Hidden (Marchwood Vampire Series #1) (45 page)

‘
Good.’ He put his arm around her and they walked for a while
until they came to a taxi rank.

She spent the
night downstairs with him and fell asleep curled up against his
cool hard body as he stroked her hair and brooded on the night’s
events.

‘
Did you get any?’ the shorter one asked his
colleague.

‘
Yeah, I got some.’ The taller one opened up his hand to
reveal a couple of dark brown hairs he had pulled from Alexandre’s
head.

Chapter
Twenty Six

*

Over the next few days Alexandre and Madison
stayed close to home, trying to put the ugly nightclub incident
from their minds, content just to talk and be together. Madison
gave Esther and Morris a couple of weeks off, so she and Alex could
really relax and be themselves.

Maddy reversed her sleeping habits so she
could spend as much time with him as possible and they fell into an
easy routine. They kept the shutters to the house permanently
closed during the day, and at night they ventured out under starry
moonlit skies. They wandered among the deer, paddled in the river
and mountain-biked across the fields and through the woods.
Constantly kissing, always touching, unable to stay apart.

Madison taught Alexandre how to drive and he
loved it, picking it up instantly, reading the manual and fiddling
under the bonnet, trying to figure out how the engine worked. He
also taught himself how to ride Ben’s little trail bike and Maddy
laughed at the huge vampire tearing up chunks of lawn on the little
vehicle. She promised to get him a full sized motorbike that would
suit him a bit better. Alexandre told Madison to get some horses to
go in the stables and he would teach her to ride.

‘
I will turn you into an
excellent horsewoman.’

‘
That’s something I’ve always
wanted to do, but I never got the chance. And when I got
the money, I was
too scared to actually do it. I mean, I haven’t got a clue about
horses. I wouldn’t know where to start. But I’ve got this image of
me on a horse, galloping for miles across fields and streams.
Stupid, I know.’

‘
Not stupid at all. We
will turn that image into reality. It will be my pleasure and
privilege to help you.’

They talked of all their dreams and
passions, of their favourite things, their phobias; all the little
things that made them who they were. They stepped out of reality
and created a self-contained world, running on their own timetable
with their own rules.

Ben went to school during the day, but Maddy
made sure she was there for him in the mornings and when he got
home. Sometimes Alexandre would join them and sometimes he would
retire downstairs and leave them to it. It was as near perfect as
it could be.

Alexandre had not needed to consider his
relationship with Madison any further. She was his life and there
was no turning away from her. All thoughts of honour, respect and
propriety were silenced with kisses. But kissing was as far as they
had taken things and they were happy with this for now. Just
touching each other’s skin was enough, sending currents of desire
pulsing through their bodies.

They were in awe of each other; every inch
was fascinating and beautiful. From eyelash to shoulder, from
cheekbone to hip, earlobe to pale thigh, it was all compelling and
irresistible.

Esther had not been at the house for ten
days now and Madison was brought back to earth with boring
practical issues. She desperately needed to get some shopping.

‘
We’ve got no milk for Ben’s
cereal tomorrow,’ Maddy observed, peering into the empty fridge.
‘In fact we haven’t got a lot of anything. I might head into
Tetbury and get some bits to keep us going till Esther gets back.
Oh, I wish sh
e didn’t have to come back. But even though I hate to say
it, me and Ben really need the old bag.’

‘
She is not as bad as you
suggest, Madison. She is always very courteous towards
me.’

‘
Yeah well that’s
‘cos you’re a hot
looking vampire.’

‘
This is true.’

‘
I actually think she
hates me.’

‘
Do not be ridiculous. Why
should she hate you? You are her employer, but you do not treat her
as such. She just goes her own merry way around the place. I should
think she likes you very much.’

‘
Well anyway, whether she
loves me or hates me, she won’t be back for three more days, so I
don’t have to think about her. Is there anything you want from the
supermarket?’

‘
Wait until sundown and I
will come with you,’ he said, putting his arms around her and
pulling her close with a lazy smile.

‘
The one in Tetbury closes
in half-an-hour,’ she replied, kissing the side of his jaw. ‘But if
we go to the big Tesco, we can go for a drink after. Well, I can
have a drink and you can just pretend.’

‘
There is a quaint public
house in the valley not too far from here,’ Alexandre replied, his
thumb stroking the soft skin on her back, underneath her top. ‘The
New Inn, I believe it is called. We can go there.’

‘
It’s a date.’

They decided to go to the pub first. The New
Inn lay nestled at the base of a steep-sided valley and Madison had
to negotiate her way down The Devil’s Elbow, a particularly narrow
country lane with blind-cornered hairpin bends and steep
gradients.

Eventually they reached a picture-book
Cotswold stone building with a swinging sign proclaiming it to be
The New Inn, and Maddy eventually found a space in the car park.
The cosy bar was surprisingly busy considering the difficulty it
took to reach this out-of-the-way spot. The sharp tang of warm beer
hit her nostrils and Maddy instantly craved a packet of salt and
vinegar crisps.

‘
And can I have a lime and
water too?’ she asked, sitting at a corner table that had just been
vacated. Unsurprisingly, the barmaid served Alexandre within two
seconds of spotting him at the bar. He headed back to Maddy with
the drinks and crisps, putting them onto the table. A rotund woman
walked up behind him, picked their drinks up and placed them back
down with a loud bang onto a couple of coasters.

‘
That’s what
those
are for!’ she said and went on her
way, scowling at the customers who all laughed at her ill
humour.

‘
Don’t mind Polly,’
a middle-aged man
said to Maddy and Alex, smiling at their surprised faces. ‘She’s
the landlady and this is her on a
good
day.’

‘
Shall we sit outside?’ Maddy
asked A
lexandre, who was taken aback by the woman’s rudeness. He
nodded and they went out into the garden.

The hills stretched upwards on all sides,
topped by fuzzy green woods and an indigo sky. In the long narrow
garden, tables were dotted amongst trees and flowers. Lanterns and
fairy lights hung prettily from branches and tantalizing garlicky
smells emanated from the kitchen. A low buzz of chatter merged with
the occasional swish of the wind through the leaves and an owl
hooted in the distance.

Madison and Alexandre sat down, their
fingers wet from their glasses, entwined across the faded
table.

‘
Isobel and Jacques will
adore you,’ Alexandre said.

‘
How d’you know? They
might not like me at all. I might not be good enough for their big
brother.’

‘
Believe me, they will think you
are wonderful. Isobel will be picking your brains about all the
curren
t
fashions and Jacques will be awed by your modern
beauty.’

Madison laughed. ‘Awed by my beauty? I like
that.’

‘
I wonder what to do about
them. I miss them so much, but I am too scared to experiment with
their lives. To expose them to daylight is a terrifying
thought.’

‘
I can’t imagine what you
must be going through. If it was Ben, I’d be going
insane.’

They would like this Inn. They are very
sociable and always love to be where around people. But we would
never have frequented this type of establishment in France, in my
time.’

‘
I love it here too,’
Madison said, looking around at the dark green scenery. ‘Even with
the scariest landlady in the world. How did you even know about
this place?’

‘
I know all the places
around here, every nook and cranny within, maybe a fifty mile
radius. It does not take me long to travel.’

‘
Well that’s handy for us.
You can scout out all the best places to take a girl. But we’d
better not stay too long. I don’t like leaving Ben all alone at
night. Maybe just half-an-hour or so here, and then we’ll do a
quick shop, if that’s okay?’

Alexandre nodded and kissed the inside of
her wrist.

One hour later Madison was stuffing
groceries into a trolley under the uniform glare of the supermarket
lights. Alexandre marvelled at the convenience of everything.

‘
Alas, it is no good to me
now,’ he said.

‘
What would actually
happen if you did eat something? I mean, a bit of bread or cheese
couldn’t hurt you could it?’

‘
It would be like me
asking you to eat a piece of cotton or chew on a sheet of paper.
Not so appealing, no?’

‘
Might be alright with a
bit of jam.’

Alexandre suddenly felt edgy.

‘
You okay?’ Madison
asked.

‘
You carry on here. I will
return in a moment.’

All evening, Alexandre had
fel
t
something was not quite right. He had dismissed his fears, telling
himself it was because he had not left the grounds of Marchwood
since the nightclub episode. But he could no longer ignore the
feeling that they were being followed by somebody at a distance,
maybe two people. Here in the supermarket, he felt a closer
presence. Someone was definitely aware of him.

He stood outside the large building and
scanned the near-empty car park. A man walked slowly towards him.
Alexandre approached him at a normal walking pace and the man
smiled nervously as Alexandre stopped in front of him. He looked to
be in his twenties, scruffy and unshaven. Alexandre could tell he
felt uneasy, despite the fact he was grinning inanely.

‘
I know what you are,’ the
man said to Alexandre. He looked around as if he thought someone
might be watching him and Alexandre followed his line of sight, but
saw nothing out of the ordinary.

‘
Who are you?’ Alex
asked.

‘
Umm, I know what you
are,’ the man repeated. ‘You’re a …’ He looked around again and
then back at Alexandre. ‘You’re a vampire.’ The man smiled again
and laughed nervously as if he had said something
ridiculous.

Alexandre grabbed the man by the throat and
flew forwards, slamming him into a recycling bin on the far side of
the car park. The man was badly winded and gasped for breath,
shocked.

‘
Who are you?’ Alexandre
asked again, increasing pressure on the man’s throat.

‘
I’m no one,’ the man
gasped. ‘I don’t know who you are, I swear!’

‘
Why did you say what you
said?’ Alexandre sounded calm, but inside his mind was
speeding.’

‘
Some guy ...’ the man
whispered. ‘Can you …’ He pointed to his throat. Alexandre eased
the pressure off slightly. ‘Some bloke gave me a hundred quid to
say those things to you. I don’t know what the …’

‘
What bloke?’

‘
I don’t know, just some
random ...’

‘
What. Bloke?’ Alexandre
narrowed his eyes and put his face up close to the terrified
man.

‘
I swear I don’t know,’
the man spoke quickly. ‘Just some random guy came up to me when I
was on my way back to the car. Posh bloke in a suit. Offered me the
money to ask you the question. On my life, man. On my life! Please
don’t hurt me. I didn’t do nothing, I swear, I swear.’ He was
almost in tears. ‘Here, look.’ He took a wad of crumpled notes out
of his pocket and thrust it towards Alexandre. ‘The hundred he gave
me. You can count it. You can take it!’

Alexandre thought quickly. If
what he said was true, then someone might be watching him right now
and he would have seen him behaving in a very un-human
fashion.
Damn it to hell!
 He released the man, ignoring the money he
was trying to give him. He believed his story.

The man sank down on to the floor in front
of the recycling bin. Alexandre left him there, choking and gasping
for breath. He walked back towards the supermarket, worrying for
Madison’s safety. If someone was watching him, they might also be
watching her. He couldn’t sense anyone else, but didn’t want to
take any chances. He broke into a run, careful not to move
abnormally fast. The security guard on the door stopped him on the
way in.

‘
Slow down, mate. Don’t
want any accidents.’

Alexandre nodded and walked quickly,
straight to Madison who had just finished paying for the shopping.
He picked up the carrier bags and propelled her out of the
store.

‘
What’s up?’ she asked.
‘What are you doing, Alex? Is something wrong?’

‘
Let us get out here and I
will tell you.’

Madison almost crashed the car when
Alexandre explained what had just occurred.