The Vampire Laird (A Ravynne Sisters Paranormal Mystery/Romance)

by Merabeth James

  “Remind you of anyone?” Meg asked, moving closer for a better look. “And doesn’t that dog look a lot like Freddie?”

  “Yes and no. Yes...she reminds me of Breanna Hensley, because of her expression, and...no...he doesn’t look like Freddie.”

  “They must be related. Sister maybe? I don’t want him to be married so she better not be his wife,” Meg said dividing her attention between the two portraits.

  “And that would be because?”

  Meg uttered what came frighteningly close to a giggle. “He’s even more devilishly attractive if unattached and available.”

  “For what exactly? Meg, sometimes you actually scare me! And wasn’t that how you felt about Seth in the beginning?”

  “That’s before I got to know him. Besides, he’s a pale shadow of this one. This one is.....”

  “Wicked, wild and very dangerous to any woman’s heart...especially your overly romantic one,” Charlie finished for her. “Thank heavens it’s just a painting or I might have to lock you up!”

  At the far end of the hall, Johns coughed, impatiently, interrupting any further speculation on the character of the long dead laird. They had been so absorbed in the portraits that they had completely forgotten they were supposed to be following him!

  He waited for them to catch up, then led them on down the hall until he stopped before a door, where he bowed them inside. Charlie entered first and looked around, as Meg ducked under her arm and spun about excitedly. “This is really cool! It’s like we just stepped into the world of the Bronte sisters or Jane Austen. Look at that bed! It even has tassel-corded hangings. And isn’t that a view you could just die for!”

  “Let’s hope not,” Charlie said, dryly, but she had to admit it was a beautiful room with its richly paneled walls, gold and blue bed hangings, drapes and coverlet. An antique Oriental rug lay across the polished wide planked floor. The furniture periods were mixed...the bed a Tudor style…while the armoire, dressing table and side chairs were from a later period. She sighed and wished, not for he first time, she knew more about antiques.

  Johns coughed again. “The other bedroom is through this door or by way of the hall. There is a private bath adjoining both. We dine at noon and seven. Low Tea is served at four o’clock if you desire to attend. Your luggage is on the way up and a girl will be in shortly to help you unpack. If there is anything else you require, you need but ring. The bell cord is on the wall next to the fireplace in both rooms.” His eyes swept their jeans and sneakers with cool disdain. “His lordship asked me to tell you that meals will be informal for the duration of your stay.”

  “Thank you, Johns. We do not need help unpacking,” Charlie said with her brightest smile, when she really felt like pinching him.

  As soon as he bowed and left, Meg took a running start and bounced up on the big bed, while Charlie crossed the room, opened the doors to the balcony, and stepped outside. The sun was slipping behind a bank of dark clouds coming in off the sea. On its dark crag, the castle looked brooding...almost sinister. Meg slipped in next to her and leaned over the rail. “Now we know who lived there. I wonder what his name was...what happened to him.”

  “And to her. She seemed so young...so innocent. What kind of life could she have had in a place called Blood Castle?”

  “I’m going up there and look around at the first opportunity,” Meg told her.

  “You’ll wait for me to go with you. No telling what’s up there. I don’t want to find you flattened like a flounder by falling rocks or whatever they built that place with. Meanwhile, I think it would be a good idea to explore this manor from top to bottom.”

  Meg laughed. “Flounder indeed! Which reminds me, when did he say tea was served and don’t they have little cake things with it?”

  “We have lots of time till then. Let’s see if we can find Allyn’s room and Orianna’s, too, if they aren’t sharing.”

  “And Seth’s. We both know there’s a lot more to Seth Marley than he’s been willing to share so far. He can apologize up the wahzoo, but that vampire stuff last night was really creepy,” Meg told her with a frown. “I’ve been meaning to tell you...I have one of my feelings again. Whatever we’re about to step into...or fall into...is not at all good!”

  Charlie laughed. "And that's something new?"

  ***

  Charlie ended up with the adjoining room and had her luggage delivered there when it arrived. It was decorated in shades of plum and silver and had a tobacco twist four-poster bed instead of the heavy Tudor one in Meg’s room. She had just closed the door on the boy who had dropped off her luggage, when there was a knock. A young girl with blonde hair and round blue eyes dressed in the now familiar black and white uniform stood there, smiling uncertainly. After bobbing a curtsey, she pointed to the suitcases next to the door and said, “I’ve come...how do you say?...do your help? No….help with those?”

  Charlie shook her head and returned her smile with a warm one of her own. “Thank you, but I didn't pack very much and can take care of it myself,” she told her shaking her head again and pointing to the luggage.

  The girl’s eyes grew even wider and a flicker of fear crossed her face. “I must,” she said, nodding up and down vigorously.

  By then Meg had joined them. “Let her help, Charlie. For some reason it’s very important to her. What’s your name?”

  “Daryna, miss. Okay, I do?” At Meg’s nod, she smiled and picked up the small 'carry on' bag and carried it to the bed. As she put things away, Charlie checked the impulse to tell her where she wanted every little thing. Later she could make any changes without hurting Daryna's feelings.

  They then moved on to Meg’s room. Daryna murmured something almost reverently as she touched Meg’s blue dress. Moving her hand back and forth in a pantomime of ironing, she smiled and raised her eyebrows. Meg nodded emphatically. This girl was turning into a real treasure, she thought with a smile.

  A short time later, Daryna bobbed another curtsey and left the room with an armload of clothes that needed attention. Charlie and Meg both looked at each other and laughed. “We actually found someone to iron stuff. Apparently, wherever she came from, they haven’t entirely liberated women,” Meg said.

  “She's Urkranian...maybe Russian. I’m not sure which, but I do know she was frightened when she thought we were going to turn her down.”

  “I saw that, too. Add another piece to the puzzle. Now…shall we see if we can find our way around this house?” Meg asked her.

  After checking the hall in both directions, they stepped outside and shut the door behind them. “Which way now?” Meg asked

  Charlie shrugged her shoulders and smiled. “It’s a toss up. The hall ‘Ts’ down at that end. Why don’t we start by heading in that direction?”

  At the ‘T’ they were forced to make another decision and Meg suggested she go back to her room and get pad and pen. “I’ll draw a map as we go so we don’t get lost. This place is turning into a labyrinth!”

  She returned in moments and they continued to explore one dark corridor after another. Some were richly appointed with thick carpeting, paintings, and niches that held what looked like priceless vases or bronze statues. There was one with a regal stag standing on the summit of a hill and Meg paused to touch its richly patinated surface. “He looks like he could be Allyn’s white stag.”

  “Maybe. I imagine different clans had animal totems like the American Indians do. Maybe the stag is the MacMorley’s.”

  They moved on to the servants' halls that were thinly carpeted, cold and utterly cheerless. Twice they opened ordinary doors and found they were hidden as part of the paneled wall on the ‘family’ side. “Probably so the staff can move about unobtrusively,” Meg told her sister. “A good servant was seldom seen and never heard.”

  After that, it was down more halls and up and down several flights of stairs...one of which ended in a blank wall. Several times they were sure they’d been that way before. “I’m beginning to think bre
adcrumbs would work better than your map,” Charlie said in exasperation. “I don’t think we will find our way to the dining room in time for lunch or dinner as they call it here!”

  “Or maybe breakfast if things keep going the way they have. Okay! I’m sure...or reasonably sure...that this door will lead us back to the main hall,” Meg told her with a wry twist to her mouth, hoping she was right.

  “We’ll see about that,” Charlie muttered. She had lost track of how many times her sister had been wrong.

  And she was wrong again. A whole new hall opened before them…one that had never been renovated and smelled of damp, mold and long disuse. Bits of plaster crunched under their feet and a mouse...or rat?...scurried into an open door. They looked inside. It had been a schoolroom once, but now it was a litter of broken desks and chairs, mildewed books and rat droppings. The wind found its way through a broken window. Below it, the floor had rotted from the rain and snow that had blown in through the opening quite probably for years. It was cold and eerie. And something more. “Someone is watching us,” Meg whispered.

  “My warning bell jangled as soon as we stepped through that last door. This entire wing must have been the nursery and schoolroom with apartments for the tutor and governess or nurse.”

  “And it’s still occupied if that whispering I’ve been hearing is any indication,” Meg said looking around them with a mixture of nervousness and excitement.

  Suddenly, they both heard a squeal of laughter and the sound of small feet pounding down the hall in their direction. Four small shadow figures ran right through them, leaving them chilled and disoriented. After a few deep calming breaths, Meg whispered, “They don’t seem malicious...just kids having a bit of fun at our expense.”

  Charlie was still shuddering in reaction. “Some fun!” she muttered.

  Just then a small cold hand found Meg’s and began pulling her back up the hall the way they had come. Charlie looked on in amazement as Meg was tugged along. “It’s okay, Charlie. Whoever has me is trying to lead us somewhere and I think we should play along.”

  The invisible being led them through the halls at a fast clip, until they came to another turn then stopped. The little hand let go its grasp and Meg heard a “shush!” close to her ear. Grabbing Charlie’s arm she whispered softly. “I think we’re supposed to be quiet beyond this turn. Something is up ahead.”

  Sure enough. There was a maid in black and white picking up a tray from the floor in front of a closed door. “Allyn’s room?” Meg asked quietly. “Why don’t we just go in there and have it out with him?”

  “We can’t be sure it is his room or that Orianna isn’t with him. If she’s there, we won’t get anywhere with him,” Charlie whispered back

  “Only one tray, remember?”

  “Still...she could be there. Let’s stick with the maid so we don’t get lost again. We can always find our way back here later,” she told Meg, though she was not at all sure that was true!

  They followed the maid back down the hall by a circuitous route that led to the kitchen by way of the servants’ stairs. Staying out of sight, they could hear the clatter of dishes and then a woman’s voice...deep and heavily accented… said, “Nein...the boy did not eat much again!. Shame to vaste gut food on one who von’t eat.”

  Amid some “tsk tsking” they heard a pot lid bang. “It must be Allyn she’s talking about!” Meg whispered.

  “I agree. Now we know where he is, but that leaves Orianna. Do you think she shares his room?” Charlie asked.

  “I don’t know. We will have to wait till we see them both outside and sneak back up there. I made a map.”

  Charlie sighed heavily and ruffled her sisters curls. “I know and I saw how well that went. Add that to the list of things to worry about!”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  A tall thin shapeless woman with narrow set dark eyes and a mouth pursed like a drawstring bag, looked them both over when she spotted them in the hall near the kitchen. “I am Mrs. Bently, the housekeeper. You seem to be lost. Daryna was sent to remind you about dinner, but apparently you weren’t in your rooms. Cook can make whatever you wish, since you seem to prefer a later hour, or you can wait till tea at four o’clock in the summer parlor.”

  Meg wanted to say “yes” to the “cook can make you part”, but Charlie cast her a quelling glance. “We’ll wait for tea, thank you,” she replied.

  “I don’t know how you found your way to this part of the manor, but let me redirect you. We wouldn’t want you wandering about needlessly. The manor is very extensive with many additions over the centuries that can make it impossible to find your way about. And there are sections that could prove dangerous, should you be unwise enough to venture there,” she told them as she assessed them, coldly, through narrowed eyes.

  They looked at each other and smiled grimly. They both knew a veiled warning when they heard one and this one wasn’t veiled by much!

  “Is there any particular place you wish to go?” Mrs. Bently asked over her shoulder, as her long strides led them down the hall.

  “The library will do nicely,” Charlie told her coolly.

  She pointed to the end of the hall and said, “Turn right and it’s on your left. You can’t miss it.” And with that she left them as suddenly as she had appeared.

  “Why the library?” Meg asked.

  “I want to look in Seth’s desk, while we have the chance,” Charlie replied, pulling a loop of metal from her jeans pocket and smiling.

  “And here I thought bobby pins were the tool of choice. Okay. I’ll stand guard and you do your thing.”

  With Meg keeping watch through the open door, Charlie sprung the lock on the middle drawer of the big mahogany desk and shuffled through the papers she found there. Nothing. Just estate bills and receipts. Auction lists. A half finished letter dated that very morning to a Polly Mason in Edinburgh about two birds he had spotted on the moor. ‘Beautiful and golden colored with a sweet warble’ he expounded. Who would have thought Seth Marley was a birdwatcher!

  In the second drawer she found a box of expensive looking Cuban cigars and a Glock semi-automatic...loaded. So, Seth liked to be prepared, she thought, wishing, like Meg, that she could have brought her own gun with her. One by one she opened the other drawers, but found nothing except a large sum of money hidden under a false bottom.

  “It’s okay, Meg. I’m finished,” Charlie told her, as she relocked the last drawer.

  Meg shut the library door softly and joined her. “That’s good because I thought I saw someone’s shadow on the wall at the end of the hall. A tall thin one that looked a lot like our recent guide, Mrs. Bently. What did you find out about Seth?”

  “Not much really. He keeps a pistol in his desk...loaded... has a bundle of cash on hand and he’s a birdwatcher!”

  “Really? Who’d a thunk?” Meg told her with a laugh.

  The door opened, suddenly, and Mrs. Bently poked her head in and looked around sharply. Clearly, she had been hoping for a ‘Gotcha!’ moment. “Just checking to make sure you have all you need,” she told them crisply.

  “We’re just fine,” Meg replied with her brightest smile. “We love books and this place is a treasure trove!”

  With a loud ‘sniff", Mrs. Bently drew back her head like a tortoise into its shell and left, making a point of leaving the door part way open behind her.

  “I don’t think she trusts us,” Charlie murmured.

  “The feeling is quite mutual!” Meg replied, as Charlie closed the door, then crossed to the window, where Meg joined her and looked over the lush garden dotted with topiary trees shaped like animals. “That one looks rather like a snarling wolf,” Meg commented.

  “That’s what comes from having too much imagination. It looks like a bleating sheep to me, which would be more appropriate all things considered. Exactly what have we figured out so far, Meg?“

  “We know there’s something horribly wrong with Allyn. We think the village is hiding something and we kn
ow Orianna is a royal bitch and maybe a vampire.”

  Charlie raised one brow and smiled grimly. “And we know Seth is not all he appears to be. All of which adds up to what?”

  “All I know for sure is that we need to grab Allyn and book out of here fast,” Meg told her. “Which we can’t easily do without his cooperation.”

  Charlie smiled darkly. “Not easily, but it can be done. Now I think it’s time for tea if that little ormolu clock on the mantle is right.”

  “Thank heavens. This whole thing is giving me a headache and on top of that I’m starving!”

  “Like that’s something even remotely new?” Meg was always starving.

  ***

  Supper was held in the more intimate family dining room. The sisters had been hopeful Allyn would show up, but they were doomed to disappointment. There was only one other person at the table...their host Seth...dressed, casually, in slacks and an open neck shirt. He smiled, as he seated them on either sides of him. “No servants tonight. We will all help ourselves American style. I can see you were expecting your brother, but he and Orianna are off on one of their ...excursions and send their regrets. How was your first day? I hear you missed lunch.” His emerald green eyes looked from one sister to the other then settled on Charlie, as she replied, “We were busy getting settled. And how was Inverness?” she asked, meeting his eyes.

  “As expected. There was one thing I forgot to warn you about. Don’t go out on the grounds at night. Cerberus is let loose then, though I have asked Orianna to keep him penned after the last sheep was killed. But,” he shrugged, “she tends to do as she pleases.”

  “Cerberus...the hound that guards the gates of hell. What an interesting name for a pet,” Charlie murmured.

  His eyes lingered on her lips, as he replied. “The very one. The ‘gates of hell’,” he repeated and laughed mockingly. “The irony was there all the time and I never saw it!”

  “Just how big is this Cerberus?” Meg asked with a worried frown, not at all liking this new wrinkle.

  “Quite large! An unlikely mix of bull mastiff and Irish wolfhound. Has massive jaws that can rip out a throat in seconds. Orianna is the only one who can control him, though her methods are often brutal.”