A Taste Of A Vampire

Claire returned a half smile to her. “All right. Thanks for the talk and the direction.”

She left the office not feeling much better than she had when she’d gone in, but it was some small comfort to think that she could sell the place, and that was at least one viable option that was open to her.

By the time she got back to her own office, it had finally settled into her mind that she would go and look at it and then decide what to do. She could think of it as a personal business trip. She picked up the phone and called the London phone number again.

“This is Colin Dent, how may I help?” He answered the same way that he had when she had called him the first time.

Her heart was pounding again as she answered, and she felt as if she was taking a step off the cliff she had been looking out over the last time she spoke with him. “Mr. Dent, this is Claire Everett. I’m going to come and see the property.”

The words sounded like a gavel slamming down as hard as thunder in her mind. She told herself that it wasn’t a decision, it was only a formality. It was a means to whatever end would come of it all. It was nothing more than taking care of business.

He gasped lightly. “Well that’s wonderful! I’m so pleased to hear it! When may I expect you?”

She looked at the calendar on her computer. “I can come the day after tomorrow, and I’ll stay for three days,” she told him. “After that, we’ll see what happens.”

“Very good. I’m looking forward to meeting you. Just let me know when you’re arriving and I can pick you up from the train station and take you to the house.” He sounded enormously relieved.

She knit her brow slightly as she wondered about needing to take a train. “All right. I’ll email it to you. Thank you for your help, Mr. Dent.”

“Of course,” he answered happily. “It’s my pleasure. I’ll see you soon.”

She said goodbye and looked down at the file once more before shaking her head slowly and buzzing for Jenna to come into her office.

***

Claire listened to the flight attendant who went through the safety presentation just before her flight was about to take off to London. She had Jenna give her unfinished work to Jill, she’d packed and prepped for her trip, found her passport—which had only been used once on a trip to Mexico—bought her tickets, and put her mail and as much of the routine of her life as she could on hold for the week that she would be gone.

She knew that she was as ready as she could be, but she was certain that she couldn’t possibly feel more unsettled than she did. The plane lifted off the ground and she watched out of her small oval window as the city beneath her gradually disappeared behind a mist of clouds, and then there was nothing but blue sky and a blanket of white puffy clouds that stretched to the edge of the earth. Looking at it, so seemingly peaceful with no barriers, she wished that her life was as crystal clear and simple. She knew of course that no one’s life was that way, that everyone had their troubles and challenges, but it only made the wish for serenity more poignant in her heart.

Beverages and a meal were served, and not long after that the cabin lights were dimmed, and nearly everyone fell asleep. Claire drifted off nestled under a blanket, and lost herself in dreams. She didn’t open her eyes until the flight attendants were serving breakfast and everyone was getting ready for the plane to land.

She looked out of the window again, and though the clouds were gray and thick and the sun was just coming up, she could see wide swaths of vibrant green beneath them on the earth. She wondered again for the umpteenth time what it would be like to be in the United Kingdom, what the house would be like, and what on earth she was going to do with it. Inheriting everything that she had just inherited seemed like a giant roadblock to her; time consuming, pointless, unnecessary, and a considerable hassle. She wondered more than once if she shouldn’t have tried to find some way to sell the property without having to go and see it, but deep down she admitted to herself that Jill was probably right, and she ought to have a look at it before she made a decision.

The plane touched down and an hour later she was finally through customs and had collected her suitcase. She had instructions from Colin to take the train from Heathrow airport into London, and then to take another train from King’s Cross station into the country. It was just over a two hour train ride, and Colin had told her that he’d pick her up from the station. She was curious about the country that she was going to, but she was much more curious about the house and the estate.

She boarded the train to London from the airport and was surprised by how far out from the city the airport really was. As she watched the buildings pass by and then disappear as the train went underground, she thought about how strange it was that the family line that she descended from had gone so far from England where they had been in high society. The great-great-great-grandmother that she shared with Lord Nolan Grayson had given everything to her son, and after the phone call from Colin, Claire had looked back at the work her uncle had done and discovered that Elizabeth Grayson’s daughter, who had inherited nothing, had married a wealthy businessman and moved to the new world—to America. Their family line had changed from that point forward, and after the stock market crashed in 1929, everything had been lost and was rebuilt from the ground up. There were no titles of nobility used or kept, and there was no inheritance of money or property to be passed down to future generations. It had all gone.