“You look fine,” she reassured him in a quiet voice before subtly teasing him, “Besides, Americans usually dress notoriously casual when abroad. Britons and Europeans have grown to expect it.”
His eyes widened as he glanced up at Alton, who was doing his best to restrain himself from laughing out loud.
“Mr. Rutherford, how nice to see you, sir,” the maître d’ greeted crisply.
“And you as well, Mr. Gibbons,” Alton replied politely. “I realize we have no reservations, but my friends are just in from America, you see. Could we perhaps encroach upon a table for lunch?”
The man seemed genuinely amused by Alton’s query and insisted, “Perish the thought, sir. We always have a table for you.”
“Very kind, I assure you,” Alton said with a smirk and looked over to Katrina and Caleb with a broad grin.
Katrina’s eyebrows rose with amusement, and she cast a brief glance to the ceiling. Oh please. You probably own the place.
“Please, follow me,” Gibbons offered and turned to lead the way into the restaurant.
Meanwhile, Caleb was quite impressed and placed his hand in the small of Katrina’s back for her to proceed behind Alton. I may be underdressed, but my chivalry is still intact.
The table they were led to was in the corner of the dining room furthest from the front of the restaurant and had a spectacular view of the city from the glass windows that flanked the table. Gibbons held Katrina’s seat for her as she sat between Alton and Caleb, her back to the rest of the dining room, thereby allowing her the best view of the city. The table was also comfortably far away from other diners.
Gibbons placed a cloth napkin across Katrina’s lap with a flourish and offered menus to each of them. Another waiter appeared seemingly from nowhere to fill their empty water glasses, while a waitress appeared to place fresh-smelling warm bread and small plates on the table.
“Perhaps some wine, sir?” Gibbons suggested to Alton.
“Indeed,” the stately vampire agreed. “Bring us the 1900 Bordeaux, please.”
Gibbons’ eyebrows rose for only a moment, but he nodded. “I’ll see to it myself, sir.”
Katrina looked at Alton sharply, and even though Caleb was uneducated regarding wines, he realized that something that old must cost a fortune.
“It’s a special occasion when friends come to visit,” Alton offered simply as he reached for a slice of the warm bread.
Caleb watched the dark-haired vampire smell the bread as if categorizing it and break off a bite to chew it slowly as he looked directly at him. “Try some, it’s really quite good,” he insisted. “Baked daily, actually.”
Katrina’s eyes narrowed slightly, but she reached out for a piece of the still-steaming bread and inhaled slightly as she held it before her. A small smile crossed her face.
Caleb selected a slice and smelled it for a longer duration than either vampire, fully appreciating the fresh-baked scent of it. His taste buds watered as he broke off a bite and popped it into his mouth. Another bite quickly followed as the flavors came alive.
Gibbons returned with the wine, uncorked it, and offered the tasting to Alton. After a moment, the vampire nodded with approval, and the maître d’ served Caleb and Katrina. Then, as quickly as he had appeared, Gibbons departed.
Alton savored the scent of the wine for a moment and took a small sip. Katrina did the same, and Caleb waited until last to taste. The flavor was full and rich, yet with a hint of bitterness to it. Caleb silently conceded that he wasn’t exactly a connoisseur of fine wine.
“An added benefit of our kind: our senses allow for a fuller appreciation of things in small quantities,” Alton prompted Caleb. “I don’t miss my human experiences at times such as this,” he added as he watched the young man with a degree of amusement.
“Stop teasing him,” Katrina admonished mildly.
Caleb frowned as he considered Alton’s comment. “And just when was your last human experience?” he asked before taking another small sip of his wine.
Katrina’s eyes darted to watch Alton as a sly smile formed on her lips. The stately vampire’s eyes narrowed and bored into Caleb’s with sudden intensity. He remained both still and silent for a few moments, as if half-studying the young man. Then his face resumed an almost bored-looking expression, and he took a moment to sip his wine.
Alton deliberately waited until Caleb took a drink from his water glass to reply, “Sometime in 1216, actually.”