CHAPTER 24 #2
She clasped her hands behind her back so he couldn’t see them shake. There was no way to hide her pounding heart, but she wouldn’t give him the full satisfaction of her fear.
“Or you cannot even imagine how terrible I am.”
“It takes a little bit of the threat away when you’re locked in chains and haven’t even tried to escape.”
“The iron is inconvenient, but I’ll be free soon enough. My only dilemma is what to do with you. I could drain you and let Valeria find out when she smells you within me. Tell me, has she drunk from you?”
Caroline shook her head; she was too scared to speak. He spoke of her death so casually that she knew it meant nothing to him. Killing her would be as easy to him as breathing was for her. Even if it would hurt Valeria. Especially if it hurt her.
“Maybe I’ll snap your neck without anyone ever getting a taste. Or I could make her kill you like she promised she would.”
Caroline sucked in a breath. His cruelty wasn’t surprising, but she couldn’t imagine why Valeria and Edgar had been so taken with such a petty, cruel man.
“I could do it tomorrow, or maybe in ten or twenty years. I’ll be exactly as I am now, but you’ll have another life.
One where you forgot to keep looking over your shoulder because surely I’ve forgotten all about you.
You’ll have a family that you hold dear, and you can’t imagine any other life.
Valeria is nothing more than a distant memory.
A series of mistakes you made so long ago it was like it happened to someone else. ”
Sweat dripped from her palms, and she gripped the weapon the doctor left her so tightly her knuckles ached.
The words to tell him to stop were on the tip of her tongue because she could see the future he described.
Her hair threaded with grey as she played with children in her garden, even though it looked different than it did now.
There were more flowers and a gazebo as well as plenty of toys.
The five children ranged from around eleven to a year old and looked like the perfect mix of her and Edgar.
It was impossible, but she knew it was a glimpse into her future. One she didn’t want to see.
“Only then will I come back. When you’ve convinced yourself it really was a strange plague that blew through your village all those years ago.
Maybe I’ll start with your kids and only give you the sweet release of death after you’ve heard them scream for you in their final moments.
Or I’ll play with you for days and days. ”
Tears gathered in her eyes at the depth of the pain he was willing to cause her. Already she could feel the love and fear and rage for children who didn’t exist. “Why would you say such awful things? What have I ever done to you?”
Chains rattled as he shot up from the floor and hurled himself at the bars.
At first she thought the chains had broken or that he had lied about the effectiveness of iron, but he had only moved unnaturally fast. Fear paralyzed her; she tried to shout for Dr. Murnau, but not a single sound came from her.
“Because you’re trying to take what’s mine. I was there for Valeria when she needed someone most. When her heart was at its most broken, and she needed someone, anyone to love her, I was the only one who answered. Yet, she flouts the rules for you.”
“What?”
“She asked for you to be Made and come with us to America.” His lip curled. “These young vampires have no respect these days. The first vampire I Made wouldn’t have dared to ask me such a thing.”
“I don’t want to be a vampire.”
The thought of killing disgusted her. She couldn’t imagine lying in wait for someone to pass. Or going to a party or someone’s house as a guest and slowly kill them after they showed her kindness. The very idea made her sick.
“You didn’t even want it, and she still asked?” He shook his head. “This is precisely why not everyone deserves the Gift. All of that work wasted on someone unworthy.”
“Then you’ll be glad to know that she left and I don’t know where she went. I don’t think I’ll ever see her again.”
“Good, but that won’t guarantee that you won’t see me again. Those big houses have so many people going in and out that it’s too easy to get an invitation.”
Caroline left the basement without another word. He was committed to scaring her, and it worked all too well. She would make sure Mrs. Thomas told the staff not to invite anyone into their home. But above all else, she prayed The Count would leave her alone.
When she reached the top of the staircase, she shut the door behind her, and Dr. Murnau was pacing across the short hallway, ready to spring into action. “Are you well? Did he hurt you?” The doctor’s eyes were frantic as he waved one of his yew stakes.
“I’m fine. He scared me, but he can’t get through the chains. I don’t think it will hold him for long, but it’s holding him for now.”
“I agree. Our final patients can be discharged today, and I will make sure everyone is home well before sunset, just in case. If he is still in the cage in the morning, I’ll reevaluate, but I have a feeling it will be empty.”
“Me too.”
* * *
That night Caroline stood at the parlour with her own wooden stake the gardener helped her carve.
The ballroom floor was being waxed, and she heard the soft sounds of the servants working, but otherwise the house was quiet.
Everyone had instructions not to open the door or let anyone in for any reason.
It didn’t take much for everyone to agree.
Not with the rumors floating around town of dark forces on the loose.
Gossip was the best way to get anything done.
“Do you see anything?” Lucy hissed, holding her own stake. Caroline had told her many times that she wasn’t needed, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. She said if her lady was defending her house, then so would she.
“Nothing.”
It was well past midnight, and she stood in the same spot since before sunset, watching the road.
The Count could come through the forest, but she felt he would rather use the front door.
It made more of a statement. She looked for movement in the trees, but even the forest was still.
The tree-lined drive was nearly half a mile long, so she couldn’t see the main road, but even in the darkness she would be able to see any movement.
Her grip tightened as she thought about seeing the flash of his light green eyes through the trees.
“When you do see him, you distract him, and I’ll stab. It’s the heart, right?”
“Yes, it’s the heart, but I don’t want you to get that close to him. You distract, and I’ll stab.”
The Count was fast, faster than she could ever describe to Lucy.
She didn’t have the heart to tell her that if it came down to a fight, they wouldn’t win.
If he found his way into her home, it would be the end of them all.
The weapon was only for her peace of mind, though Lucy didn’t need to know that.
Only one of them needed to be terrified.
Lucy snorted. “I like you a great deal, Miss. You’re the best boss I’ve ever had, but I don’t think the stabbing should be left to you. You’ve never stabbed anyone before.”
“And you have?” Caroline turned to her maid, raising a brow.
“‘Course I have. You think a stable boy hasn’t ever gotten a little handsy? Sometimes a little stab is how you show them you mean business.”
“Has anyone here gotten…handsy with you?” Caroline frowned.
She hadn’t heard of such whispers through the staff, but she imagined it wouldn’t be something that would get to her, though she hated the thought that anyone there would act in such a way.
“It doesn’t matter who it was. I’ll make sure you’re protected. ”
“Oh no, it wasn’t here. You run too tight a ship for such behaviors, and even if you didn’t, Mrs. Thomas would skin anyone who tried. Not all houses are like this, though. I had a lot of trouble when I was a scullery maid. It took a few pokes, but then I got a reputation, and they left me alone.”
“Well, I promise you won’t have to go through that again.”
“And I promise that I won’t let The Count get you. He may not be a man, but I can stab him all the same.”
The corners of Caroline’s mouth tipped upwards, even though she knew she shouldn’t encourage her. “Thank you, Lucy. Hopefully it doesn’t come to that.”
“I hope not, but it’s better to be prepared. Mrs. Thomas had the footmen carving stakes all day so there’s quite the stockpile now.”
“Why would she do that?”
“We all wanted to be ready. Everyone feels better with the weapon, especially since this Count can go out during the day. We won’t be caught unaware. You’ll be safe.”