The Royal Series 0 - A Royal Archive

Chapter 2

† Finnegan †

Barely ten minutes after Spencer left, Finnegan stood by the door to his room and preened his hair in the mirror. His client was due to arrive any moment and he must be presentable.

Working in the brothel was not his dream job, but it would not be anyone's dream job. He simply needed a stable existence and the ridiculously large earnings that came with working in the Promise of Pleasure. Once he had enough money to travel the world, he would seek a better life for himself.

He had, so far, avoided vampire clients. They mainly attended the more upscale brothels in the heart of the city; the places that could afford proper health care and finer establishments. Or they simply picked up a human and taught them the ways of a slave, within the comfort of their own homes. Sometimes, they even found the rare vampire slave, ready and willing to be nothing more than a bed mate in return for certain comforts and extravagances.

Finnegan had no chance of being so lucky. Those boys were always well groomed, with enough family money to elevate themselves through society circles, until they found someone willing to take them on full time.

When the knock on the door finally came, he had firmly reminded himself of his duties and position in life. He was here to serve, at their pleasure, until he could afford to support himself. Nothing more. Nothing less.

He opened the door with a ready smile, that faltered as he found an older gent standing on his doorstep. He was tall, with hair greying at the sides that suggested he had been older when turned. He walked with a cane held firmly in his left hand, his top hat in the other. He was dressed far too well for a man of these parts, so Finnegan could not help but wonder why he did not aim for the grander brothels that were nought more than a carriage ride away.

"Welcome." Finnegan recalled his manners and stepped back from the door, to invite his guest inside.

The man bobbed his head and stepped into the room, looking rather uncomfortable.

"May I take your hat and cane?" he asked politely.

The man turned to look at him, then again at the tiny top room he occupied. Rather reluctantly, he handed over the two items and crossed to the window. He was very quiet, compared to some of his other clients.

"A refreshment?" Finnegan offered, trying to encourage him to relax and speak up. But the man simply turned and shook his head.

"To tell you the truth, boy, I am not sure why I came," the man said, with a seriousness that surprised him. "I do not look for a companion or a whore," he continued.

Finnegan flinched at the term he most hated and backed over to the bed, wondering if this man was a danger to him. He had heard of some men who detested brothels and booked a boy, simply so they could beat him or capture him and parade him around their friends, in the street, to make an example of them. He would not be one of those unfortunate souls.

The man sighed and shook his head, before looking up. "A friend sent me here. A dear friend who insisted that it was high time I seek comfort for my lonely nights. Or attempt to find my life mate, though I doubt I would ever discover them here," he complained, turning his nose up at the room. "I was turned late in life, as you can tell, and the fates have seen fit to grant me a longer life than I deserved. I doubt that I will have a life mate at all, as I am not a true vampire, by birth. That suits me fine," he went on, verging on rambling.

"Now that I have seen you, living in this squalor, I think I shall leave before I catch some outrageously disfiguring disease. Or perhaps encourage you in this sham of a life you live," he continued.