Had the other houseguests any idea what I had surreptitiously planned they would have undoubtedly thought me quite mad. After all, a vampire was afoot and all rational, respectable young ladies of the age were keeping their crosses at their throat and their windows strongly bolted and barred with garlic cloves at bedtime. And yet...they had not seen you as I had.
I had been well and duly haunted by the idea ever since I chanced to spy you watching us from a distance during that first garden party. There we all were, the men in their tuxedos and cumberbuns and the debutantes in their finest silk dresses, all of us displaying our wares and yet bound by corsets and custom. The instant my eyes lighted on you I recognized you as something much more than a mere man. I wanted so much to drown in those eyes, so pale yet strangely deep; those eyes that made me feel as though I was the only woman who existed to you at that moment in time. I know now you thought yourself the hunter, but in that very instant you became the prey.
We had all heard throughout the village that there had been some dreadful attacks. People we all knew had been found unconscious with singularly odd bite wounds on their once smooth necks. Some of the men were bantering about the idea of searching for you with torches, scouring the countryside as though on a foxhunt.
As for myself, I formulated a slightly different plan. I had my room on the third floor filled with late spring roses and asked the young chambermaid to bring me a bottle of father's rarest brandy. I changed into a long pink satin negligee and, after the housemaids had left for the evening, I took off my long-cherished crucifix and opened wide the door to my secluded balconyβthe door to the night. Then... I waited.
It took mere minutes. You appeared more than a tad surprised to find me both awake and unfazed by the most unusual sight of a magical man flying into my presence.
"Good evening, M'lord. I've been waiting for you," I said attempting to project a much calmer manner than that which I felt.
"Indeed, my lady?" The words had a melange of accents and the richness of an age that did not show on your dark, chiseled face. I took the distinct impression that you were not at all used to being greeted... or confused.
"Forgive my manners. Would you like something to drink...err...some brandy, perhaps?" I motioned to the settee and hoped that you had not noticed my little gaffe. Your lithe, powerful body seemed to glide across the bedroom with the grace of mercury. In the long shadows, your face offered just a hint of a smile letting me know that no matter who or what you might be; you were first and foremost a gentleman. That said, after attaining a better view of your tall, sculpted body in the invading moonlight I was feeling less a lady than ever.
"May I know your name?" you said in a voice that made me tremble in a way I had never before felt.
"I am called Charlotte. And you, M'lord?" You paused as if considering whether or not to even answer what may well have been a most unexpected question
"Esais. I am called Esais"
Our fingers lightly brushed as I handed you the drink I'd poured. Was the heat I was feeling from you or from me? My own slender hands shook nervously as I imagined those strong fingers stroking my soft back. I wondered to myself if you would recognize my reaction. Perhaps you would mistake it for fear. Soon enough, I discovered that no matter how long you may have been cursed, you remembered your more human signals as well.
You raised your hand slowly, brushing my long blonde hair away from my naked shoulders. Your skin, the color of ancient cherry wood, made my hair look even lighter in the moonlight.