039;By Prince Dracula and his intended, Princess Asa Vajda Now fancy that&039;