Kiss of the Dragon (39 page)

What had happened out there? One moment Draco was acting
like an impatient lover and then the next moment, he ridiculed the way she
looked in her new gown. What was wrong with the man? Bianca wiped tears away
with the back of her hands, her lips quivering with emotion. Had she been a
fool to think that he might care for her? He had said as much, but had he lied
like so many others to get to her inheritance?

Bianca placed a hand to her temple as her head began to
ache. She needed some time to herself to think. With that thought in mind, she
made her way through the kitchen and out the back door.

The dark gardens welcomed her with their shadows and a cool
evening breeze carrying the fragrances of the herbs and flowers. Moving slowly
among the cultivated rows of vegetables, Bianca made her way to the bench that
she knew sat near the back garden wall. It was as she approached it that she
realized that it was already occupied. An old woman sat among the rows of
squash and greens that grew so well there due to the morning sunlight. It was
her grandmother.

“This is an odd place to be on this night of festival and
revelry,” Veryalda remarked in greeting as she watched her granddaughter
approach. “You should be inside enjoying yourself, Bianca.”

“I was enjoying myself, for a while that is. I found that I
needed a breath of fresh air and a few moments to think.” She paused before
continuing, sitting on the bench next to her grandmother. “I am pleased to find
you here, grandmother. I thought you would be in there watching the
entertainment.”

“I have seen enough dancing for a while, child. These days I
find that I prefer a little solitude to the noise of revelry. I guess I am
getting too old.”

“Not you, grandmother. You will never get too old. You will
live forever. I wish it.” That absurd statement brought a chuckle from
Veryalda. Bianca smiled in return. It was a lovely evening there in the garden
with the night sky bright with millions of stars. “I looked for you in the hall
earlier. I am glad I have finally found you.” She glanced around at the muted
colors of the vines and vegetables surrounding them and an absurd thought came
to her. “Are pumpkins better company than people?”

“For a certainty, my child. At least you know what you get
with a pumpkin.”

“Do you?”

“Yea. Think on it like this. Pumpkins have a rich color and
smooth exterior, which may or may not hide the rot on the inside. But unlike a
handsome man or a beautiful woman who are naught but rot on the inside, when
you crack open the pumpkin and find it bad you have only to throw it away. No
harm done. Unfortunately by the time you find out a person is rotten to the
core, you have already been hurt.”

Bianca stood up and moved out of the shadow of the garden
wall into the bright moonlight. It was then that Veryalda got a good look at
her.

“Good God, child, what have you done to yourself?” Veryalda
stood and closed the distance between them. As Bianca stood perfectly still,
her grandmother walked around her staring at her as if she could not believe
her eyes.

“Heloise was kind enough to help me dress for the evening.”

“She may have helped you get ready, child, but she was
definitely not kind. The woman is a fool. She had no notion of what is
fashionable and what is not.” Without waiting to be asked, Veryalda began to
repair some of the damage. There was nothing she could do about the dress but
with deft fingers, she began to remove the hairpins that held the black locks
in such a restraint. There was no form to the hairstyle and the calotte that
Heloise had placed on Bianca’s head merely smashed down what few locks that had
escaped the multitude of pins. Veryalda wondered to herself if Bianca had even
bothered to glance in her looking glass before she descended from her chambers.
Many a head must have turned to look at the usually refined Beauty de Neige. It
was apparent that Heloise had taken the absence of her noble husband to make a
fool of her stepdaughter. As the locks came free they fell about Bianca’s shoulders
in a loose cloud of soft black curls. Veryalda was not shocked at the short
length of her granddaughter’s hair. She had heard through her sources about the
rescue of Lord Draco’s young brother. Bianca’s selflessness did not surprise
her at all. She had always known that her granddaughter had beauty that went
deeper than her skin.

“There, that is much better. Now you look beautiful, like
your mother. What was Heloise thinking to dress you as a staid old damsel?”
Veryalda stepped back and looked at the gown Bianca wore, shaking her head in
disgust as she clicked her tongue.

Unable to do much with the immodestly cut gown, Veryalda
finally thought to untie the large red silk scarf that she wore about her
waist. She encircled Bianca’s shoulders with it, wrapping it about her back and
around to the front to tie a large bow to hide the exposed cleavage that the
gown did not come close to covering.

“There, now at least you will look more like the Beauty
every man in there expected to see instead of an aging maiden no longer
desirable for a man to take to wife.”

“That could very well be what I am looking for,
grandmother.”

“He has asked you to marry him?”

“Well, no. And after the way he insulted me, I am not sure
that I want him to. I am not sure that I know him well enough to put myself in
his hands.”

Veryalda stared at her granddaughter for a long moment. “He
did not like your gown, did he, child?” At the surprised look her question
drew, Veryalda knew that she had guessed correctly. “You cannot blame him for
his criticism, Bianca. It is what Heloise planned when she helped you to dress
this evening. She tries to stir things up between you two. I do not know what
her motives are but she has her reasons. My advice to you would be to follow
your heart. If you truly love and want this Lord Draco, you must be willing to
fight for him. Remember, child, until the words are out of his mouth and the
ring is on your finger, he is fair game for any maiden who sets her cap for
him. Go back in there and tempt him. Tempt him and every other man with your
beauty and womanly wiles. Jealously is a woman’s tool, use it.”

Bianca listened to all her grandmother had to say and
decided to take matters a step further. “I think that I will search out Leia in
the kitchen and have her help me change into something more appropriate for the
revelry. I know just the gown.” Bianca’s eyes sparkled in the bright moonlight.
She turned and ran from the garden with Veryalda’s laughter following her.

“Just like her mother.”

* * * * *

Draco knew as soon as he saw Carmen that she had been sent
by Jabulani with a message for him. The sultry gypsy beauty had a look in her
eyes that spoke to the fact that she wanted to speak to him, alone. He
hesitated about taking such a chance, especially if Bianca were anywhere close
to witness the tryst. He had no doubt that Carmen would use her wiles to try to
lure him into a sexual assignation for which he had no desire. She may be a
lovely, sensual woman but he had no use for her other than as a messenger.

Draco nodded when Carmen’s eyes settled upon him in
question. She smiled in return and then with practiced moves she began to sway
in a sensual dance that was meant to hold every man’s gaze. Her movements were
amazing as she very seductively started wending her way across the hall,
weaving in and out of the other dancers and performers all the while moving
closer and closer to her objective.

When she reached the head table, Carmen moved behind each
man seated there, giving each the attention that had him thinking that she
wanted only him and then she would move on to the next. Loud laughter and
ribald jokes followed each encounter. As Carmen worked her way down the table,
it seemed only natural that when she came to Draco he received like attention.
When she finally did reach him, she pressed her full breasts against his back
as she ran her soft hands over his wide shoulders and down his arms. She teased
his ear with her lips and tongue, drawing more lewd suggestions as to what
Draco should do with the gypsy dancer. He chose to ignore all but the soft
voice that whispered in his ear the information he had been waiting to hear.
With her purpose accomplished, Carmen moved on to the next man never changing
her performance, never giving a clue that she had just played informer.

Fortunately for Draco, every man’s eyes around him followed
the gypsy beauty as she moved seductively around the table, giving him the
opportunity to gather his thoughts. The information Carmen had relayed both
stunned and enraged him. His hands clenched into tight fists, leaving his
knuckles white from the strain. It was the only outward sign of his fury. Draco
sat frozen for several moments staring straight ahead with unseeing eyes. Then
he came back to himself and swiftly searched the tables below for the person
who had tried from the first to do away with Bianca in one manner or another.

Hell’s fire! How had his intentions become so snarled? A
chill raised the hairs at the nape of his neck as Draco turned his head to gaze
at the empty place beside him. Fear squeezed his gut. How could he be so
careless as to let Bianca out of his sight at such a perilous time? He cursed
silently as he continued to peruse the hall. He could have taken care of this
threat long ago had he but known the truth of the matter. And now when he had
the information he needed, he realized that his carelessness could very well
cost him dearly. The villain was not present and that meant that he was most
probably stalking Bianca at this very moment. Draco rose slowly to his feet fighting
the urge to run from the hall in search of her. He fought back the panic that
was slowly taking hold.

He made his way around the edge of the crowded tables,
scrutinizing the room carefully as he went. It was not until he neared the door
that he came across the old gypsy, Veryalda. Very likely she might know where
Bianca was at the moment.

“Where is she?” He wasted no time coming to the point. But
Veryalda knew whom he was asking about. She had come to the hall to wait for
Bianca to return. She was curious as to see the effect of her granddaughter’s
new appearance on Lord Draco. But the look on the giant warrior’s face
frightened her.

“What is wrong, my lord?”

“Bianca is in great danger.”

In the many years Draco had spent battling one enemy or
another, he had witnessed an abundance of misery and terror, but never had he
witnessed such fear as he did in the violet-blue eyes of this old woman.

“I just left her only moments ago. She went up to her room
to change her gown.”

Draco looked at the high ceiling above them, as if he could
see through the layers of carved stone to Bianca’s tower chambers. He knew,
instinctively that danger awaited her above and he needed to get to her as
quickly as possible.

“Go!” Veryalda’s hands pushed at him.

Draco ran down the corridor and up the sweeping stairs,
ignoring the curious looks of the servants who were moving in and out of the
Great Hall. Several jumped quickly out of his way so as not to be knocked down.
The Black Dragon of Normandy had not earned his reputation by allowing an
obstacle to thwart him from his objective. No one stood in his way or they
would have been run over without a second thought.

* * * * *

By the time Bianca reached her tower room, she was not
feeling well. Dizzy and slightly nauseous she found that she had to rest
several times, leaning against the cool stone wall. By the time she reached the
top of the stairs, most of her strength had been sapped and Bianca had
difficulty putting one step in front of the other. In truth, she felt as if she
should perhaps lie down and take a long, refreshing nap.

It was very strange though. In all the years she had resided
in the high tower, the climb had never before bothered her as it did tonight.
But even as the thought flickered through her head, it became lost in the haze
of confusion that seemed to be closing down her brain. Bianca shook her head as
she walked unsteadily up the last steps and moved slowly down the corridor to
her chambers. She excused her stupor as being caused by the strenuous week she
had had and the lack of sleep the last two nights.

Pausing at her door, she managed to move the latch and push
it open. It barely registered to her that the fire was out and the candles had
not yet been lit.

“Leia has been neglectful this night. I will have to
reprimand her for her negligence.” The words were thick in her dry mouth. She
hoped that Leia had at least left a jug of watered wine for her to drink. She
moved to the table at her bedside and felt around with clumsy fingers for the
flint to light a candle so she could see to remove her gown. But she came away
empty-handed. That was indeed a puzzle and her brow wrinkled with a frown. Then
in the moonbeam that slanted through her open window she noticed the flint
lying on the floor beside the table. “There you are.” She bent down to retrieve
it.

The motion sent the world spinning madly around her and she
grasped her head as she fell forward. The last thing she remembered seeing
before blackness claimed her was a pair of highly polished black boots. As the world
faded away, she thought that she heard someone speaking to her in a Russian
accent. And then she knew nothing.

“What were you thinking, Tomas?”

“I told you to set a guard up the path. Get off your fat
arse and do it!”

The sharp command brought the large man who had been
squatting beside the campfire slowly to his feet. He had been helping himself
to a portion of the rabbit that roasted over the flames. Greasy, dirt-covered
fingers tore a large chunk of meat from the carcass and shoved it into his
mouth before he rose to face the leader of this rag-tag band of outcasts. It
was a major accomplishment for the older man because of the crippled leg he
sported. Several months before, Tomas had been cut up badly during a raid on one
of the lesser landowners’ holdings in a province south of Castle Neige. Tomas
cursed loudly as pain shot through the mangled muscles, which had not healed
well.

Ignoring Tomas’ grumbling, Evgenii rounded on him, cursing
at the big fool for not carrying out his orders sooner. “I do not want to be
taken by surprise if that bastard D’Ensoleille happens to track us down.”

As Tomas rose to his full, towering height looking less than
pleased at being rebuked, Evgenii gulped back his belligerence and softened his
words. He knew that it was extremely risky to put his trust in this large
outlaw he had been forced to hire, or in any of the others that came with him.

“I do not altogether trust Gorge and Edo to take care of the
Black Dragon. D’Ensoleille is a seasoned knight with a fierce reputation for
bringing down any enemy. He has not survived this long because he was foolish
or careless. Nay. I would feel much safer knowing that I have at least one
guard out there to warn of the approach of anyone coming up the trail. That is
what I am paying you for, Tomas. I want the bastard dead; I do not care how it
is done as long as it is done.”

Evgenii nearly sighed aloud in relief when the large outlaw
did no more than give him a hard look before turning and disappearing into the
darkness.

“Bastard,” Evgenii muttered as he eased down to help himself
to a large portion of the roasted meat. He ate in silence for several long
moments before he glanced toward the mouth of the large cave he had chosen to
use for a shelter.

His sculptured lips spread into a sly smile and his dark
eyes glittered with excitement and lust. With every bite of the savory meat, a
very different hunger rose in Evgenii. The memory of the luscious beauty who
now lay unconscious in the dark cavern rose in his mind’s eye and his body
responded wholeheartedly. Yea, it would be a very different kind of hunger that
would be satisfied this night, he swore it. He would take the young Beauty de
Neige and make her his bride no matter her objections. Evgenii would even
welcome a little resistance from her. It would make the consummation that much
more sweet. The battle, the conquest, the pleasure of forcing her to his will.
Yea, he looked forward to it. That and the power and wealth she would bring
him. His smile deepened at the thought of it.

Bianca groaned aloud. Her first conscious thought was to the
pain that sliced through her head. The throbbing was almost unbearable. When
she moved, she learned quickly what a mistake that was. The motion left her
gasping and she had to fight the nausea that threatened to overcome her.
Rolling slowly to her side, Bianca drew her legs up, curling into herself where
she stayed until she could gain control of her composure.

What had happened to her?

Bianca tried to remember but even that proved too much at
the moment. Instead, she concentrated on her present surroundings. She felt the
cold hard ground beneath her and the odious smell of horse welled up from the
questionable blanket she lay on. It was certain that she was no longer in her
tower chamber.

Where was she?

Bianca forced her eyes open only to find she was in total
darkness. A frown marred her brow. She could not remember much after she had
left Veryalda in the kitchen garden. The subsequent moments were but a blur of
strange twisted scenes. She did recall that she suddenly felt lightheaded and
very strange. She remembered climbing the stairs to her tower chamber but she
had little recollection of how she got there and even less after she did enter
her room. If indeed, she had made it that far. As hard as she tried, she could
not recall and the effort to do so only made the pain in her head worse.

A slight sound behind her had Bianca turning her head
quickly. The movement sent more pain piercing through her head and a low moan escaped
her lips. She closed her eyes and prayed that the agony would fade. After some
time, she finally drifted off to sleep but nightmarish dreams filled her
restless slumbers.

Bianca was not sure how long she slept but when she woke up,
it was to find that the throbbing and nausea she experienced earlier had faded
significantly. She reached up to push her hair back from her face when her
fingers came in contact with a painful lump behind her left ear causing her to
gasp. Carefully Bianca probed the swelling with gentle fingers trying to
determine the damage. Fortunately, it seemed insignificant. How it got there
was another mystery, which she had yet to solve, but that would come later. For
now, she needed to understand where she was and more important, who had brought
her there.

The only thing that she had determined so far was that she
lay on a filthy blanket on the cold, damp ground in a very dark place. Bianca
glanced around searching for some small relief from the darkness but could not
discern where she was. As she lay very quiet, she listened for some clue as to
who might be there with her. The only thing she could make out was the sound of
dripping water somewhere behind her. A draft of cool air brushing against her
hot skin came from in front of her, causing goose bumps. Then suddenly a faint
light flickered in the distance and soon filtered in giving her the first view
of her surroundings and they were bleak to say the least. Dread swept through
her at what she discovered. How had she come to be there? Then horror took hold
of her as she wondered who was responsible for her being there.

Bianca slowly sat up. She faced the mouth of the cave,
wrapping her arms around herself to fend off the cold that seeped into her very
bones. Beyond, she could make out the shadowy forms of two men standing before
a blazing campfire. She could not make out what they said but she had no
intention of moving any closer. She did not want them to know that she had
regained consciousness. Her gaze flickered to the fire and she coveted the
warmth and comfort of it. Bianca suddenly felt much colder and terribly
helpless.

As she sat in the dark watching the fire and the threat that
stood before it, Bianca reflected over the past few days. From the moment Lord
Draco and his entourage had arrived at Castle Neige her whole world had been
turned upside down. In her attempt to seduce the great Black Dragon, she had
paid attention to little else that went on around her. Her carelessness had
gotten one man killed and nearly another. Jabulani would still be alive if she
had not insisted on riding out to meet Draco without a guard to accompany them.
That fiasco had also nearly cost Draco his life as well.

Then there was the attack on Theron, the poor little boy.
Who could have done such a thing? Had the chimney sweep returned to take
revenge on his small helper because he felt himself cheated? It seemed
inconceivable but who knew?

After thinking it over, Bianca decided that the ill fate
that seemed to have taken over the castle was more than that. It was as if a
malevolent incubus had taken up residence in Castle Neige and the results had
turned virulent.

Bianca shook her head at the wild speculations that flew
about her mind. It seemed that from the moment Heloise announced an open contest
for her stepdaughter’s hand by all eligible bachelors no matter what age or
rank in society, Bianca’s life had become a series of near accidents and
deaths. Not only for her, but also for those she truly cared for. Even her
father had fallen prey to the ill fortune. For no apparent reason he was
seriously ailing when only a week ago he had been as healthy as a horse.

What was happening? Even Galen could not give her an answer.
She knew he suspected Heloise of something but he would not tell her the truth
of the matter. Was it possible that Heloise meant to punish Bianca for her
defiance in not accepting the suitor of her stepmother’s choice? It was an
absurd notion, but after a second thought, Bianca decided that she would put
nothing past her stepmother’s scheming.

Heloise had demonstrated from the beginning that she
disliked her young stepdaughter and barely tolerated her presence at Castle
Neige. Though Heloise had pretended differently around her new husband, young
Bianca had received the brunt of her stepmother’s aversion. She eventually
became a stranger in her own home, losing her father’s attention to the new
wife he had taken. It had been Bianca’s intention to accept one of the offers
for marriage from the beginning, but she had not wanted Heloise to think that
she had any say in the matter. But then she had seen the great Black Dragon of
Normandy and she had become infatuated beyond the point of all else. She knew
from the beginning that he was the only one she wanted and she had done her
best to seduce him. It puzzled her when Heloise had objected to her choice
after pushing every other man at her, even the odious Russian prince. Bianca
frowned in the darkness as she contemplated the matter.

A gasp escaped Bianca as understanding found her! Like an
epiphany, she saw her stepmother for what she really was.

An evil witch lying in wait to cast her black spells.

Heloise schemed to do away with not only her stepdaughter by
marrying her off but she also planned to do away with her husband, the Duke de
Neige. How had Bianca not surmised this? Everything pointed straight to it. And
now this.

Bianca glanced at the two shadowy figures at the entrance of
the cave and knew that they had orders to do away with her. It was obviously
part of a larger scheme to rid Castle Neige of not only the duke, but his heir
as well. It would not do to poison both the duke and Bianca. It would raise
suspicion. Instead, Bianca would simply disappear and then the Duke de Neige
would die of natural causes.

The woman was completely mad.

Fighting waves of nausea, Bianca slowly rose to her feet.
She stood for several moments while the throbbing in her head receded. It left
her shaking and unsteady but she was determined. Glancing at the ground around
her, Bianca looked for a weapon with which to defend herself. She noticed the
saddlebags and pouches lying on the ground around her. She glanced toward the
opening of the cave to see if anyone paid the captive any attention and she
wasted no time. Quickly, she fell on the bags, searching for a weapon.

After some moments and coming up with nothing, Bianca
muttered a very unladylike curse she had heard Draco use once in the company of
his brother. For a moment she thought about flinging one of the saddlebags
across the cave.

Bianca slapped her hands over her mouth to keep back the
scream of frustration that welled up as she fought back the tears of anger that
threatened to fall. She did not have time for silly female emotions. She
refused to show this monster any weakness. When the time came, she would need
all her strength for the confrontation to come. She hoped with all her heart
that succor would arrive in time to aid her in her purpose.

To her mind, these outlaws displayed an overabundance of
confidence building a campfire that could be seen for some distance in the
dark. It would seem that they had no fear of discovery. More fool they!

If she knew anything about her Black Dragon, he, even now,
tracked them. She only prayed that he had thought to bring an army of his loyal
warriors with him. Then they would easily outnumber this band of outlaws.

The spirit of the battle rose in Bianca as she saw the whole
confrontation and the resulting rescue in her mind’s eye. Her knight in shining
armor would ride his great black stallion into the middle of these villains and
trounce them thoroughly. Then Draco would fly to her side, taking her in his
arms and kiss her senseless.

The whole scene was so clear she could almost believe it.
Yet in reality, this outlaw band sat there before their warm campfire seemingly
thumbing their noses at the possibility of discovery. And the campfire was a
beacon. Draco would come. Bianca had no doubt about that, she only hoped that
it would be sooner rather than later. In the meantime, she knew that she must
come up with some sort of plan as a last recourse.

Listening for a long moment, Bianca tried to determine just
how many men were in the camp. She determined that there must be guards out in
the forest watching the trail as well. The acoustics of the cave made it impossible
to tell just how many were out there. The only men within sight stood in the
warmth of the glowing fire.

Bianca turned away from the welcome sight of the fire.
Carefully she moved on silent feet farther into the cave, following the sound
of the dripping water. She found a small pool of cool water at the side of the
cave. Thirst was one discomfort she could vanquish and she knelt beside the
pool and scooped cool water into her dry mouth with her cupped hand. The cold
water was deliciously refreshing.

A sudden rush of the night air dug its claws into her flesh
reminding Bianca just how desperate her situation was. Shivering, she made her
way back to her foul pallet and sat down, her back purposely to the opening. As
cold as she was, the fire was just too tempting. Instead, she watched the
firelight flicker across the uneven walls around her.

The shadows wavered and grew, moving and changing over the
juts and crevices of the rock in a mesmerizing manner. Bianca sat with her arms
wrapped about her as much for warmth as for as the feeling of security. A shift
in the way the shadows moved stalled her breath. As the chilling breeze that
had been wafting from the cave entrance stilled, Bianca watched with dread as a
large, menacing shadow blocked the play of the firelight on the far wall.