IluvBarnabas, do we know for sure that Petofi didn't believe Tim's story? I can't remember. He said he didn't believe it, but that may have been a convenient way of getting rid of Tim. And even if he didn't believe it at the time, he may have since come to believe it. Perhaps when he removed the gift from Charles, he was able to sense exactly what it was.
Aristede did make an honest mistake, but he wouldn't have made it if hadn't been away for a week, not keeping up with events and not helping Petofi. I don't understand why Aristede was so scared of the vampire's vengeance. It doesn't ring true to me, but maybe I'm just being blind. (Or deaf.) Ever since Barnabas said he would kill Aristede if Aristede had killed Julia (or whatever it was that Barnabas said), however, Aristede hasn't been his old reliable self. His shelf life has expired, and it is time for Petofi to get rid of him and find another handsome young servant. Today I started wondering about Aristede's predecessor. It's reasonable to suppose that the predecessor became unreliable and was dispatched as Petofi is now dispatching Aristede. Is Petofi planning to take a tour of Shawshank State Prison to choose Aristede's successor?
It was amusing to see Aristede, at his first meeting with Petofi, complaining about Garth Blackwood being a sadist. It takes one to know one!