With a five minute peaceful walk with Eloise, I reach exactly where I wanted to take her for dinner.

The Belair House has been around even before my time, it has been years since I stepped foot on this property, the last time was when I was alive, with people whose faces I couldn't remember even if I tried.

"This place is amazing." Eloise says, looking around the garden of the house. "I can't believe this place exists."

The simple fact that she was appreciative and excited to be here, made it all the more interesting being here with her, she was such a rare creature that I found myself wanting to be more and more in her company.

"Since 1785." I told her, to which her eyes widened.

"No way." She seemed happy, like a child on Christmas morning. "I'm really happy you brought me here, I haven't really seen anything in London yet, so this is amazing."

I had figured as much, she already told me she was American, and that she hadn't been in London very long, reasons unknown, but I definitely plan to find out more about her, and why she's here.

Surely not just to visit father dearest? 

"That's too bad, London is an exciting place to be, especially for an American such as yourself." 

She laughed as a waited came to our table. "I may be American but I know some stuff, for example... I googled you, and your castle." She said, her cheeks changing color.

I asked for two glasses of their best wine and once the waiter had it down and left, I looked at Eloise in confusion.

She... googled me? Right, they can do that now with the wonders of technology.

"Were you satisfied with what google told you?" I asked, staring directly into her eyes, making her shift in her seat embarrassed.

"Not in the slightest, I was actually left with more unanswered questions." 

I didn't know if this was a good, or bad thing, possibly both depending on what she says next, she was a curious woman for someone so young, which is probably why I liked talking to her, she reminded me so much of who I was.

"You moved around as a child, you even lived in America for a few years before you bought the Von Strauss house, but what I'm curious about is what's missing." 

"You want to know about my family history and how I became so 'filthy rich' as the yanks say." I hum, as Eloise smiles with a nod of the head.

Obviously everything I had online was fabricated to make it look like I was an interesting person, interesting enough to peak at but not dig into by any nosy investigators who might want to revel the truth.

"It's such a depressing story, are you sure you want to know?" I raise a brow as she timidly nods her head, just as the waiter brings us our drinks.

Thanking the waiter, I see that there is no way around this, I had to play along, even if it were a lie and I disliked myself for speaking lies, I had to keep her interested, for reasons I didn't know yet.

"I don't have family anymore, I am an orphan and once I grew into my inheritance I took some time traveling the world, until I finally settled in my home country and bought the Von Strauss house." I plainly put it, not wanting to go into too much detail, I always wanted them begging for more.

"My life is not that interesting, considering."

"Alright, pretend that I believe your life is so boring, why did you buy that house?" She asks, peeking my interest further. "From what I read online, the house belonged to famous artists in the 1800's, I actually know of one..."

"Charles Von Straus." She said my name, a smile threatening to appear. "I think everyone knows of him at this point, but I totally forgot about him until I well... looked you up online."

I knew where this was going. "You want to know if I'm related to him?" I asked amused, already knowing her answer.

"No, I'm afraid I'm just another collector of fine things Miss Anderby, I saw the house which held so much history in my field of study that it felt like such a crime to leave it to rot and fall into ruin's"

"I'm sorry, I just- your name." She stuttered, embarrassed, sipping her wine.

"Simply a coincidence." I smiled, and she smiled back.

Eloise was smart, perhaps too smart, I might need to adjust her memory by the end of the dinner to avoid my blabbering mouth from saying things that it shouldn't.

"I uh... I saw you with students." She cleared my throat, her shy eyes watching me. "You're a teacher?"

"I didn't mean to stalk you, but I just saw you and I don't know... I was shocked to see you here honestly."

"Yes." I liked her chance of subject. "I teach Art history at The Courtauld Institute of Art."

"That's.. impressive." She was a loss for words, just as the waiter came with the menu's.

What a creature she's  turning out to be, she's smart, inquisitive, and for one, she's not bored yet, which  I always think is a more attractive quality in a woman, if she can keep up with the topic at hand, she's a masterful talked.

No- attractive? A great talker? I needed to stop thinking of such things, I had to keep away from her, this just had to be dinner and nothing else, or else I'm afraid of what I'd do to something to pure, intelligent and lovely.

I'd only darken her with my soul, this lovely woman.

Once we had finished our meal, I paid in full with tips as we left side by side, it had gotten much darker as the miserable grey clouds had cleared up from the rain, it was was peaceful, even more so with Eloise.

I didn't want to let her leave, I wanted to ask her to my place, I could tell from her eyes from when she looked at me that she also wanted the same, but... that feeling of hunger followed as soon as I felt her hand touch my arm.

I needed to feed, and soon- having it only been a month since my last meal, I was cutting it close with my fasting, trying to cut back as much as I could, but in the end it was inevitable to avoid the thirst once it was time to feed.

I couldn't bring myself to taint her, not when I liked her company, I couldn't risk her death by my selfish needs, I had made up my mind the moment I saw her that I'd not feed on her, for as long I fought, I wouldn't.

Lenard had arrived by car outside Belair House, and I didn't miss the way Eloise looked at me from the corner of my eye once I held our the door for her, like I was a strange being to her, I'll admit, it was amusing seeing her witness things for what I felt was a first for her.

"I had a great time, I'm really glad I came along, I don't think I've ever had this much fun since my mom passed away." She sighed, smiling at me from the seat in front of me in the car.

Her mother passed? "Is that why you're in London?" I had to ask, it had been the question pestering me since the first moment I spoke to her.

"Yeah... she died a few months ago, it was sudden, one minute she was there and then the next..." She stopped talking and looked out the window.

"I never knew my dad, my mom never talked about him, I didn't even knew I had one until William reached out months after my mom passed away."

William Ruthenvolt.

I so badly wanted to get more out of her, perhaps something I could use- but I stopped myself the moment the words came to my head, it wasn't what this dinner for about, and right now the mood was turning a little too closer to home.

"I'm sorry for you loss, it couldn't have been easy for you to experience such a surprise and loss in such a short time apart."

I reached out in the darkness of the car and hovered my leather gloved hand above hers, a thousand voices telling me to just leave her alone, to not touch her again, but it was too late, Eloise had silenced the voices for me.

She'd grabbed my hand with her much smaller one and held it in her own, the warmth coming from her hold was so peculiar that I had no words, no- the only thing I could do was look at her, seeing her reflection in the window of the car as her cheeks flushed in the night.

It was bizarre, she was willingly holding a strangers hand and I- also a stranger to her, was letting her do as she pleased, a unfamiliar gesture I had never allowed anyone to do, in this life, or my last.

For five minutes I told myself, after then I'd move my hand and forget all about it, just five minutes and she'll be fine again, is what I told myself, every time a minute went by.

Five minutes go by and she turns and looks at me, only then do I realize I had been staring at her this entire time, like a complete madman, I pulled my eyes away from her and cleared my throat, for the first time in many years, embarrassed I had been caught staring.

It wasn't until we reached our first stop, her place that I realized that we'd held hands the entire way, all twenty nine minutes of the journey, without saying a single word to each other.

I don't know what I was more surprised by, the fact I had let time slip from me or that Eloise had willingly allowed it to happen.

I got out of the car first, as Lenard kept the car running, I walked over to the passenger door and opened it for Eloise, to which she thanked me for whilst the avoided eye contact with me.

Closing the door shut, I really didn't want her to go, but my symptoms were worsening the more I surrounded myself in her presence, I needed to let her go.

"Have a good night, Miss Anderby." I say, as she puts her handbag around her shoulder and looks to me.

"You too, and please call me Eloise, Miss Anderby makes me feel like an old woman." She smiled up at me.

"Also... thank you for today, and for treating me to dinner, I had a lot of fun." She said politely, despite the tint of pink in her cheeks.

Fun... "It was my pleasure... Eloise." I tasted her name on my tongue, liking how it felt.

I had to leave now, I could feel her heartbeat pumping blood around her body at an alarming rate, she was starting to look more than lovely, but delicious and fresh... I couldn't stay here much longer, as much as I wanted to.

"Until next time." I tell her as she stepped away, smiling as she waved at me once she reached the doors to what looked like a hotel.

"Goodnight, Rowan." I heard her say, ever so quietly as she stepped inside the building.

Goodnight, Eloise... until I see you again.