DID 10: Worse Than Dead! Part One.
Kelly Ann had to admit, it was a very striking scene: the dark castle perched up on the hill with its massive towers and pointed roofs, rising in front of a set of wild and rugged mountains that reached into the blue sky.
As she rode in the carriage towards the structure, she pondered the odd and saddening events that had brought her to this tiny corner of Transylvania. It had all started a few weeks after the "accident" at the cathedral that killed so many of the unholy cult at the village of Innsmoore. A detective had come to the house wishing to speak to her. At first Kelly Ann feared that David and his part in the "accident" had been found out, but no, the detective just wanted her to look at something found in the rubble. He took out a handkerchief and unfolded it to display a woman's ring with a family crest on it. The Vanderhilt family crest!
"Do you recognize this?" he asked.
Kelly Ann did. She confirmed it belonged to her aunt Suzanne, and though Kelly Ann did not tell the detective, she had seen her aunt wearing it the very night of the catastrophe.
The detective apologized, but he needed to show her a disturbing photo. It was of a dismembered arm. The portion above the elbow was crushed, but the lower part with the hand was still in good shape. The detective told her the ring had been found on this hand. Did she recognized the hand? Kelly Ann nodded yes. The French nails were exactly as Suzanne had them done. Kelly Ann started to cry. Fortunately, the detective assumed these were tears of sadness, but they were actually tears of relief.
A few weeks later the detective contacted her to tell her there was more evidence confirming her aunt's death. A severed leg had been found near the arm. It showed signs of a badly broken ankle that had healed some time ago. The detective was able to track down the shady doctor that had treated Suzanne after she had been swept under the waterwheel at the saw mill several years previous, and he identified the repair as his work.
So there was no doubt about her aunt's demise.
At first glance this might seemed to have lifted a heavy burden on Kelly Ann's life. Kelly Ann began to realize, though, that she had spent so much time worrying about her evil aunt and avoiding Suzanne's wicked schemes to steal the Vanderhilt fortune from her, that now that Suzanne was gone, did Kelly even know what to do with her life?
Time had gone by quickly and Kelly Ann realized she was practically an old maid at this point! In six months she would be turning 21! All the rich and fashionable girls her age were long married and many even had children.
And what about her relationship with David? Did she even need a bodyguard if Suzanne was gone? Suppose he left? Or suppose he proposed? Was it proper for her to marry a servant? She thought her dad, a self made man, would have approved, but her mother, who Kelly Ann had to admit was a bit of a snob, would have turned up her nose a such a suggestion.
In fact, before her death, her mother had been grooming her to marry into a noble family in Europe. This was not at all odd, for the time, as many a Duke, Baron or Count, whose families were saddled with lots of taxable land and expensive-to-maintain mansions were marrying the daughters of newly rich American entrepreneurs. In fact, for a time, being the Duchess of some-exotic-sounding-place really appealed to a teenage Kelly Ann.
And it was while these thoughts were swirling in Kelly Ann's mind, that the letter from Transylvania arrived. It was from a Baron Von Krankenstein. The letter, though filled with fancy and flattering words, basically said this: The Baron, a man of letters, was looking for a beautiful, but intelligent wife from America. One that could assist him with the declining fortunes of his estate. In return he could offer Kelly Ann the title of Baroness, a home in a beautiful castle in Transylvania and a summer palace on the Black Sea. He had heard of Kelly Ann's loveliness and cleverness and was inviting her to visit, to see if they were compatible and if an arrangement could be made.
At first Kelly Ann was just going to throw the letter out, but David talked her out of it. He was aware of the struggles she was having about her future and suggested that he, now that the threat from Suzanne was gone, should travel to Transylvania and investigate this Baron Von Krankenstein and see if he was legit. He would then send Kelly Ann a letter letting her know his findings and she could then decide if she wanted to visit herself. He suggested that if nothing else, the months it would take him to get to Eastern Europe and check the Baron out, would give Kelly Ann and him time apart to sort out their feelings for each other.
Within a week she was missing David and after a month all she could think about was a having him back in her bed! So it was then a total shock when David's letter arrived and she read it:
"Dear Kelly Ann,
I know this will come as a surprise, but I have met a girl here in Transylvania and fallen deeply in love. We will be married in a few weeks and I wish to inform you that I am terminating my employment as your body guard. I know this might hurt, but I was wrong to ever aspire to get involved romantically with someone so far above my station, let alone consider marriage. Please forgive me, forget about me and go and live your life to the fullest!
-David"
Kelly Ann's heart was indeed broken, but she wasn't giving up yet! She replied to the Baron's letter, saying that she was coming for a visit. Secretly she decided the trip was about tracking David down and if he was dumping her, she was going to make him do it to her face!
It was all these thoughts that echoed though her mind as the carriage, having climbed through the thick woods on the sides of the hill, reached the gates of the castle. She fervently hoped this Baron Von Krankenstein would have some clue as to the location of her wayward bodyguard!
Is this how the story ends for Kelly Ann and David? With her evil Aunt gone, is there nothing to keep them together? Find out in our next episode!
Damsel in Distress 10: Worse Than Dead! Part Two
The stagecoach pulled up to the guard house at the gate of the castle and a uniformed man, needing a shave, leaned through the window of the carriage.
"What do you want?" he said.
"I am Miss Kelly Ann Vanderhilt, of the New York Vanderhilts. I have an invitation to visit the Baron. He's expecting me," she replied.
The man looked her up and down and -- was he undressing her with his eyes? The impertinence of the fellow, she thought! She flushed with a bit of anger, then sadness. David used to do that to her all the time to her, and she missed it so!
The man waved the carriage forward and it rolled through the courtyard and up to the main door of the castle's keep. Kelly Ann disembarked and was met by a maid. The girl was about Kelly Ann's size and build, but with long, straight flaming red hair. The most striking thing about her though, was her uniform. Kelly Ann had seen French maid outfits before, but never one so skimpy!
The woman wore black high heels, and a pair of white thigh high stockings attached to garters, that ended well short of a tiny, black skirt that barely covered her bottom. The top of the outfit left the shoulders bare. The most shocking part of the uniform, however, was a plunging neck line that went all the way to the girl's waist exposing her navel. The gap was secured by a cord that crisscrossed the opening and was tied at the top, showing off the woman's well developed cleavage.
As she was led into the keep's main hall she began to speculate about a man who would dress his female servants in such a shocking manner. Even so, she wondered what it would be like to wear such a sexy outfit. It would be fun to have one created for herself and then she and David could do a little fantasy role play with it. He could be the rich man determined to take advantage of his maid, poor Kelly Ann. What things would he make her do for him in order for her to keep her job? Oh, how she missed David!
"Welcome to Castle Krankenstein!" boomed a voice with a thick German accent.
