Hidden (Marchwood Vampire Series #1) (41 page)

Madison’s
words of churches and vampires echoed in his ears and even though
he had mocked her theories, he still felt some trepidation as he
stepped across the threshold. He paused. No, he felt no different.
He did not explode or crumble to dust. All was well. He thought how
Madison would laugh if she knew she had unsettled him like
this.

Once inside,
he took in the whitewashed walls, chequered flagstones and dark
wooden pews. There was also a raised gallery with carved wooden
balustrades. It was a simple, peaceful place.

The crypt was
not underground but situated at the entrance to the chapel where
eight stone sarcophagi sat in plain view. Alexandre found the one
he wanted. It had the names of both Harold and Victoria Swinton
engraved upon it. They had chosen to be buried together.

Alexandre
wondered about his own parents. Where had they been buried? And had
there also been a fake funeral for him and his siblings? How had he
ended up so far from home, in this small corner of England?

He lifted the
lid easily and placed Harold’s bones inside. He hoped Leonora and
Freddie would not mind that he was doing this for their father
without them. But they could still have their own ceremony for him
when they awoke.

Now Harold was
at last with his beloved Victoria, Alexandre closed the heavy white
lid. He placed white lilies on top of the tomb – Madison’s
idea.

‘
Goodbye, my friend. Thank you. I pray Leonora and Freddie
will wake safely and when they do, I shall care for them as you did
for me.’

Chapter
Twenty Four

*

Madison was
interesting, exotic and exciting, not like any other girl he had
met before. She had Leonora’s confidence and beauty, without being
judgemental and complicated. Her outrageous sense of humour
sometimes shocked him, but it always made him laugh. She was also
an excellent teacher, patiently explaining all the day-to-day
minutiae he needed to cope with modern living. She teased him about
his formal dress-sense and laughed when he made linguistic
mistakes, but he enjoyed this light-hearted banter; it made him
feel normal.

She was
exactly what he needed. Without her he would be lost, unanchored
and adrift. Together, with Ben, they were becoming a tight little
unit - a family of sorts. All alone in the world, save for each
other.

He read the
history books she had bought him from cover to cover. It was like
reading his future before it had happened, only to realise it was
not his future; it was a past that had happened without him.
Despite his sadness over this, he also felt tremendous excitement
as he read about all the great inventions and discoveries of the
twentieth century. Disgust and disbelief engulfed him as he learnt
of the two world wars. He still could not believe he had slept
through everything.

Alternately
depressed and elated, Alexandre travelled a rocky landscape of
emotions that never levelled out. Only when he talked to Madison,
did he feel remotely calm.

By the time
the clocks went forward in March, Alexandre was ensconced in his
new luxurious underground pad. He helped Madison design the layout
and décor, keeping most of it French nineteenth century in style
apart from the new mod cons like plumbing, lighting control pads
and a state-of-the-art integrated home cinema and mp3 system.
Although he now had access to all the information he needed, via
his own laptop, he still preferred to read books and rapidly built
his own library collection.

His main
addiction though, was watching films. He couldn’t get enough of
them and purchased DVDs ten or twenty at a time from the local
store. They took him away from his own thoughts and he completely
immersed himself in their magic. He fell in love with Brigitte
Bardot, Audrey Hepburn and Scarlet Johanssen. He was thrilled by
action adventure films, caught up in dramas and fascinated by
documentaries and war movies. The comedies made him laugh until his
head hurt; his favourite being the slapstick of Laurel and
Hardy.

He could not
believe the level of freedom available to film makers. Things that
would have been considered scandalous or immoral, most certainly
involving long prison sentences, were now considered normal
mainstream entertainment.

Isobel,
Jacques and the others remained in the cellar with him, still
unconscious in their crates. Guilt stabbed at him, that they still
slept whilst he lived his life, but he could not bring himself to
risk their lives trying to wake them up. And then, if he did make
the decision, which of them would he choose to revive first? No,
better to wait until a more clear-cut solution came along.
Alexandre didn’t know it, but just such a solution would not be
long in presenting itself.

*

Back in
January, Ben had returned to school with warnings of absolute
secrecy ringing in his ears. Madison was paranoid.

‘
For a start, nobody would believe you and for another thing
...’

‘
Okay, okay, I know!’ Ben protested for the umpteenth time.
‘You don’t have to go on about it. I’m twelve, not two. I do know
how to keep a secret you know. What d’you think I’m gonna do? Rush
up to my mates and say,
guess what? I’m
living with a vampire!
’

‘
Sorry but yeah, Ben. That’s exactly what I thought you might
do. It’s tempting to think,
oh I’ll just
tell Dan, he won’t tell anyone
and before
you know it, you’ve got half the school camping out in the garden,
pretending they’re vampire slayers or something.’

‘
Cheers for the vote of confidence. I’m not a complete moron
you know.’

‘
Sorry, Ben. I know you’re not. I just worry, that’s all. And
it’s better to be over-careful.’

‘
God, it really isn’t.’

She smiled at
his expression. ‘Okay, I promise I won’t mention it again.’

‘
Hmm.’

That
conversation had taken place over three months ago and it was now a
dark and gloomy April afternoon. Madison sat curled up in her
favourite spot – the comfy window seat in the library. Ben was
still at school and Alexandre was downstairs somewhere, so she had
opened the shutters to let some forbidden light in through the
glass.

As far as
Madison knew, Ben had been true to his word and not mentioned
Alexandre’s existence to anyone. Madison too, had kept the
knowledge to herself, but anyway, she had no contact with anyone
else, apart from the odd moody exchange with Esther and Morris who
went about their business paying no attention to what she did.

During all
this time, Travis had never called round once. Madison felt bad for
not contacting him after her awkward rejection of him on Christmas
Eve, but she couldn’t think about that now; there were too many
other things on her mind and it was easier not to. She’d ring him
soon and make amends. He was a good friend and she didn’t want to
lose him.

Keisha and
Lois occasionally rang, and they were still on at her to have
another party. Maddy kept fobbing them off, saying she’d come and
visit soon, but she didn’t really mean it. That world seemed far
away now. She was happy and secure in her new life.

She put down
her book and stared out of the library window. The sun tried and
failed to put in an appearance between the thick scudding clouds.
Today the wind was king, snatching at the new green leaves on the
shivering trees.

Suddenly, a
flash of white lightning forked its way over the dark green lawn
and Madison jumped as the loudest clap of thunder shook the house
from its eaves to its foundations. Now, big splats of rain dropped
from the darkening sky, exploding like marbles against the window
pane. Maddy rested her forehead against the cold glass and stared
out into the unexpected storm.

She remembered
the last thunderstorm. It was on the day she had been suspended
from school and had argued with her foster parents. The day she’d
thought her life was finished. Now look at her. In charge of her
own destiny, caring for her brother, money in the bank and nothing
to worry about ever again. Well, she knew that wasn’t strictly
true. There was plenty to worry about, she just wasn’t going to
think about the other four vampires in the cellar. She would enjoy
the one she had.

Maddy strained
her eyes to see through the wall of rain. It was pelting down, but
she thought she saw lights in the distance coming up the driveway.
Yes, car headlights streaming through the rain. She wondered who it
could be. It was too early for Ben to be coming back from
school.

Madison wasn’t
in the mood to talk to anyone. Her house had become a secure haven
against all outsiders. She’d turned into a bit of a recluse these
days, not wanting to engage with anyone other than her brother and
Alex.

A taxi pulled
up onto the driveway and a large black umbrella emerged. She got up
from her cosy spot, pulled the shutter closed and headed out into
the entrance hall.

Madison opened
the front door. The man wore a smart navy three-quarter-length coat
over his suit but the umbrella still shielded his face. His shoes
were black and shiny, speckled with small blobs of rain. He turned
away and shook his umbrella before closing it and turning back to
face her.

‘
Madison! It’s good to see you. I must apologise for arriving
unannounced.’

She stared
into the smiling face of Mr Vasey-Smith and was immediately
transported back to the supermarket, where she had first set eyes
on the solicitor and when her life had begun to change. Such a lot
had happened since then.

She hadn’t
given Trevor or Angie too much thought since she’d been here, even
though they had given her and Ben a home for three years. Any
respect and gratitude she had had for them, disappeared the minute
they had let her and Ben go for the price of a nice house and a bit
of cash. On the one hand, she was glad they hadn’t kicked up a
fuss, but she also felt let down by their quick abandonment,
especially of Ben. She had thought Angie, at least, had loved Ben
like a son.

All these
thoughts flashed like unwelcome intruders through her mind as Mr
Vasey-Smith stood on the doorstep in the rain. She stood back to
let him in.

‘
Hi,’ she said. ‘Um, how are you?’

‘
Very well, thank you.’

‘
Come in,’ she continued. ‘Do you want a drink or something? I
can make us some tea. Or I’ve got a cold drink …’

‘
Tea would be just the thing,’ he replied. ‘No sugar. Thank
you.’

Soon they were
sitting in the lounge sipping their tea and eating biscuits.
Madison wondered why he had come. She hoped there wasn’t a problem.
She suddenly felt apprehensive.

‘
Is everything okay? I mean with the house and everything. We
can still live here can’t we?’

‘
Oh yes, of course,’ he replied. ‘The house is yours, as long
as you live in it. Nothing’s happened to change that.’

‘
Oh, good. For a minute, I thought you’d come to tell me it
had all been a mistake and I had to go back and live with Trevor
and Angie.’

‘
No, no. Goodness no. What an unpleasant thought.’

On hearing
this, Madison relaxed a bit.

‘
No,’ he continued. ‘I just happened to be in the area and
thought I’d pop in and see how you’re doing before catching my
train back to London. Have you and Ben settled in
alright?’

‘
Yeah. It’s been great. Ben loves his new school.’

‘
Good. That’s good. Everything else alright? No problems at
all?’

‘
No. We’re fine. Thank you,’ she replied. It was quite nice to
see the man who’d helped change her life for the better. She was
grateful he’d actually taken the time to come and see how they
were. It was more than her foster parents had done anyway. ‘Ben’s
happier here than he’s ever been and we really feel at home. It’s
great. Everything’s great.’ She realised it actually was. Happiness
had crept up on her and made itself at home.

‘
Not too lonely here for you? It’s a big place. You’re not
rattling around too much?’

‘
No. It’s completely amazing having all this space to
ourselves. We’ve spent loads of time exploring.’

‘
Find anything interesting?’

Maddy smiled
to herself at this question. He’d send her off to the nuthouse if
she told him what she’d actually found here.

‘
There’s a lovely river at the bottom of the grounds,’ she
said. ‘And there’s a weird little tower you can climb up and see
around for miles.’

‘
Ah, one of the estate’s follies.’

‘
Yeah, it’s amazing. Kind of like a lighthouse with no light.
And I love the little chapel here. It’s very beautiful.’ She heard
a car door slam. ‘Oh, here’s Ben. Morris sometimes picks him up
from school, but I’m seventeen in a few months so I’ll be able to
take my driving test and drive him myself. I can’t wait. Hang on,
I’ll just go and tell him you’re here.’

She walked out
into the entrance hall to see Ben stripping off his wet coat. He
hung it on the peg, but it slipped off and lay in a soggy heap on
the floor next to his muddy shoes and school bag.

‘
Hey, bro, we’ve got a visitor,’ she said loudly.

‘
Can I just get some nosh? I’m starving. Who is
it?’

‘
Do you remember Mr Vasey-Smith, the solicitor?’

‘
Yeah, cool. Hang on I’ll just get a packet of crisps and I’ll
come in. You in the lounge?’