by K. Lyn
***
The next morning, Leon heard the sound of knocking outside his bedroom door. Victoria? He leapt to his feet and rushed over to the door, wondering how she had managed to get out of bed when the night before she had been so weak. When he opened the door, he saw that it was not Victoria. It was Dr. Manheim with his large beard and bulging belly. He had a medical bag in his hand and his cheeks were pink from the morning chill. Dr. Manheim walked into his room.
"I let myself into your estate, as you specified during my last visit." Dr. Manheim frowned. "Your estate is so big I could have knocked for hours and you would never hear me. I apologize for coming so early in the morn; however, I traveled all night because you specified in your letter that it was an emergency. Where is the woman you mentioned in the letter with the poisoned leg from wolf bite?"
"I will show you." Leon frowned. "Come with me. If it means that you can make her well, it does not matter how early you wake me or her up. You are welcome here. I'm just grateful you made haste the way you did. Last night, she had grown hot. I was tempted to check on her during the night but feared it would startle her and make her believe I was up to no good if I did."
Dr. Manheim nodded, "I see. Well, I will do what I can for her. Perhaps a bleeding is in order. It will stop the hemorrhaging at least, if what ails her leg is what I think."
As Leon led Dr. Manheim down the hallway and to Victoria's bedroom, Leon was silent. Please let him be able to heal her. Yet as he thought that, his heart was filled with mourning. If Dr. Manheim healed her, he would have no choice but to send her away to preserve his sanity. He couldn't keep his curse away from her forever. On top of that, she would be eternally in danger as long as she was around him.
Dr. Manheim cleared his throat just as they reached Victoria's door, and he was drawn from his jumbled thoughts and mixed feelings.
"This is her room," Leon said quietly, drawing to a stop. "But please, do not mention my own ailment to her. She has no idea what affects me, and I have no intention of telling her."
As Dr. Manheim's eyes lingered on the door, he grunted in agreement. "I see. As you well know, I am reliable when it comes to keeping secrets. I had thought, though, that this woman could be someone you were, of a sort, courting. You truly have no intention of telling her?"
"That I'm a monster?" He shook his head violently. "No. And I am not courting her. She was injured on her way here to apply for a job and that is all. I would never subject a woman to the type of torture it would put her through when I change."
"Your protests are mighty for a man who is not courting." Dr. Manheim raised an eyebrow. "But I will say nothing to the woman. Show her to me then."
His heart thudded wildly as he opened the door to Victoria's room. Though Dr. Manheim stepped inside, Leon lingered on the threshold of Victoria's room a minute longer, getting his thoughts in order. The fact that Dr. Manheim truly had thought he was courting Victoria caused him to become confused, mostly because he wished he could court her. If only he was human. If he was, he would not have hesitated to attempt to win Victoria's heart and heal the pain that losing her father had brought upon her. Victoria was like no woman he had ever met. She was strong, beautiful, and smart. He would treat her as if she was a goddess.
But that was if he was human.
Shaking his head, he walked into Victoria's room and saw that Dr. Manheim stood over the bed but did not wake her. Victoria appeared worse today than she had yesterday. Sweat doused her forehead and her chest violently rose up and down with every pained breath she released. His heart ached as he stared down at her pale face and blue lips. Would she live? How could a werewolf's bite do so much so quickly?
"I can tell already that this does not look good," Dr. Manheim said. "Perhaps you should rouse the poor woman. I do not want to trouble her condition further by waking her and frightening her. A woman does not like having a strange man hover above her bed."
Leon nodded and walked over to Victoria's bed and sat at her side. As he sat next to her, he studied her pale, sweaty face and was shocked that she had not been woken by Dr. Manheim's speaking. Perhaps she needed the sleep badly. Still, he had to rouse her.
Placing his hand on Victoria's cheek, he gently said her name, "Victoria. Victoria, wake up now. The doctor is here to see you."
"Oh, Leon," Victoria muttered sleepily. "I care for you so much."
Heat filled his face as he was once again overwhelmed with pleasure and confusion. He watched her eyes flicker and tried to ignore Dr. Manheim's knowing chuckle.
***
Victoria's dream was hot. So hot. It felt like her entire body was on fire, but that didn't matter, because she was curled up in Leon's arms. The two of them were naked and his hand ran down the length of her arm. Though her leg ached, she ignored it and felt pleasure fill her body.
"Victoria, didn't you hear me?" Leon said, gazing at her face. "It is time to wake up now."
"But I am awake."
She glanced around the bedroom in confusion and then took in Leon's chiseled, sweat covered chest one last time. His chest was gorgeous, as was the rest of him. But then her vision began to grow blurry and her eyes fluttered. Suddenly, she was in her room again and Leon hovered above her, his eyes shining with concern. His hand remained on her cheek, which she did not mind. Upon waking up, she felt her head pound and her leg throb even more.
"Leon?" She bit her bottom lip. "What is it? I feel so…"
Hot. So hot and in pain. She draped her hand over her forehead and then glanced to the right. A man she did not know stood by her bed. With a cry, Victoria drew the covers up over her under-dress, concealing as much as possible.
"Victoria, this is Dr. Manheim," Leon said. "He has come to look at your leg."
"I am sorry to startle you, Lady," Dr. Manheim bowed. "I assure you that I have seen many women in their nightdresses and I have no intention of gazing at you with sinful eyes. I have a wife at home as well."
Though she felt nervous, she trusted Leon's judgment. If Leon thought this doctor was a good man, she would just have to believe it, too. Victoria allowed the blankets to fall and she moved to straighten up. Leon placed his hands on her back, one on her lower back and the other on her upper back, and steadied her. Once she was in the sitting position comfortably, he did not remove his hand on her lower back, which filled her with pleasure.
"Tell me, how have you been feeling?" Dr. Manheim asked, sitting down by the bed next to her.
"Hot," she said honestly. "So hot, all the time. Like I am burning. And my leg, it aches and throbs."
"I see." Dr. Manheim frowned and nodded. "Then let me have a look at your leg."
Nodding, Victoria slid so her legs dangled off the side of the bed. Leon placed his hands on her back again, steadying her and comforting her. She drew her dress up to her knees and gazed down at the bite with wide eyes. The wound was swollen and throbbing, and yellowing pus dribbled down from the wound and onto her skin. She shuddered and Leon gasped as he gazed at the bite. It had gotten a lot worse since yesterday. The wolf's poison was advancing fast.
Dr. Manheim did not suck in air, and he quietly touched her leg. When Dr. Manheim touched the sticky, yellowing goop in the middle of the bite, she gasped and drew her leg back as it stung, and Leon rubbed her back in comfort again. She appreciated his touch and it calmed her pounding heart as she recovered from the pain of being touched.
"This wound is as I feared," Dr. Manheim frowned. "The wolf's bite has poisoned her. I have seen a wound like this only twice."
Victoria swallowed. "What…What happened to them?"
"One of them lived," Dr. Manheim said.
Dr. Manheim looked down at the brown bag he carried. Victoria did not wish to know about the other non-survivor. Enough fear coursed through her at his words. Had she fled from Sir William only to die? The idea made her sick to her stomach.
"I will have to stay here for a prolonged period of time, at Leon's acceptance." Dr. Manheim pulled his brown
bag onto his lap. "After I read his letter, I gathered several things I thought I might need in case the wound was as I thought. I am glad I did."
He pulled out several vials. One of them had clear liquid and another had golden liquid. After that, he pulled out a large jar full of swimming white leeches. Her eyes opened wide and she gasped and slid further back on the bed. Leon grabbed her from behind once more and steadied her, and she felt him bury his face in her hair.
"We will have to go about this in several ways," Dr. Manheim said. "In order to save you, Victoria, I have brought some branches and herbs called Tonic Branches from my hometown of Kent. I have also brought vinegar and alcohol. We shall also have to go through several leechings and bleedings in order to chase the poison out of your body. If all goes well, you may be lucky and will survive the treatment. Do you contest to this?"
Fear filled her body. Victoria had never seen a bleeding or a leeching, but she had heard one. She remembered it like it was yesterday.
Fourteen-year-old Victoria walked home from the bakery with bread in her arms. As she walked, she heard the sound of loud screaming fill the night and her heart sped up. Was somebody being possessed? Was there a theft of a household? Frightened, Victoria quickened her pace to head home, but the closer she neared to her house, the closer she drew to the sound.
A kilometer from her house, she saw the cottage of old Mrs. Smith. The windows glowed with orange firelight and the door was partially open. Several people stood a distance away, and then loud screaming filled the night again.
"Lord, take me," screamed Mrs. Smith. "I do not wish for this. Lord, just take me to heaven and keep this misery from overcoming me."
Victoria stilled. One of the people who stood outside of the house, Ms. Digger, walked over and touched her arm.
"What is happening?" Victoria asked in way of greeting.
"Mrs. Smith has been overcome with the spots," Ms. Digger said in horror. "Her body is covered in hideous, dark red marks. The doctor is doing a bleeding."
Once again, Mrs. Smith cried out, "Please, please, please stop."
Victoria shook her head in horror and Ms. Digger bobbed her head in agreement. After pivoting, Victoria raced for home with the bread clutched in her thin arms.
Leon shifting on the bed caused her to recover from her memory. A bleeding. She was going to have to endure a bleeding? The idea made her ill. Yet she knew that if she wanted to survive, she would have to endure it.
"I will." Victoria's jaw clenched. "I will endure this. Please, do what you must, as long as I live."
Dr. Manheim nodded, and Leon gazed at her with eyes which glowed with respect.
As Victoria sat on her bed with her throbbing leg wrapped, she contemplated her injury. I should tell my mother what is happening to me. I should write to her. If I should die from this, I would want her to know how much I love her and how much I wish I could have seen her wedding. She knew Leon had to have some form of parchment and knew the letter carrier in town. She felt guilt about asking Leon for anything more, especially since he had given her so much already, but she had to say goodbye to her mother while she still could.
Victoria hobbled toward the door and was just about to open it when it banged open, almost knocking her over. As she gasped, caught herself on her wounded leg, and then cried out, pain electrocuted her body. Leon stood before her, wide-eyed, with a bowl of steaming soup next to a hunk of bread on a wooden tray in his hands.
"Victoria," Leon said. "What on earth are you doing up? You should be in bed, recovering."
"I'm sorry," Victoria gasped. "I wanted to ask you for something, but I wasn't sure where you were."
Clucking as if he was her father, Leon placed the tray of food upon the dresser and then wrapped his hand around her waist. Her heart sped up at the slight touch as he walked her to the bed and then gently eased her back into the sitting position. As she gazed up into Leon's face, she thought, I have never known a man with such charitable kindness. Though he did not know me, he took me into his home when I was injured. Now he brought a doctor to me to aid me and he even feeds me meals.
"Are you all right?" Leon asked. "You look dazed."
"I was…" Heat filled her face. "I just thought you are the most kindhearted, giving man I have ever met."
Leon's face hardened so fast it shocked her. "That is not true."
"It is, though," she said. "You have given me so much. No matter what happens to me, Leon, I want to thank you. Thank you for taking such good care of me."
"Anyone would have taken you in." Leon swallowed. "Only a truly cruel person would leave a defenseless, injured woman out in the cold to die. I made this soup for you, and I want you to eat it while it's still hot. Despite your heat, Dr. Manheim instructed me that it was best to feed you hot foods and keep you in bed at all times."
Turning, Leon headed over to the dresser and then re-collected the tray with the food on it. He placed the tray in front of Victoria, who accepted it gratefully despite the fact that she wasn't hungry. She was touched by his kindness and would eat the food because of it.
"And also, what did you need from me?" Leon asked. "We were so busy almost colliding that you forgot to tell me."
"I want to send my mother a letter to inform her of my poor condition."
Victoria dragged her eyes away from the soup. "Would it be possible for me to do so?"
"Of course," Leon nodded. "I shall bring parchment to you immediately. And we shall also have to fix the problem of you not being able to summon me right away. I will be sleeping in the room right next to yours as long as you are ill so that you can call me immediately, but I wish to do more. I don't want you getting up and injuring yourself further. Stay in bed from now on, you understand, Victoria?"
"It is unnecessary to change bedrooms just for my sake." Her heart pounded in pleasure at his caring.
"I feel that it is," Leon said, staring at her somberly. "I want you to get better."
Silence filled the bedroom as his words echoed in her head. Even though her leg ached and she was sweaty, she felt a jolt of true attraction in her stomach. Staring into Leon's eyes made her feel as though she could float away. But then her leg throbbed again and she peered down at it and sighed.
Leon sighed too and sat next to her, grabbing her hand. His touch comforted her and drove away some of the pain, but not all of it. She leaned her head against his shoulder and he did not pull away from her touch. Instead, he snaked his hand around her shoulders and drew her close, so close that she could breathe in his musky male scent, so close that all she had to do was reach out and she could put her lips against his own. All she wanted at that moment was to curl up in his arms and pretend her leg did not ache, just like in her dream. She looked at his lips and licked her own, and she saw Leon's Adam's apple bob as he gulped.
As Leon gazed at Victoria's beautiful face, he felt his stomach fill with longing. But he also felt disgusted with himself. First, he shouldn't have wanted Victoria to begin with because of what he was. Second, she was ill. Her face was pale and covered in a sweaty sheen, and though she said nothing, he could not ignore the way she grabbed at her skirt and balled it within her fists. She was in a lot of pain and all he could think about was her beauty and he wanted to push her back on the bed and make love to her.
Victoria licked her lips again and his heart pounded. It would be too easy to press his lips against hers and make her shut her innocent eyes. After all, she was innocent. She may have already been bedded by a man, but any woman who said, "I just thought you are the most kindhearted, giving man I have ever met," was innocent. And he cared for Victoria all the more for it.
While Victoria gazed at him, she inched closer and pressed her hand against his cheek. He could feel the softness of her skin and he shuddered with want. How could one person, one gorgeous creature, have so much power over him? When she leaned forward, her soft, hot lips mingling over his own and her sweet breath filling his nose, his heart screamed, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" whil
e his mind screamed, "No! No! No!"
He wrapped his hand in her sweaty red hair and tangled his fingers in her curls. Curiously, he probed her mouth with his tongue, eager to enter her and plunge inside. With a low groan, she opened her mouth and he entered her. As he rubbed her tongue with his own, he became aware of how even the inside of her mouth was hot. He felt her sweat dampened neck and remembered how sick she was. She should be lying down in bed, but not with him on top of her. As he wrapped his hand around her waist and she shuddered and winced, he released her with a gasp and pulled away, staring into her stunned green eyes.
"I shouldn't have done that," Leon said quickly.
Victoria's eyes widened in shock and then hurt. "But I…But you…"
It was too easy to remember Devon.
"Blood," Leon whispered. "What in God's name is this?"
His brother lay on his side, arm draped over his rib cage, with his throat torn out, revealing a yellowing spinal cord within. There were bite marks on his neck and arms, and his eyes were wide in silent horror.
"No." Leon shook his head and took a step back into the wall. "Sweet mother of God, no. What have I done? What have I done?"
As Victoria stared at him, he replaced Devon's body with hers. Instead of Devon laying with his throat torn out and blood dribbling down his neck, it was Victoria. Her sparkling green eyes were blank and staring, and the smell of copper filled the air.
Victoria reached for him, but he got to his feet and took a step back. The smell of her injury filled the air and he realized that it may have been a warning of what he was capable of after all. Suddenly, in the close quarters, he couldn't breathe. He had to be free and go somewhere. He had to get out of the room and forget about Devon, if only for a second.
After pivoting, he headed for the door. Behind him, Victoria cried, "Wait, Leon. Wait."