by Rhys Bowen
At that moment the men came into the salon to join us. Nicholas came right over to Matty and me. Anton made a beeline for Belinda, and Field Marshal Pirin for my mother, which made Mummy decide that she was getting one of her headaches and excuse herself.
“Didn’t you tell me there is an oubliette in this castle?” Anton said to Matty. “We should push Pirin down it. Really the fellow is too much. Did you see his behavior at dinner? Completely boorish.”
“Much as I’d like to take up your suggestion, you know he has to be humored unless you want civil war or worse,” Nicholas said. “And Father relies on him.”
“Relies on him too much,” Anton said. “He’s getting too big for his boots. If you ask me the man is dangerous. He’s using us for his own ends, Nicky. He sees himself as a future dictator, another Mussolini.”
“You don’t need to worry about it,” Nicholas said. “You can go back to your delightful existence in Paris. I might have to deal with him someday when I become king.”
“That’s me. The useless playboy,” Anton said. “All I’m good for is providing escort to beautiful women.” And he took Belinda’s arm.
“I didn’t ask to be born first,” Nicholas said. “I don’t particularly want the job, any more than our cousin Edward wants the job in England, I’d imagine.” He looked at me for confirmation.
“I don’t think most men would want to be king,” I said.
“One hopes that Father lives for years, of course,” Nicholas said.
We glanced up as Pirin laughed noisily. “That’s a good one,” he said, slapping his thigh. He was talking to the man who had welcomed us, Count Dragomir, who was not smiling. In fact he looked as if he were in pain.
“Well, I’m turning in,” Lady Middlesex declared, appearing at my side. “We’ve had a long and strenuous day and tomorrow we have to face that pass again. Poor Deer-Harte is already a bundle of nerves.” She looked at me critically. “And you look as if you could do with a good night’s rest too. Come along.” And she took hold of my arm in a firm manner.
Rather than make a fuss I bid my hostess good night and allowed myself to be led away. I entered my room, only to find someone sleeping in my bed. For an awful moment I thought I might have barged into Siegfried’s room again. I tiptoed out again hastily and checked the hallway. I was sure this was my room this time. I went back in. The sleeper was none other than Queenie. I woke her up.
“Sorry, miss, I must have dozed off,” she said. “It was that cold in here I got under the covers.”
“Did you have your dinner?” I asked.
“I didn’t like to leave the room, not quite knowing where I was going,” she said.
“Oh, dear. Let’s see if one of the servants can take you down to the kitchen and get you something now.”
“It’s all right, miss, thank you kindly,” she said. “I think I’d rather just go to bed. I don’t quite fancy foreign food at the moment. It’s all been a bit much in one day.”
I looked at her kindly, thinking how overwhelming it had been for me and then putting myself in her place, straight from a little London backstreet. “Good idea, Queenie. Just help me off with this dress first and hang it up and then you can go. You can find out in the morning where you go to bring up my tea tray.”
She went and I was alone in the room. I climbed into bed and lingered for a while before I dared to turn off the bedside lamp. I had always thought of myself as the daring one in the family. I had allowed my brother and his school friends to lower me into the castle well at home. I had sat up all night on the battlements once to see if my grandfather’s ghost really did play the bagpipes. But this was different. I felt a profound sense of unease. I wished I still had a nanny in the next room. Finally I curled up into a little ball and tried to go to sleep.
I was drifting off when I thought I heard the smallest of noises—a light click. My eyes shot open, instantly awake. Although the outer regions of my room were pitch-black I was somehow sure that someone was in the room with me. The curtains around the bed obscured my view. I leaned out a little, then drew my head back quickly. The fire had died down but from the glow I could make out a dark figure, moving closer and closer. At last he stood over the bed. I opened my mouth but I was too frightened to move or to scream. The glow from the fire illuminated his face. It looked just like the young man from the portrait on the wall.
He leaned closer and closer to me and he murmured something in a language I didn’t understand. He was smiling, his teeth reflected in the firelight. Everything Belinda had told me about vampires biting necks and the ecstasy of being bitten rushed back to me. In the safety of London and daylight I had laughed with her. But the face above me was all too real and it seemed as if those teeth were heading straight for my neck. However terrified I was, one thing was certain. I was definitely not about to be turned into an undead.
I sat up abruptly, making him leap backward.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I demanded in a way that my great-grandmother Queen Victoria would have been proud of.
The young man gave an unearthly moan of horror. Then he turned and melted back into the shadows.
Chapter 14
A bedroom in Bran Castle. Darkness.
Wednesday, November 16
For a while I couldn’t move. I sat up, my heart beating so rapidly that I could hardly breathe. Was the creature still in the room with me? How did one ward off vampires anyway? I tried to remember from reading Dracula. Some sort of herb or plant? Parsley? No, that wasn’t it. I thought it might be garlic. Had I eaten enough of that on the venison to breathe on him? I wasn’t about to try to find my way down to the kitchen to locate some. I also thought I remembered that crosses might work, but I didn’t have one of those either. Stakes through the heart? I didn’t think I could pull that one off even if I had a stake at my disposal.
Then I thought of something more solid, like maybe one of the large candlesticks on the mantelpiece. Surely even a vampire could be kept at bay with a whomp over the head with that. I slipped out of bed, made my way across the room and picked up the candlestick. Then I crossed the room cautiously until I reached the light switch. I turned it on and found nobody there. Of course then I had to lift the various curtains, one by one, experiencing at least one heart-stopping moment when a blast of cold air hit me in the face and I realized that one of the windows was open.
I tried to close it but it didn’t latch properly. I told myself that Siegfried’s room was next door, but I pictured myself standing at his door in a nightdress again, trying to explain that a vampire had just been trying to bite my neck. Somehow I didn’t think he’d believe me. Then I noticed a large tapestry bellpull beside the bed and was half tempted to yank on it and see who it brought. But since they probably spoke no English and I would have felt equally foolish explaining a vampire attack to them, I left it and got into bed, still clutching the candlestick. At least I was relieved knowing that the bellpull was there and if he came back I could summon help before he could get his teeth into me.
The moment I was in bed I realized that I remembered the chest that I hadn’t managed to open before. I could never sleep not knowing what was in there. I got up and crossed the room slowly while the portrait of the young man looked down with a mocking smile. I jumped again as I caught sight of my reflection in that wardrobe mirror and it did occur to me that I had never seen the young man’s reflection as he came toward the bed. Wasn’t that another thing about vampires—that one couldn’t see their shadow or their reflection? I shuddered. The lid was too heavy to lift. I struggled and struggled until at last I had it open. To my intense relief it only contained clothing, including a black cape. The interesting thing was that there were some half-melted snowflakes on it, which made me suspect that my vampire visitor had climbed the wall into my room.
I stayed awake for most of the night but received no more unearthly visitors. Toward dawn I drifted off to sleep, then awoke to that strange lighting that indica
tes the presence of snow. I opened my window and looked out. It must have snowed hard all night, as the turrets and battlements each wore an impressive white hat. The road up the pass was untrammeled whiteness. It would have been pretty in Switzerland with the hillsides dotted with meadows and chalets. Here it just made the crags and the pine forest even more gloomy. And such a feeling of remoteness. I felt as if I were trapped in another time, another world far away from everything safe.
I looked at my watch and realized it was after eight. I would have welcomed my cup of tea but there was no sign of Queenie. In the end I got tired of waiting. I had to dress myself and found my way down to breakfast. The breakfast table was deserted save for Prince Siegfried. He rose to his feet and clicked his heels as I approached.
“Lady Georgiana. I trust you slept well.”
“Not exactly,” I said.
“I am sorry. Please let our people know if there is anything to do to make you more comfortable.”
I could hardly request a guard against vampires, could I? I was glad I hadn’t given in to panic and rushed to his room. I’d have to be really desperate before I knocked on Siegfried’s door again.
“Today I take the men out shooting,” Siegfried said. “Maybe we find a wild boar. But later I hope we have the chance to speak together again. There are matters I wish to discuss with you. Important matters.” He got to his feet, gave that jerky little bow of his and departed. Oh, golly, he wasn’t going to bring up the marriage thing again, was he? How did one find a polite way to say “Not if you were the last man on earth”?
The sound of voices coming down the hallway made me look up. Lady Middlesex and Miss Deer-Harte came in, the latter waving her arms as she talked in animated fashion. Lady Middlesex cut her off when she saw me.
“Here’s a how-de-doo,” she said to me. “We’ve just heard that the wretched pass is closed. Avalanche or something. The car can’t take us to the station. We have to stay here whether we like it or not.”
“I really don’t think I could face another night in this place,” Miss Deer-Harte said. “Did you hear the wind moaning last night? At least I suppose it had to be the wind. It sounded like a soul in torment. And then someone was creeping down the hallway in the wee hours. I couldn’t sleep and I was sure I heard footsteps, so I opened my door a crack and what do you think I saw? A dark figure creeping down the hall.”
“It was only one of the servants, Deer-Harte. I’ve told you that already,” Lady Middlesex said abruptly.
“Servants don’t creep. This man was creeping—slinking as if he didn’t want to be seen. Up to no good, I’m sure, if he wasn’t a ghost or some other kind of creature.”
“Really, Deer-Harte, your imagination,” Lady Middlesex said. “It will get you into trouble one day.”
“I know what I saw, Lady M. Of course in a castle this size I suppose all kinds of nighttime trysts and assignations occur. One hears about foreign appetites for bedroom activities.”
“Don’t be so disgusting, Deer-Harte. Ah, there’s Her Highness now.” She bobbed a curtsy as Matty came in. “So kind of you to allow us to stay on, Your Highness. Much appreciated.” And she bobbed a jerky curtsy.
“We didn’t have much choice as it happens,” Matty said frankly. “There’s nowhere else within miles. We’re completely snowed in. But there’s plenty of room and you are welcome to stay. I must say the snow has put a damper on the festivities. The parents and entourage were expected to arrive today, but it doesn’t look as if they’ll be able to get here for a while now. Not until the local people have managed to dig out the pass.”
“Oh, dear. I do hope the wedding ceremonies can take place on time,” Miss Deer-Harte said.
“The actual ceremony is not until next week, so let’s hope all is back to normal by then.”
“Presumably you’ll have various royal representatives arriving,” Miss Deer-Harte said.
“This will be a relatively small occasion, mostly relatives,” Matty said. “After all, we are related to most of the royal houses of Europe. Horribly inbred, I’m afraid. No wonder we’re all so batty.” She laughed again and I got the impression that she was playing a part, forcing herself to be gay. “The big formal celebration will take place in Bulgaria when we return from our honeymoon. That’s when there will be heads of state and an official blessing in the cathedral and I’m presented to the people as their own dear princess—all that sort of boring stuff.”
“I expect you’ll have to get used to the boring stuff, as you call it, when you are married to the heir to the throne,” Lady Middlesex said. “I find some of my official duties as a high commissioner’s wife quite taxing but one knows one’s duty and does what is expected of one, doesn’t one?”
“I suppose one does,” Matty said, giving me a grin. “We’re meeting with the couturiere from Paris this morning, Georgie. I’m looking forward to it. In the small salon. It’s lined with mirrors so we can admire ourselves.”
She paused and stared at the side table that was laden with cold meats, cheeses, fruits and breads, then she turned away. “Alas, just a cup of coffee for me if I’m to fit into that wedding dress.”
“Fiddlesticks! One needs a good breakfast to start the day,” Lady Middlesex said. “I don’t hold with this ridiculous fad of dieting. A cup of coffee, indeed. That won’t keep your strength up.” As she said this she was piling cold meats onto her plate with abandon. “No egg and bacon, I notice,” she added with a sigh. “Not a kidney in sight. Not even a kipper. One wonders how you folk on the Continent survive without a good hot breakfast.”
I helped myself and sat down at the table. Matty poured herself a cup of black coffee then wandered off with it.
“I hear the men plan to go hunting,” Lady Middlesex said. “How they expect to tramp through this snow, I have no idea. Insanity, if you ask me, but at least it keeps them out in the fresh air for the day. And hunting’s a healthy pursuit for young men. Keeps their minds off sex. Maybe we should see if we can borrow snowshoes and go out for a walk ourselves, Deer-Harte.”
I was glad she wasn’t including me in this plan. I ate as quickly as possible, then excused myself, only to bump into Belinda in the doorway.
“Am I glad to see you,” I said.
“That’s quite a change from last night, I must say,” she said with a frosty stare. “You looked daggers at me for some reason. I couldn’t think what I might have done to upset you. It was almost as if you thought I’d spent the night with Darcy—which I haven’t, by the way.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I was put out. At first I thought that you’d been invited to the wedding and hadn’t told me, and then when I found out how you’d arrived here, I was annoyed by your utter subterfuge.”
“Utter brilliance, darling, if you please. You do have to admit it was quite a coup. And you yourself said it would have been a lark if I could come to the wedding with you. So when you rejected my kind offer to become your maid, I decided that the wedding sounded like too much fun to be left out. So I packed my bags, caught the next train here, then I rented the oldest, most decrepit car and driver at the station, in the full knowledge that it would be likely to break down. Of course it did, at exactly the right spot, so I was able to present myself at the castle door and register surprise and delight when I found that Her Royal Highness the Princess Maria Theresa was in residence. ‘But we were schoolmates,’ I exclaimed and of course was received with open arms.”
“You’re as bad as my mother,” I said.
“Not quite, but I’m working on it,” Belinda said with a grin. “There was only one small glitch to my perfect scheme and that was when I didn’t recognize Matty. My dear, can you believe the transformation? I suppose it is really she? Where did all those missing pounds go? And what about the moon face?”
“I know. I didn’t recognize her either,” I said. “She’s quite lovely, isn’t she? And her bridegroom isn’t bad either.”
“Neither is his brother.” Belinda gave
me her cat-with-the-cream smile. “Very satisfactory in all departments. Too bad he’s a prince or I might snap him up for keeps. But he’ll have to end up marrying someone like you. I know—you could marry him, I could remain his mistress in a delightful ménage à trois.”
“Belinda!” I had to laugh. “I’d share a lot of things with you, but not my husband. Besides, Anton isn’t the man I have in mind, although I have to admit that among available princes he’s the best so far.”
“Wouldn’t suit you, darling. Too naughty. He told me some of his exploits last night and they made even me blush. Not an ounce of moral fiber in him. That’s why we’re perfect for each other.”
“So I gather you didn’t sleep in your own bed last night?”
“What a question to ask a lady! But darling, at beanfeasts like this who does sleep in their own bed? All you hear is curses and grunting as people bump into each other in the dark, tiptoeing between bedrooms. It’s too, too funny for words. But I suppose you slept soundly and didn’t hear a thing. I gather you’ve been given a room on the superior floor usually reserved for the family.”
“Right next door to Siegfried, as it happens,” I said, “but Belinda, that’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Someone came into my room last night.”
“Not Siegfried!” she exclaimed. “I thought his interests lay in quite another direction.”
“Oh, God, no. But worse in a way. I think it was a vampire.”
Belinda started laughing. “Georgie, you are too funny sometimes.”
“No, seriously, Belinda. There is a spooky portrait hanging on the wall and this man looked just like him. I was half asleep and I woke to see him creeping toward me and then he stood over my bed, muttered something in a language I didn’t understand then bent down toward me with this sort of unearthly smile, showing all his teeth.”
“Darling! What did you do?” She yanked down my collar. “Did he actually bite you? What was it like?”
“He didn’t get a chance. I sat up and demanded to know what he was doing. He gave this sort of unearthly moan and vanished.”
