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Curious that any ht opt to try for metamorphosis, she asked, "Why on earth did your brother turn in the first place?"

"It was against his will I think the hive queen did it to prove a point We MacDougalls have always voted against change--antiprogressive to the last breath and influential in government where it counts most"

Miss Tarabotti nodded She had surmised his family’s influence from the money he obviously possessed She touched the fine leather of the buggy seat with one hand Here was a scientist who needed no patronage Strange place, that overseas land, where religion and wealth did the talking and history and age held so little sway

Mr MacDougall continued "I think the hive thought that turning the eldest alls all think differently"

"Did it?"

"None except me I loved ed He was still the saht-born, yes, but essentially the same He probably still would have voted conservative, if they’d let hihtly, and then his face fell back to round pudding blandness "So I switched fro the supernatural ever since"

Miss Tarabotti shook her head unhappily Such a sad beginning She conteht hats and dresses of ladies walking ar sedately overhead "BUR would never allow such behavior from any vampire --to bite without per with the intent to hed "Yours is a very different world, my dear Miss Tarabotti Very different Mine is a land still at ith itself The fact that the vaiven"

Alexia did not wish to insult her new friend, so she refrained froovernment But what did the Arate the supernatural set into their society in any way? When they forced vampires and olves to hide and skulk about in a shoddy ies?

"Have you rejected your family’s puritanical tenets?" Miss Tarabotti looked inquiringly at her coht a flash of tan trench coat It h on Professor Lyall to be outside in all this sun, especially when full moon was soon due She felt a moment’s pity but was pleased to know that it was he who had relieved the night watch guard Itof her Of course, he was thinking of her as a proble of her at all, was it not? Alexia touched her lips softly with one hand and then forcibly stopped all ruminations on the all answered her question "You mean, have I abandoned the belief that supernatural folk have sold their souls to Satan?"

Miss Tarabotti nodded

"Yes But not necessarily because of my brother’s h forme to Oxford You know, I studied for some time in this country? Several of the dons are vampires I have co, that the soul must formulate a quantifiable entity Some individuals have less of this soul-matter, and soed into immortals, and those who have less cannot Thus it is not lack of soul but overabundance that the puritans feared And that very concept is heresy in reed She kept abreast of the Society’s publications They had yet to find out about preternaturals and the truly soulless BUR was content to let daylight scientists blunder about without access to that particular knowledge But Miss Tarabotti felt it was only a e before her kind were analyzed and dissected

"You have been devising a way to measure the soul ever since?" She checked about casually for her supernatural shadow Professor Lyall paced the by: an everyday y nearby But Alexia kneatching her the entire tiall nodded "Wouldn’t you like to know? Especially as a wo to survive metamorphosis"

Miss Tarabotti smiled "I know exactly how much soul I have, thank you, sir I need no scientist to tellher confidence for jest

A gaggle of dandified young ht of fashion: three-buttoned stails instead of frock coats, knotted silk cravats, and high collars Alexia was certain she knew several of theh to name These tipped their hats to her One tallish specimen in blueberry satin breeches slowed to look with inexplicable interest at Mr MacDougall before being whisked onward by his cohorts Off to one side, Professor Lyall took note of their antics with interest

Alexia glanced at her co of souls, Mr MacDougall, shouldn’t you be worried such knowledge ht be misused?"

"By scientists?"

"By scientists, by hives, by packs, by governht nohat keeps the power of the supernatural set in check is their small numbers If they knew ahead of time who to recruit, they could turn more females and increase their population drastically, and the very fabric of our social world would be rearranged"

"Yet the fact that they need us to procreate gives us nore," he demurred

It occurred to Miss Tarabotti that hives and packs had probably been working to uncover a way toenerations of advanced supernatural researchers had failed But she held her tongue Who was she to destroy a roup of swans floating across a pond to one side of the track In truth, it was Professor Lyall who had caught her attention Had he stuentle that man to drop some sort of metal device

"So what topic will you address at the Hypocras inauguration?" Miss Tarabotti asked

Mr MacDougall coughed "Well"--he looked embarrassed--"primarily what I have found the soul not to be My initial research would see theories: some think it may reside in part of the brain; others believe it to be a fluid element in the eyes or perhaps electrical in nature"

"What do you think?" Alexia was still feigning interest in the swans Professor Lyall seemed to recover himself It was hard to tell at this distance, but, under his John Bull hat, his angular face seemed oddly pale