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was a truly mammoth cat, Cassie realized, and his coat appeared to be
    solid black. "You're quite perfect for this house, cat. Are you sure you don't
    want to come out and meet me? I'm harmless. What's more, I've got food!"
    It struck Cassie in that moment that she was hungry herself. Rising to
    her feet she went into the huge kitchen and began investigating the bags
    of groceries she had brought. Ten minutes later she had fixed two very
    large tuna-fish sandwiches. Putting each one on a paper plate, she carried
    them back into the dining room. There she sat alone at the baronial
    dining table, ensconced in the lord's chair, and ate her tuna sandwich. The
    other plate she left on the floor in front of the sideboard. It took exactly
    two and a half minutes before the big cat glided cautiously out to sample
    the tuna.
    "You remind me of someone I recently met, cat. Lucky for you I know
    that Dracula's pets were always werewolves and not cats!" The animal
    ignored her, concentrating on the free handout with single-minded
    intensity. Cassie decided he was not truly wild, just wary of humans.
    After the meal she located a stack of old wood on the porch behind the
    kitchen, some of which was fairly dry. The wind was beginning to pick up
    considerably now that darkness had fallen and the rain was coming down
    in heavier and heavier sheets. It was impossible to see more than a few
    feet beyond the porch.
    "If I couldn't hear the sound of the surf at the bottom of the cliff, I
    wouldn't even know I was near the ocean!" she complained to the cat, who
    now sat curled on a chair in the library. The green eyes followed her every
    movement as she set about building a fire.
    It was a struggle. Cassie hadn't built many fires. Her San Francisco
    townhouse had a lovely fireplace but it burned gas in the fake pile of logs,
    not real wood. She wound up using the grocery bags she had brought with
    her to start the blaze. Then she had to dig through the pile of wood on the
    back porch for a considerable length of time in order to find enough bits
    and pieces to use as kindling. The resulting blaze was not very satisfactory.
    Cassie glowered at the little flickering flame, leaning forward on her
    knees to feed it carefully. The green-eyed cat continued to watch in aloof
    disapproval.
    "You're free to leave anytime, cat. If you don't like the fire I've got going
    you may take yourself off to another room. Nobody's stopping you!"
    The animal ignored the waspish tones and continued to watch
    dispassionately.
    "Are you sure you don't have any vampire blood in you?"
    An abrupt crack of lightning streaked through the nighttime sky,
    cutting off whatever answer the creature might have made. It was followed
    by a roll of thunder and the wind seemed to howl louder than ever.
    "I pity anyone still out on that road tonight," Cassie muttered, half to
    herself and half to the cat. She moved a little closer to the fireplace. There
    was a dusty area rug on the hardwood floor, which she used as a cushion
    as she surveyed the draped furniture around her. The thought of going
    upstairs to the cold, dank bedrooms was not appealing. Tonight it seemed
    more inviting to sleep down here. After a few moments of intent
    contemplation Cassie got to her feet and began investigating the larger
    pieces of furniture.
    The only item that looked even remotely usable as a bed was a
    velvet-covered sofa. Locating the quilt she had brought with her and the
    two soft pillows, Cassie contrived a bed of sorts. It was going to be
    cramped but she thought it might work. When the next crackle of
    lightning blazed outside the library's bay window Cassie irritably pulled
    the tall, heavy curtains. They were torn in a few places and definitely
    frayed, but at least they served to block out the disquieting effects of the
    lightning strikes.
    "It's not that I'm scared of storms, cat, it's just that I wouldn't want the
    lightning to disturb your rest," she told the animal laconically. It was,