The Unknown Mistress - An Erotica and Romance Paranormal/Historical Novella (7 page)

Jany was surprised by her own reaction; she was tense, but not scared. Despite the bite marks, the maid looked anything but dangerous. There was no hint of menace lurking in the woman’s stare. The woman’s breathing was shallow, and she was trembling while she watched Jany. Perhaps she knew what awaited her once the baroness handed her over to the witchfinder. Knowing the woman’s looming fate struck Jany as indescribably sad; no one, vampire or not, should suffer such a wretched fate. Especially not at the hands of a man whose logic rung as false as a broken bell.

The baroness motioned for Jany to follow her to the table, away from the bed. As they left the side of the bed, the bound maid gave up a whimper and stared wide-eyed after Jany. Maybe she thought Jany would run for the duke straight away.

Once Jany and the baroness were back at the table, the baroness leaned against a chair and pressed a hand against her chest. “Now you see,” she said, looking at the floor. “The woman is damned. Forever lost. She had been in my service only hours, but I am still devastated. What am I to do?”

Jany considered her options. Getting more involved in this dreadful business was sure to end in disaster, but her curiosity would not be silenced. “I suppose you have told the duke?” she asked.

“Not yet.” The baroness looked troubled. “He will bring the witchfinder here, and I cannot stand that man. I wish there was something I could do, but I’m almost completely at a loss.” The baroness pulled her robe closer around her, making it follow her every curve.

Jany immediately looked down at the floor. “How did this happen?” she asked.

“I have no idea.” The baroness paused. “Well, I have one, but it’s outrageous.”

“You can trust me, my lady.” Jany looked up again and took care not to stare at the baroness’s body.

The baroness smiled warmly. “I know,” she said. “If I had thought any different, I would not have invited you here.” Her smile shifted to a concerned frown as she reached for the wine glasses. She filled them and offered one to Jany. “What I do know,” she said with a glance at the maid, “is that all three women visited the witchfinder last night.”

 Stunned, Jany accepted the glass. What the baroness had said was so disturbing she forgot to be shocked that she had been given a glass of wine by a noblewoman. Was it possible that the witchfinder was the culprit? It was true that evil often hid in plain sight; she had seen that often enough among the city’s less scrupulous politicians. But this was different, and much worse.

Something occurred to Jany. “Did the witchfinder stay here all the time?” she asked.

“He was given a room by the duke,” the baroness sighed. “As a favour, because people were so pleased to see that barbarian here. The tales going around has driven people out of their minds.”

The baroness smiled wanly, and for a moment, she looked exhausted. Jany had to control herself not to move closer. Seeing the woman even the slightest vulnerable made her breath faster.

“You do not look horrified,” the baroness noted. “And you haven’t suggested that we should bring the maid to the duke. Why?”

Jany had a strange sensation of being caught in a web that was winding itself tighter around her. “I’m not sure I would like to do that,” she said quietly.

“But you must agree that my maid here is doomed?” The baroness looked intently at Jany. “Or do you seriously believe such a creature can find redemption?”

Trying to find her footing, Jany faltered and swallowed hard. Being at the centre of the baroness’s attention was like facing a judge. A stern, severe and ominous judge who was making Jany sweat for more than one reason. In a snap decision, Jany decided to be honest. That was always the best route when faced with mysteries.

“The witchfinder is unreasonable,” Jany said, feeling as if she was rushing out onto newly frozen ice over a deep lake. “His logic is flawed and his methods are crude. I think he’s more interested in theatrics than in justice.” She hesitated. “And I think he hates women, too. At least those he cannot impress.”

Rather than gasping with outrage, the baroness nodded thoughtfully. “You may be right,” she said in a hushed voice. “I cannot make sense of his idea of justice, and his little show earlier this evening was...frightening.”Her voice was so low it almost sounded like a growl.

Jany could have screamed with relief. Had the baroness thought the man was reasonable, Jany would not have lived to see the next evening. Still, she did not know where to go from here; she was still running in darkness. Speaking the truth about what she felt about the possibly-mad witchfinder had been easy. Now she felt as if she had veered down onto a road on which she could not turn around. All she could to was run it to the end.

Glancing at the vampire in the bed, she tried to make out the woman’s features, but they were hidden by dancing shadows. It was heartbreaking. A young, absurdly beautiful woman, corrupted by an evil creature.

Standing this close to the blaze was making her sweat, so Jany drained half of her wine before she could stop herself. It was strong, rich and velvety, better than any wine she had ever tasted before. The bottle must have cost a fortune. And here she was, drinking it as if it were water. Hoping  that the baroness had not noticed, she slowly put her glass back on the table.

“But surely we
must
tell the duke,” the baroness insisted. “After all, it is his castle. And the maid was in his service.” Looking at Jany over the rim of her glass, she waited for a response.

Again, Jany faltered. Was it her imagination, or had the baroness’s suggestion come out as a question rather than a statement. Was the woman proposing something else? If she was, Jany had no idea what it could be. Perhaps had the wine already had fogged over Jany’s mind. Once more, she had the sensation of walking running headlong through a dark corridor.

“I suppose it would be the right thing to do,” Jany said, her hands shaking as she spoke. “As there is nothing we can do.” She deliberately turned her last sentence into a question of her own. Something told her that the baroness had an agenda, and she was desperate to know what it was.

For a moment, the baroness’s cool facade slipped and she looked tense. She glanced at Jany and then turned her gaze to the floor. “I – I am not sure,” she said. “Oh, this is difficult.”

Sensing a secret, Jany’s curiosity snapped to attention like a happy Dobberman. “You can rely on me, my lady.”

“I know,” the baroness said and smiled nervously. “I mean, you are a scribe, after all. And when we met in the stairwell, I sensed that you were...honest. Perhaps even understanding.”

Jany hid a surprised frown; the baroness said ‘understanding’ as if it had surprised her. A small but alarmed voice in the back of Jany’s mind shouted warnings, but her eagerness to learn more flicked caution out of the picture. Getting involved was lunacy, of course, but Jany would eat burning coal if it meant she could stay in the woman’s company for a while longer.

Eyes widening, Jany shook herself. That had
definitely
been
the wine talking. She sipped again from her glass and shifted her feet. She would leave soon. Any moment now. Staying was unwise; unless she controlled herself, she would say something inappropriate, and her precious self-control was slipping fast.

“Of course I’m understanding.” Jany said. “Or at least I try to be.”

“Oh, I know you are.” Still smiling, the baroness fidgeted with her glass and finally put it down on the table. “It is quite obvious, if one knows people. And I know people very well.”

“I see,” Jany said, having no idea what the baroness meant.

After a short silence, the baroness looked up at Jany. “Would you believe me,” she asked, “if I said that there is a cure for this affliction?”

“I have no reason to doubt you,” Jany said uncertainly, darting a look at the bed and the bound woman. At that moment, the light from the blaze fell over the woman’s face, and Jany saw her watching.

Jany could not look away. A new hunger was growing in her body, glowing ever hotter and demanding her attention. She knew that craving well; after endless lonely and rainy nights, she saw it as an old friend. What she felt was lust, raw and urgent.

The realization made her tremble. This was madness in the extreme. Yearning for another woman here, at this time. Worse, the object of her desire was a woman who, technically, perhaps no longer
was
a woman. Still, she could not take her eyes off the slim, beautiful maid. Helpless, desperate, her hands and feet secured by rope. Perhaps she was dangerous as well, if the rumours were true. That did not matter. Jany wanted desperately wanted to run her hands over the woman’s body. Sweep that dress away, take off her own clothes, and then...

With an effort, Jany turned away. How could she be longing for a creature of the night? If Jany not already was lost, she was balancing on the edge of ruin. Maybe the devil had touched her mind too.

Her thoughts flashed back to what the baroness had said about a treatment against a vampire’s bite? Could it be true? Or was it wishful thinking, born from wild rumours or snake oil potions sold in shady areas of towns across Europe? Heaven knew there were many stories and strange ‘protective means’ being exchanged. Only a week earlier, she had passed a man at a market who sold supposedly holy water at 50 franc a bottle. The church had made quite a show of shutting down that vendor, but he had been one among a host who offered all kinds of antidotes and wards. Full-scale madness, or so she had used to believe. Now she was less sure.

Jany turned back to the baroness and tried not to let the woman’s closeness affect her. It would have been easier to ignore a flaming torch held an inch from her nose. “Perhaps,” Jany said. “I don’t know much about medicine.”

The baroness looked pleased. “I knew you would not be so quick to judge,” she said, touching Jany’s arm. The gesture was affectionate but modest, the friendly pat of easy-going camaraderie.

Jany felt as if she had been stroked in a much more intimate place. How could such brief contact make her shiver like this? Biting her lip, she moved closer to the baroness, but her survival instincts rallied and made her pull back. Once Jany realized what she was doing, her eyes grew wide and she moved farther back.
 What is wrong with me? Have I lost my mind?

 
Meanwhile, the baroness spoke on, unaware of Jany’s near-catastrophe. “What I tell you must stay between us,” she said and took her wine glass again. “If the duke knew, he would be outraged.”

“What could you possibly have done to anger him?” Jany asked, still reeling from her lack of self-control.

“Nothing.” A conspiratorial look passed over the baroness’s face, and she leaned closer to Jany. “But he must not know that I came to his home prepared for the worst,” she said. “Even I have heard the strange stories about what haunts our cities. Monsters, winged beasts, demons and devils in every corner. What if some of the rumours are true?” She made a small shrug. “I decided that I did not want to come into a city without doing some research.”

“You have read about these...things?” Jany asked. “I wouldn’t have thought you were so worried. You seem very calm.” That was a lie; Jany was sure that the baroness was concealing her true emotions. Underneath the polished and composed facade, the real woman was hiding.

“Not many would suspect that of me.” The baroness grimaced and rolled her eyes. “Oh, I could not let anyone else know. Many would scoff at me if they saw how fretful I really am. But as it turns out, my readings have not been in vain.” Leaning closer, the baroness lowered her voice. “I know the remedy,” she said gravely.

Jany blinked. “
Pardon?”

“I believe I know how to save those who have contracted this disease. When I came across the...
instructions
, I doubted what I read, but then I found many more references. It seems there is a way to turn a vampire back into a human being. I suppose it could be called a reversal.”

“Oh,” Jany said. Her palms felt clammy from the heat and the sudden, uncanny twists. A reversal? Not long ago, she had doubted the existence of vampires; now she was eager to hear how their curse could be lifted.

By way of answering, the baroness gently put her hands on Jany’s shoulders and turned her around, making her watch the woman tied to the bed.