The Unknown Mistress - An Erotica and Romance Paranormal/Historical Novella (5 page)

The baroness took Jany’s chin between her thumb and her index finger, and then raised Jany’s head until Jany was forced to look the baroness in her face. The baroness’s pinch was not rough, but not exactly gentle either. “Tell me,” the baroness said in an almost inaudible voice, “what do you think of the witchfinder?”

Dumbstruck, Jany hoped the floor would open up to swallow her. Being close to the baroness without appearing daft or whimsical was hard enough; feeling the baroness’s fingers on her skin made her knees weak. A flurry of images raced through her mind like a mad carnival of forbidden ideas. None of them would ever be realized, but they still made her blush.

And the baroness’s question was a death trap! The wrong answer would get Jany in trouble. She recalled the baroness’s face when she had listened to the witchfinder’s dramatic speech. Had it been admiration? Shock? No, that was not right. If Jany was right, the woman had not been surprised or astonished, and certainly not happy.

What Jany had seen in the baroness’s eyes was anger. Cold and controlled fury. Most likely, the baroness thought of the witchfinder as someone who would slay two of her maids for no good reason.

“He is a confused man,” Jany suggested with a feeble voice. “The demons against which he rages are more his own, I think, than real monsters.”

The baroness smiled and nodded. “You are well spoken,” she said to Jany. “Even for a scribe. Yes, I remember you from the hall. And you are correct. The witchfinder is full of the bile of his own imagination.” Slowly, she let go of Jany’s chin.

Jany turned her eyes to the floor again. Her face was on fire from being so close to this beautiful woman. The baroness’s eyes belonged in a song, not on a human being. She needed to reply, so she said the first thing that came to her mind.

“Please believe me,” Jany whispered, “when I say that I will take no pleasure in watching the maids die.”Because of the witchfinder’s perverse logic, they will perish no matter what they have or haven’t done.”

A silent moment passed while the baroness’s eyes narrowed. “And why is that wrong?” she demanded. Her voice was low but sharp. “Surely, evil beings such as them cannot be alive to live. Or do you doubt their guilt?”

“I don’t know.” Jany frowned as she spoke; without thinking, she was saying exactly what she felt. The maids might be vampires, but that alone meant nothing. It was all too strange. Guilt was proved by hard facts and proper proof, not erratic madmen who belonged on a stage. Or in an asylum.

Knowing that she never would be this close to a baroness – especially not a baroness like
this –
Jany raised her head to look at the woman’s face again. This moment felt surreal, and she knew it would stay with her forever. She might as well speak her heart.

“I believe in what I see with my own eyes,” Jany said firmly. “Not what I am told.”

The baroness smiled again, and Jany chewed on her lip. Now she knew how robins felt when they were cornered by cats.

“Wise words,” the baroness said. “You strike me as someone in whom I can trust.” She hesitated and cleared her throat. “You must wonder why I am here,” she suggested.

Jany shook her head. “It is not my business.”

“That is true,” the baroness agreed, “but that does not change the fact that you
do
wonder. That is how rumours spread. No offence.” She leaned a fraction closer to Jany. “I will share a secret on this stormy night. The truth is that I needed to see this vampire for myself. Are they truly as wicked as people say, or are they merely victims of circumstances? Perhaps they are destined to be shunned and persecuted because of misunderstandings? I need to know.”

Wide-eyed, Jany looked the baroness in her eyes. The woman’s lips were centimetres from her own. What the baroness was saying was surprising, but she was far too distracted by the baroness’s nearness to listen. This was torture!

Then again, it was also an opportunity. If she was fast, she could steal a kiss. Just one. It would be madness and get her into endless trouble, but it might be worth it. Those lips, and those eyes. How could anyone resist. Jany was practically being blackmailed. Slowly, she leaned a little closer...

Jany gasped and then pressed her back up against a wall.
Stop it,
she ordered herself.
Are you trying to get yourself killed, you fool?

“I understand,” Jany said, desperate to escape before she did something she would regret. “I won’t say a thing to anyone. I promise.”

The baroness’s catlike smile widened. “Lovely,” she said. “Now let us leave this stairwell and return to our rooms. The storm rages, and I think the coming hours will be testing for us all.”

*

As soon as Jany had curtsied and said farewell to the baroness, she ran back to her room, pushed the door shut, and leaned against her wall. She felt as if she had run around city walls in deep mud. Cold sweat ran down her back. Despite all that had gone wrong, she was safe.

All she had wanted was a meal, and instead she had got lost, put her hands on a baroness, and nearly been arrested. Worse, if she had not restrained herself at the last moment, she would have laid more than her hands on the woman. Absolute lunacy. Clearly, she was madder than the so-called witchfinder. And she was still hungry. Sitting down on her bed, she sighed and rested her face in her palms. Why did nothing ever go as planned?

Thankfully, some kind soul had left two buckets of steaming hot water, a coarse scrub and a crudely cut slice of soap in a corner of the room. She was still ravenous, but at least she would not have to sleep dirty. That was a blessing. After the walk to the castle and the manic scene in the hall, she felt as if the witchfinder’s glare had left a layer of grime on her skin.

Upending the buckets over her head, Jany quickly washed herself and pulled her clothes back on. While the water was hot, its heat lasted only moments; the air was freezing cold.

A knock on her door made her start and spin around. Standing shivering in the middle of her room, she looked at the handle. Her nerves were truly on the verge of a collapse. “Who is there?” she asked.

“A delivery,
mademoiselle
,” a male, nervous voice said. “From the kitchen.”

After staring at the door for a few seconds, Jany hesitantly unlocked and opened it a crack. Outside the door stood a young man wearing a servant’s plain uniform. In his hands was a tray holding a large plate filled with carved ham, flanked by slices of bread dripping with honey. Next to the plate stood a mug with steaming spiced wine. Jany’s stomach roared like an overjoyed lion at the sight.

“One of the ladies ordered us to being you this,” the man said and looked down the hallway. Most likely, he wanted to bolt back to the kitchen as soon as he could.

“Oh.” Jany opened the door and snatched the tray from the man’s hands. “Thank you,” she said, smiled nervously, and closed the door in the man’s face before he changed his mind. When he did not knock again, Jany sat down and attacked the food.

A while later, Jany lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling. The rain hammered against her window. Another week of this and the city would be completely flooded. Thunder rumbled in the distance, a long growl so low it was almost inaudible. There was no sense to the weather; it was too cold for thunderstorms, but apparently the climate had lost track of the seasons and had decided to have one anyway. Or perhaps the storm was brought here by darker, more sinister forces. She shivered and pulled the wool blanket over her. Hopefully, the night would not be so cold it kept her awake.

But the more she tried to clear her head, the more restless she grew. Too many strange things were happening too fast. Her thoughts whirled harder than the wind outside. A baroness, walking down alone and unguarded into the dungeons. That was just one mystery among many others, but one that kept bothering her. There was no way such a well-known person would wander down and deliberately seek out the might-be vampires. At least not without good reason.

Jany frowned at the ceiling as she tried to recall what she knew about vampires. Once, long ago, she had read about their supposed powers. It wasn’t the bloodsucking part – that was frightening enough – but what she struggled to remember was different. A mention about some other unnatural capability. The ability to change into bats, wolves and rats. They could even turn into a kind of green fog, some said. But they had also the power to –

Jany sat upright.
Of course!
Tales about vampires often said they could hypnotize people and bend their victims will.

So that was what had happened. The baroness had been put under a spell. There were no other possible explanations to why she would have gone down there. Maybe the maids had cast their charm on the baroness before they were exposed. That meant that the maids probably were vampires after all.

That was enough for one night. Tomorrow would be a long and testing day, and her head was spinning. It was time to sleep. Shuddering, she rose and made sure that the door was locked, then quickly returned to the bed and hurried in under the blanket. She pulled it up to her chin, glanced around the room a final time to make sure nothing hid in the shadows, then yawned hard, preparing to sink into oblivion.

Then she froze, her eyes wide open.

On the tray that the servant had brought was a small folded paper, held in place by the plate. It had to be a note; the servant would not have accidentally left a piece of paper there. It was too neatly folded and tucked in far under the plate. Discreet but meant to be seen.
Definitely
a message. She could even make out lines of ink where it had bled through the paper.

Jany stared at the note. Without doubt, it meant trouble. Few things were as lethal as intrigues when surrounded by paranoid people, and on this particular night, the duke’s home was packed with hundreds of men and woman who were scared witless. Terrified nobles with money and power. A recipe for disaster.

But she had to read the message. If she tried to sleep, curiosity would keep her awake all night.

Unfolding the note as if it might conceal a snake, she held her breath and brought the note close to her candle. Her hands were trembling badly. Part of her – that secret, hopeful side who had filled her mind with images of the baroness naked – anticipated who might have sent the note, and when she saw the elegant, flowing handwriting, she felt lightheaded.

Come to my chamber tonight when the church bells at
Basilique Saint Sernin
strike one. My room is at the top of the southern tower.

I am scared, and I need the company of someone I can trust.

There is something you must see.

Signed,

The Baroness of
Orable

*

Jany reread the note over and over while thunder crashed in the distance. Her head had been spinning before; now her thoughts ran around in a mad dance. Was she hallucinating? Or dreaming? No, this was real. Dreams were less bizarre than this. She remembered hearing the nearby church bells ring midnight, and that had been a while ago. The baroness was expecting her to come soon.

Feeling the cold sweat return, Jany wanted to kick a wall. Why on Earth had she decided to go down into the basement in search for food? It was the silliest, most poorly planned course of action she ever had taken. She should have waited for a maid to pass her door and asked her for directions. Instead, she had wandered down into the one place where she
absolutely should not go
. Then she had stumbled headfirst into the baroness, that tall, proud woman, so powerful and beautiful that

No! Focus!
Jany shook her head in irritation. Above all, the baroness was dangerous. All aristocrats were. They had money, influence, no care and no brains. Oh, and
this
one had might-be vampires for maids.