"I told myself that I should keep away from Miriam. But something drew me to her. I told myself that I needed eyes and ears in the house, because I did not want to come and go too often, I was an unknown quantity in an inheritance fight, and that might mean at least one knife in my back. I should not draw attention to myself. And I could keep her from remembering too much… and… and...
"So, I summoned her and fed off her. I tried to make it as pleasant for her as possible…as a sort of apology for the way I had attacked her. I projected pleasant feelings on her, and I felt her relax.
"Except that suddenly her feelings reached out to me. Suddenly I cared about her. Suddenly I want to know her better...
"Usually, my relationships with those I feed upon are simple. I help give them a pleasant sleep, a sense of wellbeing. I am careful not to harm them. But my feelings for them are rarely more than general goodwill. They have their lives of which I have no share, and I prefer it that way.
"But Miriam… Not since Genevieve had I felt so drawn…"
"I forced myself to let her go.
"Then I went to see Samuel Thatcher. I had control over him, and I was careful not to push him to do things that he objected to. I did not want him to rebel at the wrong time. So, he had gotten me an address where I supposedly lived, and he had used his skills to track down the information I wanted. There were Joseph Porter descendants, but the mill was useless. I might get some money by selling off the antiquated equipment as lumber. I did have some skills and there were some labors that I could undertake, for some sort of payment. I did not want dip too deeply into the jewel cache, and I needed a cover. Someone without means of support is always a suspicious character.
"The scriptwriters were not very good at building covers, I see. Or rather, it is because building a cover is slow tedious work, and not likely to end in cliffhangers. But I was not a scriptwriter, and while I could be naïve, I was not an idiot, so I spent some time and effort in building one.
"Samuel looked unhappy. I asked him why, was it because he was helping me? Did he find being under my power such a burden? He denied it. It was no being able to marry the girl he loved, one Patience Moore, the daughter to Reverend Moore."