The Secrets of Wolverton Manor (paranormal shifters and vampires) (Victorian Werewolves and Immortals) by Carina Wilder Page A

Drake, I’m going to be needing some of your special vampire balm,” he smiled at the cook.
    “Oooh, Edmund, you know you shouldn’t say that word in this house.”
    “I don’t think ‘balm’ is such a bad word, now is it?” he replied.
    “You know what I mean. Remember that we have guests showing up. Words that begin with ‘v’ are not to be uttered.”
    “Vest. Valet. Veranda…” he began.
    “Watch it,” said Alice, “or you’ll make her vvvery vvviolent.”
    “She could never be angry with me. Could you, Mrs. Drake?”
    “I could find a way, to be sure,” she laughed.
    “Say, has either of you ever been burned?” Edmund asked as he shoved the last of the scone into his mouth.
    Mrs. Drake and Alice exchanged looks. Sometimes they forgot that the young man was rather new to the manor, and so he hadn’t heard the tales that had accumulated over the decades.
    “Not by the sun , no,” said Mrs. Drake. “But several years before your time, there was a lad who got it something fierce from being outside at the wrong time.”
    “And what happened to him?”
    “I can tell you that his Lordship was none too pleased. Threatened to send him off to find a new job, with no references. Can you imagine, one of us looking for such a job? He’d have been lucky to end up a chimney sweep.”
    “And so? Did he leave?”
    “Eventually he did, but not because of that incident. Fact is, the skin does heal. But best not to get the burns in the first place. A footman is mostly for show, remember, and as such he should look presentable at all times.”
    “I suppose. I forget sometimes that we’re lucky to have these positions in service. I wonder why his Lordship’s family ever thought it a good idea to take in vam---I mean, folk like us?”
    “Well, I wasn’t around for it, but several generations ago an ancestor of his was the first to take some of our kind in. One of ours helped him, you see. Saved him from being drained of his blood by another…v-word. One seeking revenge on him, since as you know we don’t generally go after the blood of their ilk.
    “ The old Duke never forgot it, and his kin have been loyal ever since, which is nothing to take lightly, because their kind usually doesn’t take kindly to ours, as you know. That said, I’ve no doubt that if we irritated his Lordship upstairs sufficiently, he’d happily kick us all out. So we all must persevere and do what’s best for the house.”
    “It’s not right, you know,” said Alice, who’d been listening intently. “Our folk shouldn’t be the lowest members of society, as we are. We should be the aristocrats. We’re elegant and beautiful, and they’re, well…”
    “Oh, you do go on,” said Mrs. Drake. “You may have noticed that beauty and elegance have nothing to do with it. And we’re far from the lowest of the low; there’s honour to working in service, there is. I suppose if one of us got very lucky indeed, he or she may end up marrying above their station. But you can’t be surprised when society rejects us. Best to remember our place. It doesn’t matter what they are upstairs. Human or not, they have their position and we have ours. There’s no need to get uppity about it.”
    “I heard once about a young maid here ---one of our kind---who got herself caught up with a visiting Earl. Is that the truth?” asked Edmund, knowing that gossip was a good way to diffuse tension between ladies.
    M rs. Drake’s serious tone became grave. “Aye, it’s true. It was long ago and it was a mistake. Still, she paid the price, and the family had their way with her. You know how his Lordship feels about scandal. It’s important, always, to behave ourselves. That girl made the mistake of showing her true colours, if you know what I mean. Biting an earl; what a fool she was.”
    “Well, I suppose if we’re going to get up to no good, we must at least conceal it from their prying eyes,” said Edmund, smiling.
    Alice laughed. Mrs.