A Vampire's Life Book 3

Chapter Twelve - Scarlett

It took a week for my cold and the rain to pass. I had spent its entirety in my room, sleeping it off and like clockwork Lucas would appear in my room with cold and flu tablets and water. The whole week he behaved himself, there was no mean Lucas, there was no pervert trying to pursue me, there was no blood sucker either. Just one nice Lucas, taking care of me. At the beginning of the week, when the cold was in full force, he kept his distance. Maybe vampires suffer colds far worse than humans. But at the end of the week, when I was starting to feel better, he hung around a lot more. It was the strangest thing; it was like he had changed personalities. He painted my toenails, he put a DVD player in my room so I could watch movies, one day I woke up and there was desk that had never been there before, under the wall that I had written the lyrics on. In the draws was pens, note books and paper, both sheet music and plain paper. Another time when I fell asleep, I woke in his arms, he was reading a book. I found myself wanting him to hang around, sadly, I realised I was enjoying his company.

I stood at the window watching him leave again. Every day he leaves after breakfast and doesn't return for hours. The only time when he differed from his routine was when I was sick. What he did when I slept I had no clue but once I was well again he fell back into his usual pattern. Things had changed between us, he was still his usual bossy self, perverted and a blood sucker but he didn't threaten me with the tower any more, he was always gentle when he did sink his fangs in and he no longer whirled into the room with a gust of wind to throw me against the wall. He has changed my mind sweetly whispered to me. Mae exits out of the door near the window.

"Scarlett, what are you up to today?"

I shrug.

"I thought I might go for a jog in the forest, maybe bake a batch of hash brownies..."

"Sorry? What are hash brownies?"

I chuckle as I shake my head.

"It was a joke."

"Oh." she says her eyebrows raised.

"How about joining me for morning tea?"

"Sure."

Mae opens the doors to a room at the back of the castle, a room that Zach must have missed in the tour. The maids are opening the curtains as we walk in, the sunlight filters in through the windows. Every single wall is covered in a blue and cream damask wallpaper, very old paintings of people scattered on the walls. The room is average in size, comfortably fitting the lounge suite, the little tables, the side board that looks like it could be older than Lucas.

"Scarlett, please sit." Mae says warmly.

I sit down on the large leather wing back, slinking into the seat, watching Mae as she pours the tea into the cups.

"Milk, sugar?"

"Oh, I uh don't know, I've never had tea before."

"Well then, it's lucky we did a test run first then, isn't it?" she passes the cup to me without any added extras.

"Sorry? Test run?"

"For afternoon tea this afternoon." Gabriella says at the doorway.

"We will be having friends over this afternoon Scarlett. We would like for you to attend the afternoon tea with us."

"That's very brave of you."

"How so?"

"I think it's pretty obvious I haven't done polite society functions before."

"You will be fine. Maybe some pointers?"

"Yeah sure, knock yourself out."

"So we will start with your seating position. Gabriella?"