The Unknown Mistress - An Erotica and Romance Paranormal/Historical Novella (8 page)

“You see,” the baroness said in a hushed voice, “this illness is the devil’s invention. It is a nefarious condition. I suppose the fangs and the bloodthirst are rather obvious clues, but I was still shocked.”

“I can see why.” Jany swallowed and tried to stand still but could not help trembling; she was acutely aware of the baroness’s touch.

The baroness nodded slowly. “Once I had learned this, it came as no surprise that the remedy is the extreme opposite. After all, the devil is the master of spite and hate.”

“I see.” The hairs on Jany’s arms stood upright from both fear and excitement. If what the baroness said was true, she was on the doorstep of the truly unknown. “But I don’t understand,” she continued. “What can negate hatred and malice?”

“The cure,” the baroness said slowly, “is love.”

*

Speechless, Jany opened and closed her mouth. She had expected crosses, garlic or psalms, or more brutal and unpleasant methods. This was a complete surprise.

Worse, the word
love
sank into her imagination like an anchor in a pond. Her lust for the captured maid took notice and immediately shot lustrous images through her mind, making her blush furiously. Loving a vampire. What would it be to make love to such a being? Silently, Jany berated herself for her depraved thoughts; the maid was a victim! This was outrageous. How base had she become?

Jany’s subconscious, however, had no such qualms. On the contrary, her lust burned stronger by the minute. She had to comment on what the baroness had said before she looked too stunned.

“Do you mean,” Jany asked, “that someone has to have romantic feelings for the afflicted person?”

The baroness looked flustered and then laughed nervously. “If only it were that simple,” she said. “Feelings alone are not enough. I am sure there are one or two servants around the castle who have interest in the maid – I mean, a woman that appealing must have admires. But that did not spare her from the vampire’s attention.”

Jany tried to keep her nerves in check. There was no doubt; the baroness had sounded a little breathless when she talked about the maid-turned-vampire’s beauty. That could mean many things. Only an idiot would be certain that the baroness’s hesitation meant that she, like Jany, was attracted to women. Nevertheless, there had been a hint of a suggestion. The tension in the room was so thick Jany could have reached out and touched it.

“So a different form of love then?” Jany asked. An idea formed in her mind, but the notion was too far-fetched even to consider.

“Indeed.” The baroness fidgeted with her glass and finally put it down. “What is required,” she said carefully, “is physical love. I mean to say, the act of love. In a carnal way, if you excuse my language.”

Jany felt as if the room started to spin slowly around her. A distant crack of thunder made the table vibrate. Of all the surprises she had had up until now, this one surpassed them all.

She turned to watch the maid. Making love to her could save her? That was shocking, even bizarre. Then again, it was no stranger than many other things she had encountered this evening. And there
was
a kind of logic to it. A twisted and frightening logic, but a trace of reason nevertheless.

Most of all, the idea was tantalizing. The large-eyed, nimble maid had sparked forbidden thoughts almost as quickly and strongly as the baroness, and even thinking about her made Jany breathe faster. Not that those thoughts ever would be realized. The baroness would not have invited Jany to her room just to tell her this, unless –

Mouth open, she spun back to face the baroness.

“I can tell from your expression,” the baroness said softly, “that you have guessed the reason I asked to you come here.” Looking crestfallen, she put her hand on Jany’s arm. “Please don’t think me a monster,” she begged. “But I – you see, I think we have something in common.”

Jany had to hold on to the table to stay upright. The baroness knew. That meant anyone could be aware of her secret. So much for Jany’s careful facade. It was too late to deny what the baroness had suggested; the evening’s many turns had thrown Jany so much she could barely form a coherent sentence. The truth was written on her own face.

And the baroness now said that they had something in common. It could mean only one thing. Had Jany been alone, she would have slapped herself. How could she have missed to see this? There had probably been a hundred signs, and she had overlooked them all.

Seeing Jany’s distress, the baroness moved her hand from Jany’s arm to her cheek and looked Jany in her eyes. “Do not worry,” she said quietly but sternly. “I will tell no one.”

“How – how did you know?“ Jany stammered, but the baroness waved her to silence and smiled coyly.

“My dear, innocent girl,” the baroness said. “I have played the games of politics longer than you can imagine. I could tell the nature of your heart at a glance.”

Jany buried her face in her hands. So it
was
true. Her real desires had been on display for the world all this time. It was a wonder she had not been scorned by everyone around her.

“Stop that,” the baroness said with compassion in her voice. Reaching up, she raised Jany’s chin until Jany met the baroness’s eyes. “As I said, I am like you. Should we be ashamed of who we are? Can we be judged for how we feel?”

“But it’s wrong,” Jany said weakly. “Everyone says – ”

“Do you agree with them?” the baroness demanded. “Are we responsible for our lust?
Never.
What people say about us are lies, spread by jealous people who never will have our attention. Or know our affection.” The baroness let one of her fingers slide down Jany’s cheek, onto her shoulder and along the side of her chest.

“It’s envy,” the baroness whispered. “We know each others’ secrets, our untold wishes and demands. Or so I like to think.” The baroness’s fingertips rested lightly against Jany’s thigh before she withdrew her hand and smiled.

Jany snapped her mouth shut. The storm lashed the windows while she tried to think, but her thoughts disintegrated as quickly as the raindrops that struck the window. Her body trembled so much she had to sit down on one of the chairs. She knew that she was being taunted, but she was too mesmerized by the baroness to care. This night was turning both terrifying and magical.

She longed for the baroness to put her hand on her again. Even though the caress had been meant consoling rather than sensual, it had lit a fire inside her. No woman should be allowed to be so tantalizing. The flames she had sparked in Jany would rage until they were released, but for now, she would only gaze up at the baroness in wonder.

“So have no fear,” the baroness assured her. “I shall tell no one. But I’m afraid I have asked you to come here for a much darker task.”

Grateful to change the subject, Jany rose again. “The maid,” she guessed.

“You are a clever woman, so I will be direct.” The baroness nodded towards the bed across the room. “The vampire’s mark is evident on the maid’s throat. Unless the curse is removed, she is doomed. It is awful, and getting involved is foolish, but I simply cannot stand around and watch her die. I was hoping there is an alternative.”

 Jany glanced at the woman on the bed and wondered if she understood what the baroness was hinting at. “She must know love,” she said. The words sounded strange to her, as if spoken by someone else.

“Exactly.” The baroness’s expression turned irritated. “Unfortunately, I cannot grant her that.” When Jany looked up sharply, the baroness nodded and continued. “Yes,” she said. “The maid is one of us. She showed me some attention earlier today, and even though she is a common servant, I was flattered. Such a delicate, beautiful creature. Her advances were both pleasing and, I will admit, stirring.”

The baroness’s expression turned angered. “Then this happened,” she said. “Now she is set to burn at the hands of that filthy man and his awful cage. Unless, of course, she can be rid of this macabre disease.”

Jany nodded numbly. It was easy to see what the baroness was suggesting. Someone would have to make love to the woman. And if it was true that the maid’s heart was shaped like Jany’s, it had to be another woman.

“Sadly,” the baroness said, “I can never be the one to set the maid free. Someone else will have to do the grim task.” Pausing, the baroness looked Jany’s in her eyes and lowered her voice to a whisper. “And this is why I called you here.”

Jany was speechless. Usually, she prided herself in her reasoning; she could often see details and clues long before the police noticed them. Sometimes she even had to help them along to see how a murder or theft had happened. But this twist had been more violent than she had expected. Reeling from the sudden turn, she swallowed and lowered her eyes.

“I don’t know what to say,” Jany whispered. The idea of undressing and joining the maid in the bed fanned the flames of her desire until her skin burned. Taking advantage of the poor woman was depraved and cruel, but her lust cared nothing for right or wrong. Tension was beginning to wear down Jany’s defences and give way to her suppressed needs.

There was a beautiful woman nearby, and if the baroness was right, someone
had
to make love to her. And to her astonishment, the idea of doing this, while the maid was bound to her hands and feet, turned the fire in Jany into a powerful blaze.

But it was still a terrible thing to do. She had to get out of this situation, and for that, she needed to steer the topic away from herself. “How come you are unwilling to sleep with – I mean, to save the maid?” she asked.

“Not unwilling,” the baroness said. “Unable. If I could, I would not hesitate for a moment.”

“But why?” Jany insisted, not caring that it was improper to press the baroness.

The baroness turned away and started at the fire in the hearth. “You will think that I am awfully old-fashioned,” she said. “Misguided, even.”

“Absolutely not!”

The baroness was silent, then spoke in a weak voice. “Very well,” she said. “But you will not pass on what I say, or I will be extremely dissatisfied.”

“You have my word,” Jany said quickly, and she meant it. When aristocrats were ‘dissatisfied’, sensible people ran for cover.

Nodding in acceptance, the baroness turned to face the blaze. “Throughout my life,” she said quietly, “I have been surrounded by courtiers. I spent my childhood in the company of older men who were waiting for me to grow up. Whoever married me would have great political influence and riches. And, of course, me.”

Jany nodded. A woman like the baroness would have been surrounded by men wanting her as their wife.

“So I realized very early that I was a prize,” the baroness said. “I was an asset waiting to be exploited. But when the men finally began to make suggestions and advances, I was prepared. I turned them all down. I was determined to be the master of my own destiny.

“It must have been difficult.”

“It was,” the baroness said, “and they would not leave me alone. My parents showed no interest in helping me. With time, the invitations became more forceful, and I began to worry. Men sometimes use their influence to have their way. Soon I realized that some of the worst brutes could quite easily convince my parents that they were the perfect husband, and I would be in the hands of some well-connected boar for the rest of my miserable life.”

Jany nodded and sipped from her wine. While she was no expert on Chalets, she knew what she drink was excellent and most likely expensive. And she had been served a glass by a famed baroness. It was almost as hard to believe as that there was a vampire tired to a bed in the same room.

“So I took a wow of chastity,” the baroness said. “Pledging to remain a virgin forever was the only way to make those unpleasant men lose interest. Now I regret that decision, but an oath is an oath. And for this reason, I cannot help the maid escape the clutches of her illness.”

“I – see what you mean.” Jany was immediately thankful for the lack of light; her face was on fire. The situation was ironic beyond belief. This incredible woman, put on Earth to torment men and women alike, was a celibate? It was enough to make Jany wish for something stronger to drink. She did indeed think the baroness was misguided, but this was not the time or place to tell her.