In a reimagined 1890's London, where steam-driven airships rule the skies and monsters roam the streets, the Galileo Observatory's Club for Gentlemen welcomes all -- gwr, shape-changers, vampires, and lords. A high-stakes game leads more than a few men astray.<br><br>Poindexter Fitzhughes, renowned hero and scientist, learns just how much trouble a full-blooded gwr can be when he attempts to cure his lover, Lord Seth Maitland, of the disease. But when their backs are against the wall, the two must learn to trust in each other, and more importantly, in their true natures, to prevail.<br><br>Meanwhile, Duncan Farnsworth discovers being a vampire has not improved his social life, his chances of finding love, continuing the family line, or getting a bite to eat. Maneuvering his way around a sarcastic butler, his spinster sister, a run-in with an amorous werewolf, and a confrontation with a dead soldier and a French airship captain, Duncan finally finds exactly what he is thirsting for.

London Steam

“Do you know, child,” Ursula said, gazing at the edge of the horizon, “what I miss most about being human?”


This was odd, for her, this pensive mood. When she spoke to him, she usually was giving orders, or ignoring him. For her, he was a cow led to slaughter, and one did not usually converse with one’s sacrifice.


“I miss wine,” Duncan said. “Not necessarily the taste, but the feel of a glass in my hand, the contemplativeness of drinking. The smell of the vintage, the sense of ritual. I miss wine.”


“I miss the sun,” she said. In the sky, the false gray of dawn was slowly creeping up, only a few moments remained before they must be hidden away in the caskets, or else die in a single blaze of agony. “I miss how waking up from a nightmare and seeing the sun stream in through the window would make it all better. My whole existence is a nightmare, now.”


Chapter 39