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

a useless hiding place; anyone walking past her would spot her right away, but at least it would hide her for a few more seconds.
    Her heart beat like an ironsmith’s hammer. Wiping tears from her eyes, she looked around in panic. All the four doors were closed. There were no other exits. The maid with the light was coming closer. And here Marie was, far from her room and armed to the teeth.
    There was only one route left.
    Marie ran up to the baroness door and knocked hard. Even though she knew that there was no attacker, she would at least have an explanation for why she was skulking near the baroness’s chambers wielding a sword. It could work. Unless, of course, the baroness executed her on the spot.
    Marie knocked again, this time harder. When no one opened, Marie cursed the misfortune that followed her, then pushed the door open and ran into the baroness’s room.
    *
     
    Marie found that she had made two mistakes.
    First of all, the room into which she stormed was not the baroness’s bedroom, but a gigantic bathroom. On her right, some thirty steps away, was an enormous mosaic window that gave everything in the room a blue and white tint. To Marie’s left was a platform of white marble that supported a grand bathtub with large lion’s feet. Next to the bath was a waist-high copper cauldron, underneath which a mound of coals glowed.
    It was a bathroom fit for royalty. The floor and the walls were made of dark slates of polished stone, and the arched ceiling was covered with artwork. Near the bathtub stood a massive sideboard in dark mahogany. Two thick, metre-high candlesticks mounted on stands cast pools of soft light around the platform. On the sideboard’s marble top stood a crystal glass of red wine, its facets reflecting the flickering light from the candles.
    Perhaps because the room was located higher up in the castle, the sound of the wind was louder here; baying and keening, it rushed past the window as if eager to find a way into the room. Still, the air was warm and smelled of fire, perfume and old wood. It was also very humid; a thin coating of moist covered the entire floor.
    Marie’s second mistake had been to enter the room at all.
    Standing in the tub like a surprised lioness, the baroness glared at Marie with eyes colder than the wind that hurled past outside the window. Even now, the woman managed to look majestic, as if the red towel she had wound around her body were a queen’s ceremonial robe.
    Marie could only stare. She was unable to think, let alone speak. Sophie had a soft lushness that had teased Marie’s thoughts, but the baroness’s Nordic elegance and strong body were just as distracting. In the light of the candles, the woman was a mirage designed to torment Marie and her desires. Keeping her eyes at the baroness’s face was a feat of heroic proportions.
    “What are you doing here?” The baroness’s voice seemed deeper than it had earlier that night. “These are my private chambers,” she stated. “How dare you violate my hospitality?”
    “I – thought that – you were,” Marie said and faltered. Think, she ordered herself. Don’t try to be clever! Just tell her what you planned, and hope for mercy. But speaking was impossible; the baroness’s gaze dissolved Marie’s thoughts as soon as they formed. She looked to Marie like a large bird of ray in a dangerous mood.
    And the baroness’s appearance did not help. The towel was small, and through its gaps, Marie saw skin. Smooth, lean and beautiful skin.
    Marie swallowed. How her thoughts could stray in a time like this was beyond her. Apparently, her mind was more intent on carnal fantasies than survival.
    “I heard screams,” Marie said at last, the words tumbling off her tongue. “And I thought you were in danger.”
    The baroness regarded her with a face more still than stone. “Danger?” she asked after a long silence.
    “I thought there was an intruder,” Marie stammered, hoping that the baroness would