19th century

The 19th century marks the beginning of Samson Woodford’s life as a vampire and supplies the novel’s clearest historical measure of the distance between his past and its present-day action. His transformation at the century’s start predates his security business, his life in San Francisco, and his relationship with Delilah Sheridan; the long interval makes the vampire secret not merely a hidden fact but a history he has carried into a changing human world.

Chronological Anchor

The novel locates Samson’s transformation at the start of the 19th century. This is a broad but decisive date: it establishes that his supernatural existence began more than a century before the events in which he waits to learn whether Delilah will accept his invitation to the theater and reviews reports from Scanguards. The narrative thus sets his historical origin against an active present, without giving a more exact date for his transformation.

A separate flashback follows Samson and Elizabeth as they attempt to elope. At midnight, Elizabeth arrives wearing a dark cloak and carrying a small bag; after the couple ride away, three men attack them. Samson’s horse is killed, and he hears Elizabeth scream before seeing one of the attackers drinking from her throat. The scene establishes a violent rupture in Samson’s earlier life, although the account does not itself specify the attack’s date or fully narrate the circumstances of his transformation.

From Transformation to Scanguards

Samson’s account of becoming a vampire connects the historical date to the practical problem of survival. He quickly understood that a vampire still needed money, and, on an impulse, began offering nighttime protection to travelers. The work proved profitable and also brought him into contact with criminals from whom he could feed while guarding wealthy travelers and valuable shipments. The business therefore arose from overlapping needs: income, protection work, and access to prey.

He expanded the one-man operation into Scanguards, hiring other vampires with similar inclinations. As a human, Samson had not achieved the success he later found as a vampire. That reversal carries an irony central to his history: he used a life associated with predation to protect people whose lives other vampires might seek to destroy. He understood this work as a way of preserving his humanity. By the novel’s present, Scanguards has become a nationwide security firm serving corporations, celebrities, foreign dignitaries, and other clients; its headquarters remain in New York, while Samson has withdrawn to San Francisco in search of a quieter life.

The Past Made Visible

The century-old origin is not confined to historical exposition. In the present, Samson’s concealed nature becomes legible through physical signs that Delilah first tries to explain away. After seeing his eyes glow red when he shouts at Ricky, she notices the same alarming color again, now accompanied by two protruding fangs. What might once have been dismissed as a momentary anomaly becomes evidence she can no longer disregard.

Delilah then connects those signs to earlier details: Samson has no bathroom mirror, cannot spend the day with her, and shares a night without seeming to tire. She also reconsiders his extraordinary strength and the possibility that his refrigerator contained no food she could eat. Her recognition turns the distant historical fact of vampirism into an immediate change in how she understands Samson and their relationship. The old secret has survived into their intimacy, but its visible traces make concealment increasingly difficult.

Historical Distance and Commitment

The contrast between Samson’s long vampire history and his present relationship with Delilah comes into sharp focus when he asks her to enter a blood-bond. He explains that she would remain human, able to go into sunlight and eat ordinary food, while becoming his wife and mate for life. The bond would join them permanently, with each sensing what the other senses and no secrets between them. Samson gives her the opportunity to refuse because the commitment cannot be reversed; Delilah responds without hesitation by exposing her neck and asking him to bite her.

The ritual makes a lasting union out of the very difference that the historical timeline has established. Samson’s transformation at the century’s beginning belongs to a past Delilah did not share, while the bond offers a future in which their experiences will be joined. The 19th century therefore functions both as a date of origin and as a measure of the distance his present commitment must cross: a vampire shaped by a long, concealed past asks a human partner to choose a permanent place within it.