Viscounts and Vampires

Chapter Three

The morning of the ball dawned warm and sunny, a welcome change from the rain that had covered the city for the past week. To her surprise, Eleanor was joined at breakfast by a very tired looking Rose.

"You're up early," Rose commented as she sat down a few seats down. She sipped from a small cup that she must have had delivered to her room.

"So are you," Eleanor observed. "Usually I take breakfast alone."

"I hope I'm not disturbing you!" Rose looked genuinely distressed at the prospect so Eleanor was quick to assure her otherwise. She looked satisfied and reclined in her chair in what Olivia Hastings would call an "unladylike slouch." Eleanor decided she quite liked this woman.

"I must confess I was up half the night. It has been quite a while since I saw Robert..." She let the implication hover in the air and the ensuing silence was only broken by the entrance of a maid with a plate of toast and a poached egg.

"He has missed you dearly," Eleanor said as Rose took a bite of toast. Eleanor herself was taking only coffee, a drink that the rest of the family avoided.

"And I him," Rose answered around a mouthful of toast. "We have not often been apart since we were married, and I'm afraid I've come to be rather dependent on him."

Eleanor had an unbidden and unpleasant vision of the estate falling to pieces as soon as Robert left, but she doubted the management of the estate would be considered polite breakfast conversation.

"How do you like living at Holloway?" Eleanor asked instead.

"It's glorious," Rose answered. "There's nothing quite like managing a home of my own. And it's gorgeous, of course. The view overlooking the pond is magnificent in the early morning, sometimes I wake Robert up just to see it with me."

It had been years since Eleanor had been home; even when she came for the marriage they had stayed in town as Olivia insisted on having as many guests attend as possible, but she still remembered the layout.

"Have you had changes made? I thought it was only visible from the master's bedroom."

"Oh of course not! We wouldn't dream of doing anything to such an old estate. Rob and I are staying there. Oh! I'm so sorry Eleanor..." Eleanor felt the blood drain from her face. "I didn't think it would matter."

"Don't be ridiculous," Eleanor muttered. "Robert's the Lord of Holloway now; of course he should have the master chamber. If you'll excuse me, I need to speak with Williams about some things."

She left her cup half full as she stood from the table and made a hasty exit. She found herself across the hall in the library, taking refuge among the stacks of books. She was being silly, she knew that. She couldn't expect everything to just stay the way it was. Robert had every right to make use of the estate as he saw fit. But the hurt seemed sharper somehow; knowing that her father's place was being filled what seemed so effortlessly by her brother. It wasn't fair.

She spent the better part of an hour in the library, aimless pulling books from the shelves and reading a few pages before selecting a new one. She only stopped when she heard the door open and a voice call her name. Peering around a bookcase, she saw her brother.

"I've been looking for you."

"You should know to find me here," Eleanor responded, coming out of the stacks.

"What did you say to Rose?"

"What?"

"She said she had breakfast with you and she seemed upset but she wouldn't tell me why. What happened?"