15. Chapter 12
Fingers stroked over Caroline’s face, and it took her a moment to realize it was Valeria hovering above her.
“Don’t think this means I’m not still cross with you.”
Caroline’s lip twitched. “Don’t worry, I’m still cross with you too.”
Valeria smiled down at her. “I’m glad we’re in agreement.”
“Me too. Now this means we can enjoy our night.”
“Actually, it’s daytime, but the sentiment is the same.”
“Do you really want to ruin a beautiful moment with semantics?”
“Is this your way of telling me I should be kissing you instead?”
She nodded, and Valeria smiled before she leaned down to kiss her. As far as Caroline was concerned, they should always be kissing.
“Your mouth is even sweeter than I imagined,” Valeria said as she moved her lips over Caroline’s jaw. “So sweet I could sink my teeth into you so easily.”
She trembled, and Valeria gave a throaty chuckle.
“Don’t worry, you’re perfectly safe here. Besides, I never come to you hungry.”
Caroline grabbed Valeria’s face and pulled her down for a kiss. What she lacked in finesse, she more than made up for in enthusiasm as she eagerly darted her tongue into Valeria’s mouth.
“Careful,” Valeria said, breaking their kiss, but she was still close enough that Caroline felt her breath. “You mustn’t get too close to my teeth, cara.”
Caroline jolted awake from her dream, flopping her forearm over her eyes in an attempt to blot out the early morning sunshine, but the light made her sleep fruitless.
It didn’t matter how exhausted she was. Every time she fell into a deep sleep, she would slip into a dream that was more unsettling than restful.
She knew the last few had featured Valeria, but the details had slipped from her mind like sand through her fingers.
Though she did remember that teeth had played a prominent role in this last one. If only she could remember what role they played.
“Good morning, Miss,” Lucy said as she threw open the gauzy white curtains. They weren’t doing much to keep out the light, but she still flinched as the yellow light became more intense. “How are you on this fine day?”
“Tired.” She rubbed the sleep from her eyes before pushing herself up. “I haven’t been sleeping very well. Dreams have been keeping me up.”
“Bad dreams?” Lucy frowned as she rifled through her closet looking for a dress for Caroline. “You eat dinner too late. A little bit of beef could keep you up with sour dreams for days. I’ll talk to Cook and let him know you shouldn’t have anything heavy after sunset.”
“I’m sure that will thrill him.”
Caroline sat at the vanity as Lucy ran a comb through her hair.
While she wasn’t a polished lady’s maid and she was missing some of the finer points of service, her taste in clothing and hair was impeccable.
She knew her way around curling tongs for balls or when she wished to impress Edgar, but she also knew such a variety of daytime styles that she could go months without repeating one.
“He can be severe, but he does work for you. You’re allowed to give him direction.”
“He works for my parents, not me.”
Lucy snorted. “Everyone here knows who really runs this estate. It’s only your father’s in name. All the servants know he’s too busy tupping your mother to worry about the books.”
Caroline scrunched her face. “I don’t need to hear that.”
“I suppose not, but it is true. Not to say that he isn’t a lovely man and a fair boss, but he’s certainly not good at his job. If it wasn’t for you, he would have lost the estate ages ago.”
A small thrill ran through her at the idea that others saw the value she brought, but she also hated the idea that her family was gossip. Her family didn’t deserve that.
“That may be true, but he’s tried his best. My mother too. They may sometimes be misguided, but they always try.”
“Of course.” Lucy stiffened. “I didn’t mean any offense; I only meant to say that we’ve all noticed the hard work you’ve put into saving the land and the house. We know it’s your hard work and we’re grateful to have you on our side.”
She couldn’t find an argument with that, but both she and her maid steered their conversation to lighter topics as Lucy got her ready for the day.
It wasn’t until Caroline was dressed in her deep purple muslin dress and Lucy had placed the final pin in her blonde chignon that her eyes lit up and she grabbed a note from her pocket.
“I almost forgot,” Lucy said, “Mrs. Thomas said this note from Dr. Murnau arrived around dawn.”
Her stomach sank. There was only one reason why he would write to her so early. The note was short and missing any detail, but he said he wanted to see her about what happened in the hospital overnight. She sighed.
“What’s wrong?” Lucy asked, alarm steeping into her voice. “Is it plague after all?”
“No, that would be entirely too useful for one of his notes. He only says he wishes to see me at the hospital.”
“I hate a cryptic note. I would rather get bad news straight away than have to wait around stewing in misery.”
Caroline agreed, but she didn’t want to add to Lucy’s worry.
“I’m sure this is nothing to worry about.
He’s a man of few words. I would be far more concerned if he wrote something verbose.
He likely just wants me to interview more patients.
There’s no worry that this may be an outcropping of plague. ”
Well, unless vampires turned out to be a type of plague.
“You’re sure?” Lucy worried her lower lip between her teeth. “My sister-in-law is worried because she’s pregnant again and Ian’s job is taking him all over the county.”
“He’ll be fine. Tell him to do his business during the day and to make sure he’s home by dark every night.”
She still wasn’t sure if it was quite the right advice, but staying indoors more certainly wouldn’t hurt, and it wasn’t enough information to cause a panic when Lucy’s sister-in-law inevitably spread the advice she received.
“And, of course, I’ll keep you updated with anything else I learn. Have the carriage readied and I’ll leave as soon as I’m finished with breakfast.”
Lucy shifted in place. “Ah, Mrs. Thomas also wanted me to remind you that Madame Gavreau is arriving today for your wedding dress fitting.”
Caroline closed her eyes and sighed. She had forgotten about the appointment entirely.
Madame Gavreau was possibly the most in-demand dressmaker in the country.
For years, Caroline had coveted one of her gowns, always admiring the lucky women she saw with them at balls.
Her desire was so well-known that Edgar had made acquiring one of Madame Gavreau’s custom gowns as part of his proposal.
Not only to get a gown made in time for their wedding, but also for Madame Gavreau to go to her for the fittings.
This was their second-to-last fitting, the first time she would be trying on the actual gown and not just the muslin sample.
“Did Mrs. Thomas mention an arrival time?”
“Sometime around luncheon.”
Caroline did the mental math and her time was coming up short.
There was plenty of time for her to scarf down breakfast and get to town to see Dr. Murnau and still be back in time for luncheon, but that wasn’t taking into consideration any time spent there beyond a quick conversation.
It wasn’t even mid-morning, and she still felt like she had lost most of her day.
“I can’t do both, can I?”
Lucy shook her head. “Mrs. Thomas wanted me to remind you that your fiancé paid a small fortune to get you the exact dress you wanted and your charity work—while admirable—could be put on hold for a single day.”
She wasn’t sure if that was true, but she didn’t know how to explain it without scaring Lucy and sending the household into a panic because there was no way she could keep it to herself. Once she knew more about the situation and how they could protect themselves, then she would let everyone know.
“I’ll write a note you can have sent to the doctor explaining my absence.”
She only hoped what he faced at the hospital wasn’t too dire.
* * *
Her fingers deftly moved the bobbins back and forth as she sank into the rhythm of weaving her lace. It had been far too long since she last worked on her veil. She was behind schedule, which was just another tally in her mounting list of failures.
A knock sounded at the door before Mrs. Thomas entered.
“Is Madame Gavreau here already?” she asked without taking her eyes away from her project.
“No, Miss Evans is here to see you.”
Caroline’s eyes shot up to the housekeeper. “Diya’s here? In person?”
“Yes, she’s waiting for you in the sitting room,” Mrs. Thomas said before leaving.
Caroline scrubbed her face with her hands. She should have expected Diya wouldn’t take well to her brush-off. Unfortunately, it was what she would do if their roles were reversed.
Sighing, Caroline stood. She would have to do everything in her power to send Diya away. No one could know Valeria was still there, not when Caroline still suspected she may be the vampire behind it all.
Vampire. It still felt outrageous to think of Valeria being an evil vampire. The previous evening she had been sweet. Mostly. Still, she hadn’t looked at her hungrily or spoken about how sweet her blood smelled.
Steeling herself, she walked into the sitting room. Diya paced before the window, clutching her deep red bonnet that matched the wool dress she wore. Her head snapped to Caroline, and almost instantly her look of concern melted away into a dazzling smile.
“Caro, there you are! I was beginning to worry.”
“Why? I’ve only been here.”
It didn’t feel good to lie to her best friend when her only crime was caring about her well-being, but she could mend any bruised feelings after the vampire was gone and everything was safe in their village again.
Diya rolled her eyes. “Do you really think I don’t know anything about what’s going on here?”
Her stomach sank. “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“I heard about Nelly, and I’m so sorry. That must have been a terrible shock.”
“Oh.” Caroline felt horrible at how relieved she was that this was what Diya knew. “It was a horrific tragedy. She’ll be greatly missed.”
God, it felt awful to speak of her in such a hollow way when her killer was at large—and likely sleeping upstairs—but from the look of sympathy on Diya’s face, she knew her best friend was buying her performance.
“And is your father doing better? I know he and your mother have gone to the seaside. Does he have the same illness as poor Nelly?”
Caroline was going to throttle Lucy if she couldn’t learn to keep a secret. At this point it was the only quality she wanted in a lady’s maid.
“He improved before he left. Dr. Murnau isn’t sure if he had the same affliction, but sent him away so he could heal in peace.”
“I’m glad to hear it, but it would have been nice to hear from you and not idle gossip around the village.”
Caroline dropped her eyes to the floor so she didn’t have to see the hurt in Diya’s eyes. “I know, but it’s been stressful.”
“And you don’t think I could have helped,” she snorted. “We’ve been best friends since before we were born. Our fathers were friends before that, and I’m sure another Blythe and Evans were friends before them. It isn’t like you to disappear like this.”
“I’m not doing it on purpose; I’ve just been busy. I swear, once everything calms down, I’ll visit you for the weekend and tell you everything.” Lie. “I just need some time to work through some things, and then I promise it will all go back to normal.”
“Are you trying to kick me out of your house?”
“I’m not kicking you out,” she winced, “I’m politely and gently asking you to leave.”
“No,” Diya said, putting her hands on her hips. “Any other day I would go, but not today.”
“Why not?”
“It’s your wedding dress fitting!” She threw up her hands, looking at Caroline as if she had lost her mind. “We’ve been planning this for ages; how could you honestly believe I would miss this, no matter how strange you’ve been acting?”
“Oh.” Everyone had remembered her wedding dress fitting except for her. “I suppose you can stay for that.”
She was already going to do everything in her power to get Madame Gavreau out of her house before sunset, so it wouldn’t matter much if Diya was added to that journey. Hopefully she could annoy them both enough that they wanted to leave as quickly as possible.