“This one,” she pronounced with all the authority of youth.
“Really?”
“It complements your eyes.”
“If you say so.”
“With the straw shepherdess bonnet.” Vieve was always very assured on the subject of hats. Not to be trifled with.
“Well, you’ll have to help me put it on. Dimity still isn’t speaking to me.”
“More fool, her. You know about what’s going.”
“Not now; everyone is as up on things as I.” This irritated Sophronia.
Vieve dimpled. “Ah, but you’ll never guess what I heard.”
Sophronia brightened. “Oh?”
“One of the teachers is required in London.”
Sophronia was struck, yet again, by how much older Vieve always sounded and acted. One would never have guessed from her speech that she was ten. From her actions, occasionally, yes. She did bounce.
“Which one? Your aunt?”
Vieve shrugged.
“Really, Vieve.”
“Now, now, Sophronia, I told you something interesting, didn’t I? I can’t do all the work.” The girl got distracted. “What is Bumbersnoot up to?”
Bumbersnoot had snuffled over to one side of the room and latched onto a froufrou that had fallen into the corner by the bed. He was dragging it out into the center of the floor and not swallowing it into his tiny boiler.
Sophronia looked at her pet. “He wants to come along.”
“What?”
Sophronia indicated the floof in Bumbersnoot’s mouth with her head. Her hands were busy pinning on the shepherdess hat.
Vieve crouched down and gently extracted the bit of cloth from the metal dog’s mouth. It turned out to be a complex sort of sling, heavily decorated with lace, ruffles, and tassels. Vieve, being mechanically minded, realized it was designed for Bumbersnoot to wear. It covered most of the mechanimal and made him look like a reticule—if a reticule were to be designed with a metal dog head. If anyone asked, Sophronia was prone to explaining her handbag was the latest fashion out of Italy, and she couldn’t fathom how a person of taste didn’t also own one.
“Dimity and I made it for him after Petunia’s ball. The idea worked so well there. Everyone thought he was some fancy new accessory. This way I can take him to classes with me. He likes to get out and about on occasion, don’t you, Bumbersnoot?”
Vieve’s eyebrows were raised almost into her dark hair. Bumbersnoot was, technically, illegal. Not only were students of Mademoiselle Geraldine’s not permitted pets, but unregistered mechanimals were forbidden throughout the British Empire.
“Lesson five five four,” said Sophronia. “Sometimes it is best to hide a suspicious item in plain sight.”
“How do you keep him from smoking or steaming unexpectedly?”
Sophronia completed her toilette and turned to look at Bumbersnoot. Vieve had fastened the sling about him using the various ribbons tied into bows. “He has to behave, or he gets brought back to the room. Usually, he’s pretty good. Speaking of which, I’d better get to class.”
“What do you have?”
“Lady Linette’s lesson on hive society.”
“Then there will be boys with you.”
“As opposed to? I thought they were joining us for all our classes.”
Vieve shook her head, green eyes twinkling. “Oh, no, no. Bunson’s doesn’t fraternize with supernaturals.”
“So they won’t be in lessons with Captain Niall or Professor Braithwope?”
Vieve nodded and handed her Bumbersnoot.
“Oh, I don’t know,” hedged Sophronia, “with boys running around. Is it wise to bring him?”
“He wants to go,” insisted Vieve.
Bumbersnoot flapped an ear.
“Very well. Remember, Bumbersnoot, don’t move.” Sophronia slung the mechanimal over her shoulder so that he dangled near her waist, looking for all the world like the oddest and most eccentric bag any lady of means had ever carried.
In class, Dimity, Sidheag, and Agatha noticed the addition of Bumbersnoot to Sophronia’s attire but said nothing. Sophronia only carried the mechanical when she thought she might need him. Although what defined needing such a ridiculous creature was anyone’s guess. They would assume this was simply another moment when Sophronia knew more than they and intended to show them up.
As if I would do that in front of boys! Sophronia plonked Bumbersnoot down ostentatiously among the other reticules.
Lady Linette’s etiquette class was augmented by four boys, including Lord Dingleproops and his dark-haired friend.
Lady Linette began. “Welcome, ladies and gentlemen. Today’s class is entitled “Faking It with Fangs.” We will go over proper introductions within a hive environment. Please pair off.”
With six girls, Sophronia and Agatha were left out of the first round. Monique made straight for Lord Dingleproops, cutting Dimity off. Preshea chose the dark-haired boy. They made a fetching pair, of a kind in coloring, pleasing proportions, and sulky temperament. Yet, despite Preshea’s uncontested loveliness, the dark-haired boy kept glancing at Sophronia. Which, while complimentary, also gave her an undeniable feeling of smugness. It wasn’t often a boy preferred her over Preshea.
Lady Linette continued, “Queens outrank all other vampires, despite whatever landed title they might hold. Always go to the queen first in any social situation and allow one of her hive-bound vampires to introduce you. After the queen come her hive members, then any roves who may be present. All of these will be men, some landed. Drones—humans indentured to hive or rove—are classed as household staff, with a few exceptions.”
One of the boys said, snidely, “Are you purposefully leaving out the fact that drones are also the vampires’ primary food source?”
Lady Linette snapped, “One doesn’t discuss such utilitarian things!
For today’s practice, the gentlemen will pretend to be hive vampires. Begin!”
Sophronia and Agatha introduced themselves to each other. Agatha was as shy and as nervous as if Sophronia were a real vampire. The mere presence of four young men among them had her aflutter. Poor Agatha was generally overset by anything new, from the advent of a birthday scarf—How to wear it? What to match it with?—to boys wandering willy-nilly into classes.
“So unpredictable,” Agatha whispered.
The scarf, wondered Sophronia, or the boys?
Conversation was allowed to continue for some ten minutes while Lady Linette mingled and made adjustments—to stance, to subject matter, to flirting, to lack of flirting, to eyelash use. She corrected both girls and boys. Sophronia realized, for the first time, that vampires had just as many rules to follow as women in society. Possibly more.
“Pardon me, Lady Linette?”
“Yes, Miss Temminnick?”
“Can rove vampires safely visit a hive? I thought they had to stay in their own territory.”
“Roves can visit for short lengths of time. Think logically, Miss Temminnick. Roves must have an alliance with a vampire queen because only a queen can breed new vampires. Since roves have drones, and drones work for the right to try to become a vampire, they must maintain an alliance with a queen. In exchange for drone metamorphosis, roves perform duties for the queen that the males of her hive cannot. Roves, for example, have much longer tethers and greater mobility.”
Sophronia decided tether length was something to bother Professor Braithwope about. She found the idea of vampire territories intriguing, but there was very little written on the subject. Since vampires perceived tethers as a weakness, this was probably by design. They did love controlling information.