The Unknown Mistress - An Erotica and Romance Paranormal/Historical Novella by Dorian Mayfair

old wine. The woman’s long dark hair was spread over the bed sheet like a halo of shimmering ink.
    Oddly, Jany came to think of a concert she once had glimpsed at a theatre. A female cellist had played the lead, and she had been so passionate when performing that people in the audience had been fanning themselves as if flushed by the musician’s fervour. This maid seemed aglow with the same kind of intense vehemence. It was unsettling, peculiar, and stirring. Those large eyes were full of hunger.
    Jany was surprised by her own reaction; she was tense, but not scared. Despite the bite marks, the maid looked anything but dangerous. There was no hint of menace lurking in the woman’s stare. The woman’s breathing was shallow, and she was trembling while she watched Jany. Perhaps she knew what awaited her once the baroness handed her over to the witchfinder. Knowing the woman’s looming fate struck Jany as indescribably sad; no one, vampire or not, should suffer such a wretched fate. Especially not at the hands of a man whose logic rung as false as a broken bell.
    The baroness motioned for Jany to follow her to the table, away from the bed. As they left the side of the bed, the bound maid gave up a whimper and stared wide-eyed after Jany. Maybe she thought Jany would run for the duke straight away.
    Once Jany and the baroness were back at the table, the baroness leaned against a chair and pressed a hand against her chest. “Now you see,” she said, looking at the floor. “The woman is damned. Forever lost. She had been in my service only hours, but I am still devastated. What am I to do?”
    Jany considered her options. Getting more involved in this dreadful business was sure to end in disaster, but her curiosity would not be silenced. “I suppose you have told the duke?” she asked.
    “Not yet.” The baroness looked troubled. “He will bring the witchfinder here, and I cannot stand that man. I wish there was something I could do, but I’m almost completely at a loss.” The baroness pulled her robe closer around her, making it follow her every curve.
    Jany immediately looked down at the floor. “How did this happen?” she asked.
    “I have no idea.” The baroness paused. “Well, I have one, but it’s outrageous.”
    “You can trust me, my lady.” Jany looked up again and took care not to stare at the baroness’s body.
    The baroness smiled warmly. “I know,” she said. “If I had thought any different, I would not have invited you here.” Her smile shifted to a concerned frown as she reached for the wine glasses. She filled them and offered one to Jany. “What I do know,” she said with a glance at the maid, “is that all three women visited the witchfinder last night.”
     Stunned, Jany accepted the glass. What the baroness had said was so disturbing she forgot to be shocked that she had been given a glass of wine by a noblewoman. Was it possible that the witchfinder was the culprit? It was true that evil often hid in plain sight; she had seen that often enough among the city’s less scrupulous politicians. But this was different, and much worse.
    Something occurred to Jany. “Did the witchfinder stay here all the time?” she asked.
    “He was given a room by the duke,” the baroness sighed. “As a favour, because people were so pleased to see that barbarian here. The tales going around has driven people out of their minds.”
    The baroness smiled wanly, and for a moment, she looked exhausted. Jany had to control herself not to move closer. Seeing the woman even the slightest vulnerable made her breath faster.
    “You do not look horrified,” the baroness noted. “And you haven’t suggested that we should bring the maid to the duke. Why?”
    Jany had a strange sensation of being caught in a web that was winding itself tighter around her. “I’m not sure I would like to do that,” she said quietly.
    “But you must agree that my maid here is doomed?” The baroness looked intently at Jany.