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"I suppose," I answered I felt unnerved by this ainst aze

The Count s into mine "Oh, I assure you they do And welcome to my home I aht - Continued

As I stared into the face of Count Dracula, I felt a fear so chillingcheekbones and an aquiline nose Soft, sensuous lips were s auburn hair fell over his shoulders to his tri at ine his thoughts

"Count Dracula, we are most pleased to make your acquaintance," Mother said

"I’m not truly a Count, aze away fro it at her "I am Prince Vlad Dracula They call er rules this country But I am truly a Prince" He moved back and extended his hand to Mother His hands were long and strong, his nails unusually long in length

Mother took his hand a little nervously and was helped out of the carriage

"He is so very handsome," May whispered to me

"In his way" I was still struggling to regain my composure I felt so cold, so very weak

Prince Vlad helped May down, then extended his hand to th of his gaze He was alike the old bald Count I had i hard, I slipped my hand into his His hand was cold and dry As he pulled ht I saw, for a s beyond his red lips I tried to draw my hand away, but he held it firmly

"Don’t fret, Lady Glynis," he said softly "All is as it should be"

Asswiftly toaze He unnervedme feel weak, and I despised hi toward us "Enter my house,me a measure of your happiness Please, enter!"

Father escorted reat hall beyond the door as we, his faithful daughters, tiaze toward the driver and Ovidiu "You, there! I suggest you take the horses to the stables If you sleep there, I proe of collapse The driver cowered behind the horses Both were staring at Vlad as if he were Satan himself At Vlad’s words, both visibly relaxed

"Thank you, kind master! Thank you!" Ovidiu exclaimed

Prince Vlad nodded once, then closed the door The sound of it sla, Vlad sether "I am afraid I am not quite as prepared as I should wish to be I a the castle It is a difficult task that I take to with great pride The Draculas were a great ruling faypsy wo a lantern

"Prepare the roolanced at me, her dark eyes very alert and hard She nodded quickly, then shuffled off into the dark

"I have hired the local gypsies as servants They are not as gifted in their tasks as the servants you are accustomed to, but they perform adequately"

"Of course" Father was at a loss for words

I could not bla corridor that lay before us was cold and decrepit I could see that he was beginning to question his desire to seek shelter in this place

Vlad laughed, amused by our expressions "I er I aland I wish to invest in an estate there I plan to marry and live there with my family This castle is to be sort of a vacation home I also have a ho when I was unexpectedly called back here"

"Oh! I see," Mother said with relief

"Several areas of the castle are repaired and quite hospitable Co for you" Prince Vlad h over his head

I followed behind the rest ofto place as much room as possible between Prince Vlad and s, but I alhtening and, I feared, soreat staircase, I observed how precisely he carried himself He was a tall, lean man with broad shoulders He looked like a warrior

I heard whispering behind me and whirled about I stared into the darkness and saw no one lingering in the shadows Yet, I sensed that soht up with ht flooded out Before us was a vast dining rooe ypsy wo the table

I looked suspiciously at Vlad and said quite boldly, "I thought you said you weren’t expecting us"

"I wasn’t, dear lady" Prince Vladmy coed me under her breath She tucked her hair back from her face, then tried to smooth out her very ru around ide eyes

"I don’t like this place," I said with a sniff