Living in Darkness (Bloodbreeders) (13 page)

“If you don’t get in soon, the water will be cold,” Yvette said,
laughing. I unsnapped my bra, but seemed to freeze. No one had ever seen me
naked before other than my mother.

“I’m sorry, Miss Yvette, but I haven’t done this before...you know,
bathe with someone other than my females in my family.”

“If it makes you feel better to wear your undergarments, then please,
feel free to do so,” she replied leaning her head forward as one of the girls
washed her shoulders.

“No, this is fine,” I replied glancing away when she leaned back
exposing her breast. “I’m just not used to this sort of thing.”

I removed my bra, covering my breasts the best I could with one arm,
and removed my panties with the other. I couldn’t help but notice that she
intensely watched my every move. I stepped in the water as fast as I could, and
almost slipped in the process.

“Relax child, enjoy being pampered. I’m sure it hasn’t been like this
for you before now,” she said.

“No, never like this,” I agreed.

The maids came over with sponges and soap. One joined the other that was
washing Yvette, and the other began trying to wash me. “I can do it myself,
thank you,” I said politely, taking the sponge from her. The bath felt better
than I could have imagined. The soap was infused with some sort of fragrance
and oil, and as I lathered it onto my body it felt like my flesh had turned to
silk.

“May I help you wash your hair, Miss?” the young maid asked, and it was
the first time I had heard any of them speak.

“It is their job to help you,” Yvette said before I could protest.

“That would be very nice, thanks,” I said, still a little hesitant.

As soon as she began washing my hair, I was glad that I had agreed. Her
hands were like magic, not only cleaning my hair, but massaging my scalp as she
did so. I leaned back, and closed my eyes, truly relaxing in the first
comfortable place that I’ve had since I stepped on the boat. When the maids had
finished, they brought two robes that were made of silk for Yvette and I.

“Shall we get out and get something to drink?” Yvette asked. “You must
be starved.”

“I had goat last night, so I am fine,” I said, as we started leaving
the tub. What I said must have sounded funny, because the maids began
snickering among themselves.

“Enough.” That was all Yvette had to say. All three maids stopped
simultaneously and bowed to their mistress. “Ignore them. They are not used to
hearing your accent. They seem to have forgotten their place momentarily.” I
could tell that her words frightened the three, one of the girls, the one that
had helped me, began to slightly tremble.

“It’s okay Yvette, really. I’ve been laughed at before, it didn’t
bother me,” I said, attempting to calm the young girl, but even as she helped
me dry, she never stopped shaking.

After we put on our robes, we went to the room across the hall. It
looked like a library of sorts, books from ceiling to floor. There were two
large chairs by the fireplace, and a beautiful wooden desk in the corner.

“Come let us dry our hair by the fire. Do you prefer to drink from a
glass, or would you like it straight from the body?” Yvette asked showing me to
the chairs by the fire.

“Glass, please.” I answered. “I wouldn’t want to smell like a goat
after that wonderful bath.”

“We couldn’t have that,” she smiled. “I, too, prefer the glass. There
is a time and place for taking our drink directly from the vein.”

We were served by the fireplace, the blood still warm in the crystal
goblets. I took a large drink, and then remembered I was in the presence of a
fine lady with perfect manners. So I sipped like my mother had taught me to do
in front of company.

“This is much better than the goats we had on the boat,” I said, taking
another sip of the delicious fluid.

“Well, we take much better care of our goats around here,” she said
taking a drink from her glass. “Now tell me, are you glad to be here, away from
that demon Martin
Vigée
Lebrun?”

“Please don’t take this wrong. I have loved every minute of being in
your fine home, but I also miss my family dearly,” I said.

“It was Martin I asked about,” she quickly added. “Do you miss him?”

“I was starting to get close to him until the night
he
...”
The words caught in my throat. “I’m sorry. No, I don’t miss him. I wish he were
dead.”

I think she would have asked more, but there was a knock on the door.

“Enter.” she said, looking toward the door.

“Sorry to bother you my lady, but the other guests have started to
arrive,” said the young woman, whom I recognized as one of the maids from
earlier.

“I must leave you,” Yvette said, already standing. “But Maria will show
you to your room. Finish your drink, then go straight to bed, for tomorrow
night there will be a gathering of my friends. A ball, if you will.” Before I
could thank her, she was out the door.

I gulped down the rest of my drink, no more need for manners since she
had already gone. I stood and said to the maid, “Sorry about that, I was just a
little hungry.”

“Yes, Miss,” she said simply, then turned, knowing I would follow her. Instead
of going down like I thought, we went up another flight of stairs.

“We don’t have to sleep in the basement?” I asked, but she only shook
her head and continued walking.
Not very
talkative
, I thought to myself, and I didn’t bother asking again.
Surely they knew about the whole sun thing
,
I thought as we went up the stairs.

Once we reached the top, I found myself peering down a long hall with
at least ten different doors along it. She stopped at the first door to the
right, and opened it. As soon as I stepped inside, she closed the door and I
heard the lock turn.

“Hey, what are you doing?” I asked through the closed door, a little
panicked.

“It is for your own good, miss. Order’s from the Mistress,” and that
was all she said.

I heard her footsteps as she walked away. As I turned and looked at the
room, I thought to myself, that there are worse places to be locked in. This
room was even nicer than the beach house, from the furniture to the large
fireplace that was blazing. The four-poster bed reached all the way to the
ceiling, and the covers were no doubt made of silk or satin, solid maroon in
color. The furnishings appeared to be new by the way the wood glistened in the
light of the fire, but I was almost positive it was all very antiquated.
Probably from
someplace
fancy, like Paris or England
,
I told myself. I could see that a
nightgown had been placed on the bed for me to change into, so I did. It felt
better than the robe, more secure, but I still felt strange with no
undergarments. I took the brush I found on the dresser, and took a seat on the
rug in front of the fireplace.

I brushed the tangles from my hair, and when it was somewhat dry, I
decided to take another look around the room. The dresser drawers were empty,
except for a few sweet smelling sachets. I glanced at myself in the large
mirror that was atop it, and was surprised to see how well I looked. Even
though I was exhausted, the freshly clean face and hair made me seem very well
rested. I checked the door one more time, and sure enough, it was locked. I
couldn’t imagine why they would need to lock the door. They probably think that
a poor country girl like me would get lost wandering around an enormous place
like this, and they are probably right.

I decided to make the best of my time and get some much needed rest. I
folded the heavy comforter down by the foot of the bed and climbed in. The bed
was so soft, that I must have sunk in about a foot. It sure wasn’t stuffed with
old cotton like mine back at the farm. I wished I was in that old bed beside
little Edna, I wished for
a lot of
things, but knew
those days were long gone. My thoughts went to my mother and little Johnny,
giving my mind the questions there were just no answers to, so I tried to think
about my new life. I had no answers for much of my thoughts on that either, so
I just laid there, trying to think of nothing, and waited for the dawn to take
me from it all, if even for a short time.

Chapter 11

The next evening, I awoke to Yvette staring at me from the chair by the
fireplace.

“Did you enjoy your rest?” she asked.

“Yes, very much,” I replied.

“That pleases me, because we have a busy night ahead of us. There are
some guests here that would love to meet the one who was to be the bride of Martin.”

“I’m not sure I understand what you mean,” I said, sitting up in the
bed. “How did they know I was going to be here?”

“Let me rephrase it,” she began. “Three or four times a year, I invite
people of our kind to my home. After you had already gone to bed,
a few of them arrived
,
I told them about
you
. So you see
,
it is my fault that they wish
to meet you.”

“How does everyone seem to know about Martin? He only made me this way
a few weeks ago.”

“He has been a problem for many years. He does not believe in our ways.
Throughout those years, he caused much trouble, and everyone knew that it would
not be long before he became lonely,” she said, looking up at me from the
armrest she had been lightly stroking. “I had my people track him. I’m just
sorry to say that they were too late to save you from the world you are now a
part of, which is why they brought you here. He has never been to Cuba. Martin’s
home is London, as is mine.”

“Then why are you here, if you don’t mind my asking?” I asked timidly.

“Not at all. I came to Cuba to head up a new enterprise, one that you
will learn about soon enough,” she said as she stood. “We have guests waiting. My
maids will come in and help you get ready. There are many dresses to choose
from in the armoire.”

“Thank you, Yvette. What can I do to repay you for everything you’ve
done for me?”

“There will be plenty of time to think on that later. For now, you must
prepare for our party, and you must look your best.” She walked to the door. “I
will see you downstairs in the ballroom.”

As she left, the three maids from the night before entered all carrying
items from shoes to hair ribbons. They scurried about placing things on the
vanity, not once looking at me, until they started taking out the things from
the armoire.

“Is my lady ready to choose her gown for the night?” one of them asked.

“Yes, I think my lady is.” I replied grinning from ear to ear, while
they started
laying
ball gowns, genuine ball gowns,
out on the bed for me to choose from. “This may be harder than I thought. How
do I choose one? They’re all so beautiful.”

“How about this one?” the smallest girl asked holding up a silver dress
with a blue trim.
 
“It matches your
eyes.”

“I love it. I hope Yvette likes it, she has been so nice to me,” I said
while admiring the dress she was holding. They all began glancing around
nervously, clearly avoiding my gaze. “What? Did I say something wrong?”

“Oh, no ma’am, it’s nothing. We just don’t want to keep Mistress Yvette
waiting,” the young one said, while the other two remained silent. It was clear
that it wasn’t
nothing
,
but I didn’t want to push the issue. They were already acting like scared
little mice. You could smell the fear on them and see it in their eyes. I just
had no idea why.

“Well, then,” I said. “We best get a move on before we all get in
trouble.”

All three muttered a “Yes, miss,” then got to work. I let them help me
put on the dress. It had so many ties and buttons in the back, I never would
have managed doing it alone. Then they started on my hair. They twisted and
pinned curls for what seemed like an eternity, but finally they were done.

“Come, Miss, take a look at
yourself. You look very beautiful,” one said.

“You look like a princess,” added the little one that chose the gown.

They stood me up in front of a large mirror, and for a moment I was
speechless. Had I not known it was me standing there, I’m not sure that I would
have even recognized myself.

“Wow, that’s me? I can’t believe I look like this,” I exclaimed.

“You are pleased with what we have done?”

“Very. I seriously can’t believe it’s me,” I said. “Thank you so much,
you girls did great.” They all seemed to relax a bit for the first time since
we had met.

“Then, we must be on our way. Time is short.” The smallest added with
emphasis.

We went down stairs, and I turned to go through the two large doors where
I heard people talking.

“No, Miss,” one of the girls said, redirecting me. “The Mistress wants
you to enter the side door.”

The request seemed a little odd, but what could I say, I had never done
anything close to this, so I did as they said, which seemed to put the girls more
at ease. They were nice girls, with a nice employer, but I couldn’t figure out
why they were so skittish. I summed it up to being how they were raised,
because I had no other explanation.