"We no longer have to hide our true feelings, Victoria. We are free."
He pulled her close and kissed her soft lips. It was a little awkward at first, and he was almost unsure of what to do next. He had often heard the other boys discussing their latest conquests in the tavern at night. Though he thought most of their talk was just false bravado, he began wishing he had taken better mental notes.
He moved in for the kiss so quickly, she was caught a bit off guard and pulled back. He blushed as he looked at her eyes, wide with surprise. They both smiled. She leaned in and kissed him back.
After a moment, the apprehension eased and their movements became more natural and fluid. He reached down, placed both of his hands on her small waist, and slid them around to her back, slowly moving her closer to him. She ran her delicate fingers up his muscular arms to his shoulders and slightly tightened her grip. He opened his mouth, and she parted her lips in kind. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, quickly at first, then prodding deeper. Surprised at first, she quickly let herself enjoy the feel and taste of him. She couldn't wait to see what he was going to do next. She sucked on his tongue, and he felt himself tighten all over. He reached up and put his hand behind her head to kiss her deeper. He wondered if he should stop before things went further. He didn't want to seem too eager or forceful.
She, too, grew concerned because she knew very little about the intimacy between a man and a woman. There were no women in her life she could talk to about such things. She had never seen a naked man before. She did come across a book with images of Greek vases once. She found the nude images of Hector and Achilles more humorous than exciting. But Ethan's touch thrilled her more than anything else she could imagine. She was afraid of giving herself over to him completely, but she didn't want to stop just yet. He felt so good against her.
With every kiss, butterflies swarmed from her lips down her back, and she felt a tingling in the lowest pit of her stomach she had never experienced before. She almost couldn't breathe, he was kissing her so passionately. She was not sure what to do, but she feared she was going to faint. She leaned her body more into him but tilted her head farther back. He thought she was trying to get him to stop and loosened his grip slightly as he gently kissed her chin and her neck.
"Don't stop, Ethan," she whispered. "I love you so much." She ran her fingers up his neck and into his hair to encourage him to keep going. "I just needed to breathe for a moment," she explained.
Ethan licked her neck, glad he was not scaring her with his impetuousness. He kissed down the side of her neck to the front of her throat. The chain from her necklace was in his way, so he pulled it out from between her breasts and let it dangle down her back. It was hot to the touch. She had told him to keep going, and there was so much he wanted to do to her. The further down on her neck and chest he went, the further she wanted him to go.
Her layers of clothing kept him at bay. She knew he would not be able to lace her corset up again if she let him untie her. Tessa would see the laces had been redone when she helped Victoria undress when she got home.
He moved back to her mouth as he urged her backward. She held tightly to his neck as he lowered her onto the couch. She inadvertently spread her legs to keep from falling as he placed her down. He was on top of her with one hand behind her back and the other under her head. She breathed heavily as he lowered his weight on top of her with his hips between her thighs. His hand from behind her back slid its way down her side and up her dress. She could feel the heat from his palm even through her thick, winter stockings. He did not want, or at least had not planned, to consummate their love at that moment. He took God's command forbidding premarital relations seriously, and he knew she believed the same way. He knew they had to stop; what they had done was sin enough.
She moaned in ecstasy, but it morphed into a slight groan as she forced herself to remove his hand from under her gown. He was embarrassed he let himself go so far. He only meant to kiss her once to prove he was earnest about his feelings for her. Neither knew what to say as she put a hand to his chest to ease him off her.
"I'm, I'm…uh, sorry," he stammered as he sat up, afraid to look her in the eye. He sat back and wiped the sweat from his brow. She sat up and put her feet together on the floor attempting to smooth her dress. "I, um, I didn't mean to…" he trailed off. She stood up and crossed the room to open a window and get some cool air on her face. The cold filled her lungs and shocked her back to her senses.
"Don't apologize, Ethan," she said. "It's my fault. I told you to keep going," She was embarrassed by her wanton behavior.
He had softened and cooled down enough to stand, and he approached her and placed a hand on her shoulder. "No, don't feel that way. I should not have forced myself on you like that," he said.
"Let's just say we were both wrong," she said, turning to him. They both smiled out of discomfiture and relief that they had stopped before they did something they would regret.
"Agreed," he said, taking her hand and putting his forehead against hers. She looked at the clock on the mantle and saw the time.
"It's so late. I won't have time to go to confession before I have to go home."
It was almost four, and in the dead of winter, the sky would darken soon. She needed to be home by sunset. She walked over and picked up her cape.
"Do you really need to go to confession?" he worriedly asked.
"I do now," she said, giving him an accusatory look. He blushed. "But you can take comfort in the fact that I have committed more sins in the last week than just immorality with you. I suppose you had better confess to the Father first, though. If you haven't yet told him you are leaving the church he better not hear it from me."
"Yeah, I…I haven't told him yet. He will not be happy about it. All the years he spent preparing me for service will have been wasted. But, I am sure he will not be surprised when he hears it. I already have been confessing my impure thoughts about you for months."
She turned her reddened face away. "I have waited five days to confess about how I dishonored my father by arguing with him, I suppose my confession about kissing the man I plan to marry can wait a few more," she smiled slyly at him.
"You plan to marry me then?" he asked.
"I thought I had already made that quite clear," she said, giving him a small kiss on the cheek.
"I am very glad," he said, touching her face. "There is something I want you to have." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small gold ring. "It is not a wedding ring, but it belonged to my mother, and it looked small enough for those dainty fingers of yours. I was hoping you might wear it as a sort of sign of the promise we have made to each other."
The ring was a plain gold band, but it was of high quality. It fit perfectly on her tiny ring finger.
"Oh, Ethan," she said. "It's wonderful." She looked at it thoughtfully for a moment. "Ethan, I was serious about my father not being happy about our engagement. I will have to wait until the right moment to tell him."
"I understand," he said. "Maybe just wear it in town or when you are alone, or on the chain around your neck. I just wanted you to have it."
"Thank you," she said. "I had better go."
She put on her cape as they headed out into the snow. He went with her to pay for Gregory's stay and walked them both to the edge of town. He gave her a long, sweet kiss goodbye, and he did not care who saw. He helped her onto her horse and watched her ride away as the snow, once again, began to fall.
3
Gregory strode through the light snowflakes, dragging his long tail through the already fallen snow. Victoria's extensive cape draped around his haunches and kept him warm. She held the reins in her hands and kept her head lowered under her hood to protect her delicate skin from the frost that was forming around them, as the darkness slowly engulfed the lonely pair. She was in no hurry to be back home. When she returned to the castle, she would have to act as if nothing had happened in town so as not to arouse suspicion, but something ha
d happened, something wonderful. While she had never dreaded the loneliness she imagined her future held, the idea of now sharing her life with someone she loved was beautiful.
She wanted to continue fantasizing about her life with Ethan as long as possible. She nearly laughed at the idea of being a housewife. Sweating over a hot stove. Getting her hands all pruney in dirty dishwater or pricking her finger with a needle while mending old socks. Then she imagined Ethan coming home from a hard day at the carpenter's shop. His arms growing more muscular from the physical labor of the work. His skin shining with sweat after working out in the sun. His smile at seeing her waiting for him with a baby on her lap. She laughed aloud at her own girlish silliness.
For the first time in her life, she was almost afraid of her father. Telling him about her true feelings for Ethan meant she would have to find out the truth about her own past and her own heritage. Marriage meant the possibility of children. She did not doubt that she inherited her intolerance for light from her father, but what else had she inherited? More importantly, what could she pass to her children? Her feelings shifted back and forth between disbelief at what had transpired and utter glee. She thought it best to wait a few days until she calmed down before confronting her father about anything.
The massive fortress she called home came into view and loomed before her. The house she would share with Ethan could almost alone fit into the private quarters where she lived now. Gregory's hooves clip-clopped along the giant drawbridge that suspended across an empty and seemingly bottomless crevasse. The colossal iron chains attaching the bridge to the castle swayed in the breeze. She dismounted her horse and retrieved an iron skull key from a saddlebag to unlock one of two immense wood and iron doors leading to the main courtyard of the castle. It took all her strength to heave the door open so she and Gregory could enter. She led Gregory to the stable and took off his gear. She took a pail off the wall and walked outside again to fill it with water from a hand pump. It took three trips to make sure he would have enough water for the night. She filled Gregory's feed bin with grain and brushed him as he ate. Finally done, she kissed his nose, wished him a good night and closed the door to the barn.
On her way to the main door, she looked up to see her father looking out the window at her. She waved and realized it was almost completely dark except for illumination from the full moon. She, indeed, was home quite late.
She closed the castle door behind her as she went into the main entry hall. The many fireplaces and torches had already been lit, slowly filling the building with warmth and smoke. She called for Tessa as she headed to her room. Hanging her cape on a peg beside her door, she removed the satiny blue dress, revealing her white corset, chemise, and petticoat. She walked to a small nightstand by her bed and placed her earrings in the drawer. She looked down at her hand and saw she was still wearing the ring Ethan had given to her. She put it in the drawer as well.
Victoria sat at her vanity to take down her hair and gasped at what she saw in the mirror. On her neck and chest, several bruises had formed. She thought back, trying to remember if she had injured herself in any way. Running her fingers over the bruises, she felt the butterflies return to her stomach as she remembered the passionate way Ethan had kissed her soft skin. Quickly rubbing lotion on the bruises and putting powder on them, she tried her best to conceal them before Tessa arrived. She took a deep breath when she heard Tessa knock at her door. She tried to remain calm. "I don't have to answer to her," Victoria reminded herself silently.
"Evening, Miss," Tessa greeted.
"Evening," Victoria curtly replied. "Just help me unlace, and then you may go."
Tessa walked over and started loosening the laces.
"How could you have gotten so warm on such a cold day?" Tessa asked. "Your clothes are drenched with sweat."
"Keep your observations to yourself, Tessa," Victoria snapped.
"I know you usually smell of horse when you return from your outings," Tessa continued unfazed. "But this time," she said, sniffing Victoria's shoulder and hair, "this time it is something different."
"That is enough!" Victoria snapped. "I can finish myself!" She pulled off the corset and threw it to the floor.
A smile crept across Tessa's face as she noticed a small black and blue mark on Victoria's neck. "Oh, I know what that familiar smell is," she innocently said. "Oh, my dear, sweet Victoria." She reached up with one hand and gently stroked Victoria's cheek. "All of this time, you have been pretending to be such a pure little Christian, yet you're nothing but a common whore."
"Get your hands off of me, you snake," Victoria said, slapping her hand away.
"Snake?" Tessa asked. "Such a temper and a temptress. You are quite a package for your lover. Does he realize what he is getting into? Or, what he has gotten into?"
Victoria realized that, for some reason, Tessa was deliberately trying to make her angry. She put her hands on her hips and stepped up to Tessa until their toes almost touched.
"Who are you calling a whore?" she asked. "You share your man with three other women." The smile on Tessa's face stood firm. "Tell me," Victoria continued, "how many times has my father accidentally called you 'Helena' or 'Jessenda' when you were in his arms?"
Tessa, not normally jealous of the other girls, struggled to keep the defiant smile on her face.
Victoria's lips slowly curled upward when she realized she had hit a nerve with Tessa. "Or maybe…he has called you 'Hannah'?" she asked. She started to laugh, so when Tessa lunged at her, Victoria was completely caught off guard. She screamed as an irate Tessa pushed her to the ground and straddled her, pinning her to the floor.
Victoria tried to push Tessa away, but Tessa grabbed both of her wrists. Tessa was like an uncontrollable beast – her eyes flashed and her teeth looked like fangs as Victoria struggled. Victoria felt herself weakening against the far stronger woman. In the struggle, Victoria's necklace fell out from her chemise and up her chest. The rubies reflected an eerie glow on Tessa's face. When Tessa saw the amulet, she pulled back slightly and loosened her grip. Victoria seized the moment to summon all her strength to push Tessa far away from her as possible. Victoria cried for help and she heard the door to her room fly open.
Vincent stormed into the room, grabbed Tessa by the back of the neck with one hand and threw her into Victoria's wardrobe. Jessenda, Helena, and Lucia peeked into the room in horror. Vincent reached down and pulled Victoria to her feet. She was awestruck by the sheer, effortless way her father manhandled the woman. Vincent turned to face Tessa as Victoria found support against one of the large spires of her bed. Vincent slowly walked toward Tessa. She stiffened as she braced herself for whatever pain was coming. Unable to see straight, Victoria heard Tessa make a noise that could only be described as a screech directed at Vincent. Vincent raised a fist to backhand her across the face.
"No!" Victoria said. Vincent and Tessa froze. "Don't strike out of anger, Father," Victoria said. She was panting, not just from exhaustion, but fear for Tessa. She knew her father physically punished the girls for insubordination, but she did not wish to see it. She knew her father would punish Tessa no matter what she said. She hoped she could at least temper the beating by helping him calm down. Vincent lowered his hand and backed away. Tessa cautiously took a breath.
"Get out," he grumbled. Tessa edged along the wardrobe and the wall toward the door. The others tried to escape without notice as Vincent watched Tessa slink out the door and disappear into the dark hallway. Vincent turned and faced his daughter. "I will not spare her from punishment," he said.
"I know, but I was partly to blame," she confessed. "I provoked her."
"It does not matter if you were completely to blame. You are the mistress and she the servant. She is subject to you in all things. It does not matter what you did, only how she reacted to it."
Victoria found little comfort in such responsibility. She turned away from him, feeling guilty for Tessa's future beating. She also was beginning to feel pain
in her back and arms from the fight. She lamented the awful finish to her wonderful day. She sighed and leaned back against the bedpost. Vincent walked up and put his hands on her shoulders. Most people would have found such an icy touch frightening, but to her, it was the only touch of her father she had ever known and she found it comforting. Vincent pulled her toward him and put his chin to her temple. He could feel her pulse slow as she cooled and calmed.
"But," he began, "would you like to tell me why you would want to fight with a woman you could never beat?"
She pulled away from him and walked to the window. "No," she said. "I did not mean for her to attack me. We were just having a…a girl argument and I went too far."
"A 'girl' argument?" he asked jokingly.
"Well, I don't know how else to explain it!" she said. "I…I don't want to tell you! It's embarrassing."
He chuckled, but the smile quickly left his face. "Did she do that to you?" he asked, pointing to her neck.
Victoria gasped and remembered the marks on her neck. "Oh…uh, what?" she asked walking over to the mirror and looking at Ethan's marks. "Oh, my," she whimpered trying to sound surprised. "I guess."
"Did she try to bite you?" He walked toward her to attempt a better look. "Some of those marks almost look like bites."
Her face blushed with embarrassment at her father seeing the signs of her afternoon passion. "I don't…I don't know," she stammered. "It all happened so fast. I don't even remember…" she trailed off.
Vincent sensed her hesitation; he wondered if she was hiding something, but he did not press the issue. "Do not worry about it," he said. "Get some rest. Do not concern yourself about Tessa." He leaned over, kissed her forehead, and turned to leave. "Oh, did you have a nice day?" he asked just before leaving.
"Yes," she innocently replied. "Quite pleasant."
He gave a polite bow as he left the room, closing the door behind him. Victoria sat down at her vanity and prayed for forgiveness. She would need to go to confession as soon as possible. Not only did she argue with her father previously, she had committed loose acts, she had incited violence, and now, she had lied to her father, both directly and by omission.
The Vampire's Daughter Page 4