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Winkle was relatively new to Dama’s household and had not yet determined the intricacies of the relationship between Lord and Lady Maccon, their daughter, Lord Akeldaather, politics dictated that Lady Prudence be adopted by a rove vampire to keep her safe from the hive va her up rather than her blood parents Lady Maccon and Baroness Tunstell had been friends since childhood, as incoht seem, hence Miss Primrose’s coet along, and others avoided all contact, remained a mystery So he said tentatively, "Your mother prefers her child visit olves over a rove?"

Priht say"

What Winkle didn’t knoas that Ivy Tunstell’s metamorphosis to vampire queen had been unplanned, unexpected, unprecedented, and highly unlikely The entirety of London had yet to recover from the decades-old shock The fashion for overly decorated hats was only the latest marker of Baroness Tunstell’s sudden – by vah society The fact that as a newly made queen she’d arrived with a complete hive of four male vampires – all of them quite old, quite rich, and quite powerful – and six foreign drones was beyond the liyptian was beneath contempt The consequences of such horrendous behaviour was as expected – Queen Victoria gave Mrs Tunstell a baronetcy What else could the aristocracy do with such a travesty in its midst but absorb it entirely? The baroness had been declared an original and integrated into the ton Her family’s connection to trade and her actor husband were quietly forgotten, the skin colour of her hive nored, and she was invited to dine at all the best houses Not that she could leave her hive as a tethered queen, but invitations were sent Her ridiculous hats were accepted by ladies of standing and ill repute with equal alacrity Even the Parisian designers were producing the occasional platter-shapedherding Within a year of contact with the Wiyptians, as the hive was so London dandies had taken to coloured shirts, sashes about the waist, and the odd gold bracelet or two Dama had needed to be very firm indeed with his more modish drones Mr Rabiffano, as the world’s only fashionable olf, had remained ah a vampire queen, never lost her suspicion of other vampires Her close friendship with Rue’s soulless mother and olf Paw left her pro-olf in a way that had not been seen in a vampire for centuries Thus Baroness Tunstell was considered by the supernatural set to be quite modern Countess Nadasdy, queen of the nearby Woolsey Hive had been heard to call her, on more than one occasion, both fast and forward In van of respect

But for Priainst the Baroness of Wimbledon’s overprotective nature since she was born, and for Rue, who’d often been included in the s a vampire queen in control of a twitchy transplanted hive full of foreigners only exacerbated a te It was just like Aunt Ivy to send one of her vaer And even e what a tremendous social faux pas this was

Priise! How horribly rude I ahtly A hive-bound va a card first! Such ood reasons

Rue was annoyed on Dama’s behalf and amused by her friend’s discomfort Prim was usually so poised "Really, Priather up her wrap and reticule "Sadly, no I apologise again, Lord Akeldama Please excuse me Rue, I’ll call tomorrow Just after sunset?" She bobbed a curtsey and blew the to intercept her mother’s va to enter Dama’s home, without invitation

Rue watched her friend depart "Why must we be cursed with such troublesole," objected her Da?"

Rue shifted next to him and carefully rested her head on his well-padded shoulder "Oh, not you, of course, Dairl"

CHAPTER TWO

FOR QUEEN AND CUSTARD

Rue watched her ns of distress

The aristocratic features reht flare of the nostrils Rue touched her own nose, checking for signs of expansion It was a characteristic mannerism adopted whenever she was in Mother’s company She’d developed it as a child, worried that her nose row into a siht

Rue’s mother wrinkled said protuberance and swished the tea carefully about her er of expectorating Except, of course, that Mother never expectorated Apart fro, she would abhor the waste of tea

Rue had never entirely forgiven herher Prudence Despite a shared and inexplicable love for treacle tart, their relationship was contentious at best and combative the rest of the time