Tea, Lycanthropy and Other Virtues

Chapter Twenty-Five

Constance peeled her eyes open. Her mouth was gritty, her muscles ached. Hannah slept beside her, fully dressed. Light filtered in through the lace curtains. She was back in her room in the townhouse. Hannah opened her eyes as she struggled to sit up.

"Sorry to wake you," Constance croaked.

Hannah smiled. "I'm glad to see you're awake."

"How'd I get here?"

"Emile carried you. She might as well have carried a doll for all the trouble it caused her."

"I didn't wake up?"

"Emile said she thought it was because you're so new to it. That you used up a lot of energy. That it's like a muscle that needs to get stronger." Hannah yawned. "But we sent for a doctor just in case. He thought you were fine too, but was going to do a little bloodletting. Emile said that absolutely would not help you and I thought with her being a vampire, maybe the fresh smell of your blood wasn't really the best thing."

Constance grimaced.

"I know," Hannah agreed. "But I decided this morning when I came in here to check on you that if you weren't up and around soon, I'd call him back."

"Thank you," Constance said, feeling vulnerable and cared for.

Hannah stood and poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the bureau.

"How do I get stronger, I wonder," Constance said, pushing herself into a sitting position, her muscles screaming at her. "I don't like that I slept through all of that. It's very impractical."

Hannah handed her the glass, and she drank gratefully, letting the liquid soothe her parched throat.

You could be very dangerous. She shivered. "Then again, maybe not," she said, setting the glass on the bedside table.

Hannah's brow creased. "I'm not sure that's the best way forward." She came back over with a brush and ran it through Constance's hair.

"It's not like we're at war with the supernaturals, and I don't want to force anyone to feel anything or to hurt anyone."

"Sounds like someone else I know."

Constance's heart twisted. Had she really been stupid enough to think that someone as distinguished as Lord Connor would ever be interested in her? Even with her unintentional influence on his emotions, he barely seemed to like her. Just because he was an honorable man and cared about her safety didn't mean he'd ever actually cared for her. Her throat constricted.

"You finished it?" Hannah said, with a glance at her bedside table where Sense and Sensibility sat. "Did you like it?"

"I loved it. It was wonderful, and I know just how Elinor felt, trying to keep everyone fed and sheltered. I didn't know books could do that."

"Understand you better than most people?"

"Yes," Constance said, laughing.

"Oh, how it made me wish for a sister," Hannah said.

"The book made me feel like I was missing out too," Constance said.

"Perhaps we'll be sisters."

Regret stung her.

"You know," Hannah said, looking out the window wistfully, "I think I could be happy with a vicar."

"You have a thing for the clergy?"

Hannah laughed. "No, I mean I'd be happy with a man no matter his station if we truly loved each other. The way Elinor and Edward were. I know it's odd of me to say, and maybe I'm wrong since I grew up with so much, but really when it comes down to it, I just want someone who loves me and who I love. Someone who will stand beside me no matter what to share life with. What do you think?"

Disappointment weighed Constance down. She may get a vicar, but she'd been foolish enough to dream about a certain lord. "As long as I don't have to do any ceiling repairs, I suppose I'd be happy."

"But Simon says you're so good at it," Hannah said, rearranging some of Constance's curls.

There was a knock on the door and the maid stuck her head in.

"There's a man here to see you, miss."

Blood drained out of Constance's head and her pulse skyrocketed. Hannah's hand went still in Constance's hair.

"A Mr. Banfield, Miss."

"Owen is here?" Hannah asked, flying to her feet. "Show him in, of course, to the draw—the parlor." She started to rush out, then paused. "I suppose I shouldn't see him alone, and your family is out mushroom hunting." Her face fell. "But you're unwell." She seemed to flutter between Constance and the door.

Constance laughed. She had a feeling she was about to meet Hannah's "vicar" "Help me get dressed. I'm well enough to be your chaperone."

Hannah took her hand and pulled her out of bed with such force Emile would have wondered if she was a vampire.