He smiled a long, slow smile. Then he reached out and ran one finger along Sylvie's bottom lip, a caress so gentle she could barely feel it. It shivered all the way down to her toes. "You have the sexiest mouth, Isolde. And sometimes you don't use it half as well as you should." He pulled her into his arms. "Shall I show you what it's really for?"
Sylvie was having second thoughts even before she reached her front door. Karl had the gift of the gab. No doubt about it. And when he was kissing her, she couldn't think straight. He'd pretty much convinced her, back there in the beach hut.
But now she was on her own, she could see the holes in his story. She hadn't mentioned that William had seen the couple in the street. But Karl had said "a blonde in the street". Coincidence? What's more, Karl had actually admitted there was a blonde at Primly who'd been trying to get off with him. Maybe she was the one he'd been with? As for the acting lessons, how would Sylvie ever know whether that was true or not? She couldn't very well present herself at the gates of Primly Court and demand answers from Jacob Pringle-Coot.
She was going to find out, though. If Karl was cheating on her, he was for the chop. The more she thought about it, the more doubts she had.
She locked the front door and climbed the stairs slowly, chewing at her bottom lip while she worked out a plan. By the time she was ready for bed, she had it sewn up.
She would text Karl to meet her at the beach tomorrow night. Really late, so he couldn't use rehearsals as an excuse. And surely he didn't give acting lessons on Saturdays anyway? She'd ask him to wear his vampire gear. She'd even tell him that it turned her on. That should do the trick. Flatter his outsize ego.
She chuckled. She was sure William wouldn't take much persuading to come down to the beach with her. Especially if she told him he was to be the key witness for an identity parade. He'd like that. Cops and robbers stuff. He could hide behind the beach hut until Karl arrived in his vampire gear. And then William would be able to say for sure whether it was Karl he had seen in the street with the obliging blonde.
Provided Karl bothered to turn up.
He might not. He didn't like it when he wasn't in control. If he thought his two-timing was going to be found out, he'd probably wimp out. He'd called her "a wimp" over Whitby, but she'd show him—she was nothing of the sort, even if he was. She'd tell him to his face that he was dumped.
And then she'd kick him in the balls.
Chapter Ten
I spent most of the next two days in the darkened beach hut, reading by torchlight. Pratchett again, as it happens. I was still trying to catch up on Just William.
The Discworld concept was interesting, though I recognised the myth about a turtle and elephants. Being the sharp little tyke he was, William probably knew where Pratchett had got the idea from. But if he didn't, I was going to have fun enlightening him about his hero's borrowings.
Pratchett's stuff about vampires was original, though. And about werewolves. I've known some werewolves in my time, but none of them was quite as sexy as Angua. Pratchett seemed to have decided that all the potential destroyers of humans should have their instincts damped down, Angua included. She had settled for chickens, it seemed. Well, that wasn't the way the universe worked, in my experience, but it obviously worked for Pratchett readers.
There might be something in the idea of black-ribboner vampires, I had to admit.
Vampires need blood. But it doesn't absolutely have to be fresh, or even human. Then again, getting it from a blood bank wouldn't be the same at all. That's what William suggested I do, when he sidled into the beach hut, not long after the sun went down.
I shook my head vehemently. "I may have sworn off you, William, but there's a limit to what a self-respecting vampire can tolerate. And blood banks is it!" He didn't seem impressed, so I tried to explain. "Think of it like being a coffee lover," I began.
He started to protest that he didn't like coffee—well, boys of his age don't, normally—but I was getting into my stride on this, so I kept on talking. "You want your coffee fresh and hot, with a zinging aroma that makes your taste buds stand on end, jostling to be first to savour the Arabica hit. You wouldn't want your favourite drink defrosted, after months in the freezer, would you? No aroma there. No real punch. A bland, unnatural beverage that could be anything. Certainly not the real deal." I put my book down and began to pace.
"The same is true for us vampires. We want it fresh. From humans. And alive. We want it so that our taste buds lap it up—fresh, and warm, and luscious." I gestured at the Pratchett book. It had the female werewolf on the front cover. "And I don't think a quick suck through a mouthful of chicken feathers would be in the same class, either. Not for a vampire. Not even for a werewolf."
William didn't say anything. He was staring at me. Not scared exactly, but certainly a bit more wary than before.
"Look, William." I crouched down so that I wouldn't be towering over him any more. I didn't want him frightened. "However good your precious Pratchett's jokes—and I'll admit I did chuckle at some of them—he clearly didn't know any vampires very well, or he'd have come up with a different solution to his fang dilemma."
"What solution?" William asked quietly.
Trust clever-clogs to put his finger on my weak spot.
"Um. I'll need to get back to you on that."
He relaxed then. "You know what, Theo? You may be a real vampire, but you're a right old softie underneath."
Now that's not the sort of description to endear a small boy to a vampire. I bared my fangs at him.
But I'd promised. And the little blighter knew I wouldn't break my word. He winked at me and made for the door. "I came to tell you that our plan's working, at last. Sylvie didn't dump the prat last night—he must have talked her round—but she's having second thoughts now. She's told him to meet her here again tonight, wearing his vampire kit."
I was tempted to remind William that tonight was my turn for the beach hut, but I didn't. If Sylvie was so fired up about Karl that she'd forgotten our agreement, I wasn't going to interfere.
"She wants me here, too," William went on, "watching from behind the beach hut. So I can identify him. If I say it was lover-boy I saw with the blonde—and I will—she's going to dump him on the spot." He grinned wickedly. "And I really, really hope she kicks him where it hurts."
He opened the door a crack and slid out. "See ya later, chicken-hater."
I threw the book at him. It bounced uselessly off the closing door.
It was after half-past midnight when Sylvie arrived at Number 23a. William was already there. He and I had been talking over our plan for more than an hour. This had to be the night when the prat in the hat got the boot.
Literally, we both hoped.
"Oh, hi, Theo." Sylvie gave me a half-smile. She looked a bit anxious suddenly. "What are you doing here? William's the only witness I need."
I managed not to smile, though I couldn't resist the chance to tease her. "Actually, tonight's my turn for the beach hut, Isolde. You had it last night, remember?"
The moonlight was pretty dim but I could see that she was now blushing slightly.
"Don't worry," I said quickly. "I do understand. I'll keep well out of the way." I was a bit sorry for her. She was young and vulnerable and hypersensitive. And she'd been humiliated by a smooth-talking rat. It was probably bad enough that her clever little brother knew she'd been taken for a ride. Of course she didn't want to broadcast it to anyone else.
William and I went round the side of the beach hut, with William in front so he could peek round the corner as soon as the prat started along the beach. Sylvie stood on the duckboards, waiting. She tried leaning nonchalantly against the door, but it didn't last long. She was too tense. She kept going to the other side of the hut, looking up towards the road in case he came that way.
"He's coming," she whispered after about five minutes. "Along the beach."
William leaned forward and peered round the corner. "Yes. That's him," he hissed i
nstantly. "That's the guy I saw with the blonde."
I thought he'd overdone it there. He hadn't taken enough time to look. No one could identify a man that quickly, at that distance, especially when the light was so bad. Would Sylvie work out that William was lying to her?
She didn't. The sound she made in her throat—a bit like a dog's growl—proved that she'd abandoned thinking altogether. She was reacting on pure instinct. And fury was driving her.
She ran along the beach to confront him.
We couldn't resist. We came out to watch.
Even from a distance, we heard what she called him. None of it fit for William's ears. "And you're dumped!" she finished triumphantly.
"Yes!" That was William, of course. He was bouncing up and down, eager to see what his sister would do next. She was so wound up that anything might happen.
Karl had stopped dead. If he said anything, we were too far away to hear.
And then Sylvie attacked him.
"Get him, Sylvie!" William yelled it. I thought it.
She landed a couple of good kicks. Karl didn't seem to flinch. It was as if he were made of solid granite. Oh-oh. That wasn't how our plan was supposed to pan out. Was Karl a fighter, too?
At my side, William gasped, "Theo, that's not Karl. That's the other vampire."
Seeing a human trying to fight off a vampire was a revelation to me. Sylvie was really good. She was trying all her kick-boxing moves and she was even managing to land a few blows. But the vampire was toying with her. He was definitely pulling his punches. I wondered how long it would be before he got bored and starting punching in earnest.
Sylvie wouldn't have a chance, of course. Not against vampire strength.
That was a pity. But there was nothing I could do. It's not done for vampires to fight each other. I had to stand and watch. Or leave.
I hadn't allowed for William. He grabbed my arm and pulled hard. "Do something, Theo! He's going to kill Sylvie. Stop him!"
"Can't interfere, William. Not allowed. Sorry."
"Yes, you can. You have to. You promised she'd be safe. You promised! You can't break your word."
The little tyke was right. And I was screwed. Vampire law forbids killing fellow vampires. But it's big on honour, too. A vampire's word, once given, must be kept. I sighed. I was in trouble, whichever way I jumped.
With William nagging and pulling on my arm, the scales were being tipped in Sylvie's favour. I would have to weigh in. To fight.
Not to kill. Killing was forbidden.
I'd got almost within striking distance when Sylvie aimed a flying kick at the vampire's head. It connected. And the vampire's top hat flew off. A mane of fair hair tumbled out.
The vampire—a female, clearly—gave a shout of outrage. She didn't stop to push the hair back from her face. She simply felled Sylvie with a single blow.
Sylvie slumped in a heap at my feet. Was I too late to save her?
Before I could move, William dashed forward and flung himself over his sister's body. So now I had him to protect, as well. Great.
I rounded on the vampire. I was angry now, too. "Back off," I yelled. "She's under my protection." I bent to check on Sylvie.
"Is she, indeed?" said a voice from under all that hair. It sounded familiar. I must have met this vampire before.
"Yes. I gave my word she'd be safe. You know as well as I do how much that counts."
She didn't speak. She didn't move, either.
Sylvie groaned. She was starting to come round. So it hadn't been a death-blow after all. She would recover. "William, get your sister out of here. This lady and I have things to discuss. Vampire things. In private."
For once, he didn't argue. He pulled his sister to her feet and half-dragged, half-carried her back towards the beach hut. It looked weird, since he was so much smaller than she was, but he managed her weight incredibly well. There were clearly more muscles in that skinny body than I had suspected. Or maybe adrenaline was working miracles on them.
I turned back to my opponent. "Do I know you?" I asked. If we were going to fight a duel, we had to do the honours first. Vampire etiquette is strict.
"Oh yes, I think so." She pushed aside her mane of hair and turned so that I could see her face. And she smiled. "You're looking as handsome as ever, Theo."
Lucinda?
Chapter Eleven
I don't remember exactly what happened on the beach after that. I probably stood stock still for ages. I know that I couldn't stop staring at Lucinda. A result of the shock? Possibly. Even vampire strength has trouble dealing with something that momentous.
I had rediscovered the lover I'd been mourning for over a century.
Lucinda was patient, and kind, though she did insist on going back to the beach hut, to avoid prying eyes. But she'd forgotten about William and Sylvie. We found them huddled in the far corner, gaping at us as if we'd grown horns.
By then, my body was working fine, but my brain still seemed to be stuck in neutral. Everything was really hazy. And questions were crowding in on me.
Eventually, I began to think straight again. There was only one question that mattered, I realised. How had Lucinda come to be in Little Piddling?
The answer was obvious enough, though it took me a while to get my head round it, partly because I didn't want to admit the truth to myself. Lucinda had become a vampire—somehow—and was now part of the assembly of the undead. As I was.
But when? And how? I had been so determined that I would not turn her from the light and the vibrancy of life, even though it meant I'd been condemned to lose her.
Someone else—one of my kind—must have had fewer scruples.
"Lucinda. I don't believe this. Is it you?" I probably still looked as shocked as I felt.
"You're Lucinda?" Sylvie pushed herself up and stomped across to us. She'd clearly recovered quickly. No surprise there. Sylvie was tough. "You're Theo's Lucinda?"
"Yes," Lucinda said simply. "And, in case you have any remaining doubts, I am a vampire, too."
Sylvie shook her head. She wasn't cowed any more. She was seething. "I don't understand what's going on. William said he'd seen Karl on Thursday night—in his vampire gear, with a blonde. Did William get it wrong? Were you the vampire he saw?"
"In a way. I did have an encounter with your young man, Sylvie."
"He's not my young man."
"Really? Very well. If you say so." Lucinda shrugged. "It's of no moment. Whatever he may be to you, he was easy prey for me. Very easy, in fact."
Sylvie snorted. "So if that was you, in the cloak and hat, where was Karl? And who was the blonde?"
Lucinda chuckled. "You don't understand much about vampires, do you, my dear? I was the blonde. I was dressed in ordinary clothes. It was your Karl who was wearing the cloak and hat. He probably thinks a Dracula costume makes him irresistible to females. And perhaps it does?" She raised an eyebrow at Sylvie.
Sylvie swallowed and looked away. There was a slight reddening on her neck.
"We will not pursue that," Lucinda went on, more gently. "Let us simply say that I took him to a place of seclusion. He imagines we had sex there. His fantasy, of course. I took what I wanted from him and he remembers none of it. Human males like Karl go along for the ride so easily, I find. And then they forget where it's taken them."
Sylvie squared her shoulders again. "He told me he was at Primly Court on Thursday night, giving acting lessons to the owner," she protested.
"Oh, he was. Earlier on."
"How do you know?" Sylvie demanded suspiciously.
"Did Theo ever mention bats at all, Sylvie?"
"Ugh. Gross."
"To you, perhaps, but useful to me. Primly Court has been my daytime roost for weeks. My great-aunt promised I'd always be welcome there, you see. So I've had plenty of opportunities to watch Karl at his play-acting, though he's never noticed me. One tiny bat is not at all conspicuous." Her mouth quirked into a knowing smile. "I'd only visited Little Piddling once so far t
his year—no need when there are lots of humans around Primly Court—but I was curious about Karl and his nocturnal wanderings. So I followed him down here on Thursday. He was clearly in search of new female company. I suspect he was even prepared to pay, but in the end he didn't have to. He had a late-night encounter with an obliging blonde. Me. I assume he lied to you about that, when he met you last night?"
Sylvie swore.
From his corner, William chuckled wickedly. "And he didn't even have the guts to turn up tonight and face you," he said. "Wasn't he supposed to be here? Wearing his fancy vampire gear?"
From Sylvie's expression, she didn't want to be reminded of any of that. "I was going to tell him to his face what I thought of him. And that he was dumped."
In fact, she had done so. To the wrong vampire.
"Very commendable," Lucinda murmured. "But more than he deserves, perhaps?"
"Too right. And he is going to get dumped. Now." She pulled out her phone and started stabbing at the screen.
I slumped down on the bench and laughed. Oh, yes. Dumped by text message. I really, really liked that.
"That girl. That human girl. Sylvie. You said she was under your protection. What does she mean to you, Theo?"
There had been a hint of friction between Lucinda and Sylvie earlier. And now that Sylvie was fully recovered and both she and William had gone home, Lucinda was going to insist on hearing the truth. Was she jealous, perhaps? I hoped so.
I told her everything that had happened. It was mostly about William. And about how he'd conned me into protecting the rest of his family. Lucinda asked a couple of questions, but in the end she nodded, satisfied. Why would she not be? She knew what she and I had meant to each other. And she'd seen me with Sylvie. No comparison at all.
Sitting on the bench beside me, she stroked my face and smiled into my eyes. "We have found each other again, Theo. And we have all the time in the world now."
"But—"
"Shhh. You've told me about your human friends. So it's my turn. And I can see that I have a lot of explaining to do. I'll do it now, if you want?" When I nodded, she touched her lips to my cheek.
Beach Hut Surprise: Escape to Little Piddling this summer — six feel-good beach reads to make you smile, or even laugh out loud Page 28
