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“There are no such thing as ghosts. We are quite beyond that sort of thinking,” Father said to me.

I shrugged lightly and leaned over to study his papers. “What are you reading?”

“Prince Vlad left these for me to look at. They are papers describing his financial holdings. ”

“Is he wealthy?”

“Very wealthy indeed, Glynis. ”

“Father, you are not going to make me marry him, are you?”

He smiled at me tenderly. I knew he could see the desperation in my eyes and I felt as if I had paled a bit. He placed his very warm hand over mine. “No, my dear. I am not going to make you marry him. ”

“Edric, but you said-“ Mother said sharply.

He cut her off. “Yes, we have discussed this all morning, but the truth remains this. Look at this castle. Yes, the furnishings are lush and quite beautiful, but very old. ”

“Every family of old nobility has such things,” Mother said. She looked so anxious and desperate, her hand flying to her throat.

“Antoinetta, the castle is falling apart in some places. ”

“But he says he will repair it…” Her voice floundered, looking at me rather sadly.

“Do you really want her to marry so badly that you would wish her to remain in this place?” Father said it all so gently, but his eyes were determined. “Think, my wife, are you so desperate?”

“Edric, she is nineteen years old!”

“My love, I know that in your heart you want what is best for our daughters, but this is not best for our eldest. Yes, according to these papers our host, Prince Vlad Dracula, is a man of wealth, even prestige. Perhaps he could repair this castle and set it right once more, but think beyond that. He is a foreigner. ”

“As am I. ” Mother’s voice was bitter.

“And that is why Glynis must marry well in our own country. I do not wish for her to suffer as you have. If she were to marry the Prince, he would be an outsider with strange ways. Glynis would have to live on the outer fringes of high society. I realize, my dear wife, that you are Italian, a woman of deep emotions, but after living so many years in England, do you not see that this man cannot give your daughter the life you wish for her? Neither here nor in England?”

My mother’s beautiful eyes filled with tears and I found myself looking everywhere but at her. I could feel her pain, her desperate love for me, and her desire to see me safe and secure in the lifestyle she deemed suitable for me.

“Buda is quite lovely,” Mother said. A tear slipped down her cheek, and I could not help but move to her side to wipe it away.

“Yes, Buda is a very lovely and modern city, but Glynis would be the outsider here if we left her as his wife. Can you do that with good conscience?”

My mother’s posture relaxed and her gaze fell to the floor. “You are right, Edric. I have been so consumed with my desire to find our daughters good husbands that I have not considered all that you have. ” She took my hand and kissed it softly. Looking into my eyes, she said, “I have already dealt with the stigma English society places on foreigners who marry into their world. I do not want that for you. ”

“Oh, Mama!” I threw my arms around her with relief and clung to her. I may have had a difficult relationship with her, our wills may have clashed often, but in the end I loved her very much. “Thank you, Mama, thank you!”

My mother hugged me tightly and kissed my cheek, then released me, trying to regain her composure. “I will find you a better husband. ”

I pouted at her as May rushed over to hug me. “Oh, Glynis, I’m so happy for you. You can come back to England and marry there. ”

I sighed quite dramatically, but my father gave me a warning look and I was s

ilent.

“What will we tell the Prince?” Mother asked.

My father carefully stacked Prince Vlad’s business papers in one corner of the table, his expression deeply thoughtful. “I suppose we could say that we feel Glynis should marry in England and that when he arrives there we can perhaps discuss things further. ”

I immediately stomped my foot in protest. “Father!”

“By the time Prince Vlad travels to England, you shall be married, young lady, or I will have to consider the Prince. ” My father rose to his feet and held out his hand to me. “Come, be reasonable. You do not want to be a spinster. ”