There was still one of the maids in my chamber when we entered. She looked at me curiously, her bright blue, icy cold eyes piercing through me. I didn't remember her at all, and hoped that she didn't have any reason to dislike me. Katerina might know something, I thought, making a mental note to ask her later.
"I said you were dismissed," Katerina told her haughtily, but the maid only shrugged, staring back at her, unfazed.
It seemed that I feared my old nurse much more than this young girl did.
"I'm going, Katerina, I just wanted to know if I could bring our lady some lunch." The short girl curtseyed in front of me.
"No, thank you," I responded, trying to shield her from Katerina's angry reply. "I'm not hungry."
The girl smiled at me, the coldness momentarily gone from her plump face. She looked quite pretty, with her rosy cheeks and brown, shiny hair, when she smiled.
"You heard. Now leave us," Katerina ordered.
The maid repeated her curtsy, then walked out of the room.
"Oh, Katerina, why are you so hard?" I asked her when the door had closed behind the girl, and we were alone.
"I don't like that maid, my lady. Alina likes men too much," she said, indignation seeping through her voice. "And I've heard that she laid her eyes on your husband's brother, Lord Radu."
Radu... hearing that name brought a new string of memories for my mind to examine. Unpleasant memories, this time. Radu... Vlad's younger brother... a cruel and spoilt man who had become a vampire for fun, causing a family scandal. I had always tried to respect and accept him as a member of Vlad's family, but I never liked him. Apparently, I had never told Katerina about my feelings towards Radu because she didn't seem to notice my reaction. Better this way; I wouldn't want her to worry.
"If you are not hungry, then you should rest at least. You look tired," she announced.
She was right. The dizziness and nausea I felt last night had passed, but I was still feeling unusually tired. As there was nothing else I could do right now but wait for Vlad's return, I climbed the few steps leading to my bed.
"Are they vampires too, Katerina? The maids, I mean," I explained, as she observed me speechless.
"Do you remember about... them?" Katerina asked, her eyes wide with surprise while I laid down, and she covered me with the soft, fur-lined blanket that had served me as a dress in the morning.
"The vampires? Yes, I do. Some things, at least," I said simply, waiting for her to start talking and fill some gaps in my memory.
She sat in the chair next to my bed and passed me my book that had been lying there. I put it carefully under my pillow, realising how strangely my mind worked. A while ago, I thought I was only dreaming about being here, but now it was the life I had lived up till now that started to resemble a dream. The memories of it were already beginning to fade, being pushed away by the events of the last hours. Not even one full day had passed since I came back here, but I was starting to feel as if I had never left. It was bewildering.
"The maids, Katerina," I reminded her, and myself, what we had been talking about, "are they vampires, like the knights?"
"No, Lady Samara, they are not. But they would like to be." I looked at her incredulously, and she went on. "See, the vampires are strong, attractive, rich, and they can live for a very long time, maybe forever. These girls come here, hoping to attract one of them, make them fall in love and change them, and thus live happily ever after, loved and rich. They don't know that most of these... men... have been through too much in their long lives, and only became vampires against their own will or out of despair. They are not capable of loving anymore. None of them is like your poor husband, who has been punishing himself for centuries for having lost you, my lady... I've never seen as much love in a man as he holds for you."
Katerina's words made me feel elated and a little less confused about the immensity of my own feelings towards Vlad. I was only feeling for him what he was feeling for me. And now that I was back, I would do anything to help him forget his suffering.
Katerina responded patiently to all the curious questions I could think about at the moment, and I only let her leave my bedside when someone knocked on the door of my chamber. Judging by the changed light in the room, it was early evening already.
A couple of maids brought in my dinner, placing several trays filled with food on the table by the window.
"Do you still want to take a bath, my lady? Katerina asked.
"Of course I do," I said, happy that she remembered.
"Come and eat something while we get your bath ready then. Otherwise, I'll be told off for not having fed you," she said gravely, making me smile.
"Is he back yet?" I asked, getting up and walking over to my dinner table.
She repeated my question to one of the maids who were now wheeling a tall, wooden tub from my dressing room towards the fireplace of my chamber. For some reason, I was relieved not to see the plump, blue-eyed girl among them.
"Not yet, my lady," the girl responded, curtseying, "but his lordship is expected very soon. Lord Radu has just arrived; he is waiting for him, too."
I shuddered at the idea of Radu being present in the castle, but then I remembered that Vlad didn't want me to meet any of the guests. I hoped it applied to his family members as well. Surely his brother would leave soon. I needed to find out more about the reasons for my aversion to Radu, but it could wait, Vlad was the only person I wanted to think about now.
Katerina dismissed the maids. The water in my bath was now ready, warm and steaming, and I couldn't wait to dive in.
Despite my lack of appetite, I ate a bowl of stew quickly, not really tasting it. But if I refused to eat, Katerina wouldn't let me in the bath, I was sure about it.
While I was finishing my dinner, Katerina disappeared in the dressing room, or rather a boudoir as she called it, returning shortly with a clean, white shirt, some linen towels and a big bar of soap.
Following Katerina, I approached the bathtub. It was lined with white sheets, and the water inside smelled heavenly of sage and something else I did not recognise. I shed my clothes as quickly as I could and climbed in, slipping inside the scented water. The tub was surprisingly spacious and cosy, a welcome change after the shower corner back at home. I sat down comfortably, sighing deeply, relaxing in the warm water. The soap slipped among my fingers, and I let it all melt, creating a soft foam all around me.
"Katerina, tell me I can have a bath like this every day, please?" I begged, closing my eyes with pleasure.
"Maybe not quite every day, but often enough. Don't be too demanding, Lady Samara. It doesn't become a..."
"Oh, Katerina, will you treat her nicely, for once!" Vlad's voice interrupted Katerina's complaint.
My eyes shot open with surprise. I didn't hear him coming in at all. He stood not far from the door connecting our chambers, making me wonder how long he had been standing there. I couldn't see him directly, but our eyes met in the mirror hanging on the opposite wall. A captivating smile was playing on his lips, and his eyes were so full of passion that I felt a blush spread over my cheeks. He took a couple of steps towards me but stopped when Katerina started to complain again.
"Will my lord remember his manners, too, and knock on the door before entering Lady Samara's chamber? She will receive you once she is ready. Now let her enjoy her bath."
He shook his head but retreated back towards the door, smiling at me in the mirror, then disappeared without a word.
"Why didn't you let him come in, Katerina?" I asked, still blushing once he was gone.
"My lady, this is not how I brought you up!" she exclaimed, genuinely appalled. "Where is your modesty?"
Now, I was thoroughly puzzled. "Is he not my husband?" She obviously did not understand how I was feeling about him, how much I had missed him.
"Of course he is, but still, you'll see him once you are properly dressed."
Oh, no. I couldn't stand another lecture about being modest, properly dressed, and whatnot, so I decided to disappear under the water competely, not to have to listen to her.
"Lady Samara, you were not supposed to get your hair wet!" Katerina's indignant voice reached me anyway, even though muffled by the still pleasantly warm, scented water.