When I had finished, Dracula said, "I am glad that it is old and big. I myself am of an old family, and to live in a new house would kill me. A house cannot be made habitable in a day, and after all, there are very few days in a century. I am also happy that there is a chapel from the old times. We Transylvanian nobles do not like to think that our bones may lie with the bones of people who are not aristocrats. I do not look for gaiety nor laughter. I do not want the bright voluptuousness of much sunshine and sparkling waters which please the young. I am no longer young, and my heart, after weary years of thinking about the dead, is not used to mirth. The walls of my castle are broken. There are many shadows, and the wind is cold through the broken walls and windows. I love the dark and the shadows, and I want to be alone with my thoughts when I wish."

Somehow his words and his expression did not seem to agree. Maybe the shape of his face made his smile look malignant and darkly amused. After a while, with an excuse, he left me, asking me to collect my papers together. He was away for some time, so I began to look at some of the books around me. One was an atlas, which I found opened naturally to England, as if that map had been much used. When I looked at it I found in certain places little rings had been marked. I noticed that one was near London on the east side, obviously where his new property was. The other two were Exeter, and Whitby on the Yorkshire coast.

Vocabulary:

Habitable: Possible to live in
Nobles: Aristocrats
Gaiety: A party mood
Voluptuousness: Loving pleasure
Gay: Cheerful and light-hearted
Weary: Tiring
Attuned: Able to easily get used to
Mirth: Laughter and humour
Malignant: Evil
Coast: That area where the sea can be seen from the land