Real Vampires: Glory and the Pirates

by Bartlett, Gerry

  “How did he get here? Could he really come by boat alone all the way from Ireland?” I still worried that another assassin could show up and try to kill me. I wanted to believe the threat was gone, but couldn’t relax.

  “There’s one way to find out. He mentioned that he’d been on a ship. If he was a competent sailor, it would be no problem for him to sail a small boat by himself. He’d have left it tied up somewhere or pulled up onto the shore. I’ll send men to look for it. It couldn’t be too far away.”

  “If we don’t find it?” I jumped when something landed on my shoulders. I looked behind me and saw that Valdez had brought my shawl and had laid it there.

  “Thank you, Valdez.”

  “I thought Lord Campbell might be anxious to go check on his ship. I grabbed your shawl in case you planned to go with him or stroll outside.” My bodyguard was solemn.

  “It is chilly.” I turned to Jeremiah. “Are you going to the ship? Don’t stay here just for me. I’m well protected, as you can see.”

  Jeremiah gave Valdez a searching look. “Gloriana, will you at least stay in the castle grounds until we find out if the man acted alone?”

  “I will if you hurry. You know I don’t like to be kept confined.” I looked around. “There are only so many archery contests I can win before the men refuse to play with me.” At least that got a smile from my man.

  “I’ll send troops out tonight. Both directions along the coast. If we don’t find an abandoned boat, then that means a ship dropped off your attacker. It’s possible it could have left more than one pirate. We might still have a traitor here.” He frowned. “And there’s the unsolved question of where he got the poison. Did he bring it with him? Or did our own witch help him?”

  I really wanted to confront her. Did I dare?

  Jeremiah grabbed me and stared into my eyes. “I can read you too well, my love. I absolutely forbid you to see that witch. Do you hear me, Gloriana?”

  He had just made a mistake. I carefully blocked my thoughts. Forbid me? Why didn’t he ever learn?

  17

  “ A m I going to have to lock you in your bedchamber?” Valdez was being difficult.

  “You know someone needs to question the witch. Can you tell who made this poison?” I waved the arrow at him, then held it to my own nose. I couldn’t help it, I gagged. It reeked of strong evil and my own blood. No one had dared clean it, Jeremiah’s orders. He’d broken it before he’d turned me over and pulled it out by the arrow head. That’s what Colin told me. I’d been in too much pain to remember. The very thought of how I almost died made me want to retch again.

  “Do you think poison has a signature? No one could name the maker by its smell.” Valdez grabbed the arrow and wrapped it in one of my shawls.

  I wanted to protest. I liked that shawl. But I was glad to have the thing out of sight.

  “I don’t think you know that for sure. You just don’t want me to visit the witch.” I tugged his arm. “Come on, Valdez. Walk with me down to the beach. We have to talk to Helen.”

  “You have no idea how it makes me shudder to hear you on familiar terms with that woman.” He stood in the doorway of my bedchamber, a handsome barrier to my freedom.

  “I am not familiar with her, but she is a woman. Not merely a witch. Treat her as such and you will get more from her. I am convinced of it.” I wasn’t backing down, determined to have my way.

  “And if it is her handiwork? We’d be turned into toads and hopping out of there before you could scream ‘Help!’” He thought he was being funny, but he still wasn’t moving. Clearly, he had his orders.

  “What is this? Valdez, stand aside.” Flo spoke from behind him. “Are you holding my friend prisoner?”

  “I am trying to keep her from making a mistake.” He held up the wrapped arrow. “She wants to go see the witch about this.”

  “Valdez makes sense. Aren’t you afraid she’ll put a spell on you, amica ?” Flo pushed him aside and joined me in my bedchamber. She had her hands full of blue velvet. And she wore…

  “The britches are ready!” I grabbed the velvet from her and held them up. “Blue with silver braid down the legs. I love them!” I shoved Valdez out of the room and slammed the door in his face. It was a relief to have something new to think about. My bodyguard hadn’t been moved by my arguments and I was tired of the effort. “I must try on mine.”

  “I don’t know, Glory. I feel funny. They are pushing into my derrière and getting personal with me, capisci ?” Flo pulled at the fabric that was a bit snug there but made her look very curvy in a way that would make a man wild with lust. “I am used to freedom down there. It is as if I can’t breathe, though I know that sounds silly.” She strutted around the room, her legs wide apart.

  “Stop, you look silly. Walk like you usually do, Flo. Like you are on your way to bed and want a man to follow you.” I grinned at her. She knew what I meant. Hadn’t she found a bodice to go with her black and silver that dipped low in front? It had short sleeves so she could work with her sword. I was sure she’d declare it practical.

  I pulled off my skirt and prayed that my britches would fit. My ass was so much bigger than Flo’s. Yes, Maggie had taken my measurements, but to allow for my thighs and hips… I slid one leg into the beautiful blue velvet then had to sit down on a trunk to manage the other.

  “Do you need help?” Flo was admiring her own legs but finally watched my struggle to get into the britches. There were silver buttons across the front. “Don’t you love that we have falls to button, just like the sailors do? Your Maggie is very clever with a needle.”

  “We were lucky there were such pretty buttons in the supplies sent from Edinburgh. Mine are silver engraved with flowers.” I stood and breathed a sigh of relief when I got them all buttoned without a problem. “Maggie is a genius. These fit perfectly!”

  “They do. If Maggie knew the current fashions, I’d say we send Madame Clotilde packing. She has been here weeks with nothing to show for it.” Flo pulled me away from the trunk and walked around me. “Glory, you have a nice bottom. Jeremiah will want to take you straight to bed once he sees you in this.”

  “No, Jeremiah will hate me in britches.” I was surprised to realize I was afraid to go out in them. The soldiers in the castle had always treated me with respect. What would they do when they saw me strutting around like the pirate queen, who they had mocked for dressing like a man?

  I walked around the room, feeling odd, like Flo had said. Restricted, yes, with the fabric pushing up between my legs, but also free of those full skirts that caught on everything. Who had decided that women should hide their legs and worry about tripping all the time? Men, I was sure. Now that was a thought to change my mind.

  I decided to risk it. “Flo, are you ready to take our new britches for a walk?” Yes, we were sure to get some comments, but I was not going to let that stop me. The men either respected me or they didn’t. “You know we will scandalize Lady Anne.”

  “Yes, and I forgot. I came to tell you the news. We have company!” Flo threw open the door and almost knocked down Valdez. He’d obviously been leaning on it. “Lady Anne’s mother has arrived. Without her husband. She has left him!”

  “That is news.” I shook my head. “We can’t meet that lady in britches. I’ll save mine for another day. Did she see you like that?”

  Flo laughed. “No, grazie Dio . I had just run into Maggie and she gave them to me. My hands were full when I saw Lady Anne with her mother. She introduced her, though Lady Rose was in no state for a formal introduction. She was in tears and leaning on her daughter. She told me, a perfect stranger, that she had run away from him and had vowed never to return.” Flo threw up her hands. “Can you imagine? Lady Anne was trying to make her mother be quiet. Our new friend was so imbarazzato .”

  “Poor lady. I’ll get dressed and see what I can do to help.” I glanced at Valdez. “If I have permission to leave my room.”

  “If you are planning to keep to the cast
le, you can certainly leave your room.” Valdez stayed in the hall. He looked over Flo and me. “Britches on women. Not a fashion I see lasting. Though you both have the bottom for them.” He winked then shut the door.

  “That man!” Flo stalked to the window. “Does he think I am staying in here with you? I must change clothes to help you with the runaway wife.” She became a bluebird and flew out of the window. Just like that.

  I rubbed my eyes. Oh, how I wished I could manage such a trick. I closed my eyes, fisted my hands and thought hard. Bird, bird, bird. Why wouldn’t my arms turn into wings, my skin into feathers? I dared myself to let go. Let what should happen, go ahead and happen.

  Shift, damn you! I waited, praying for a tingle, the start of the change. Nothing. I finally opened my eyes and realized I was now outside, still in my britches but under my window. I stared all the way up at the stone walls of our castle. Impossible!

  How had that happened? No, I hadn’t shifted into a bird, but somehow, I had moved. Yes, I’d gone from my bedchamber to the ground outside the castle. If I wanted to, I could now walk to the witch’s hut and ask my questions and Valdez would never know. No, I wasn’t fool enough to do that. I knew Helen was a powerful witch. I wasn’t going to face her without Valdez to guard my back.

  I needed to test this new and wonderful skill. I didn’t think even Jeremiah could do this, whatever it was called. I was so excited, I realized I was finally feeling that tingle I’d been waiting for before. I had so much to learn! But first I needed to see if I could get back into my bedchamber.

  I fisted my hands, closed my eyes and concentrated, seeing where I’d been when this had started. I waited a few agonizing moments before I dared look.

  Yes! It had worked. I was back inside. Unbelievable! I could shift. Not into another creature, but from one place to another. This was a power that I could use. I would need to experiment. To see how far I could go and how fast I could manage it. Would I need to “see” the exact spot I wanted to land? I hadn’t done that before, just wished to be out of my room. To try this, I would need Valdez to help me. Why not? He would like this new way for me to defend myself. I threw open the door, ready to confide in him.

  But instead of Valdez, there was Jeremiah, home from checking on his ship. He took a look at my outfit and stepped inside, closing the door behind him.

  “What the hell are you wearing?” He put his hands on my shoulders. “Dear God! I can see your cunny.”

  “I would think you’d like that.” I ran my hand down my bum. “Feel the fabric. It’s very soft.”

  “It also leaves nothing to the imagination.” Jeremiah turned me around and ran his hands over my hips, then between my thighs. “These are well-made.” He pressed his palm to my center, his eyes darkening. “They leave no doubt that you are a woman, my dear.”

  I reached for his own britches and cupped him where his sex was rising in interest. “And yours leave no doubt that you are a man.” I squeezed.

  “You will not wear these outside this room.” He growled as he began to open my buttons so he could slip his hand inside to touch my bare skin.

  “Oh, yes, I will. These are my sword fighting britches.” I opened his buttons as well, finding him eager as I took him in hand. “Don’t make this difficult, Jeremiah.”

  “I don’t want to fight with you, Gloriana.” He pushed a rough finger inside me.

  I was wet with need for him. “Neither do I. When you order me to do something? Or forbid me? I think you are treating me like one of your sailors, or chattel. Is that how you see me, Jeremiah? As something you own?” I let go of him and stepped back. This was too important for me to distract him. I wanted an honest answer.

  He moved with me, staying close, as he slid a second finger inside, starting that rhythm that made my knees weaken. I didn’t want to lean against him. Nor hold onto his waist when he kissed my neck in that special place we both knew throbbed with my blood.

  “I see you as the woman I love, Gloriana.” He said it close to my ear as he picked me up and laid me on the bed. “I see you as someone I will do anything to keep safe.” He slid those britches down my legs and tossed them aside. Then he unlaced my bodice so that my breasts fell free. He took one into his hand and made love to it with his mouth until I sighed his name.

  “I love you too, Jeremiah. But safe can’t mean I’m locked up like a prisoner.” I was being distracted deliberately. He hadn’t answered me, damn him. I fought against it, trying desperately to win my points before this became another night of mindless lovemaking. We’d had hundreds of those. Distractions from our differences.

  He leaned back and stared at me. “I almost lost you to a poison arrow. Can you understand how that made me feel? Do you remember almost losing me not so long ago?”

  I did remember. He’d been injured and had been near death. I’d wept, I’d given him blood, I’d begged the gods to let him live. He’d made it through but I’d been so terrified that I would lose him I would have done anything to keep him safe. But lock him in a room? I knew he’d never stand for it. Why did he think I would?

  “Yes, I know that was hard for you.” I touched his lips. “I lived. As did you. It may happen again. To both of us. But we have to forget those times and move on, Jeremiah. We are immortal. We’re supposed to be anyway.” I saw him about to argue, to tell me all the ways a vampire could die, and I shook my head.

  “Don’t start. You have to know that if you try to keep me safe by burying me in my bedchamber or making rules I can’t abide, I’ll go mad. And hate you for it.” I closed my bodice. It was hard to be taken seriously when you have your breasts on display. His eyes kept straying to them. Men will be men. It was an oft repeated refrain these days in my mind. If I didn’t love him, I would hate him.

  “There are so many dangers in the world, Gloriana.” He lay back and stared at the ceiling.

  “You hired Valdez for me. That’s the best you can do. Let me learn to defend myself and then trust that I’ll be careful.” I leaned over him. “Can you do that?”

  “I don’t know.” He was at least being honest. He pulled me down so that my head rested on his shoulder. “I like to control my men, my cattle, my life. You are part of that. When you go off and do something dangerous…” His hand on the back of my head tightened. “Well, it drives me mad.”

  “I don’t deliberately seek trouble, Jeremiah.” I smiled against his chest. When had he taken off his shirt? I was glad of it as I touched his smooth skin. “I would hate to leave you, but that will happen if you don’t stop trying to control me like you do your cattle.”

  He drew in a breath. “You sound as if you mean that.”

  “I do. I have been poor before and I survived. I have been alone as well. I will be sad if I have to live without you but it won’t kill me.” I sat up and looked into his eyes. “You won’t make me leave, now will you? We love each other, surely we can work this out.” I kissed him with all the love in my heart. I would so hate to give him up. Sad? What a meek word for the pain I’d feel if I had to turn my back on him. He looked into my eyes and saw that I meant every word.

  When he rolled me under him and devoured me, I sighed with relief. He was going to see reason.

  “I hope you are happy.” Flo had put on a lovely dress but her face said she was in a sour mood. “Obviously you and Jeremiah enjoyed time together when he saw you in those britches. While I had to stay in my bedchamber alone with my drawing for company while waiting for you.” She pulled out yet another beautiful fan. I’d learned she painted them herself. This one was a bower of flowers with two lovers entwined. She might scandalize the maids below stairs with it. “Angus is still out on that dannata ship.”

  “I’m sorry it took so long, Flo, but I believe we have finally come to terms about my wearing them. Now Jeremiah is meeting with the captain at the barracks and we can go see Lady Anne and her mother. You do look very pretty.”

  I wore one of my nicest dresses. I hoped her mother wasn’t g
oing to ruin Lady Anne’s wedding, which was the next night.

  “Ladies. Where have you been? I thought we were to have a fitting tonight.” Madame Clotilde’s assistant Jolie caught us before we could knock on the door to Anne’s solar. “Madame is waiting.” The woman fluttered around us, almost pushing us down the stairs. “You really don’t want to keep her waiting.”

  “Has she forgotten who is paying her?” Florence really was in a mood. “She has certainly kept us waiting.” She actually swatted Jolie with her fan. “Stop pushing me. We are coming. I am actually excited to see what Madame has made for me.”

  “Oui , but of course, you will be pleased, I think.” Jolie stepped back.

  I noticed the woman’s fingers were chapped, the tips very rough and red. It was clear who must have been doing the sewing on our dresses. By the time we arrived at the workroom off the great hall, I was as excited as Flo was. What woman wouldn’t be at the idea of a new gown made by a famous modiste?

  “There you are!” Clotilde was sitting next to a table, adding beads to a bodice. “One more stitch. It is a work of art, is it not? You will not find better in Paris, Madame daVinci.” She shook out the skirt then stood.

  Flo and I were speechless.

  “Only see how we used layers of fabric to make the sleeves puff.” Jolie held one out to show us. “Madame Clotilde says that in Paris, the larger the sleeve, the more consequence the wearer has. The queen herself needs two footmen to carry her arms!”

  I tried to picture that and had to hide my smile. “It is very unusual.” I tried to imagine tiny Flo in the dress. Each sleeve was the size of one of Colin’s hounds. Perhaps it could be used as a weapon.

  “You must try it on! Jolie, help her out of her dress.” Clotilde pulled up her lorgnette. “What you have on is quite pretty, Madame daVinci. I saw one similar in Milan last season. Surely you don’t keep your clothes year after year.”