Daughters of Dracula (The Stoker Sisters #1) Read Online Free Page A

gently touch his face. “You will find, contrary to popular legend, Dracule loved humans. And more than anything, despite his curse as an undead, he loved his family.” Delilah dropped her hand. “Do not make me regret my kindness towards you, Ashwin .”

 
     
    Chapter 3
     
    “Girls, I would like to introduce you to Dr. Franz.”
    Alexis looked at her father then turned to the odd looking man. For a doctor, he was strangely dressed and had a demeanor that carried a touch of something evil and unpleasant.
    “Pleased to meet you, Doctor.” She held her hand out to him and barely contained a grimace when he grasped it with his cold, clammy fingers and brought it to his wet, blubbering lips.
    Sadie approached and received the same treatment, though her ability to tactfully hide her disdain was far superior.
    Pinching his ill-fitting pants at the knee, the doctor sat down and reached for a few sheets of paper on the small table beside him.
    “Dr. Franz would like to ask you a few questions. I do hope you’ll be able to help him.” Mr. Stoker gently patted Alexis on the shoulder before exiting.
    Nodding, Alexis instinctively knew she had little intention of cooperating with this man. She stood waiting for him to carry on and could feel her sister’s eagerness to get the interview over with.
    After perusing the pages in his hand a moment, the doctor pulled off his spectacles and glanced up at the girls. “I assume you’ve heard of what has been happening in town.”
    The girls remained quiet and waited for him to go on.
    “Mrs. Coolidge went missing several weeks ago. Her body was later found among an outcrop of rocks on a deserted cliff side.”   He glanced at his notes. “A few nights later, Mr. Trisler disappeared. His body floated up to the town pier the following day. Last week Mr. Barton was seen kissing his wife at the doorstep of his home just as he was leaving for his nightshift, but he never arrived at the bottling plant. Workers found him in a heap of rubbish.”
    “While we’re privileged enough to be well-guarded from the goings on in the city, we’ve heard of a few of the cases you mention,” Sadie offered.
    “The bodies all had common markings; a common cause of death.”
    The girls patiently waited.
    “Not a trace of blood remained in their lifeless bodies and they all had markings at the base of their necks; wounds that appear to have been caused by the fangs of an enraged beast.” He looked at them, his eyes skipping from one girl to the other. “A thin trail of blood has slowly been traced to Stoker Manor.”
    Sadie gasped while Alexis stiffened.
    “We know of the many guests who’ve resided with you over the course of the summer. I was hoping you’d spent enough time with some of them to perhaps enlighten me as to the conduct of some of these guests. Have you noticed anything peculiar? Have there been late outings with mysterious explanations?”
    “Our parents don’t allow us to cavort with guests very much. Our interactions are purely of a business nature which does not include spying on guests or verifying their comings and goings.”
    The man stood and approached the girls. “Yet you’ve both become rather familiar with a particular Lord Ashwin .”
    Alexis saw the instant blush that came to her sister’s cheek and only hoped her own heated cheeks didn’t betray her relationship to Ashwin .
    “The young Lord has been seen wandering the streets of Dorset at all hours of the night.”
    “I sleep rather soundly, Mr. Franz. And as you can see, the Manor is designed in a way that allows guest complete freedom of movement. If he chose to leave in the late hours of the night, no one would be the wiser.”
    Dr. Franz took in Alexis’ argument, but seemed dissatisfied.
    “Lord Ashwin has been nothing but kind with both of us, sir. He is a fine gentleman of superb standing. He has no need for such morbid nighttime activities as you suggest. Hundreds of guests have passed through