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With the recollection of his tender love Ursula, Sebastian had recalled his memories up until 1800. He still had 200 years of debauchery to account for, but it mostly blended all together in his mind. He'd taken to seducing unhappy married women for most of it. Oh, yes, there were a few unhappy married men, as well. And not ALL of them were married. It's just that married women placed few demands on him but his lovemaking skills. They did not care that he didn't give them money. Their wealthy, but inattentive husbands did that. And Sebastian had become addicted to the thrill of the chase. It took skill to approach the woman's house when her husband was gone, to observe the small signs that let him know it was safe to approach. Even so, there were many times the husband would arrive unexpectedly. Sebastian had spent more than one night trapped underneath the bed, hiding until the man was soundly asleep and he could sneak out. He could recall at least a dozen times when despite his best efforts at stealth, he was discovered. At least four or five times, the husband chased him out with a torch. Later, they took to guns, but such firepower held no fear for Sebastian, only those weapons with true FIRE power. That did not mean he didn't take off running when he saw the gun, however. One of his most recent lovers had been an interesting transgendered lady. Only twenty two, the male to female woman regarded him with a great bit of fascination. Fascination was returned for her, as well. They often enjoyed lovely, torrid lovemaking. But, oh, Sebastian had trouble keeping up with the twenty two year old. Every night, she wanted to go out and party. Sebastian never revealed his age to any of his consorts. With Geneva, however, there was so much of a 'generation gap' that he had difficulty hiding it. The pounding, pulsating music of the bars and the rock concerts frequently gave him a dreadful headache. His superior hearing took quite a blasting. Finally he had to beg to not go to such noisy places. She looked at him quizzically, and declared, ''Why you're so old-fashioned! You're like an old man trapped in the body of a young man!'' Sebastian, at the breaking point, admitted loudly, ''But I AM an old man within this body!'' Geneva had often wondered about his eccentricities, but it had never occurred to her before that he was really quite the long lived immortal. In fact, she still believed him only imbued with the spirit of an earlier age. Nevertheless, Sebastian couldn't keep up. It was one of the rare times he was the one to end the relationship. Shortly after this is when he decided to make his pilgrimage to the book signing. He'd pulled pranks in public gatherings before. He often loved to go to the vampire conventions, and sit down near the entrance with a hat before him and a sign beside him which read CHARITY FOR POOR VAMPIRES. It generated a good bit of conversation. Everyone asked him why vampires needed charity. He explained that all the fictional vampires were wealthy, but in real life this was not the case. He was protesting that wealth had never come to him. Of course, most of the humans advised him that he needed to go DO something to make money. A few dropped quarters into his hat, though, and laughed. None of them suspected that he was a REAL vampire. However, his actions nearly always drew the attention of the elders. He'd always be called to a shadowed area for a lecture. ''No one takes me any more seriously than they do those white painted fools!'' Sebastian would whine. But he couldn't really argue with an Elder. He'd grudgingly gather his hat, quarters and sign and move along elsewhere. But he'd have fun while it lasted. He always did. He congratulated himself on the resilency with which he'd lived his 270 years. However, he now felt himself ready for a change. Little did he know just what kind of changes lay in store for him.
go to Chapter Thirty-Three, Unexpected Visitor |