Chapter 2: "Pure Morning"
As Gillian woke up the next day, because a ray of sunlight shone through the large windows and tickled her nose, she did not know for a moment, where she was.
Then she remembered everything.
What time was it? She had to admit, she had not slept so soft and comfortable since long ago.
Yawning, she stretched her arms and legs with relish like a cat. Then she pulled herself together and swung her legs out of bed. Barefooted she padded across the plushy carpet in search of her clothes. She found her dress on the bathroom floor where she had left it lying yesterday, and picked it up to get inside.
Suddenly she was ashamed of the old worn-out cloth, even if she had always liked it, but in this magnificent environment, it felt shabby and inappropriate.
She stuck her head out the door and looked down the long corridor. Damn, she could not even remember from which direction they had come last night.
If she wanted to not hopelessly get lost in these labyrinthine corridors, she had no other choice than to ring after Mr Telton, who had been presented to her as the driver.
It was a strange feeling to pull the old-fashioned cord, and listen to the distant sound of a bell in the house.
She felt silly.
For a while nothing happened, then there was a knock at her door and Gillian opened for the driver by last night, a little embarrassed.
"Good morning, miss. Did you sleep well? "
"Yes, very well, thank you."
"Well, then I suggest that I bring you to your breakfast."
The driver led Gillian through the house, and she tried to memorize the route.
A view out of one of the many windows hardly helped her for orientation, because she could not say where in the house she was, and a sunlit lawn spread out to all sides bordered by trees.
He led her down into a spacious kitchen, which probably once had legions of servants working in it, but now was no longer in use. A breakfast was prepared for her there, everything covered with blankets and potholders to keep it warm for her.
Gillian sat down somewhat embarrassed and the driver took a pot of steaming coffee from which he also poured a cup for himself, and sat down with her.
Gillian tucked in. Never before had anyone made such a perfect breakfast for her, with hard-boiled eggs and warm croissants and real butter and marmalade and just with everything.
"Bon appétit, Miss," said the driver.
Gillian wiped a few crumbs from her mouth and swallowed.
"Have you prepared this?"
"Certainly. I take care of everything here."
"All alone?", asked Gillian.
"Well, there comes a room maid once a week. The house is huge, you know. But I am the only one who takes care about the concerns of his Lordship."
He blew into his coffee, took another sip, and looked very smug.
Gillian wondered how much he knew.
Did he knew that his lord of this house was a vampire?
Probably, because that`s the only way he could take care of the special needs of the Gavner.
Not all vampires had servants who were privy to the secret.
Some, however, had gathered faithful helpers. These assistants were often half-vampires, so they could provide their lord and master better. Was this man a half-vampire, just like them?
She watched his face carefully.
No, Gillian did not think Mr Telton was a half-vampire. He smelled too human.
Gillian swallowed as the scent of his warm human blood became clearly aware to her and quickly stuffed another piece of cheese into her mouth to distract herself.
"And what am I supposed to do?" asked Gillian chewing. She was suddenly aware that she had no idea what would be her tasks in the household of the old vampire. With Larten she had known what to do.
But here? What did the Gavner expect of her?
She suddenly had the feeling to be useless and not wanted, because Mr Telton made all the necessary work, and certainly since a long time. He didn`t need her help, she was only in the way of him and brought him extra work.
"First of all, you will be driving to the city, Miss".
"The city?". She didn`t want to return to the city, she had just escaped the city.
"Yes. For shopping." He reached into the side pocket of his impeccable suit, pulled out an envelope and shoved it to her across the table.
Gillian frowned and looked at the envelope. It contained a gold credit card.
"What ...?"
"His Lordship wants you to outfit yourself. He wants you to know, that there is no reason to hold back. Miss needs a complete make over. "
Gillian stared and fingered the little gold plastic card in her hand.
"But I can`t ..."
"It is his explicit wish, Miss," said Mr Telton and rose. "If you are ready, then we can go."
He took a car key from a long line of keys from a hook on the wall and Gillian followed him in kind of a trance out of the house to the car.
Mr Telton drove the black Mercedes with tinted windows all the way back to the city and to the fanciest shopping districts.
They went from shop to shop in stores that Gillian would never have dared to enter on her own. She could not help but feel like Julia Roberts in the movie "Pretty Woman" as she handed an elegant evening gown for the next to try on, and Mr Telton every time gave the little gold card to the seller without hesitating.
With every new dress she wondered, if this would be the dress in which she would be made a vampire, and she could not help to feel, like a bride looking for THE dress.
But the initial enthusiasm faded, when with every dream in satin, that Mr Telton held out to her, she began to feel more and more inadequate and less of a person. She just didn`t fit into these clothes, and the dizzyingly high-heeled shoes that the sellers offered her frightened her.
Would she walk around in such things for the rest of the time?
So she said to Mr Telton, "I think I have enough evening dresses". The outfits had begun to resemble, and not one of them had pleased her, or felt unique enough to be THE dress.
Mr Telton looked at her carefully, but then to Gillian's relief he agreed.
"Time to let your hair done."
Oh no, why ? Gillian liked her long black mane. Admitted, it had not been cut for ages ... but did she really want a different hairstyle?
She did not dare to contradict and followed Mr Telton in a salon where a crowd of excitedly chattering chicks with far too much make-up went to work on her, cut her hair, pinned it up, manicured her hands and feet and made a little nasty treatment called "face peeling".
After this procedure, and after a layer of "light Evening Makeup", Gillian looked in the mirror and could not recognize herself anymore.
Mr Telton seemed satisfied and insisted that she stayed with one of the new dresses on. Gillian could only come by that her old dress was put in a bag, and not left behind, certainly thrown in the trash.
Gillian was exhausted and tired, but Mr Telton was far from finished.
When she mentioned that it was enough for today, he enumerated a long list of what they needed even more: from underwear to jewelry to handbags and perfumes and skin care products.
Involuntarily Gillian stumbled on her new high heels behind him.
When Mr. Telton, laden with bags and packages, very much later took the way back towards the parking lot, Gillian was immensely relieved.
On the ride back, she sat between her captured goods, and was not able to rejoice.
She saw that the sun approached the horizon, and her heart began to pound.
Would Gavner Purl be pleased with her?
She looked at herself in the rearview mirror when the driver did not pay attention.
She looked like a lady.
But would she be able to act like one as well?
Gillian was painfully aware of her lowly origins and her lack of knowledge in etiquette.
Hopefully I will not make a fool of myself ... thought Gillian and the black car carried her through the twilight towards the house of her new vampire master.