Louisa blinked once, and realized that she had been daydreaming.
The crash she heard was that of an antique vase falling to the floor and breaking into a million fragments.
She had been staring into his eyes the whole time, and she felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment as she remembered what she had been thinking about.
"Well?" he said, a little impatient.
At the sound of his voice, she immediately snapped out of the dreamlike state she was in.
"Oh! Oh, I'm sorry," she apologized. "I was just..." her voice trailed off.
"Just what?" he demanded, annoyance clearly etched in his voice.
She glanced down and saw that his hand had left hers.
The daydream began when she said "Well..."
Fortunately, the pale woman chose that moment to poke her head into the room.
"Excuse me, sir, but Anthony would like to see you," she informed him.
"Thank you, Mary Alice," he said and, without further ado, walked out of the room.
Mary Alice stared at his retreating back, then at Louisa.
"Did you do anything?"
"I... I just... nothing." Louisa said finally with downcast eyes.
"Let me guess. You looked into his eyes, was somehow hypnotized, and ridiculous images started to form in your head?"
Louisa didn't know if Mary Alice was teasing her or if she was psychic. "Uh... actually, yeah," she ventured.
Mary Alice sighed and sat down on the other armchair. "That's what happened to me the first time I met Gerard,"
"Gerard?"
"Yes. There's just something in his eyes, isn't there? Something captivating..."
Louisa thought for a moment. "So, he's your boyfriend?"
"No!" Mary Alice exclaimed, shocked that Louisa would even think of such a thing. "No, of course not, he's... well... he's like my boss, or something like that," - Mary Alice lowered her voice - "He's also a snobby bastard, so I hate him, but I don't have any other choice but to work for him,"
"Why?"
"Because... well, it's like a contract I have with him. Only 600 more years, and I'm out of here,"
600 years?
"How old is Gerard?" Louisa asked. "He doesn't exactly look like "the oldest","
"Well, let's see... probably around 800 years old, or so,"
Louisa's mouth dropped open. "800 years? Are you pulling my leg?"
Mary Alice didn't seem to understand. "No, do you see my hands on your leg? They're right here!" she said, waving her hands in front of Louisa's face.
"No, what I mean is, are you kidding me?"
"Oh, why didn't you say so? No, I am not jesting, he
is 800 years old. He is a vampire after all."
Louisa looked uncertain. "Uh, just so you know, I know absolutely nada about vampires. I didn't want to have anything to do with them,"
"What is this nada?"
"It means I don't know anything about them," Louisa explained patiently.
"Oh, well, you don't have to worry about that. We hold a ball every year for those vampires who have been newly turned. The new ones will be taken in by one of the elders, so that the elders may teach them all that they need to know,"
"Elders?"
"The males who are over 350 years old. There are about 200 of them."
"So Gerard's an elder?"
"Yes, but he hasn't taken in a protégée since... well... since never,"
"Why not?"
Mary Alice shrugged. "He just doesn't."
Then Gerard came back in.
"The ball has been moved earlier. Anthony cannot be here during the traditional time of year." he informed Mary Alice.
Mary Alice drew a notebook out of her pocket. "When shall we hold it, then?"
"This Saturday. Send word." then he turned and closed the door behind him.
When Mary Alice was sure that he was far away, she groaned out loud and slumped in her chair.
"How does he expect me to notify at least a thousand vampires and find a venue on such short notice?" she complained.
"I could help if you want," Louisa offered.
"Would you?" Mary Alice looked extremely grateful. "Thank you, although I must warn you that it will be a lot of work,"
Louisa shrugged. "It's all right with me,"
(The Next Day)
"Excuse me, does a Mr. Way live here?" Louisa asked the maid at the gate of a grand mansion.
She looked at the list again in surprise.
Michael James Way
Maybe they're brothers,
The maid ushered her in.
She was made to sit down on a comfortable sofa in the living room, and while she waited, she was served chocolate ship cookies and Coke.
"Forgive the food," the maid said apologetically. "But they are Mr. Way's favorites."
Louisa smiled. "It's okay,"
The maid left to summon "Mr. Way".
Although she smiled, inside she was feeling very homesick. Chocolate cookies and Coke reminded her painfully of Frank.
She wondered what he was doing now.
Then she heard footsteps approaching.
"Good morning!" said a cheerful voice.
Louisa turned around and saw a thin, pale man with dark hair and a cheerful, isn't-the-world-absolutely-beautiful grin on his face.
They're brothers? What the fuck? Maybe one of them is adopted...
The man - Mr. Way - sat down beside Louisa and popped a whole cookie into his mouth.
"So what's up?" he asked her while trying to drink the soda and eat another cookie at the same time.
Louisa smiled at his antics. "It's my duty to inform you that the ball has been moved to this Saturday night,"
Mr. Way choked on his soda.
"SATURDAY?!" he exclaimed in disbelief. "Fuck Gerard! Now I have to go and find a suit! I hate suits!" he whined. "Plus I have to find an escort! Fuckhimfuckhimfuckhim!!!"
Yes, he really reminded her of Frank.
"Do you think Gerard in screwing Mary Alice?" he suddenly asked her in such a calm voice that you'd never know he was throwing a tantrum just 5 seconds ago.
"Uh... I don't think so, Mr. Way-"
"Mikey."
"Okay,
Mikey, I don't think so, because Mary Alice hates him and thinks he's a snobby bastard."
Mikey nodded the way you'd expect a monk to nod when answering a very deep question with a very wise answer. "Yeah, that's true. Does Mary Alice have a date to the ball?"
"No."
"Then I'll ask her!" he said brightly.
At this point, Louisa was beginning to worry about not having an escort.
"Don't worry," Mikey said comfortingly, as if he had read her mind. "You don't need an escort, 'cause you're one of the new vampires."
Louisa raised a eyebrow at him. "How did you know?"
Mikey rolled his eyes. "Gerard called me last night and he was Louisa this, and Louisa that. I've never heard him talk so much about a female before," he added, shooting Louisa a knowing glance.
"I know what you're thinking," Louisa smiled at him. "But I just met him last night and I don't think he likes me very much."
"Why not?" he asked, curious as a 3-year-old asking his parents where he came from.
Louisa told him what happened last night.
By the time she was finished, Mikey was roaring with laughter.
"What's so funny?" Louisa asked indignantly.
Mikey put a hand on Louisa's shoulder to steady himself.
"Nothing," he choked. It was hard for him to say anything while laughing his ass off. "It just seems funny!"
Then he started laughing hysterically again.
--------
Mikey's got a weird sense of humor. 