The Tale of the Vampire Bride (3 page)

“Count Dracula, we are most pleased to make your acquaintance,” Mother said.

“I’m not truly a Count, my lady,” he said. Finally, he turned his gaze away from me, directing it at her. “I am Prince Vlad Dracula. They call me a Count because my family no longer rules this country. But I am truly a Prince.” He moved back and extended his hand to Mother. His hands were long and strong, his nails unusually long in length.

Mother took his hand a little nervously and was helped out of the carriage.

“He is so very handsome,” May whispered to me.

“In his way.” I was still struggling to regain my composure. I felt so cold, so very weak.

Prince Vlad helped May down, then extended his hand to me. As I looked upon his face, I could feel the strength of his gaze. He was a man of great power. He was nothing like the old bald Count I had imagined. I felt drawn to him, yet repulsed. Swallowing hard, I slipped my hand into his. His hand was cold and dry. As he pulled me toward him, he suddenly smiled. I thought I saw, for a mere moment, long wolf-like fangs beyond his red lips. I tried to draw my hand away, but he held it firmly.

“Don’t fret, Lady Glynis,” he said softly. “All is as it should be.”

As my feet touched the cold stones, I pulled away, moving swiftly to my father’s side. Keeping my head down, I tried to avoid Prince Vlad’s potent gaze. He unnerved me, making me feel weak, and I despised him for it.

Vlad stepped into the doorway, turning toward us. “Enter my house, my dear friends. Enter freely of your own will. Bring me a measure of your happiness. Please, enter!”

Father escorted my mother into the great hall beyond the door as we, his faithful daughters, timidly followed.

Vlad turned his gaze toward the driver and Ovidiu. “You, there! I suggest you take the horses to the stables. If you sleep there, I promise you safety this night.”

Ovidiu seemed on the verge of collapse. The driver cowered behind the horses. Both were staring at Vlad as if he were Satan himself. At Vlad’s words, both visibly relaxed.

“Thank you, kind master! Thank you!” Ovidiu exclaimed.

Prince Vlad nodded once, then closed the door. The sound of it slamming shut echoed through the castle. Turning, Vlad smiled at us as we huddled together. “I am afraid I am not quite as prepared as I should wish to be. I am in the midst of repairing the castle. It is a difficult task that I take to with great pride. The Draculas were a great ruling family. Ilona!”

A small, old gypsy woman appeared out of the shadows carrying a lantern.

“Prepare the rooms immediately.”

Ilona glanced at me, her dark eyes very alert and hard. She nodded quickly, then shuffled off into the dark.

“I have hired the local gypsies as servants. They are not as gifted in their tasks as the servants you are accustomed to, but they perform adequately.”

“Of course.” Father was at a loss for words.

I could not blame him.

The long corridor that lay before us was cold and decrepit. I could see that he was beginning to question his desire to seek shelter in this place.

Vlad laughed, amused by our expressions. “I must explain, my friends. I do not plan to live here much longer. I am planning to move to England. I wish to invest in an estate there. I plan to marry and live there with my family. This castle is to be sort of a vacation home. I also have a home in Buda. A lovely home. That is where I was staying when I was unexpectedly called back here.”

“Oh! I see,” Mother said with relief.

“Several areas of the castle are repaired and quite hospitable. Come, come. There is a delicious supper waiting for you.” Prince Vlad moved down the hall, holding the lantern high over his head.

I followed behind the rest of my family, wishing to place as much room as possible between Prince Vlad and me. He was not the old, bald, fat Count of my imaginings, but I almost wished he were. He was darkly handsome, alluring, frightening and, I feared, somehow evil.

As I climbed a great staircase, I observed how precisely he carried himself. He was a tall, lean man with broad shoulders. He looked like a warrior.

I heard whispering behind me and whirled about. I stared into the darkness and saw no one lingering in the shadows. Yet, I sensed that someone was watching me. Nervously, I caught up with my family.

Vlad threw open a set of doors and light flooded out. Before us was a vast dining room. It was quite nice and warm. A large meal was already on the table and two young gypsy women were finishing laying the table.

I looked suspiciously at Vlad and said quite boldly, “I thought you said you weren’t expecting us.”

“I wasn’t, dear lady.” Prince Vlad moved on to speak with my father, coolly dismissing my comment.

“Please, Glynis, be kind to our host,” Mother begged me under her breath. She tucked her hair back from her face, then tried to smooth out her very rumpled skirt. May hovered at Mother’s elbow, looking around with wide eyes.

“I don’t like this place,” I said with a sniff.

“Neither do I. It’s so ghastly!” May continued to look about the room warily.

“Well, he said he has another home,” Mother said. She also seemed a little disturbed by our surroundings.

“Then why didn’t he entertain us there?”

Mother, looking tired, gave me a sharp look. “Be polite, my darling. He is a handsome man with foreign ways. He obviously likes you.” She took a deep breath. “Perhaps he is too obvious in showing his interest, but…” Mother faltered, shaking her head slightly.

I took heart from this gesture. I leaned close to my mother, studying her face. “You don’t like him either, do you?”

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t like him, do you, Mother?” I was quite insistent.

Mother laid a soft hand against my flushed check. “Something is not right here. I will talk to your father tonight.”

I hugged my mother impulsively. “Oh, Mama, thank you!”

She gently pushed me away. “I want you to marry, but not this badly. I suspect there is no house in Buda.”

“Oh, but there is,” Prince Vlad said from across the room. He had been speaking in low tones with Father.

We turned toward him, surprised, May clinging to Mother’s arm. Mother was so startled, she could not respond.

“There is a house in Buda. I really do intend, dear lady, to move to London. My time here is drawing to an end.” Vlad motioned to the table. “Please eat.”

I managed to consume a portion of the meal served to me despite the fact that Prince Vlad’s gaze hardly ever strayed from me. I also found it to be very peculiar that he did not eat a bite of the food. The Prince seemed intent on impressing my parents and engaged them in a long conversation about our journey across the Continent. I could not read my father’s expression. He was more stoic than ever. What was even more surprising was that Mother was unusually subdued. I had never seen her so passive. Both of my parents answered the Prince’s questions politely, but simply.

May, meanwhile, stared at Prince Vlad with her large doe eyes, completely transfixed by his odd ways. I frowned at her, stabbing irritably at my roasted meat. It was far too spicy for my taste.

“Did you enjoy your time in Italy?”

I glanced down the table at the Prince, tilting my head slightly, trying to avoid his direct gaze. “It was lovely. I enjoyed it immensely. I hope to return to live there.” I narrowed my eyes just a bit, then turned my gaze back to my plate, clearly dismissing him.

The Prince laughed with amusement. “I see. I desire to visit Italy in the near future. I hear it is breathtakingly beautiful.” His gaze rested on me, as if drinking in my loveliness. “Perhaps we will go there together.”

My Mother faked a small cough while Father looked on blandly.

“Mama, I’m rather tired,” May said plaintively.

“I am miserably tired as well,” I said.

I wanted to be away from this awful room, the strange food, and the intriguing, yet repellent Prince. I felt out of sorts and very peculiar. It was as if my body was cringing inward on itself, yet strangely stimulated. Part of me wanted to stare deep into the Prince’s eyes and ask him all sorts of fanciful questions about his peculiar kingdom while another aspect wished only to flee. Despite my absolute dislike for the man, he intrigued me.

“We had best retire, Edric,” Mother said. She glanced briefly at Vlad, as if wary of him.

“Yes, the journey must have been very long. You should rest. Forgive me for keeping you so long!” Prince Vlad stood up and moved to my chair.

I pouted slightly. He seemed far too anxious for me to retire. As he slid back my chair, I stood up, quickly stepping far to one side. Father placed a gentle hand on my shoulder, and I sank back against him gratefully. Prince Vlad just smiled slightly, inclined his head, then moved to help May to her feet. Mother instantly hurried to May's side and pretended to fuss over her.

“Are you well? Do you feel feverish?”

Again, Prince Vlad seemed amused at the protectiveness of our parents. I met his gaze defiantly. Something unspoken and dangerous passed between us.

Vlad motioned to the two gypsy women that had served dinner. “Take them to their rooms. My dear guests, your luggage awaits you. I trust you will sleep well. I hope the approaching storm does not disrupt your slumber. I, too, shall now retire. I shall see you in the morning. There will be much to discuss.”

Vlad took Mother’s hand, kissing it lightly, then May’s, and then, of course, mine. I was repulsed at how cold his fingers were, how dry. I forced myself to let him draw my knuckles to his mouth. His lips lingered on my hand for far too long, and Mother made a noise in her throat. With a charming smile, he released my hand, stepping back.

“I wish you all a very good night,” he said. He flashed one last smile, then strode from the banquet hall.

Mother gave Father a sharp look. He gently took her hand, motioning to the gypsy women with his eyes. We all understood and quietly filed out after them. I was first in line, and followed the strange, dark women up a flight of stairs, my family trailing behind me. I could hear my parents whispering softly, and I strained to her them. I distinctly heard father call Vlad “an odd fish” and my mother’s quiet declaration of “He’s just not right.” I couldn’t help, but smile. I was confident that they would not leave me in this abominable place. In fact, I was quite certain that we would be leaving in the morning. I hoped we would start the journey back across the Continent to England.

The gypsies opened doors for my parents, then May, who did not want to sleep alone. I was not about to put up with her snores all night.

“Please, Glynis, let me sleep with you,” she whispered softly, her eyes pleading.

“Oh, please, May, what are you afraid of? Ghosts?”

She clutched her bonnet to her chest tightly, gazing into the candlelit room that had been prepared for her. When her gaze returned to me, I could see the fear in her eyes. “Yes, yes, I am.”

I felt rather bad for her, but I just could not stand a night of her snores and thrashing about. Taking hold of her hand, I kissed her cheek softly. “Don’t fear, little sister, there is nothing here that can hurt you.”

She looked at me hopefully. “Do you really believe that? You are not afraid?”

With a wild laugh, I twirled away from her down the shadowy hallway. “Of course not.”

The two gypsy women exchanged furtive glances, and I caught their dark expressions out of the corner of my eye. I gave them a sharp look, warning them to keep silent, then rushed back to shower May with kisses as I pressed her firmly into her room.

“Tomorrow will be a grand day. Now rest up!”

I made a great show of blowing her kisses, then shut the door firmly. I shall never forget the expression on her delicate face. She was afraid. Later, I realized she was afraid for me.

“Now, don’t you go frightening my sister with heathen concepts of ghosts and other horrible creatures,” I said to the gypsy women.

One laughed softly as the other crossed herself.

“There is more in this world than you English know,” the somber one said, brushing past me.

The chortling gypsy followed, holding her lantern high.

I frowned, following, quite perturbed by their behavior. There was a certain part of me that was quite taken with the castle. It seemed like the dreary, gloomy setting of a gothic romance that was found in the sensationalistic penny dreadfuls. I could easily imagine all sorts of ungodly creatures roaming the shrouded hallways and lurking in the darkened doorways.

I shivered as my thoughts strayed to the Prince.

No, the true danger was the Prince. The way he had gazed at me had unnerved me. I had had a few men look upon me with desire before. I could tell they were wondering what the caress of my lips would feel like against theirs. However, I was certain the Prince had been imagining something much more lascivious.

I noticed that the gypsies were guiding me deeper into the castle, leaving my family far down the hall.

“Why is my room so far away from my family?”