The Hidden Mistress - An Erotica and Romance Paranormal/Historical Novelette by Dorian Mayfair Page A

service for less than two months, but during that time Marie had grown fond of the young Spanish woman. Anna was pretty, tidy and – Marie had discovered with great pleasure – very eager to share Marie’s bed whenever she was allowed. But now Anna was far away, attending to her chores while Marie was heading deeper into the night.
    Marie turned back to the window and sighed. She hoped a bath would wait for her in the castle. After the long and rocky journey, soap and hot water would be a blessing.
    “ Mademoiselle? ” the driver called from his seat on top of the carriage.
    “What is it?” Marie called back, resisting the urge to tell the driver to speak more quietly. His voice sounded too loud in the silence.
    “We are close now,” he said, now speaking more softly. “The castle is just ahead.”
    “ Merci. ” Marie moved close to a window and peered out.
    In the distance were half a dozen lights, fluttering in the breeze as if struggling to chase away the night. Torches, Marie guessed. Soon she saw the castle itself, a huge bastion of stone against the backdrop of a great cliff. The main building had to be at least four storeys high. Near the roof was a row of tall arched windows, all of them lit from inside with a warm glow. Four broad towers rose from each of the castle’s corners and disappeared into the murky sky. A low wall ran around the grounds and encircled the buildings. Marie leaned out and tried to see the top of the towers, but the sky was too dark. The carriage was heading straight for what looked like an ornate iron gate illuminated the torches.
    She sighed again, this time in relief. Soon, she would leave the dark road behind and dine among other people, safe in the baroness’s home.
    With a little luck, this would be a night to remember.
    *
     
    An hour later, and feeling both a little nervous and excited, Marie was walking down the corridor that led to the dining hall.
    When Marie had left her room, her maid, a quiet woman several years younger than Marie, had pointed the way and then walked in the other direction. Leaving Marie to wander alone in the castle was odd, but nothing so far had suggested that the hostess was anything but generous and considerate.
    As Marie had hoped, there had been a bath available upon her arrival. No sooner had the carriage stopped before two maids, both of them smiling and so beautiful Marie felt a twang of envy, rushed to Marie’s side and offered to escort her to her lodgings. Marie had followed them through stairwells and hallways until her head spun; the castle seemed to hold an endless number of passages.
    After many minutes, the maids stopped in front of a dark oak door, opened it with visible effort, and moved aside to let Marie enter. Marie stepped forward, paused on the doorstep, and held back a delighted gasp.
    The room was three times the size of her own, with two grand windows and an enormous bed that could have slept a dozen people. A large candelabra, placed on a round gilded table in the middle of the room, cast the interior in a reddish glow. The scents of flowers and wet wood filled the air.  On the walls were large paintings, many of woodlands and mountains. Marie did not recognize any of them, which irritated her slightly; her studies had given her a broad knowledge of art, and she would have liked to comment on the baroness’s collection. However, that was a trivial point. The room was splendid. If the rest of the dinner was as luxurious, she had a superb evening in front of her.
    Across the room was another door. A fluttering light shone from underneath it, and when Marie opened the door, she laughed out in joy: behind the door was a bathroom, complete with an enormous bathtub in red china. It must have cost a fortune, but Marie had eyes only for the steaming water that filled it. The bitter cold from her journey still clung to her.
    She stepped in, looked around, and caught her reflection in a large mirror in a gilded frame, mounted on