Avoiding her gaze, the duke replied, “I just had my two hundred and seventy-sixth birthday a few months back.”
All the breath fled from her body. He was two hundred and seventy-six years old? “H-how long do vampires usually live?”
He sat on the stone bench by the lilac bush and sighed. “We live for centuries. In fact, rumor has it that the oldest of us has been around since before Christ was born. Is this to be an interrogation?” He looked up at her sharply.
Angelica was reeling from the information, so she almost didn’t notice the flicker of warmth in his eyes when she sat down next to him. “No—yes… perhaps. I am merely curious.”
His gaze softened as he nodded. “Well, I suppose you have the right to know. Ask your questions about me and my brethren, and I’ll answer what I can.”
“How many vampires are there?” She couldn’t hide her rapt fascination.
Burnrath shrugged. “In the world? I haven’t the faintest notion. In London there are one hundred and thirty-five.”
Angelica’s eyes widened at the exact tally. “Do you know all of them?”
“Of course I do. I am their lord.” He smiled down at her, displaying that charming dimple. “I am afraid that you are in more illustrious company than you first supposed. In the mortal world, I am merely the Duke of Burnrath and the owner of four estates. In the vampire world, I own all of London. Every vampire who lives in this city has sworn fealty to me.”
She was stunned silent by his words. The idea that vampires had their own social structure and politics had never crossed her mind. She had always pictured them as solitary creatures, skulking in the shadows. Her mind raced with multitudes of questions that she couldn’t quite put into words. His eyes seemed to glitter with impatience, so she quickly fumbled for another question.
“How did you become a vampire?” She turned away from his piercing gaze and bent to pluck a blade of new grass from the ground.
He was silent for a long moment before at last he replied, “I was a knight in King Henry’s army, and I fell on the field during what is now known as the Battle of Ancrum Moor in the year 1545, during the ‘rough wooing.’ Do you know much about it?”
“That was back when Henry the Eighth was attacking Scotland in an effort to force them to make an alliance with England.” Angelica sneered. “What a tyrant! I am glad the Scots won.”
The duke chuckled. “Careful, my sweet, you come close to speaking treason.”
She blushed as she realized that he had been fighting on Henry’s side. “I did not mean—”
“You are right, Angel,” he said, still laughing. “He was a tyrant, indeed. Anyway, my horse was hit with an arrow, and I was thrown and knocked unconscious. When I awoke, night had fallen, and a lone Scotsman approached me. I thought he was a soldier until I saw his glowing green eyes and bared fangs. In a trice, he was upon me, tearing my throat with his fangs and gulping my blood. I would have died if another vampire had not stopped him.”
The duke took a deep breath and continued. “The Scots vampire fled and my rescuer Changed me. He taught me what I needed to know about being a vampire. He then told me to return to my home and live among the mortals. King Henry thought that I had been taken prisoner and escaped. He was so impressed with my ‘bravery’ that he made me the Duke of Burnrath the moment I finished my lie. I became Lord of London only fifty years ago. So, there you have it.”
“That is amazing,” Angelica breathed. He painted such a vivid picture that she could easily see the knights in gleaming helms, blood-drenched battlefields, and mighty warhorses. “I only have one more question. Well, perhaps two.”
Burnrath chuckled at her temerity before giving her a patient smile. “Very well, I will try to indulge you.”
“Do you kill people?” She swallowed, nearly choking on the question. A trickle of fear dripped down her spine. Vampire kills in stories were tantalizing, but this was reality. Would he have killed her if he hadn’t discovered her identity the night she snuck into his home?
His hair brushed her cheek as he shook his head. “No, there is too much blood in a human’s body to consume in one sitting. Also, killing is forbidden under most circumstances, for dead bodies drained of blood would put us in jeopardy of discovery. And your other question?”
Angelica let out breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Do you drink only blood? Or can you eat food as well?”
“We cannot digest solid food very well any longer, but many of us miss the taste of our favorite dishes and indulge in a few bites. I still enjoy meat pasties and fine brandy.” His white teeth flashed as he grinned.