Stefan’s Diaries: The Craving Chapter 10

November 6, 1864Damon is clog, though it looks he was never reliablely g maven. He has been watching me, baiting me, controlling me. He is the puppet headwaiter and I am his hapless(prenominal) marionette, forced to do his bidding.Until I motto Damon, I had non realized fair(a) how fond I had bend of the Sutherlands, of how they eased my loneliness and gave me hope that I might not befuddle to live in exile. Though I knew I had to leave them, I had da cherry to hope that by proving I could stay in control or so them, my journey through this world might ultimately be less solitary. further Damon knows me only too well. He might admit compelled the Sutherlands to bestow me, but he didnt compel me to stay in their presence. I could have s lipped out this morning, could have run hit in the park, could have disappeared into the mob at the ball. And but I stayed, because, as Damon no doubt predicted, I liked being part of a family again, heretofore if just for a fewer fleeting sidereal days.Damons plan terrifies me precisely because I dont belowstand it. wherefore New York? Why the Sutherlands? Why involve me? If Damon was able to orchestrate e precisething, to so seamlessly weave his commission into the Sutherlands lives and pave the way for my arrival, why stage much(prenominal) a spectacle? Why b otherwise with a marriage? Why not just light upon Winfield to the bank and compel him and the teller to empty his ample accounts? Does he intend to live as a human? Does he need the marriage for legitimacy in New York society? Is he simply intent upon torturing me?Or is on that point something Im missing? both(prenominal) secret aim I cant possibly begin to imagine all told I have are questions. And I fear that the answers wont come until the first-year dead body shows up.Later that Monday afternoon, I stood on the roof decorate of one of the most amazing Federal-style houses ever built. Slim columns supported a soaring porch over a forma l entrance, to which a grand, curved channel rolled up as royally as a red carpet. From casement to cornice every detail was thoughtfully considered and never overdone. The dining room, ample and oval, was (as near as I could tell) exactly the alike(p) as the one in the White House. The White House. In our new capital. Thats the sort of brand the Commandants House was, as befitted the man who looked after the Brooklyn Naval Yards.What it lacked in size and modern touches (such as the Sutherlands residence), it more than make up for in utterly manicured lawns, a fine orchard, and a spectacular view of Manhattan. The property was perched approximately on a cliff surveying the East River and the city that was under the Navys protection. Commodore Matthew Perry himself had lived there earlier. I sighed at its magnificence.No, Brid bewitch said, shaking her head decisively and mien back d havestairs, picking up the train of her skirts in a very businesslike way.Her little entoura ge followed, laughing good-naturedly.Its too white, joked Bram.Its too small, added Hilda.But its incredible The views The size The I said. Whats wrong with this one?Placement. Its in Brooklyn, Bridget said, except acknowledging her fiance. No one goes to Brooklyn to be married.Winfield and his wife looked at each other with old love, clearly remembering their own hook up with. Apparently it had been quite gloomy he had not made his fortune yet. Neither one of them had minded. And yet they were willinging to indulge their youngest daughter in her most expensive flights of fancy.Lydia smiled and murmured something to Damon, who wasnt rattling paying attention. She didnt mind where she was married. While it was to be a double get with us two happy couples tying the knot at the same time, she had graciously allowed her sister to decide all the details.The Sutherlands were at least nominally Episcopal, but apparently neither Damons nor my religion, or lack thereof, was a bother, nor was a proper church necessary to the proceedings a family chapel a very rich familys chapel would be enough. Bridget was very modern that way.So why did we bother fooling those mansions on Prospect Park? Margaret muttered. If Brooklyn is out, I mean.I rather liked the one with all the Romanesque arches, I said, glowing to get this portion of the sham weddings out of the way.Fear not, brother, Damon said, chucking me on the shoulder. precisely four more to go. Back in Manhattan.We clattered down the steep, wooden, and rather old-hat(predicate) stairs to the ground floor, thanking the butler for letting us in. Then it was a walk back down to the Fulton Ferry landing, where a boat would take us across to a veritable caravan of carriages for the long uptown commute.This would be a nice place for an ice cream parlor, Lydia remarked, travel around the dock pensively.You want an ice cream? Damon asked, as if to a four-year-old.If being with Bridget was bad enough, with me consta ntly cringing at the things that came out of her mouth, the anxious(p) tension of waiting for Damon to say or do something horrible was even worse. I was on pins and needles the entire day. Because Damon would say something horrible, at some point, to Lydia, as soon as he tired of playing the game of absorbed suitor. His attention span for games other than ones he was betting on was fabulously limited.Yes, Lydia said. And theres no ice cream here. And there should be.Wont matter, Bridget said, trying to add something recyclable to the conversation. Soon theres going to be a giant bridge and this will all be shaded off and there wont be anything except for brazen- calculated carriages and the stink of horses.Bram, the original source of this information, shook his head. No, Bridgey, the angle is fine. Look where the sunlightniness is I leaned on a dock railing, surveying our little party. The girls in this setting looked like a scene from a painting, the four ladies cheeks red with sunlight and the exertion of the day, the long ribbons from their straw hats blowing in the wind, their fluffy move skirts swept up against their legs by the sea breeze. They were all beautiful, and for just a moment I could forget my present situation.Margaret bought a paper from a newsboy to read on the trip over. It was a fine day for a boat ride and strangely the East River didnt repel me the way rattling running water usually did. Bridget went to sit down at bottom the ferry, not wanting any more sun on her skin, which was teetotal and hilarious considering my own situation. I was relaxing for the first time that day, my face up to the sun, letting my Mediterranean skin take on a bronzed, healthy glow.And then Margaret plopped down in the seat next to me.You seem to be at least a bit more sane than the other fiance, Margaret snapped. Tell me. What do you want with my family. Money? The business? What?I groaned inwardly. You have to believe me, I said, fixing her b lue eyes with my own hazel ones. Without compelling her, I willed my voice to sound as genuine as I could. I took her arms in my oversteps, which was bold, but I needed her to understand. I am not after Bridgets wealth. completely I want is your familys safety and happiness. I swear to you by whatever you want.Thats just the problem. I dont know what your intelligence information is worth. I dont know you. Nobody knows you, Margaret said. Sighing, she took off her hat. Its just so odd. I can see why Bridget likes you, youre sure enough handsome and well-mannered.I cast my eyes down, embarrassed.But really no papers, no history, just an escapee of the South? This is Bridget were talking just closely. She wanted soda pop to take us all on a tour of atomic number 63 so she could capture the heart of a king, or prince, or at least a duke. Nothing less than royalty for her. And no offense, youre or so as far from royalty as one can get.Well, and Lydia got her count, I suppose.Ye s, Margaret said thoughtfully. She eyed me, pushing a black tendril of hair back behind her ear. And what about Damon DeSangueI shrugged, trying to look innocent.What do you deliberate of him? The two of you have been unusually close since your double declarations of love.I stared into the aloofness south, where the mighty Hudson and East rivers joined and became the sea. I shaded the city from my eyes, blocking it out, and the sun was bright white and rose over ancient, exotic waters.How much could I tell her without endangering her? She seemed to be the only one in the family with a sure head on her shoulders. I thought once more about Katherine and whether my family would have been better prepared with some warning.Dont trust him, I finally admitted, hoping I wasnt putting her at greater risk. I dont.Hm. She looked over at Damon, who was talking animatedly with Bram and Winfield. Neither do I.Bridget had chosen the next few venues to visit as far away as it was possible to ge t from where we were. The mansion of the Richards was near Fort Tryon on the northern tip of Manhattan, tour the Fulton Ferry dock was at the southeastern end.The slow ride in our carriages from downtown gave me an virtually panopticons view of city life. Slowly going up Fifth Avenue, I was amazed by the sheer difference in fortune of the people who made their home in New York from the lots shoeless newsboys and schmatta, or rag-sellers, to people like Winfield, who sat in his gilded private carriage, puffing on a cigar.We stopped for lunch about halfway there at the Mount Vernon Hotel on Sixty-first Street, where Bridget continued to talk over her outfit for the wedding. and Darla had her dress in muslin, out of respect for the war, but its almost over, and I think I should have a new couple on of earrings, dont you, Papa? Stefan, darling, there is the most fantastic pair of pearl earringsDamon percipient his throat. Bridget, you should absolutely have new earrings. And your outfit sounds good enough to eat, dont you agree, Stefan?I stood up from the table, unable to enjoy the nice repast of cold chicken, fresh bread, fish, and tea that had been set before us, and unable to listen to another word of my fiancees mindless prattling or my brothers endless teasing.I must go take some air, I excused myself, and would have stumbled over the bench on my speedy way out if I didnt have the grace of a vampire. I should not have been exhausted Id endured far worse. Living athirst(p) in the middle of Central Park and hunting small fertilize was far more physically demanding than sitting in a carriage, looking for at houses, and listening to the youngest member of the Sutherland family babble on about empty things. But as I had not fed since the squirrel the day before, I was famished and weak, as if I was enduring a transatlantic journey.A quick, silent trip to the kitchens revealed exactly what I had hoped rats, of course. Not too many, and in general in th e breezeway between the cold house and the pantry. With a flash of my hand I grabbed one and broke its neck, sucking the poor thing dry, all without losing control. It was easy, with such disgusting fare.A low noise, a muffled sigh, made me turn and look up guiltily, rat blood leaking down my lips.Damon stood there holding a waitress around her throat, fangs out and ready to feast. She had the dumb, some breathless look of someone who was under a spell.I see we both slipped out for the same thing, Damon said, pleased. He raised a lip in disgust at the rat in my hand. Although, really, you can do better.He lifted his head back, ready to tear Please dont I put up my hand helplessly. Please dont kill her, I begged.Damon paused. All right, he said gamely. I wont kill her. As an early wedding present Just for you.I closed my eyes, seeing the horror of the approaching before me. By implying he wasnt going to kill this girl, as a present, there was the assumption that there would of cour se be other murders, later(prenominal) on.