I stayed awake for most of the night but received no more unearthly visitors. Toward dawn I drifted off to sleep, then awoke to that strange lighting that indicates the presence of snow. I opened my window and looked out. It must have snowed hard all night, as the turrets and battlements each wore an impressive white hat. The road up the pass was untrammeled whiteness. It would have been pretty in Switzerland with the hillsides dotted with meadows and chalets. Here it just made the crags and the pine forest even more gloomy. And such a feeling of remoteness. I felt as if I were trapped in another time, another world far away from everything safe.

I looked at my watch and realized it was after eight. I would have welcomed my cup of tea but there was no sign of Queenie. In the end I got tired of waiting. I had to dress myself and found my way down to breakfast. The breakfast table was deserted save for Prince Siegfried. He rose to his feet and clicked his heels as I approached.

“Lady Georgiana. I trust you slept well.”

“Not exactly,” I said.

“I am sorry. Please let our people know if there is anything to do to make you more comfortable.”

I could hardly request a guard against vampires, could I? I was glad I hadn’t given in to panic and rushed to his room. I’d have to be really desperate before I knocked on Siegfried’s door again.

“Today I take the men out shooting,” Siegfried said. “Maybe we find a wild boar. But later I hope we have the chance to speak together again. There are matters I wish to discuss with you. Important matters.” He got to his feet, gave that jerky little bow of his and departed. Oh, golly, he wasn’t going to bring up the marriage thing again, was he? How did one find a polite way to say “Not if you were the last man on earth”?

The sound of voices coming down the hallway made me look up. Lady Middlesex and Miss Deer-Harte came in, the latter waving her arms as she talked in animated fashion. Lady Middlesex cut her off when she saw me.

“Here’s a how-de-doo,” she said to me. “We’ve just heard that the wretched pass is closed. Avalanche or something. The car can’t take us to the station. We have to stay here whether we like it or not.”