It would be June in a couple of months.
I always loved the springtime. Baby animals and fresh flowers. I guess I was fortunate where I grew up, in a lovely little cottage in the north an hour or so away from the coast. My great uncle always took such good care of me, keeping an eye on me and constantly on guard. I felt safe whenever he was nearby…. and knew I'd miss him greatly when we received Anthony's letter that Father had died and I was to return to London.
I was hoping Uncle might come visit me this June- my favourite month of the year.
Anthony said goodbye to us and left in the same carriage we arrived in. Lady Danburg proceeded to show me around the manor, informing me as to where everything was and what not. Then she brought me to my room; a sizable guestroom near the west wing of the estate. Since it was just me and her who would be staying there, I had free reign to go where I pleased. The only room off-limits was the master's bedroom, which was fine by me. "May I use your library?" I asked once she escorted me back to my room. "The library? Of course you can! Only… I didn't know humans could read. You can read, can't you?" I nodded. She looked legitimately surprised, blinking at me a couple of times. "Huh. An educated human…. You're the first one I've met like that." I smiled and said nothing. I understood her confusion. Why would anyone bother to educate a human who's just going to be sold off and eaten before their thirtieth birthday? Rarely, if any, humans made it past that age. And I was once again reminded just how lucky I was that my family should see me as one of them- a member of the Bridgerton clan. That was the only thing giving me any semblance of weight or power in our society.
Her ladyship left me to get changed and ready for dinner. It was nearly eleven o'clock now but vampires were nocturnal by nature. To be polite I'd eat my last meal with Lady Danbury's first. Wearing a simple evening dress I exited into the hall and descended down the front staircase. All the other servants had left by now, leaving the two of us entirely by ourselves. I'll admit, being alone in a mansion this size was eerie. More than eerie; it was scary. It was always in the back of my mind that vampires could see in the dark and were super fast and strong. As a human with no night vision or muscle to speak of, it was like being constantly a sitting duck, praying no wolves emerged out of nowhere. It didn't help either that the place was naturally old and creaked and cracked all hours of the day and night. Still, I felt better when I saw the glow of the dining room fire. The fireplace was enormous with the blazing fire burning in it. How Lady Danbury set this up all by herself, I don't know.
My caretaker hadn't arrived yet, so I took the opportunity to find the kitchen and prepare myself a light, quick dinner. Fresh fruit and vegetables along with some cheese and bread Lady Danbury must have got at a speciality store. Human food like that was hard to come by outside of cities, and even then it wasn't easy to find. I made up my plate and scurried back into the dining room. By the time I took my seat at one end of the very long, dark oakwood table, her ladyship had entered. She was carrying a large goblet of deer's blood in one hand. We immediately smiled at the sight of each other, though I waited for her to speak first. She only did so after sitting down, setting down her cup on the table in front of her. She looked up at me and grinned once again.
"Good evening." "Good evening." "I see you found the kitchen alright by yourself." "Yes, thank you. And thank you so much for the food. The bread and especially the cheese are such a treat!" "Had to go into town for those. Not many food-sellers around these parts," she admitted. "Thank you for that. I can go next time," I offered, but she shook her head. "Sorry, I'm under strict orders that you are not to leave the property under any circumstances. That brother of yours is very protective." "I… see. I didn't know that about him. We don't…. really know each other that well," I gazed down at my clenched hands on my lap a tad shyly. Lady Danbury waved her hand in the air. "Ah, there'll be plenty of time for that later. You're moving to the outer rim of London to be closer to your family. Your mother is very anxious to see you again, you know." "She is?!" My head shot up eagerly. Sensing my excitement, she merely gave another sincere nod. "Yes. She's been waiting to meet you for many years." Hearing this made me happy- really happy.
Still grinning ear-to-ear I snuck a peak down at my plate. I noticed that Lady Danbury hadn't touched her cup yet either and was hesitant to start with my own meal. But she waggled her gloved hand yet again my way. "Eat." I still hesitated, gazing to her softly- insecurely. "It won't…. bother you?" "I've told you before, I have plenty of experience with humans. You're the first one I've seen eat, and I'm not about to have you starve to death on my account. Go ahead, eat; I don't mind." Suddenly feeling unsure but wanting to show that I trust her, my fingers a bit shakily plucked up a cherry tomato. Lady Danbury watched me the whole time as I slowly brought it up to my lips. I opened my mouth as little as possible and pushed it in. After awkwardly chewing for a moment, I finally swallowed. That's when I saw a little flash in her throat.
A flash of desire.
She must have realized that I noticed and quickly straightened her composure. Extending one arm out overtop the table in a relaxed manner. She picked up her goblet and took a hefty gulp. Then she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and glanced back at me, more calm this time. "So then, enjoy." "Enjoy," I repeated, feeling a bit better now. We ate at a steady but content pace, growing more in tune with each other as we did. It finally got to the point where we felt comfortable enough to engage in conversation again while continuing our meals.
"Have you lived here long?" I asked her in between bites of bread. Her ladyship took another big sip and nodded. "Several decades now. I moved in after his grace's mother died. The duke needed a housekeeper and governess for the boy." "You mean Lord Simon?" Was my next inquiry. "Mmhmm. His mother passed during childbirth- poor thing. I raised Simon from infancy and stayed on after his father died too. Now it's mostly me here by myself; his grace as an infinity for traveling, you see." "As I've heard. But so…. He leaves you here alone, then? Not for long, of course?" "Unfortunately so. I haven't seen the boy in over two years; not that he writes me much either. Simon's a bit of a rack, stanchly determined never to marry or settle down." "Why's that?" I was a bit curious. Her shoulder shrugged. "Not interested in such things. Though his tune might change what with that unsettled arrangement his father set up with the Cowper family," she said while rolling her eyes. "Unsettled arrangement?" My eyebrow raised slightly. "With Cressida Cowper, to be precise. Simon's father arranged with Lady Cowper that they should marry when his grace returns from the mainland- whenever that may be. I've been able to stall their advances for now but both Simon and I know that time's running out. It wouldn't hurt to have some sense knocked into that child," she uttered the last part under her breath while gazing directly forward into nothing.
I nodded politely and bit off a little piece of cheese. That's one thing I'll say about being human- you'll never be forced into any such sort of arranged marriage. Though I'm sure many would pick that over being drained off all their blood to feed another, but this was still one positive I saw. Arranged marriages among the upper-middle and high societies of vampires were common, usually with some inbreeding taking place. Ironically you were more likely to have a human child if you didn't inbreed. My parents were related by any sort, from what I know anyway. Still, having a human child was nothing to brag about either.
As if momentarily forgetting I was in the room, Lady Danbury perked up all of a sudden and flashed me an innocent smile. "Bah! But that's all nonsense you don't have to deal with or worry about. Simon will be happy with Cressida, I'm sure. Not that you'll ever meet either of them anyway." "I'm sure you're most right, Lady Danbury. But if I may, could I please have the address of where his grace is staying now?" I quietly asked, covering my mouth with a napkin as I said it. She ogled me with pure astonishment in that instance. "Whatever for, my dear?" "I want to write him to say thank you for letting me stay at Hastings Manor. Even if he's not in the country, it was still very kind of Lord Simon to let us let the place. It's the least I can do."
After staring at me for an uncomfortable amount of time, her ladyship's hand flung up yet again. "Oh well, sweet as that may be, Miss Bridgerton, I unfortunately have no address to give you. His grace moves around so much, you see; it's impossible for me to keep track of where he is. If you like though, you are free to write a letter and leave it with me. I'll make sure he gets it when he arrives back home," she grinned with such sincerity that I felt obliged to smile back. What a kind woman….. "Thank you, your ladyship. That is very nice of you. I'll do that as soon as I'm settled down!" "Brilliant! I'll be sure to pass that along. I declare, I don't think Simon will know what to make of it. He's not used to the "warm hearts" of humans, at least to my knowledge. Humans…. I never understood how your kind could be so compassionate and understanding. You certainly didn't inherit that empathy from us." "No?" I giggled, picking up my bread again. Her head shook from side to side decidedly.
"It must be your warm blood or beating hearts or whatever. Quite a contrast to us cold-blooded creatures. They say that only humans can truly love, or experience it in a way completely foreign to us. But then, heh, you know what they say about vampires: we can only really love humans because well, you know…." I swallowed my mouthful and looked her straight in the eye. "Yes, I know." "Course that's not real love; not like your kind of "love" anyway. We have an unquenchable thirst you can't possibly understand… or well, all vampires who haven't consumed an entire human's blood do anyway." "You're right." She leaned back in her chair, watched me for another second, then let out a grin. Her hands folded across her stomach. "You have this colour about you; this changing essence. The tint in your cheeks, the glow of your lips…. It's all very…. seductive. But of course any vampire with an ounce of self-control can overcome that. It's just interesting to see how your kind has different areas of strengths and weaknesses. The weaknesses are obvious, of course, but your strengths…" She paused and I leaned forward in my chair a bit, anxious to hear what she'd say next. Her eyes met mine and stayed there for a bit. Her forefinger drew up to rest across her lips casually… casually and thoughtfully. "Yes, there is something strong…. different in you. Unlike us, your type is different.
Your greatest strength lies not in your physicality but within your tenderness."