A Taste Of A Vampire

She sighed and closed her eyes, willing herself to calm down. She realized that it was out of his control, and that there wasn’t really anything that could be done about it. She would have to be in England until the paperwork was signed over, either to the purchaser of the estate or to any next of kin that Colin might be able to find, though he said that there had been no other heir by blood save for her.

“All right Colin. I understand. Please get here as soon as you can, and if there’s a break in your schedule that comes up unexpectedly, I’d like to ask that you use it to come here to help me take care of this property. I have had an offer on it,” she told him, thinking more seriously about the offer that Lord Drake Thomas had made on it. She was beginning to think that if she wanted a fast out, she could sell it to him.

Colin gasped quietly. “To Lord… Thomas, your ladyship? Are you certain you want to do that? You know, it’s quite a popular estate. You could auction it, if you wanted to. I’ll see about finding another heir as well. I could use some of the time that I have here in London to do that. I did an exhaustive search when I found you, but perhaps you aren’t the only one left. Perhaps there is someone else.” He paused a moment and she heard him sigh heavily. “Why is it that you are considering selling Grayson Manor to Lord Thomas?”

“He heard from his staff that I was thinking of selling it and he came to discuss it with me pretty much immediately. I don’t like him much. He gives me kind of a creepy feeling, but he did say he would keep the staff on here, and that’s become important to me. They’re good people and I don’t want to see them without their home and work here. It’s become clear to me that they wish to remain here and that this is their home. I don’t want to take that away from them. If I auction it off, I can’t ensure they could keep their jobs. If I sell to Drake Thomas, then he will keep them on, or so he says.” She wondered just how much she could trust him with that promise, not knowing him well.

Colin was silent a moment. “Your ladyship, I would pay close attention to your intuition about Lord Thomas. Perhaps I might suggest considering another avenue. Any other avenue.”

Claire frowned in consternation. She knew that Colin was being polite and not saying all that he knew, but she didn’t know if she wanted to know whatever it was that he didn’t want to share with her.

“I’ll think about it. Maybe we can come up with something else,” she answered.  “I guess I’ll see you on Friday.”

“I’ll see you then, and again, I’m so very sorry,” Colin repeated sincerely.

Claire ended the call and looked to see what time it was in New York. Jill wouldn’t be in her office yet, as New York was five hours behind London time. She swiped her fingertip over her smartphone and sent a fast email to Jill, explaining that she wouldn’t be back and why. She told Jill to call her if anything came up.

As she sent the email, she was relieved to know that she had so much vacation time saved up that there was almost no way that she would use it all while she was in England.

Looking at the other message, she pushed her lower lip out a little, pouting slightly at the thought of having to call Lord Drake Thomas. She hadn’t been too pleased with the way that he had behaved the last time she had seen him, but she reminded herself that he hadn’t really done anything untoward, and she didn’t have anyone else so keenly interested in buying the manor.

With a sigh, she dialed Drake Thomas’ phone number and hoped that she would get a voicemail or answering machine. She wasn’t thrilled when he answered the phone.

“This is Lord Drake Thomas,” he said with a tone of authority.

“Drake, this is Claire Everett. I was given a message that you called for me. What can I do for you?” she asked, keeping her voice level. She was certain that he was looking for news on the estate.

“Well hello! Thank you for calling me back. It’s so nice to get to talk with you. How are you doing?” he asked with pointed interest.

“I’m fine, thank you. What can I do for you?” she repeated pleasantly.

He chuckled a little. “Well, I’m certainly glad to hear that. I was wondering if you might be home tomorrow. I thought I might come by for a visit. We can talk about the manor and anything else that you might like to talk about.”

She could see the smile on his face in her mind as he spoke. Feeling resigned because she might well have to sell the estate to him, she knew that it would be best to keep things good between them. “Oh, thank you. I will be home tomorrow. You’re welcome to come by if you like. Tomorrow afternoon might be best if that works for you.”

“Tomorrow afternoon it is, then. Thank you, Claire. I’m so looking forward to seeing you again!” He sounded as if he was. She made her goodbye and ended the call with thoughts of him owning the home that she was standing in.

The manor was so old that it was filled with its own charm and character, and it had begun to grow on her the more she spent in it. Getting to know Fran, Sally, Granger, Roger, and Hastings better each day, and exploring the house, she seemed to always find new things about it that appealed to her.

She had spent some time studying the paintings on the walls and the books in the libraries. She’d walked through the rows of old bottles of wine in the cellar and gone through more of the boxes and trunks in the attic. She had so much time on her hands that it was easy for her to use it getting to know the staff and the grounds, and the house and everything in it bit by bit, and all of it was becoming familiar to her. It was beginning to feel as if it was hers, and she wanted to leave it behind before she grew attached to it.

Claire had set aside a small box in her own room where she had begun putting a few things from the house that she wanted to take back to New York with her. There were a few books and some vintage handkerchiefs, and two bottles of wine from the cellar. She kept telling herself that she wouldn’t add anything more to the box, but now and then she would find some small trinket or other, and feel a sentimental connection to it in a strange way, and decide to place it in the box with the rest.

Everything that she did to distract herself around the house didn’t keep her mind fully occupied though, and Nicholas would find his way from the back of her mind to the forefront. She would wonder about him, almost everything about him, from his history to his family, from his home to his business. She had never been so curious about anyone before, and the more that she got to know about him, the more mysterious he became to her.