Chapter VI

As I was waiting for Ademar I heard a knock on the door. I went to see who it was. I was relieved when I opened the door and I saw Nadine. For a moment I thought that maybe Julia could be behind the door that she decided to pay me a surprise visit. I do want her to come a visit me but now it is not the right time.
"Bonjour Nadine! How can I help you?"
"I should be asking that question not you!"
"You are right!"
We both laughed. I saw Ademar coming out of the passageway with the corner of my right eye.
"So do you need anything?"
"I do actually. I want to prepare dinner and I want to make quiche lorraine."
"Have you made it before? It takes about one hour and forty minutes to cook."
"No, I have not but I always wanted to try it. I do not have a recipe. I wanted to google it but since you are here can you please ask your grandmother for the recipe?"
"Yes, sure!"
"Have her write it on a piece of paper and after that you can go and buy the ingredients. Here is 50 euros."
"OK, thank you!"
I closed the door and went back in the living room.
"What now you cook too?"
"I am not a very good cook but I manage. I can follow a recipe."
"I hope you are not cooking for me because I do not eat food anymore."
"No, it is for me. I do need to eat unlike you. I was wondering what is in those bottles downstairs?"
"Wine mixed with blood."
When I heard the word blood all kinds of scenes from horror movies came to my mind. The kind of scenes where vampires stalked their victims and at night attacked and drank their blood.
"Do you feed on a daily basis?"
"Once or twice a month."
"What happened yesterday? I asked you about Blanche and you left without saying anything. I am sorry if I said something wrong."
"No, it is not your fault. It is mine. I should have not behaved the way I did."
"I felt guilty after that. This is way I started looking for an entrance to the secret passageway. I wanted to apologize."
"I told you it was not your fault. There is no reasons to feel guilty."
"I still feel like an intruder here."
"But you are not an intruder. You own the castle now."
"Legally yes. I could through you out if I wanted to."
I laughed and he laughed with me.
Oh, Ademar I could never do that. I am getting used to your presence here.
"Now can you please tell me where is Blanche's grave?"
"I can do better than that. I can show you."
After sunset of course."
"Is it far from here?"
"No, it is closer than you think."
"What about my aunt's grave?"
"Elyse is burried in the churche's graveyard."
"I think Nadine might know where her grave is. I will ask her when she returns with the groceries."
"Do you have any other questions?"
"No. You can go if you want."
"Your phone is ringing. I can hear it."
"It is in my room. You can hear my phone ringing from here?"
"Yes. Vampires have excelent hearing."
"It is probably Julia. I have not called her in days. I think she is worried. I should go and call her back."
In my room I called Julia. It was indeed her who called me.
"Melanie what have you been up to? You forgot about me. Are you working on a painting?"
"Hello, Julia. I am sorry but I was busy. I did not forget about you. How can I forget my best friend?"
"I was busy too with the gallery. We received some works of art and I had to do a lot of paper work. Are you working on a painting?"
"No, not at the moment but I want to soon. I miss painting. I will go tomorrow to town to buy what I need to start work on a new painting."
"Great, please do that! I can see it when I will come to visit you."
"I am making quiche lorraine for dinner. Have you ever made this recipe?"
"No, I have not. Is it hard to make?"
"I do not really know. I do not think so."
"Good luck with it. Tell me how it turned out. I have to go now. I still have some work to do."
"Talk to you later!"
"Bye, or should I say au revoir?"
"Au revoir Julia!"
I came back downstairs in the living room hoping that Ademar was still there but he was not.
I heard another knock on the door.
"Nadine, I am glad you returned so soon!"
I took the groceries from her. They were not that heavy this time.
"You gave me too much money again. Here is the rest of it. I spent 25 euros on the ingredients for your quiche lorraine."
"Nadine, you can keep the rest of the money."
"Thank you! This is the recipe from my grandmother."
"Thank you!"
"Do you need anything else?"
"Yes, can you come with me tomorrow to town? I want to buy some things."
"Yes, I can."
"Do you know where my aunt is burried?"
Yes, I do. I can show you."
"Great. I will be ready tomorrow at about 14:00 we can leave."
"I will be here."
"See you then. Have a good evening!"
"You too, bye!"
"Bye!"
I looked at the clock. It was half past four. I had enough time to prepare my quiche. I took the ingredients out of the bag. I had flour, salt, one stick of butter, bacon, Gruyere cheese, a shallot, six large eggs, heavy cream, cayenne pepper, black pepper and a little nutmeg. These were the ingredients for the quiche.
I followed the instructions from the piece of paper and did the quiche. It was easy to make and I finished it under one hour and forty minutes. The oven from the kitchen is really good. France is famous for its wine and cheese. I did not use all of the Gruyere cheese so I decided to eat the rest with bread and drink a glass of wine. I found a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Bordeaux in the kitchen and poured some wine in a glass and enjoyed it.