Royal Blood Part 14

"Well, there's certainly nowhere to hide in here," I said. "And I can't see any reason why anyone would want to come in here, either."

"Me neither, miss. Unless he was just ducking in here because he didn't want to be seen."

"Queenie, you're surprisingly bright sometimes," I said.

"Really, miss?" She sounded surprised. "My old dad says I must have been twins because one couldn't be so daft."

I went across to her window, opened the single shutter and looked out. Moonlight had turned the snow into a magical scene-deep and crisp and even sprang to mind. The only sound was the sigh of the wind around the turrets, then I thought I detected from far away a howl. It was answered by another howl, close by, this time. And I thought I saw a wolf slinking into the forest.

Of course my mind went straight to werewolves. If vampires appeared to really exist, then why not other creatures of the underworld? This was, after all, Transylvania. Was it in any way possible that the man Queenie had just encountered had now climbed down the castle wall and transformed himself into his wolf form? Or did that only happen at the full moon? The sensible part of me, that sound Scottish upbringing, was saying "rubbish" very loudly in my head, but on a night like this, in a place like this, I was prepared to believe anything.

As I leaned out farther and looked around I saw something snakelike and gleaming in the moonlight, dancing close to me with a life of its own. I leaped back until I realized that it was only a rope, hanging down the wall. If someone had climbed up here, he had been aided and abetted by a person already in the castle. And if someone had entered this way, he had gone again.

"You're right, Queenie. There is no sense in standing around getting cold," I said. "I'm sure your mystery man is long gone. I'm going back to bed."

"Can't I come with you, miss?" She grabbed at my nightie sleeve. "I can't sleep up here, all alone, after what happened. I know I wouldn't sleep a wink. Honest."

"You want to come downstairs to my room, with me?"

"Yes, please, miss. I'll just sit on the rug by the fire if you like. I don't care. I just don't fancy being alone."

I was about to say that it simply wasn't done but she looked as white as a sheet, and I wasn't feeling too steady myself.

"Oh, very well," I said, not wanting to admit that I too was grateful for the company. "I suppose I can make an exception this once. Come on, then."

We retreated back to my room, encountering n.o.body along the way. Once in my room I got into bed. Queenie sat dutifully on the hearth rug, hugging her knees to her chest, giving a good imitation of Cinderella. My kind heart won out over every ounce of my upbringing. "Queenie, there is actually plenty of room in this bed. Come on, you'll freeze sitting there."

Gratefully she climbed into bed beside me. I found the warmth of another body beside me comforting and fell asleep.

Chapter 20.

Bran Castle Friday, November 18

I was awoken by the blaring of horns. It was the sort of sound I a.s.sociated with an army going into battle or alerting a castle's occupants to the enemy's advance and it caused me to leap out of bed. I didn't think that conquering armies showed up unannounced these days in central Europe, but one never knew and I didn't want to be caught in my night attire. I fumbled with the shutters, which had iced up, and flung them open just in time to see a procession of big black motorcars flying royal standards crawling up the snowy ramp to the castle. Heralds were standing on the battlements blowing on long, straight horns. The pa.s.s must have opened and the kings and queens had arrived.

I closed the shutters hastily to keep out the bitter chill and decided that morning tea would be welcome before I had to be presented to visiting royalty. It was quite light and surely tea should have arrived by now. . . . That was when I remembered Queenie. I looked back at my bed where Queenie still lay blissfully sleeping, mouth open. It was not a pretty sight.

"Queenie!" I yelled, standing over her.

She opened her eyes and gave me a vague smile. "Oh, 'ello, miss."

"The royal party has just arrived. I should be ready and dressed to be presented. Oh, and I'd like my morning tea. So up you get."

She sat up slowly, yawning her head off. "Right you are, miss," she said, not moving.

"Now, Queenie."

With that she staggered to her feet, then looked down at herself. "Lawks, miss, I can't go walking around in me nightie, can I? What would people say? I wouldn't half get an earful!"

"No, I don't suppose that would be an acceptable thing to do, but I don't have a robe I can lend you. Because you didn't pack me one." I opened my wardrobe. "Here, you'd better have my overcoat. Bring it back when you come up with my morning tea."

She paused at my doorway. "This tea bit. What am I supposed to do?"

"Go to the kitchen, tell them you've come for Lady Georgiana's tea tray and carry it up to my room. Now, is that too hard?"

She frowned. "Okay, bob's yer uncle, miss." And with that she sauntered out. That girl will have to go, I thought. Thank heavens I hadn't taken her on for the long term.

I decided not to count on help with my morning toilet, so I was washed and dressed by the time she reappeared, red faced and panting, carrying my tea tray. "There ain't half a lot of stairs in this place, miss," she said. "Oh, and there was a bloke asking after you."

"What kind of bloke?"

"Ever so handsome, miss. Dark hair and he spoke proper English too. Not like one of them wogs."

"And what did he say?"

"He said it was about time you roused yourself and he was waiting for you in the breakfast room."

"Oh," I said, feeling my cheeks going pink. "Then I'd better get straight down there, hadn't I?"

" 'Ere, what about the tea what I just brought up for you?" Queenie demanded.

"You drink it," I said. "Oh, and my shoes need polis.h.i.+ng."

With that I ran down the hallway. One of these days I'd better learn to be masterful with servants. Lady Middles.e.x was quite right. Not that I thought that Queenie would ever learn.

Darcy was alone, sitting with a cup of coffee in front of him as I came into the breakfast room. He rose to his feet as I entered.

"Well, if it isn't Sleeping Beauty," he said. "What sort of time do you call this?"

"I don't know. What time is it?"

"Almost ten."

"Oh, crikey," I exclaimed. "I had a disturbed night last night. I must have been making up for it."

"And what disturbed you?" He was looking at me in that special way, half laughing, that made my insides go weak.

"My maid woke me up to say there was a man in her room."

"Lucky maid. What did she want you to do about it? Give her your blessing or come and watch?"

"Darcy, it's not funny," I said. "She was terrified, poor thing. I went up to see, but of course he'd gone."

"Was it a hot-blooded Romanian who fancied a prim English miss?"

"I told you it wasn't funny, Darcy," I snapped. "I know exactly how she felt because the same thing happened to me the night before."

"Who was it? I'll see to him."

"n.o.body I knew," I said, secretly delighted by this response. "In fact I think it might have been a vampire."

I saw the smile spread across his face.

"Don't you dare laugh," I said and hit him. He caught my hand in his and held me, looking down at me.

"Come on, Georgie. I know this is Transylvania, but you don't believe in vampires any more than I do."

"I didn't, until I came here," I said. "But there was definitely a strange young man bending over my bed, smiling at me and saying something in a strange language, and when I sat up, he just melted away into the shadows."

"Then I'd have to say that he was probably in the wrong room and got as big a shock as you did when you sat up. That sort of bed hopping goes on quite a lot in places like this, you know. Or perhaps you don't. You've led a sheltered life."

"But he looked just like the man in the portrait on my wall," I said. "Only last night the portrait had been changed, and someone was climbing up the castle wall. . . ."

"Up the wall? That's a pretty suicidal thing to do."

"Well, someone did it and there was a cloak in the chest in my room, with snowflakes still on it, and then it vanished."

"Dear me, it all sounds very dramatic," he said.

"Don't you believe me?"

"I'd suspect that the rich food has given you vivid dreams, my sweet."

"It wasn't dreams," I said. "I've felt a sense of danger since I came here. Lady Middles.e.x's companion said that she sensed death as we arrived. And explain to me why all these other strange things have been happening."

"What strange things?" His tone was suddenly sharp and his grip tightened on my wrist.

"Well, to begin with there was someone spying on me on the train. He tried to come into my compartment and then at the station-" I broke off because he was grinning again. "What now? Don't you believe me?"

"Oh, absolutely. I have to confess something. The person on the train was I."

"You?"

"Yes, I got wind of which train you were traveling on and I thought it would be a good idea to keep an eye on you. I hadn't counted on the old battle-ax keeping me at bay."

"But wait a minute," I said. "If you were on the same train as us, how did you get here? An avalanche blocked the pa.s.s right after we came through."

"It certainly did," he said. "By the time I'd found a car willing to drive me to the castle, the wretched road was blocked."

"So how did you manage to make it here?"

"Used my initiative, my dear. Got a lift as far as I could, then bargained for some skis and skied over the pa.s.s. I must say it was a delightful run all the way down to the castle."

"You're pulling my leg."

"Absolutely not. Would I lie to you?"

"Sometimes, I'm afraid."

He was still holding my wrist and we stood there, staring at each other. "I don't ever remember lying to you," he said. "Omitting some of the truth, maybe, on occasions when I wasn't allowed to tell you everything."

"So tell me the truth now. Are you here because Nicholas invited you to be his groomsman, or to keep an eye on me, or because you decided to crash another wedding?"

Darcy smiled. "What would you do if I said I couldn't tell you?"

"I'd say you've probably been sent here, by somebody you can't tell me about. Undercover, for some reason."

"Something like that. Let's just say that certain people felt it would be good to have some eyes and ears on the spot, in case of trouble."

"So you were expecting trouble?"

"Come for a walk with me," he said, taking my hand.

"Where?"

"In the castle grounds."

"There is deep snow, in case you've forgotten."

"Then go and put on your boots and coat. I'll meet you down here in five minutes."

"But I haven't had breakfast," I said, looking longingly at the spread on the sideboard.

"Breakfast can wait. We may not have another chance to be alone together. At this minute Their Royal Highnesses are greeting their respective parents and relatives, so we can slip away undetected."

"All right," I said. "Just let me pour myself a cup of coffee."

I gulped it down, then hurried up to my room, where, of course, I discovered that Queenie had forgotten to return my overcoat and thus had to wait while she went to her room to find it. Darcy was waiting impatiently at the foot of the stairs. The guards at the door saluted us as they opened it. Snow had been cleared from the courtyard, where the various motorcars now stood. We crossed it to the big outer gates. The gatekeeper looked at us with surprise when we indicated we wanted to go out. Much snow, he said in German. And n.o.body was to leave.

"We just go for a small walk. English people need fresh air," Darcy replied. So having decided we were mad English people, he opened a small door beside the big gates and we stepped through into the outside world. Pristine snow stretched before us. The boughs of the fir trees were bent heavy with snow and every now and then there was a soft whoosh and thud as snow slid off to the ground below. It was so bright that it was dazzling. Darcy took my hand and we crunched across the snow, keeping to the tracks the motorcars had made until we were among the trees at the base of the great crag on which the castle stood. An icy blast whistled down from the pa.s.s, freezing my nose and ears. The silence was absolute, except for the rattle of a dead branch in the wind.

"This is nice," I said, my breathing hanging like smoke in the chill air. "Nice but cold."

"I wanted to talk to you away from prying eyes and ears," Darcy said. "I wanted to sound you out on Pirin's death. Nicholas's parents arrived this morning. His father will want to know the truth sometime. Nicholas can't keep on pretending forever, and I'd like to have found out who might have killed Pirin before then, so that hopefully an international incident can be averted."

I nodded.