Missing Vampire: Reward Available (Hypernaturals 6)

Claremont Vista View

After a few minutes of winding our way through the dense trees and being teased about my poor bathing capabilities (good thing I am back to where others can do a better job!), Helen pulled over as the tree line opened up. We exited the Electric Estate Car. Before us stood a waist-high stone wall, and the land sloped away from it into a magnificent vista.

"Come over here, Adrian." Helen gestured, and then leaned against the wall. She pulled me around behind her, since I can see over her head, and wrapped my arms around her, laying her arms on top of mine.

"God you stink. Do NOT let go of me. This magnificent view before us is the Claremont Estate and Winery. Finest wine in France, if I do say so myself, which I do. Rarely exported, and then usually by me to me. You have seen the bottles at the house. From this scenic overlook, you can look out over the open fields, and the grapevines off to the right. Just to the left in the middle distance is the main house..."

I interrupted "House? Looks like a castle from here."

"It's a big house, to be certain. There are no turrets or moats. To the right of the house, you can see the stables peaking out from behind it." Helen pointed with one hand and held my arms to her with the other.

"About twenty-five horses and a few ponies, so Diana can ride when she is a little bigger. To the left, over there (she pointed again), in that big building is the winery. We grow our own grapes, use our own facilities, culture our own yeast, all of it. Nothing goes into the ground that is artifical or man-made: we have practiced Organic growing principals for longer than there has been awareness of those types of ideas. We sell our wines only in France. When the wine made here leaves the country, it is in personal luggage or done without our knowledge, not counting what I send to me. Some local wine stores have been found to be charging amazing prices to secretly ship our wines around the world. We stop selling to such stores, preferring to maintain our local-only cachet. We do not mind people coming here, taking a tour, buying wine, and taking it with them, as that is bottles they can carry themselves and to get more they must come back here. Helps the resteraunt and the lodge that way as well. We are a destination. We sell nowhere else but here. As you know this is the Burgundy region, and all we do here are reds."

I took a deep breath, and inhaled all the scents. I could barely pick out the yeasty scent of the winery at this distance.

"It's amazing. You said to me once that Claremont is your first estate?"

"Yes. When I left England during the so-called 'war' and came here, I ultimately married a very rich and powerful man whose last name is Claremont, and this was all his. I met him at the French Court. One of the few marriages I had that were not about trying to position myself to do something to help our species. In fact, where I learned that I COULD do things like that to help our species, as my marriage and position had positive side effects. I, of course, survived him and this has been with me ever since. The basis of my future ventures and ideas and even wealth, all started here. This estate passed through generations of Claremont women who of course are all me in new guises and names. Until now."

"Why until now? You are still here. I am holding on to you. God I missed holding you."

"Yes, you are, and I feel you indicating you would like to do more than merely hold me."

"It has been over a month." I pointed out

"Yes: And as soon as we get the stink off you, I am going to take you to bed and pin you there. I will hold you IN me, where you belong."

I leaned in and smelled her hair. Backed up, and noticed something.

"I like your hair like this." I said. It was about five centimeters longer than when I last saw her.