I entered the dining room that evening, unsure what I was expecting to find inside. I'll admit, a little sigh of relief did fall from my lips when the duke was nowhere to be seen. The fire was roaring, a plate was set for me, and Lady Danbury was in her usual place. She did not look happy. Not one bit.

"Evening," I shyly took my usual seat. She snorted, crossing her arms. "It would be, if his grace didn't decide he'd be joining us." "S-So he's still coming then…..?" I'm not quite sure why I asked this, and in particularly to her of all people too. "Evidently. I don't what occurred between you two earlier, but Simon's already killed three deer this afternoon alone." This caught my attention, and not in a good way. My hands instinctively curled into fists. I was right then. He was thirty….. Really thirsty. While my gaze was directed out into nowhere, Lady Danbury merely rolled her eyes in an utterly exasperated fashion.

"I told the boy; I told him! I said stay away from you. He's not ready for this yet. Being in the presence of humans requires the upmost self-discipline; something he is sorely lacking. You two have no business being alone together. You shouldn't be together at all!" Her hand suddenly slammed on the tabletop, making a few drops of blood bounce out of her chalice. I simply looked her way with sympathy. "I agree with you, Lady Danbury. This is why I insisted we communicate with a chaperon present." "Why do you want to talk to him in the first place? You and the duke have nothing to do with each other. You live completely separate lives." "Again, I agree with everything you're saying, your ladyship. It's not me who wants to see him, rather….." But I had to stop myself just in time. It would be too presumptuous and bold of me to ever say that Lord Basset wanted to see me, to speak to me…. A mere human girl. Unfortunately, Lady Danbury caught on without my saying so. Her eyebrow rose slightly; her finger now running alongside her mouth. "Rather what?" She pressed suspiciously. My mouth opened but no sound came out. How could it?

Thankfully- or perhaps not so- I didn't have to say anything. The sound of the side door cut me off before I could make a peep and I sat stiff as a board in my seat. The door seat and footsteps could be heard walking up to right behind my chair. I didn't dare move, I didn't dare look; I could hardly even breathe. L-Lord Basset! He's standing right behind me! He's right next to the back of my chair! My heart was pounding so wildly I feared it might be visible through my shirt. While I didn't steal a glance his way, Lady Danbury had no trouble flashing him a solemn frown. "You did come, then? Even after I warned you." "Good evening, Lady Danbury," hearing his voice again helped literally nothing. I was in sheer agony at the moment.

Lady Danbury waved her hand in Lord Basset's direction. "Oh, don't you "good evening" me. Stop hovering over the child. Can't you see she's petrified?" "She need not be afraid," he said this but I detected a lack of confidence in his tone. I also noticed how he hadn't addressed me formally yet- or at all, for that matter. My skin crawled in a way I'd never experienced before as his hands all of a sudden grabbed both upper sides of my chair, clenching it in his fingers. If I didn't know any better I'd think he was a little scared to show himself to me. Ironic since he was chasing me around and demanding that I open the door separating us earlier. First it was the door separating us; now it was the chair….. My hands shook a little as I waited for him to do something- anything.

"Eat." That was his grace's first word to me that night. I gulped, not reaching for my fork or knife. "T-That is not wise…. your grace," after a second my mouth was able to get out. "Why not?" Lord Basset seemed genuinely confused. Lady Danbury rolled her eyes again. "Don't you know anything about humans? They're most arousing when they're either dining or bathing." The instant she said this, a drop of sweat rolled down the back of my neck. When we're most arousing… That was a terrifying thought.

Lord Basset must have thought so too because he didn't ask me to eat in front of him again. Still, he remained behind my chair, clinging onto it for what felt like dear life. I think he needed somewhere to put his hands that wasn't on my body, tearing my clothes off and trying to bite my neck. But his thirsty forced him to keep nearby me, which explained why he was standing so close to me. I still handled budged a muscle, too afraid to even visibly breathe. It took me a few minutes to realize that Lord Basset intended on staying there, hesitant to reveal his face to me. Or rather…. He didn't want to look at my face.

With the vital signs of life in my cheeks and eyes.

Sensing my discomfort, his grace quickly got off the topic of food. Instead he addressed the other lady in the room with us next. "How come you told Miss Bridgerton she could go outside unaccompanied?" Her ladyship responded by running her hand over top her tired face. "Oh, not this. I said she could go into the gardens, which her brother has given his permission for. The garden is surrounded by a very high wall, Simon." "It does not matter. She's too weak and unprotected to be out there alone. No, I won't have it." "Your grace…." Lady Danbury began but Lord Basset interrupted her by talking to me directly once more. "I forbid you to leave the manor unescorted, Miss Bridgerton." My heart immediately sank. I spent more than half my day outside in the garden, writing letters, reading books, picking fruit, and visiting my animal friends. To be trapped inside felt more like being a prison than a fine estate. Even though his grace couldn't see my expression of dismay, her ladyship could and she came to my rescue.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous, boy! She's a living creature; not a glass doll. Nothing's going to happen to Miss Bridgerton in the garden. So long as she remains on the estate, she will be fine." "How could be so sure?! What if she falls? What if she hurts herself? And don't forget the reports of highway men in the area. No, Miss Bridgerton may not be a glass doll but she's not a vampire. She's as good as helpless out in the world on her own!" He raised his voice a little at the end. Now I know what you're probably thinking at this point: why aren't you saying anything, Daphne? Why don't you speak up for yourself? Because that's not how it works, or normally so. Most vampires don't see humans as equal contributors in conversations; why should they? We have no legal standing, we're property, we're a food source- why should vampires listen to us? Still I didn't like the insulation that I was so "helpless" in the world; ignoring the fact that a vampire could snap my arm in half like a twig if they wanted to.

Having enough of his lordship, Lady Danbury sat back in her chair and looked back at me. Her face said it all. "Don't mind him, Miss Bridgerton. This is how all vampires who don't see humans as livestock treat your kind at the start." "At the start?" My eyebrow raised a little. She nodded, both at me and Lord Basset, who was not impressed with her insubordination. "Humans are either animals or babies; that's how we view you, anyway. It makes sense; compared to us you do have the strength of a child. But you don't have the mind of one- not anymore anyway." "I-I don't…. understand what you mean, your ladyship," my lips sputtered shyly. "It's very simple. If a vampire has no experience with humans, like Simon here, and they want to keep one alive, they become over-protective. Everything's seen as a danger for a while; bumps, bruises, cuts, illness. It's only after spending time with humans do we realize that you're not so weak and heh, helpless after all. You're still not like us, of course; but you do have the chance to live a long and healthy life, Miss Bridgerton," she added with a smile. A sincere, real smile. I grinned back at her, ogling her in astonishment. "Really? I didn't know that." "Oh, yes; we're all the same that way. Your mother and father wouldn't even hold you after you were born. They were so afraid they'd drop you." This made my smile grow. I'm sure they didn't have this sort of problem with my brothers and sisters, but it just goes to show that they did value my life…. as their child.

I was their child first, a human second.

While I was grinning pleasantly, Lord Basset scoffed. I'm sure he was the one who rolled his eyes this time. "That's absurd. I don't see Miss Bridgerton as capable as an infant. But look at her! I never knew before…. could imagine how truly vulnerable humans are." Lady Danbury immediately shot him a look. "And yet, you insist on being in the same room as her. If you really cared about Miss Bridgerton's safety, you'd stay away from her. But I know why you're here; it's because you her once and now your thirst is driving you crazy. Countless vampires have gone mad in pursuit of human blood before. Why tempt yourself like this? Being near Miss Bridgerton is not going to satisfy you; nothing will do that expect for drinking her….."

Lady Danbury forced herself to stop… before too much was said. The room was tense and uncomfortable again. It didn't make things better when Lord Basset failed to make his reply, at least right away. He just stood there, silent and still. I also sit there, silent and still. I suddenly felt in mortal danger again; I mean in real danger since this afternoon in the garden. But that quickly began to fade once his lordship eventually broke the stagnant air in the room. I actually heard his lips part behind me. "I don't think Miss Bridgerton is so helpless. I would just feel better if she stayed inside…. where we could get to her directly should anything happen."

Lord Basset! From the second he uttered this sentence, my heart was fluttering insanely fast inside my chest once again. My hand rose up to press against it; my eyes were as wide as dinner plates. But…. no! No, remember what Lady Danbury just said; he's only being protective because it's his instinct, his nature….. Because he doesn't see me as a food source; he's fighting so hard not to see me a walking blood bank. For the very first time ever it slowly hit me: he…. doesn't want to eat me. He genuinely doesn't want to see me die. That very thought made my eyes unconsciously lower- in a good way. This was also my first time thinking….

I think Lord Basset might be a good person.

Of course he just had to ruin the moment. "I won't say it again, Miss Bridgerton. I forbid you to leave the manor alone. If you want to go outside, you must have an escort." Oh…. Oh boy. And here I thought Uncle was a little on the over-protective side. Insert eye-roll here. "You can't do that, Simon! The poor girl will go stark mad locked in here," Lady Danbury chimed in. "Better she go mad than be attacked by one of those rouge vampires lurking about in the forest," he shot back. Ok, this was getting ridiculous. I know I'm only a human and so have no right to speak up or for myself- legally, anyway- but what's the worst they can do to me? Tell my brother who gave me his consent to go in the garden? I'd had enough by this point. I put my hand onto the table, alerting both the vampires in the room. "You have no grounds to tell me what to do, your grace. I'm not your proper-…."

My sentence was swiftly cut short when my head turned around to face Lord Basset for the first time. Our eyes met, instantly widening- growing and locking. All words turned to cotton in my throat; my jaw hung open. His mouth wasn't open, but you could see the shock on his face. Or maybe "shock" is the wrong word. It's like…. neither of us could believe what we were looking at just now was real. To see each other's face so close up…..

He was the most beautiful vampire I'd ever seen! Everything about him was sheer perfection; they had him in mind when they came up with that word. His skin, his face, his hair, his eyes! Just, everything! Judging by how awe-struck he was beholding me at the moment too, I'd say he was having some intimate thoughts of his own. Neither of us said anything; we didn't make any sudden movements. The mood was tense again, though not in a bad sense of the word this time. The exact opposite in fact. I…. I didn't know vampires, or even men in general, could look like that.

I don't what all of a sudden, out of nowhere compelled my legs to move. Perhaps it was because the longer I stared into his eyes- his gorgeous, gorgeous eyes- I could see the thirst resonating behind them. And yet, I wasn't afraid. If I had to guess, it was my subconscious acting out of concern for him. Lord Basset is obviously worried about my welfare, but I suppose I, or at least a part of me, cares….. about him as well. I don't know where these feelings came from or if I was even conscious of them- probably not. I had no clue why I suddenly stood up from my chair. What's even more surprising is how unsurprised Lord Basset was by my doing so just then too.

I got up and slowly made my way to the side door, not breaking my stare with his grace the whole time. Our eyes didn't leave each other until I shut the door behind me. His head followed me, his one hand still resting on my chair after I left it. With one last look at Lord Basset, I shut the door, though I didn't leave right away. I simply stayed there with one hand on the doorknob and the other on the wood of the door. My head was very close to the door as I had to remind myself to breathe. It was ok to breathe again…. And as I stood there I could hear his lord and ladyship talk on the other side still. It was Lady Danbury's turn to be confused.

"Why'd she leave? She didn't even bring her food with her." Lord Basset didn't answer her, though I think he knew why I'd left. He knew before I even did. "You were right, my lady….. I was not prepared," I heard the duke tell her ladyship, who did not interrupt his train of thought. "How could I have been? How can any vampire ever be prepared…..? Nothing prepared me for… for her. God, I'm dying of hunger; I didn't know it was possible to be this thirsty. One look at her and it feels as if I haven't drunk a drop of blood in a thousand years.

So then why do I also have this over-whelming urge to protect her?"