"I stayed hidden and feeding unobtrusively. It was not that hard. Those I fed on, I instructed them only to remember a strange dream…Which meant that if they ever commented on it, it was that they had some strange dream, and it was probably something they ate. I know that scriptwriters need to make frightening and dramatic episodes, but I was not a scriptwriter, just looking out for myself. As someone pointed out, a trail of drained corpses is very easy to follow, a trail of weird dreams not so much… It is so much easier to move unnoticed… I think that there are a lot more vampires out there who know how not to leave a trail. And I knew that, too."
"I imagine that scriptwriters get to write about the vampires that get caught, that is the ones who announce their presence." Heather added.
"Yes. And I did not intend to be caught."
"So, what did you do while you were laying low?"
"I used my control over Titus to have him make me documents, as if I had come from England… Titus had some skill as a forger, and I used it. And he told me what was going on with the family."
-0-
"They are waiting to the old lady to die, and to see who gets the inheritance."
"Do they inherit from their grandmother? The Benchley money? Isn't that unusual?
"Grandmother Alice is just the custodian, the administrator. His son arranged it. He did not think much of his children. Thomas takes crazy risks, and has probably gotten money by criminal means, not to mention his seducing women. Kevin is a feckless child who lives to play jokes. Frederick is too naïve and trusting, and each time he tried to get into business, he got cheated. And Theresa… Well, if the money goes to Theresa, she will not transmit the family name. Shame because she has more sense than her brothers. So, Raphael Benchley named his mother to administer the firm, and to determine which child was deserving to be the heir."
"And do you know who she will choose?"
"Frederick has two children. Neither Thomas nor Kevin has children, and Theresa in unmarried, so they will be the heirs, and Alice will name another custodian, who will make the determination when those children grow up."
"And in the meantime, the children are trying to convince her that they are worthy, if not of the inheritance, at least of being custodian?'
"Yes."
-0-
"So, I was coming into an inheritance fight. The last thing the family wanted was another relative dropping on them. I could claim that I had no designs, and if I was going to contest a will, it would be Jacob's, who had disinherited my "ancestor" for a good reason. I could not say that I wanted to visit long lost relatives. I needed a better explanation.
"And I had it. The business contract that I had drawn up with Joseph Porter was still there. I did not know if the business existed, but all I had to say was that I had found this paper among my father's and I wanted to know if I could claim that property. So, I got the paper, with the help of a clerk called Samuel Thatcher – an ancestor of Albert Thatcher – who I found quite helpful. Thus, armed with fake papers and a copy of the deed of joint ownership, after a few weeks had passed since my attack on Miriam Dunn, I felt confident enough to knock at their door."