Part III, Chapter 17 Summary

It is now 5:00 in the evening, and Robert and Ruth are discussing vampires over supper, and later sip port and listen to Schubert's Fourth Symphony. It is apparent that their numbers are diminishing. When Robert hesitates to tell Ruth more about the vampires, she accuses him of not trusting her. Ruth agrees to have her blood tested, and Robert promises Ruth that if the test reveals she is infected, he will do everything he can to cure her, although secretly he doubts if he can. She asks him to postpone the test until the next morning ,because she still feels a little ill. Robert chides himself for distrusting Ruth after she had agreed to a blood test and notes that, like his father, he won't believe anything unless he sees it under a microscope ("Heredity triumphs again").

Robert also...