The Craving

Chapter 5

At the close of breakfast, maids whisked away the Dutch china and jam, and Winfield retreated to his study, leaving me with the Sutherland women in the sunlit parlor. Bridget, Lydia, and Mrs. Sutherland had installed themselves on the brocade couch, while I perched at the edge of a green velvet chaise, pretending to gaze at an oil portrait of the family when in truth I was calculating the best way to make my escape. My last, paltry feeding seemed a distant memory, and the sweet symphony of beating hearts in this grand mansion was becoming difficult to resist.

During the meal, I'd tried several times to free myself from the Sutherlands' presence, with the aim of slipping out a window or escaping through the servants' quarters. But as though my intentions were written plainly across my forehead, I was unable to shake my company for even two minutes. When I'd excused myself to the facility, the butler had insisted upon escorting me. When I mentioned I'd enjoy lying down in my room, Mrs. Sutherland had pointed out that the couch in the parlor was the perfect place for a repose. I knew that they were grateful to me for returning Bridget to them, but I couldn't explain their acceptance of me into their home. Especially given the state I was in when I first entered it: dirty, torn clothes, disheveled, and bloody.

"Mr. Stefan," Margaret said, leaning against the column that separated the parlor from the foyer. "Are you entirely all right?"

"Fine, fine," I said. "Why do you ask?"

"You're shaking your leg so hard you're rattling the chair."

I pressed my hand to my knee to steady my leg. "I usually start my morning with a walk," I lied, pushing myself to standing. "In fact, if I may excuse myself, I think I'll take a stroll around the park."

Margaret raised a perfectly arched brow. "You certainly seem to spend a lot of time in the park."

"I consider it my second home," I said with a wry smile, picturing my cave with its cadre of statues. "I've always found nature comforting."

"What a lovely idea!" Mrs. Sutherland said, clasping her hands together. "Would you mind if we joined you? It's a beautiful day, and we could all use some fresh air."

"Mama, I think it would be best if I rested instead," Bridget said, putting a hand to her very healthy-looking brow.

"You mean, stay in and receive visitors all day so you can tell them about your adventures," Margaret said, shaking her head. "I'm afraid I shall have to beg off, too, Mother. I've things to attend to at home, now that it appears my sister is fine-and my husband misses me."

"I can't imagine why," Bridget muttered uncharitably.

Lydia shot her youngest sister a look and lightly slapped her arm. Mrs. Sutherland ignored the sisterly sniping, shaking out a light cloak and wrapping it around her shoulders. "Come with us, Mr. Salvatore. We shall make a fine party of three."

Resisting the urge to shout in frustration-what would it take to leave this family's clutches?-I forced a smile on my face and held out my arm to Mrs. Sutherland.

The second we stepped outside the massive front door, the sun assaulted my eyes. It was a bright, lemony yellow and the sky a perfect blue. For early November up north, it was a remarkably mild day. If not for the sun's low angle in relation to the earth, it would have been easy to mistake it for a brisk spring morning.

We headed south, then crossed at Sixty-sixth Street and walked through the wrought iron gates of the park. Despite the events of the night before, neither Lydia nor Mrs. Sutherland showed any hesitation or fear. I suppose they felt safe enough in my presence. I took a deep breath of the morning air, which seemed so clear and pure after the events of the previous night. It was as though, with the rising sun, the entire world had been washed clean. Seed heads bobbed at the ends of long grasses and flowers opened toward the sky, taking in the last bright sun of the year. The droplets of dew had already dispersed from the previous night.