History of the Vampire (The Vanderlind Castle Series Book 4) (19 page)

Finally, after what felt like an excruciatingly long week, it was Lily and my first day as housemaids at the castle. We’d each been issued two black dressed as our uniforms. Mama had pinned and tucked them until they fit us perfectly. Lilly spent an extensive amount of time trying to tame my wild hair. The Empress probably was able to afford a personal hairstylist because her excessively long and quite curly hair had looked perfect for her coronation day. Mine just ended up barely staying piled on my head with a few dozen hairpins.

Both Papa and Mama drove us out to the castle to drop us off for our first day at the castle. Papa brought along his camera and stopped the car on the long driveway, just outside the gate. “I want you to know I’m very proud of you girls,” he said as he positioned us so that he could make a photo with the castle in the background. “I’m sure this Mrs. Denkler has hired many a young woman to work at the castle in her day. And with the way the economy is, I’m sure there was more than one woman with experience who applied for the position.”

Lilly and I stood still, and very close to each other, so he could make the photograph.

“She must have seen something in the two of you,” Papa went on. “She must have sensed that you are proper young ladies and that you will do the Vanderlind Castle justice.” He cleared his throat. “And I hope you remember…’

“Okay, I think that’s enough, dear,” Mama said, touching him gently on the arm. “We don’t want the girls to be late. Especially on their first day.”

Millie answered the door again when I rang the bell. “You don’t have to ring, sillies,” she said. “You work here now. You can just let yourselves in.”

“I guess I just assumed the door would be locked,” I explained, fussing with my hair. Several of the bobby pins were already trying to make their escape. I think their plan was made easier by the excessive amount of hair lotion Lilly had applied. That made it simple for them to slide free.

Millie frowned at the door and then looked back at us. “It hasn’t been locked since I started working here.”

First thing we did was report to Mrs. Denkler. We found her in the hallway, just outside the kitchen. She looked us both over while fishing her watch from her pocket. Once she was satisfied that we were on time, she snapped the cover closed on the watch and said, “A housemaid’s hair should always be neat and tidy.”

“I’m sorry,” I blurted, knowing her comment was aimed at me. “I seem to have put too much lotion in my hair and now it’s decided to rebel. I promise I’ll get it to behave better tomorrow.”

Mrs. Denkler eyed my hair one more time before saying, “There are several things you need to know about the Vanderlind family.” She started walking and snapped her fingers at us to let us know we needed to keep pace. “The family keeps late hours,” she said. “They all suffer, to varying degrees, from a rare condition that makes them very vulnerable to the sun.” She glanced back at both of us to make sure that we were being attentive. “Because of this malady, they usually adjust their schedules to sleep most of the day and only get up when the sun is low in the sky or has already set.” That explained why we were told to arrive for work at ten o’clock. It had seemed a late hour to begin the work day. “You may be asked to work later in the evening on some occasions. This is to accommodate the family and we expect you to adjust your personal schedule accordingly.”

Lilly and I exchanged glances. Millie mentioned nothing about odd work hours when she showed us around. I had to wonder what Mama and Papa would think. We’d planned on riding our bicycles to work in good weather, but I was sure they wouldn’t let us ride home alone after dark.

“There is illness in the family,” Mrs. Denkler went on. “One of the sons, Arthur, suffers from hemophilia. It’s a rare blood disease and he needs blood transfusions several times a day.”

“Isn’t that the same disease that the last czar’s little boy suffered from?” I asked. “The son from the Russian royal family who were assassinated during the revolution.”

Mrs. Denkler spent a few moments assessing me with her stern eyes. “Yes, I know perfectly well of whom you are speaking and I believe it is similar,” she finally said. “Not much is known about the disease.” She continued walking. “As I was saying, Arthur suffers from hemophilia. Therefore the family is in constant need of blood to keep him alive. We have set up a small clinic in the back of the castle,” she informed us. “You can tell your friends and family, that if any of them care to donate a pint of blood, they will receive two dollars, a sandwich and some apple juice or coffee for their troubles.”

Lilly and I exchanged another look. Two dollars was a full day’s pay for many people. We would both be earning just over three dollars for a full day’s work at the castle and those were considered excellent wages for untrained labor.

“I’m sure we know a lot of people who would be happy to help out,” Lilly said, speaking up. “Unless...” She stammered a little. “I mean, is it very painful? Donating blood?”

“Not in the least,” Mrs. Denkler snapped. “And even if it was, with two dollars in your pocket, I should think most people would be willing to put up with a little pain.”

We both nodded, not wanting to annoy her.

“Arthur Vanderlind is not to be disturbed under any circumstances,” Mrs. Denkler said, eyeing us both. “Even entering his room is cause for immediate dismissal.” We crossed a large room where several men were hammering together a large piece of scaffolding. “Don’t bother the family at any time, but especially when they are resting. You are never to go upstairs unless directly ordered to do so by me. And you are never to address any member of the Vanderlind family, unless they address you first. Do I make myself clear?” Mrs. Denkler glared at us again.

“Yes,” we both said in timid voices. The lady had to be close to seventy, but she was still very formidable. I wouldn’t have crossed her for ten silver dollars.

“Besides, it’s not part of your duties to be in the bedrooms,” she said, leading us down a large hallway. “Your work is solely downstairs.” She opened a door and ushered us in.

“Oh,” I said with a gasp of excitement. We were back in the library. The wonderful smell of books filled my nostrils.

“You’ll get started in here,” she said, producing two feather dusters, seemingly out of nowhere. “Start at one end and work your way to the other. And don’t forget the top shelves, because I’ll check.” She turned to leave, but then paused. “I almost forgot,” she said. “It’s against the rules of the castle for the staff to wear any kind of personal adornment. That means no rings, no bracelets, no pedants, no jewelry of any kind. If I catch you wearing so much as a christening pendant, it’s grounds for immediate dismissal.”

I had a silver and crystal pendant that I always wore. It was only about the size of a nickel and not very flashy in any way, but it was the prettiest thing I owned and I loved it. “So you mean something like this...” I began, indicating the pendant.

“Is completely unacceptable,” the housekeeper told me. “If I see it around your neck tomorrow, you’ll be fired on the spot.” Then she left the room without another word.

We both stood, gazing at the enormous room. It held more books than even a voracious reader could go through in a lifetime. “You must be in heaven,” Lilly murmured.

“How are we are going to dust all of these?” I murmured back.

Lilly smoothed her apron. “I guess we’ll start in one corner and work our way around,” she said. “It will probably only take seven or eight years.”

“Yes,” I agreed with her, “but then the first books will be dusty again.”

We both giggled. Then Lilly squared her shoulders and said, “Alright, I guess we’re housemaids now. Let’s get started.”

We decided to make a game of it, with Lilly working along one wall and me working along another. They had those rolling ladders like in the Tiburon library, so it was easier to reach the books on the highest shelves. Lilly was much faster at dusting than I was because I wasted a lot of time browsing. I couldn’t help myself; there were so many intriguing titles luring me away from my task.

My hair was in open revolt, expelling bobby pins whenever it saw the opportunity. I tried to collect them when they fell, hoping I’d have a chance to pin my tresses back up when we were given a break for lunch. I knew having my hair hanging down would not please Mrs. Denkler, but there was nothing I could do about it for the time being.

After we’d been working for a couple of hours, the door to the library opened and Millie came in. “There you are,” she exclaimed. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere, but this castle is just so big that I kept getting lost.”

“What is it?” Lilly asked, climbing down from her ladder. “Are we needed somewhere else? We’re not even half way through in here.”

“No, it’s just that they’re hanging the chandeliers in the great hall and I thought you might like to see it,” the other maid told her.

This news perked me right up and I descended my ladder immediately. “That’s definitely something I would like to see.”

Lilly wasn’t so sure. “Are we allowed to stop working?” she asked. “I’d hate to get in trouble for shirking our duties on the very first day.”

“Oh, the Vanderlinds won’t mind,” Millie insisted. “They’re all asleep, anyway. And I’m sure Mrs. Denkler won’t have a problem with it. She’s in there herself.”

“Well…” Lilly thought it over.

“Oh, come on,” Millie urged. “You have to see how massive these chandeliers are. They’re like the size of a car, with a million prisms hanging off of each one. They’re amazing.” The temptation was too much, so the three of us hurried back to the great hall.

I could not believe the amount of scaffolding the men had built in order to raise the chandeliers. Taking into consideration the amount of ropes and pulleys they were using, I wouldn’t have been surprised if someone told me the giant fixtures weighed a thousand pounds each. I guess that was one of the benefits of living in a building constructed out of stone, you could hang heavy things off the ceiling.

Millie was right about the chandeliers being magnificent. Even without sunshine lighting up the room, the prisms still practically glowed on their own. They made a delicate music bumping into each other as they swayed back and forth, each suspended from its own small hook. They were so beautiful; I couldn’t imagine owning just one of the little jewels, let alone having an enormous chandelier festooned with them.

It looked like the entire staff of the castle was there, mesmerized while watching the first chandelier slowly inching higher and higher toward the vaulted ceiling. That’s why everyone was caught by surprise when one of the Vanderlinds appeared from above stairs and walked to the center of the room, craning his neck so he could take in the show.

There was something about the back of the young man’s head that drew my attention. He was tall and well-formed with dark hair that was ruffled on top, as if he’d just gotten up after tossing and turning in bed for a few hours. He was dressed in a crisp white shirt and gray flannel pants that were obviously tailor made to fit him perfectly.

One of the workmen hit a snag in the rope he was using to help hoist the chandelier. He called out a few words in a language that I didn’t understand. Some of the men stopped pulling on their ropes and others began pulling rather frantically. The chandelier began to sway harder and it tilted to the side. “Oh,” I exclaimed. I didn’t know what they were going to do to straighten it out. And I didn’t know how they were going to clean the chandeliers once they attached them to the vaulted ceiling.

I glanced back down again and got the surprise of my life. The young man was looking directly at me. Suddenly I found it hard to breathe. His face was just so beautiful, with stormy gray eyes, pale skin and full lips. I felt like he wasn’t just looking at me, but that he was seeing into my very soul. Thousands of little shivers ran up my spine as I finally put a face to the young man who had been haunting my dreams. When I realized this, my mouth popped open. I wanted to speak to him. I wanted to just be with him, to stand by his side. It was like he was the only man in the world and I was the only woman. My fixation with the castle suddenly all made sense. I somehow knew that he would live there. It felt like his heart had called me to him and I was powerless to resist.

In another instant I was screaming. The chandelier had somehow broken free from the ropes and pulleys. It was crashing toward the ground. And the young man who had just stolen my heart was standing underneath it. My piercing shriek startled him. He looked up and was only able to throw his arms over his head before the massive chandelier crushed him.

Chapter 30

Colette

People just stood there. It was as if everyone was waiting for someone else to do something. I had a moment of that myself. I kept thinking,
I’m just a maid and this is my first day. Surely someone else will come to his aid. Someone in charge will take command of the crisis.
But everyone was acting like they were frozen to the ground. And I couldn’t bear the thought of the poor young man suffering. So I hurried forward, shouting as I ran, “Call a doctor. Somebody call a doctor.” Dropping to my knees, I reached out to clutch his hand. Merely touching him sent a charge through me like I had grabbed a live wire. I’d finally met the man of my dreams and he was probably hemorrhaging internally. The thought made me want to shriek and burst into tears. But I had to be brave for him. If he was going to die, then I had to be there to comfort him during his last moments on earth. He’d stolen my heart and we’d never even have the chance to say hello.