Chapter Thirteen: Blood Moon by Rosaline Saul
WHEN SHE WAS stumbling, running away from the manor she was not paying attention to the direction she took, and now she did not know which way she had to take to get back to the house. She could not see any lights to show her the way either.
Following a path, she hoped would take her back, she emerged into a little lane with an old stone church and she could now see lights shining from the windows of the manor a short distance away.
The building in front of her looked old and interesting, and curiosity pulled her closer to the church. After climbing up two steps to the portico, she tried the handle of the heavy wooden door and it swung open easily.
The interior of the church was dark, most of the light was coming from the back of the building and it was too far to see clearly, but it looked like a laboratory. There was scientific paraphernalia on the tables. She also saw a multitude of phials and jars with strange looking contents. Strange smells lingered in the air. It all felt a little ominous to Maggie.
She was turning to leave when she saw Mark walking toward her from the back of the building.
Abruptly he stopped in his tracks when he saw her. “Miss Abbott? What are you doing here?”
Maggie shrugged. “I got lost.”
He looked at her unsure. “Shall I escort you back? Count Joseph does not like anyone coming here.”
“What is in those jars?”
For a moment he looked uncomfortable, then he held his arm out to her. “Shall we get back to the house. It is rather cold tonight and you look as if you are freezing.”
Maggie did not take his arm but followed him out of the building and waited while he locked the door.
“I have heard Count Burke is interested in Alchemy,” she said as they started walking back to the house.
Mark shrugged.
“Is this where he practises it?”
He looked at her apologetically. “These are questions I prefer you ask him yourself. I am not at liberty to discuss his work.”
Maggie thought he was being very evasive.
Mark changed the subject, “Joseph seems impatient to get married.”
Maggie replied in a hollow voice, “He does.”
“His sudden urgency quite surprised me. It is only a recent decision.”
“Does Beatrice know?” Maggie tried to keep her voice normal. “I am sure she would want a choice on the date.”
“No doubt he will choose his own moment to tell her.”
Maggie smiled forced. “I hope she will find it a pleasant surprise. Surely he would want his future wife to be happy.”
“Joseph's wife will always have a reason to be happy, Miss Abbott.”
“Please call me Maggie. After all, we both are employed by the Count.”
He hesitated oddly, then made a little bow. “As you wish... Maggie.”
They had reached the doors of the manor and Mark stood back politely to let her precede him into the house.
“Maggie,” Beatrice exclaimed reproachfully when she saw her. “Where have you been? We were beginning to think you were lost.”
Maggie was aware of Joseph's unsmiling scrutiny from the other side of the room.
“I was enjoying the garden and lost track of time,” Maggie said and smiled widely.
“And not alone, I see,” Beatrice whispered, giving her an arched look as Mark walked into the room behind her.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Joseph approaching them. “Excuse me, please,” she said quickly. “I have to go and make some notes for your first lessons.”
Beatrice groaned.
Mark smiled amusedly. “You really intend to teach her?”
Maggie replied, “There is no other reason for me to be here.”
She turned away from them hurriedly, only to be stopped when Joseph said, “One moment, Maggie. I wish to speak to you.”
Reluctantly she turned back around, noticing also that Mark had already made a discreet exit taking Beatrice with him.
“Is this necessary?” She lifted her chin. “I have things to do.”
“Then they must wait.” His voice was stern. “We need to talk about this afternoon.”
“I would rather not.” She lowered her eyes to the wooden floorboards beneath her feet.
“There are things which need to be said.” He added, “You must understand, I did not intend for that to happen.”
“Yes. I understand.” Her voice was barely audible.
“It was an error of judgement on my part, which I deeply regret.” His voice was low. “When I offered you the position, you insisted on certain conditions and I have failed to adhere to them. For that, I beg your forgiveness.”
She straightened her back and kept her voice steady. “You do not have to apologise. You have already made your position perfectly clear. It is my fault as well; I should not have allowed it to go so far.” She forced a smile. “As you said, it was a terrible mistake, one we can put behind us and pretend it never happened.”
“Can you do that? I do not believe I can pretend it never happened.”
Maggie pushed her fingernails into the palms of her hands. “Please, do not take this so seriously. Men take advantage of women who work for them every day.” She shrugged casually. “It is one of the disadvantages of being a tutor.”
He hissed, “Not in my household.”
She swallowed. “We will agree to not let it happen again. Unless you wish me to leave.”
“No,” he said. “Not yet.” Quickly he held out his hand to her. “So... A new beginning, Maggie?”
After a short hesitation, Maggie reached for his hand and felt the swift, warm pressure of his fingers before he quickly released her hand.
She said with forced happiness, “If you will excuse me now, Count.”
As she turned away from him, she pushed back her tears. Forcing her legs to obey her, she walked up the stairs to the brittle safety of her room.
After drawing up the lesson plans, she would need for the next morning, she tried to sleep, to sink into the softness of the bed, but she could not get rid of the tension in her body.
Then she realised she was hungry because she never had dinner.
This was most probably the reason why she was struggling to fall asleep. She wondered if she would be able to find the kitchen, and then maybe she will find something to eat. She will only need something small, just enough to not feel hungry and then she will be able to fall asleep.
She got up from the bed and in her flannel nightgown, she walked across the room to the door. Slowly she pulled the door open and listened intently. She could not hear a sound. Everyone in the house had to be asleep by now.
Quietly she walked along the passage to the landing. When she reached the top of the stairs, her hand reached for the balustrade, but her eyes stayed focused on the dark staircase going up to the third landing where Joseph said his room was.
Without looking, she took the first step on the staircase and then fear gripped her as she felt herself falling forward. Frightened her hand gripped around the balustrade tightly. Then she knocked into a wall.
Joseph did not move an inch, apart from his arm that was suddenly fastened around her waist to steady her. He was a step beneath her, and their faces were level.
“Sorry,” she said when she had controlled her panicked breathing. Embarrassed, she laughed softly. “I was not looking where I was going.”
He did not share her amusement and he did not remove his arm from around her waist.
In the dark, she could see his face was solemn, almost resentful as he looked at her. “Neither was I,” he said softly and kissed her.
It was a deliberate, sensual ravishment of her mouth. He pulled her closer to him, crushing her body against him as if he wanted to absorb her as if he wanted to imprint her body on his.
Her body tensed and she started to pull her mouth away from his, but he captured her face between both hands, bringing her mouth back to his. His hands left her face, moving slowly down her throat, over her shoulders, down her waist. He gripped the fabric of her nightgown in both his hands on either side of her and gathered the excess material in his fists.
Every curve of her body was visible against the taut, gauzy white material. He stared down at her for a long moment. Then he came closer to her, and she felt the burning moisture of his lips moving against her own again.
She felt herself spiralling apart, her hands gripped crazily at the front of his shirt.
He lifted his head and looked at her, his breathing was hoarse when he said, “I meant to be patient, I swear it. To wait for you, but I cannot. Come with me now.”
The temptation was unbearable.
All Maggie wanted was to go anywhere he wished to take her, to be whatever he wanted. However, she would be the one left all alone with the consequences. “No.” The word tore from her. She pulled herself free from his embrace, half collapsing on the top stair of the staircase as she backed away from him.
“Maggie.” His voice broke. “You cannot do this to me. To us. I cannot bear it any longer.”
“There is no us,” she hissed. “You do not have to bear anything, Count Burke. I will be the one feeling used and worthless.”
“No.” He stepped up toward her. His hand reaching for her.
Maggie recoiled from him. “Do not come any nearer. I will scream.”
He looked resigned. “I shall wait for you to come to me.”
“Then you will wait a long time. As I told you before, I will not be your mistress.”
“Maggie, no.” Joseph took a deep breath. “Listen to me. I beg of you... You do not understand.”
“You are mistaken, I understand too well, and I despise myself for being in a position where the Lord of the Manor thinks I am his personal property... Again. But this time I shall not tolerate it. If you touch me again, I will tell Beatrice.”
He flinched.
Maggie sneered, she wanted to hurt him with words as much as she felt his actions twist like a knife in her chest, “Do not take my rejection to heart, dear Count. I am sure you have a long list of women waiting for you to bestow your attentions upon them. The man who has everything and can buy himself wives and mistresses by the cart-load.”
“Have you finished?” The harshness in his voice stopped her tirade abruptly.
“Yes.” She lifted her chin defiantly when in truth she wanted to weep. “I hope I have made myself clear?”
His face was without any expression, his eyes as blue as the sky on a cold January day. No longer was he the man who kissed her until she could not think straight, he was a stranger. “Perfectly clear, Miss Abbott.” He moved to walk past her up the stairs and then disappeared into the dark of the third landing.
The moan came from deep inside her. She could not believe she was capable of feeling so much pain.
She rushed back to her room and threw herself onto the bed, then buried her face in the soft cushion and cried until she could cry no more.
Continue reading Chapter 14/17
Comments
Post a Comment