Three
I wonder where our sons heard about vampires?” I mused
aloud as we drove back to the cottage.
“Don’t look at me,” said Bill. “I’ve never mentioned the v-word in their presence.” He gave me a sidelong glance. “What about you?”
“Not so much as a syllable,” I replied, and when he pursed his lips doubtfully, I protested. “Credit me with some sense, Bill. I’ve never criticized Miss Archer in front of them. I certainly haven’t told them that she reminds me of a bloodsucking fiend. Are you sure you haven’t been entertaining them with your cheesy Dracula act?”
“Vhy vould I?” said Bill. “It is for your ears only, my dahlink.”
“Hilarious,” I said grimly.
“Come on, Lori,” Bill cajoled, “you have to admit that it’s at least a little bit funny. Our sons, the fearless vampire hunters.” He shook his head, chuckling. “I’m with Miss Archer. I admire their inventiveness.”
“I will, too, once I’m sure they made it all up,” I said.
“Well, of course they made it up,” said Bill. “They ran out of true stories to tell, so they manufactured a thrilling tale to impress their friends.”
“Is that what you think of our sons?” I asked, scandalized. “That they’re a pair of lying show-offs?”
“I think our sons are perfectly normal little boys who are learning how to get along with other children,” Bill said calmly. “They’re bound to make mistakes now and them. How else will they learn what’s right?”
“We’ll tell them,” I said resolutely. “There won’t be time for a proper talk after lunch, so we’ll sit them down after dinner, when we have their full attention. Agreed?”
20 Nancy Atherton
“Agreed,” said Bill.
“I just hope Miss Brightman can keep them from spooking their classmates this afternoon,” I said. “You may think the whole thing’s a big joke, but I don’t want any more Matilda Lawrences on my conscience.”
“Nor do I,” said Bill, patting my knee.
I reviewed the situation in silence for a moment, then burst out plaintively, “Why haven’t the twins told us about the vampire?”
“Maybe they didn’t want to scare us,” Bill reasoned. “Or maybe they’ve gotten so used to strange things happening that they didn’t think a vampire sighting was worth mentioning.”
“Oh, Bill,” I moaned. “Our poor babies. What have we done to them?”
“We haven’t done anything to them,” Bill stated firmly. “Except make them strong enough to cope with situations that give other children nightmares.”
I took some consolation from his words, but as we cruised through the mist-shrouded countryside, I couldn’t help wishing that Will and Rob didn’t have to be quite so strong.
The rest of the day passed in a typical blur of activity. After lunch, Annelise whisked the boys off to school, I attended a Guy Fawkes Day committee meeting at the village hall, and Bill juggled paperwork, phone calls, and e-mail at the cottage while Mr. Barlow, the local handyman, attempted to repair the malfunctioning furnace at the offi ce in Finch.
Due to a lengthy debate as to whether the Guy Fawkes Day bonfire should be moved from its traditional location on the village green to a new spot nearer the church—a debate that was entirely pointless, because Finch’s traditionalists always won—I returned to the cottage much later than I’d expected. By the time I got there, Aunt Dimity: Vampire Hunter
21
the twins were already home from school and playing with their train set in the solarium.
After calling a quick hello to Bill, who was sharing desk space in the study with a deeply contented Stanley, I put a roast into the oven, set the kitchen table for dinner, and went looking for Annelise. I found her upstairs, in the boys’ room, folding clean laundry and putting it away. While she sorted socks, I filled her in on our meeting with Miss Archer.
Annelise usually knew everything that was going on in the twins’
lives, but the vampire story came as a complete surprise to her.
“I’ve never discussed vampires with them,” she assured me, “or werewolves or banshees, for that matter. But childhood’s filled with terrors,” she went on matter-of-factly. “The bogeyman under the bed, the goblin in the garden . . . The boys were bound to hear about vampires sooner or later. Very popular these days, vampires.”
“Not in this house,” I declared. “I don’t want Will and Rob fi lling their heads with ghoulish nonsense.”
“I don’t know if you can stop them,” said Annelise. “They’re out in the world now, Lori. They’re going to hear all sorts of things they don’t hear at home. The best we can do is help them to sort out the truth from the nonsense.”
“That’s exactly what we’re going to do after dinner,” I said.
“And by ‘we’ I mean all of us. I want you to be there, too. We have to present a united front on this issue.”