The Hidden Mistress - An Erotica and Romance Paranormal/Historical Novelette Read Online Free PDF

had spurred her to move even faster – but instead she stood unmoving. After a while, she tilted her head and squinted at the doors. A small suspicion moved at the back of her mind, but it was too horrible for her to consider.
    Once again a scream came, now stifled and so low Marie could barely hear it. There was suffering in it, even desperation, but not pain. What on Earth was going –
    Marie gasped and covered her mouth.
    Oh no, she thought. Oh dear God. I am such a silly, brainless, ridiculous fool!
    The shouts she heard were not in pain or fear. No one was in trouble. There was no rampant murderer in the castle.
    What Marie had mistaken for pained shouts were strained cries of extreme pleasure.
    Cold sweat ran down her back. This was a grand, total and undeniable catastrophe. No, this was where catastrophes were sent for bad behaviour. No excuse in the world could save her if she was spotted here, hiding outside someone’s door like an eavesdropping rouge.
    The door to one of the rooms opened. Marie held her breath and stood dead still. After a moment, a shadow moved in the doorway, and Marie pulled closer to the wall. This was the moment.
    Less than ten steps from where Marie stood, Sophie stepped out of the room. Clad in a bathrobe, she walked silently but unsteadily down the corridor towards another door. Her hair, wet and tangled, looked like a confused bird’s nest. Her feet left moist footprints on the stone floor.
    Another shadow appeared in the door through which Sophie had left. Marie narrowed her eyes as she tried to glimpse the person who stood in the doorway; he had to be Sophie’s lover. Despite the perilous situation, she was excited. If she was lucky, she might be able to catch a glimpse of the man who had made Sophie shout in mad passion. The man’s identity was not a rumour she could share with anyone, but knowing what he looked like would be a precious secret.
    Marie felt a sting of jealousy as she waited for the man to reveal himself; she would very much have wanted to be the one who had slept with Sophie. Instantly, the idea of how Sophie’s full lips might taste came to Marie’s mind and decided to stay there. Shivering, Marie shifted her feet and tried to stand still. Her wild imagination would be the end of her.
    The shadow in the doorway turned, and for a brief moment, Marie could make out a face illuminated by the sharp moonlight. Then the shadow pulled back into the room and closed the door.
    Marie had to hold on to a tapestry to stay upright. Her legs felt weak and the room spun around her. The air in her lungs felt like ice.
    The shadow in the door had been the baroness.
    There was no doubt. Even though she had seen only a flash, those features were unforgettable.
    Marie cursed her own ignorance. Of course it was the baroness. This was why there had been a strange tension around the table earlier that evening. During the whole meal, Marie had thought she imagined the way the women looked at each other, but she had been right all the time.
    Shaking with shock, nervousness and excitement, Marie took a step back into the stairwell. All was quiet again. The moonlight filtered through the windows and made the dust in the air glitter. Leaning against a wall, she breathed in deep and tried to collect herself. Moments ago, she had been about to barge in to that room, hoping to save a woman in trouble. Had she done so, she would have stormed in on the baroness and Sophie. All the shame in the world would not have been enough.
    Now she had to hurry back to her room, before she came up with some new outrageously dumb plan.
    Slowly, Marie descended the stars, only to stop when she heard a sound at the bottom of the stairwell. Horrified, Marie saw a door open and a light appear. An oil lamp, most likely carried by a maid.
    Marie darted up the stairs again. Glancing over the edge of the stairs, she saw the light come closer. She cursed under her breath and backed in behind the tapestry again. It was