A Taste Of A Vampire

“She was a strong and independent sort of woman,” Granger commented thoughtfully. “She made a lot of changes around here, and those changes have all stayed in place since then, for the most part. She had a forward-thinking mind, from what I know of her, and she was a woman who stood out among other women, and from the lore of it, among most men, too.”

Claire couldn’t resist a big smile upon hearing what he had said. “I’m glad to know that.”

“Shall we?” Granger asked, beginning to walk toward the door, and she nodded and followed him. They passed several rooms and doors, and some of the doors were open, and some weren’t. She wondered what was behind each of them as they went along, but she was too tired to explore.

They stopped at the end of the hall at a pair of double doors. He turned and looked at her as he opened one of them for her. “This room is yours, milady. It has traditionally been the sleeping quarters of the lady of the house, or of the lord and lady, as the case may have been. If you’d like to change the room you’re in you may, but this is the best of them all. I hope you’ll be comfortable, and if you need anything, please ring for me; there’s a call button near the bed. The manor may be quite old, but Lord Nolan Grayson saw to it that every modern convenience that could be desired was installed, although subtly. I wish you a good rest, milady.”

He bowed to her and left. She looked around the room in wonder. It was richly furnished with oak pieces including a bed, dresser, and a wardrobe. There was a private bathroom that she suspected had been added on to the house. It was as Granger had said, every modern convenience was there, though as she discovered, many of them were hidden or so subtly placed that it didn’t detract from the historic look of the room.

She felt as if she had stepped back in time and had somehow taken some of the future with her. There was a bedside table with a lamp on it, and when she pulled the small drawer of the table open, she discovered a remote control. She studied it closely and pressed a button that read “Media.” Hearing a machine behind her, she turned and was surprised to see an old, framed painting on the wall opposite the bed slide to one side, and a large flat screen television emerge from a small space in the wall. The television came on and she laughed lightly in amazement. The house would have many secrets, she thought to herself as she pressed the button turning the television off and sending it back into its space behind the painting. She never would have guessed that there was anything behind the artwork if she had just looked at the wall with a glance.

Claire put the remote back in the drawer and closed it, and walked over to the wardrobe. Opening it to look inside, she was stunned to see that her clothes were hanging up in it already. Someone had unpacked for her, and her empty suitcase was stored carefully at the back and bottom of the massive piece of furniture.

To one side of the bed were glass doors that opened out onto a stone terrace overlooking the grounds behind the house. The land stretched as far as she could see; it was filled with meadows and trees, and she saw the winding creek that went through the yard of the home, and then wound off into the trees further on. She felt like she was dreaming and couldn’t quite wrap her head around the fact that what she was looking at was real, let alone that it was all hers. She went back inside and closed the doors behind her.

Claire turned and walked to the bathroom, noting with surprise that there was a big claw-footed bathtub, but that it had a whirlpool machine attached near the faucet. She promised herself that she would use it when she wasn’t quite so tired. Instead, she chose a nightgown from a drawer in the wardrobe, and went to take a hot shower to wash all of the soreness and travel from her. When she was done, she pulled her nightgown on and went to her bed.

It was a wide bed, one that anyone in the states would have called a king-sized mattress. The moment she laid down on it, she felt as if she might sink right down into it and never get up again. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been so comfortable. Sleep overtook her moments later and she only woke up once in the wee hours of the morning. She stepped outside on the terrace and gazed around at the moonlit lands beneath her.

The pale light bathed the meadows and trees and emphasized the shadows that seemed to move silently all around. The stream looked like a silver ribbon spilled carelessly over the darkened grasses, turning in and out of sight the further away it went.

There were bright stars shining where the moonlight was dim, and she felt as though she could make a wish on every single one of them and it might come true. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen stars. There were no stars to be seen in New York City, at least, none that were in the sky. They twinkled and glowed, and she breathed it all in, loving it with every part of her.

A breeze swirled around her, seemingly dancing along the fabric of her nightgown, and she shivered again and bid the dark night goodbye. She closed the doors and went back to the bed, sliding into the warm sheets and nestling into the comfort she found there. She fell asleep again, and didn’t wake until the sun had come up.

She sat down to breakfast alone in a smaller dining room, or what she thought of as a bigger breakfast nook, and Sally brought in a large meal. Claire was surprised at all the food and looked up at Sally questioningly.

“What is all of this?” she wondered in amazement.

Sally smiled proudly. “Well milady, since this is your first breakfast here in the manor, I thought you ought to have a treat, and I prepared the full English breakfast for you. This is a traditional meal here. Oh, they’ve got a full Scottish breakfast, and a full Irish breakfast in those countries, but they’re about the same wherever you go. The name of it changes depending on what side of the border you’re on.” She laughed with good nature. “So, you’ve got warm buttered mushroom buttons here, warm tomato slices, baked beans, there’s back bacon, sausage, poached eggs, hash browns, fresh warmed bread, white pudding, black pudding, toast, tea, and coffee. Please don’t feel like you have to eat it all, just enjoy whatever you like.”

Claire blinked as she stared at it all. “This is a traditional English breakfast?” she asked in a soft voice.

“Yes, milady,” Sally answered, watching her as Claire gazed around at all of it. All the different foods were on their own dishes, and set around her plate in the shape of a fan. She looked up at Sally and smiled.

“My goodness, there’s so much; I hardly know where to begin,” she said in the same voice, but with a friendly smile. “Thank you so much for doing all of this. It’s a lot of work!”

“It’s my pleasure, milady. It’s my way of welcoming you,” she answered.