Dr. Frankenstein's Daughters by Suzanne Weyn Read Free Book Online

nervousness returned as I neared thecottage. The place was surrounded by a waist-high wall made from stones and gave the impression of being extremely neat and well-tended. The white smoke puffing from the chimney told me that someone was home. Passing through the opening in the wall, I stepped up to the thick wooden door and knocked, fully expecting the woman of the house to answer.
    After waiting for some minutes with no response, I walked around to the side. An all-white mare roamed freely, grazing. It whinnied when I appeared and then returned to its grassy meal. It wasn’t fenced in, so I assumed the owner had no fear of it wandering off.
    I tried to see in the windows, but the curtains were drawn, so I went back to rap on the door once more. This time I thought I detected the sound of someone shuffling about inside, which prompted me to bang on the door with more force.
    Still, no one came.
    I was on the verge of leaving when I saw movement at the window nearest the door. From behind the curtain, someone was sneaking a peek at the front door. Encouraged, I pushed stray wisps of hair back in my bonnet and waited. Soon the door pulled slowly inward.
    “Hello?” I called after a moment of further waiting. When no one replied, I stood closer to the opening and called again, leaning into the warm, darkened room.
    A large stone fireplace glowed in the center of the main room where I stood. Heavy timbers connected uneven walls with a wide planked wooden floor. On two walls, floor-to-ceiling shelves housed many books. This private library did not seem in keeping with such a rough-hewn cottage.
    “Can I help you?”
    I couldn’t tell where the rich, low male voice had come from. The speaker was male and British. A certain strength in the resonant tone told me that he was not old.
    “Over here.” In a shadowed corner I finally saw the man who had spoken. Though I couldn’t gauge his height while seated, he had broad shoulders and a head of luxuriant, nearly black curls that fell around his ears and neck. The fire sparked and lit half his face. Piercing amber eyes studied me. They were set beneath straight dark brows. His lips were full and his jaw square.
    Summoning my nerve, I stepped more fully into the room, though I took the precaution of leaving the door slightly ajar. “I’m sorry to bother you,” I began, and was dismayed to hear an uneasy scratchiness in my voice. “I am Ingrid Von … a … well, Ingrid will do —”
    “Not sure of your own last name?” he interrupted.
    An embarrassed smile formed on my lips. “No. I assure you I know my own name. It’s … a long story.”
    “What isn’t?” he remarked with an air of bitter irony.
    “Ah, yes. I know what you mean,” I replied, feeling idiotic, since I had no idea what he meant.
    “What brings you here, Ingrid?” he asked. His voice was neutral.
    “Nothing, really, except my sister and I just moved into the castle next door and —”
    “‘The castle next door’?” he echoed mockingly.
    “Yes.”
    “The ancient, sprawling edifice of stone?”
    “Yes.”
    “Oh, that castle. Now that you mention it, I think I’ve noticed it.”
    I was sure my cheeks were burning red, which only added to my mortification. Hopefully they were masked by the jumping shadows. “We have just now inherited it,” I explained.
    “Then your last name must be Frankenstein.”
    “Yes.” Though it was still too soon for me to think of it as my own name yet
    “No wonder you stammered over it.”
    “What do you mean by that?” I asked. Maybe he could tell me something about my father. Perhaps he would reveal more about why the local people were frightened of the castle.
    “Nothing. I meant nothing at all.”
    With hands on hips, I eyed him with unabashed skepticism. “Tell me, please,” I requested.
    “It was nothing but boorishness on my part. I am unaccustomed to having pretty young women visit me in the middle of the day. I have been reclusive for so long