A Taste Of A Vampire

Chapter 2

It was a two-story structure of massive proportions with an A-frame room that showed living area in what would be the attic. Stretching wide, it was angled into three sections: the main center of the house and two extensions that reached out like open arms from the home. It was built of large, old, gray stones that Claire was certain were mostly original, but she could see at a glance that the entire roof had been replaced and was made of shingles. There were stone chimneys that rose from various places all over the building, and windows all along the ground floor, the second floor, and set more sparsely along the length of the roof.

Dark, leafy ivy embraced the building from the ground upward, curling and curving around the windows and the stones as it wandered upward with searching tendrils. There were flowering trees and bushes set near some of the windows, and a large, flat stone patio that spread out from the front door and both sides of the house. There was a thick green hedge that grew low and encircled the home, and from the hedge outward there was a carpet of grass, dotted with clover blossoms, that reached all the way to the edge of the open ground to the trees that grew about in groves a short distance from the house.

“That might be the most idyllic place I’ve ever seen. The photograph you sent doesn’t look anything like this,” she said, and then cringed when she realized she probably shouldn’t have criticized the image he sent to her. She was amazed by the look of the place and from deep in her, she felt a strange pull toward it. The feeling surprised her as she hadn’t anticipated any feeling toward it at all.

He chuckled softly and gave a nod. “I haven’t seen any photograph yet that does this place any kind of real justice. It’s one of the best manors in the country. Because of the hills off to the east side there, it doesn’t get quite as much rain and snow, and the wind is blocked, so it’s quite calm most of the time. The snow and rain that comes off the hills there rolls down into a creek that goes through the back of the property and washes westward, to the neighbor’s land and beyond. It’s really a sort of perfect little valley, and it stays beautiful year-round.”

“I just can’t believe I had a distant cousin who owned this and lived here, and who left it all to me. It’s so bizarre and surreal.”

Claire looked all around her and tried to take it all in at once, though in her exhausted state there wasn’t too much more that she could take in. The manor seemed to loom up like a giant before them when Colin pulled the car up to the front door. He helped Claire out and retrieved her suitcase and bag for her, and then walked with her to the front door and rang the bell.

Claire heard deep chimes ringing inside. She looked at Colin curiously. “Why are we ringing the bell? Don’t you have a key?”

He nodded. “I do have a key your ladyship, but the staff wanted to greet you when you arrived, so that you’d have a proper welcome. I’m letting them know you’re here.”

She nodded back and reminded herself that she was in another world entirely, and she was going to have to acclimate to unusual customs. The door opened and she walked in behind Colin. They entered a large foyer that was somewhat lighter than the gray and beige stones of the exterior hinted at. The walls and ceiling were done in rich deep tones of terracotta and cranberry, and the door frames were made of solid oak, but the sunlight that came in through all of the glass gave the room a bright glow and it felt warm and cozy.

There was a line of people standing shoulder to shoulder, each of them in a different sort of working outfit, each of them eyeing her closely, and most of them smiling at her. The first in the line was a round woman with a light blue dress and a big white apron on. Her hair was pulled back and she wore a net over it.

The woman inclined her head a bit and lifted her chin. “I’m Sally, milady. I’m the cook. If there’s anything that you prefer or that I can make up for you, please let me know. I’ve made shepherd’s pie for luncheon; I thought you might be hungry after your trip.”

Claire felt her heart swell a little. “Well, that was very kind and thoughtful of you. Thank you. I’m sure whatever you make will be good.” She gave a nod back and Sally smiled widely as her cheeks seemed to redden a bit.

Beside Sally was a small wisp of a woman who couldn’t have weighed more than one hundred twenty pounds at best. She had a wiry frame and her hair was also pulled back and twisted into a knot at the base of her head. She was wearing a similar light blue dress and a different kind of a white smock over it.

“Good day, milady. I’m Fran. I’m the housekeeper. I have your room all ready for you so you could settle in right away. Your bed is made up. If you’re tired, I can go and turn it down for you to rest a bit.”

Fran looked to be in her early twenties. She was simple and sweet.

“That’s really nice, Fran; thank you. I can turn the bed down myself; it’s really no big…” she began, but Colin cleared his throat and Claire saw a look of hurt disappointment come over Fran’s face. Glancing over at Colin, she saw him shake his head imperceptibly, and she knew that he was hinting to her that she ought to let Fran turn her bed down.

For a second, Claire was caught between being an independent American who was more than capable of taking care of herself and didn’t need anyone to do anything for her, especially something as simple as turning down a bed, but then she was also a guest in a foreign country in a house where people were paid to serve her and there was a protocol that had been in operation for goodness knows how long, and as she considered both sides of it, she knew that for the week that she would be there, it would probably be easiest to just go along with their ways so that she didn’t disrupt much of their routine.

“I, uh… I would appreciate it if you turned the bed down, Fran. Thank you. I am pretty tired after the trip.” Claire gave Fran a warm smile and Fran smiled in return and nodded to her.

A tall thin man with thin lips, and even thinner hair, stood beside Fran. He inclined his head deeply toward her in a bow. “Your ladyship, I’m Granger. I’m your butler. I oversee the care of the household. If there is anything that you wish to change or know about, I would be glad to discuss it with you.”