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 t
he 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.
The baroness turned back to Jany. “Do you understand my dilemma?” she asked.
“I do,” Jany said, hoping the baroness would not see through the lie.
“Then you see why I must turn to you with this desperate, sinful and ungodly plea.” The baroness moved closer to Jany and rested her fingers on her arm. “Please,” she said in a pained voice, “save the woman. What I ask you to do may seem crude or even depraved, but if we allow the flames to end her life, would not that be a greater evil?”
Jany stood dumbstruck while wind and rain struck the windows. Part of her had anticipated this, but another part refused to believe what the baroness suggested. In the background of the confusion loomed her survival instincts, and they were not happy. Making love to a bound vampire. It was wicked, act of salvation or not.
Yet Jany was trapped between her conscience and her guilt. No one should take advantage of another human the way the baroness proposed, but a good person would not let another woman die if salvation was within reach. It was a choice between two cruelties.
Except that one of the two was a lesser cruelty. Jany had spent endless hours and countless nights dreaming of touching and being touched, in all the ways and places that only another woman would know. Subjecting the maid to these fantasies was immoral, but Jany was not spiteful. In difference, she longed to give another woman pleasure. Was that enough to justify doing what the baroness asked?
Jany turned to look at the maid again. Now that Jany’s eyes had adapted to the gloom, it was easier to make out the woman’s features. She lay still, breathing heavily and watching Jany. She was agonizingly beautiful and unbearably tempting. And cursed, destined to burn in a few hours. Unless Jany saved her.
Jany felt lightheaded, as if she had left reality outside the room and entered a dreamlike state in which anything could happen. The strong and aromatic wine added to the effect. Most of all, the baroness’s sheer presence was making her heady; her determination and thoughts seemed to wither before those large, impossibly blue eyes. Outside, the storm was becoming fiercer. Rain bashed the windows as if whipped into frenzy by an unseen force. The maid was still looking at Jany, who saw a new light in the woman’s eyes.
It was, Jany thought, the light of hope.
“Yes,” Jany whispered. “I’ll do it. For the sake of her soul, I’ll save her.”
That was only half of the truth; she wanted to make love to the maid. It did not matter if she was on the edge of becoming a supernatural being. Deep down, Jany was terrified that she would die without ever having been with a woman. This may be her only chance. A twisted opportunity framed with darkness and fear, but for a good cause.
The baroness smiled widely and nodded. “I knew you would see reason,” she said. “Remember that it is for a good cause.” Without waiting for Jany to reply, she reached around Jany’s neck and undid the clasp that held Jany’s tunic in place. Jany started in surprise; she often had to struggle to open the clasp when she undressed, but the baroness had loosened it without problem.
Underneath the thin coat, Jany wore a thick plain shirt and a loose long skirt, both wet from the rain. Even though she was still dressed, she already felt exposed. On the other hand, the sensation of being undressed by another woman – especially a woman like this – was exhilarating. By the time the baroness tossed Jany’s tunic aside, Jany’s face was burning again.
Jany’s grasp of the situation was slipping. Was she really about to force herself upon another human being? Had someone described this scene to her, she would have thought it offensive and depraved. Making love was meant to be a private act. Merely undressing was indecent; a sleeping with someone else in front of another person was unthinkable.
Only Jany found herself eager to save the maid. The woman’s life was in peril. From the perspective of an outsider, it might be easy to object to the plan, but that person was not in Jany’s position: cornered and forced to choose between two great wrongs. No, there were no alternatives. She had to go along with the baroness’s idea.
Besides, anything was possible in this room, or so it felt. Enveloped in the baroness’s overpowering presence, and surrounded by shadows and firelight, the space felt detached from reality, a void separated from the laws and morals that governed everyday life. The baroness was at the absolute centre of this sensation; the woman seemed to twist perceptions with her raw, unstoppable charisma. No wonder she was such a renowned nobility. Kings and queens alike would throw themselves at the baroness’s feet after a few minutes in her company. Jany would not hesitate to do much more than that.
As soon as the baroness had dispatched of Jany’s tunic, she turned her fingers to the buttons on Jany’s shirt. Gasping, Jany raised her hand to fend off the baroness, but when then baroness gave her a surprisingly stern look, Jany lowered her hand. With a swift series of flicks, the baroness unbuttoned the shirt and then, slowly and almost ceremoniously, parted its front to reveal Jany’s breasts. The baroness’s eyes were so intense that Jany was unnerved for a moment.
When the baroness saw Jany flinch, she smiled. “You are extraordinary,” she said in a slightly choked voice. “Who would have known that those simple rags hid such a treasure?”
“My lady is too kind,” Jany said, determined to hold together a little longer.
“Nonsense,” the baroness said. “The maid is a lucky woman. Apart from the curse, of course.” She made an apologetic face. “I should be quiet. This is a sacred moment.” Glancing down, the baroness let her fingers trace the sides of Jany’s breasts. Her eyes were filled with yearning.
“My lady,” Jany managed, but lost the rest of the sentence. She was half naked in front of a baroness who barely could conceal her desire. An obvious longing for her. And the baroness had touched her in a decidedly sensual way. To complicate matters even more, this aristocrat would soon be nearby – perhaps even watch – as Jany would attempt to save a maid’s soul by making love to her. Jany’s mind threatened to shut down in sheer panic.
At the same time, Jany was more alive than she ever had been before. While she was nervous beyond reason, pure lust filled her every nerve. Trembling, she allowed the baroness to pull off her shirt and untie the ribbons that held up her skirt, and soon her skirt joined her other clothes on the floor.
Sliding her fingers inside Jany’s smallclothes, the baroness stepped closer to Jany. The woman’s lips were an inch from Jany’s ear as she spoke.
“You must make her climax,” the baroness whispered and slowly pushed Jany’s smallclothes down her legs. “The stories I have heard says so. Make her come, and the curse is removed, fleeing her body with she screams.” The baroness kneeled and continued to undress Jany, confidently but reverently.
“I thought my lady had read it in a book,” Jany mumbled in a state of near-panic. Keeping still while the baroness ran her hands along her body was nearly impossible. Carefully, she took a step backwards to let the baroness remove her last clothes.
Unclothed and shivering, Jany stood naked while facing one of the most beautiful women she had ever met. And nearby was another, equally stunning woman, who had been bitten by a vampire. People could lose their minds for less. And yet, this was only the beginning.
Still kneeling, the baroness looked up at Jany with a shy smile, and Jany’s body responded with a tremor. Something inside Jany shifted, as if the baroness’s intense gaze burned away all concern and left only lust in its wake. Thunder rumbled again, closer this time. The hard rain and the wild winds blended into a loud, continual hiss. Sounds and scents seemed to gain in strength.
“Book or tales,�
�� the baroness said briskly and stood up again. “What does sources matter now? You are about to save a life.” Smiling wistfully, she turned to the bed. “Go to her now,” she said. “Bless her soul from the mare that rides her. You know what you must do.”
“I do,” Jany replied. Speaking was difficult, but not from fear; her hesitation came from her desire. What had started as a calm surge was now a fierce, roaring river.
The baroness reached behind her back, produced a large fan and sprung it open. Waiting, she watched Jany over the edge. Her eyes were unreadable.
A thought came to Jany, and her heart skipped a beat. “What if she bites me?” she asked.
“She cannot.” The baroness fanned herself and shook her head. “I understood from my readings – and the stories I have heard – that it takes many days for them to develop their bloodlust and their fangs. Right now, she is merely an unusually handsome woman, suffering from an illness only you can dispel.” There was an edge of desperation to the baroness’s voice; clearly, the tension was getting to her too.
“Of course,” Jany whispered. “But still –”
“Go.” The baroness gently urged Jany forward. “I will remain here. Eyes adverted, of course.”
Nodding, Jany took a step forward while thoughts raced through her mind. What was happening to her? From what dark recess in her mind had this mad, reckless hunger exploded? She was helplessly in the grip of her own desire for the maid. Unless she controlled herself, she did not know what would happen. The baroness’s influence was dangerous; she was charismatic enough to make anyone agree to anything.
Jany crossed the floor and approached the bed. She felt half in trance, at once numb and electrified. The maid was watching her while she came closer. Perhaps she knew what was about to happen; Jany saw the slim woman breathe heavily and tremble. She hoped the maid was not afraid. While the baroness had told Jany that the maid looked to women rather than men, Jany was not a monster. She would be gentle and tactful. This endeavour was for the sake of a hurt woman, not her own lust.
The Unknown Mistress - An Erotica and Romance Paranormal/Historical Novella Page 6