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- Oct 12, 2017
For most of the trek through the house, Jim kept the lamp light low, wary of being seen or attracting attention. Even still, he was very attentive to Lady Mayweather, looking over his shoulder when he'd gotten ahead of her, offering reassuring smiles in the dim golden light. The staff were all supposed to be in bed by now, so, he took her down the back hall steps towards the back door, where they were less likely to be seen coming or going. But as they started down the narrow stairs to the lower levels, voices could be heard. Cringing with a harsh grimace, Jim turned to Prudence on the short landing, with wide, dark eyes and offered her a finger against his lips, urgently asking her to remain quiet. For a moment, it seemed as if they had a hit a wall, and tapping fingers against his face, he quickly thought if they had to go back or not.
Handing her the lamp carefully, Jim pressed flat hands against her hands and middle, silently telling her just to stay put. With slow, creeping movements, Jim walked the rest of the way down the steps, turning into the hall. He peered down that way for a long moment, realizing as he listened, that there seemed to be just a few servants still awake in the kitchen. From the idle conversation and scent of cigarettes, Jim surmised that they were likely just smoking and playing cards. Stepping lightly back to the stairs, Jim motioned Prudence to follow him, warily leaning to look down towards the light from the kitchen doorway, making sure no one moved from the room or saw them. Once she'd reached the bottom of the stairs, he took the lantern from her and ushered her towards the back door, passing the line of bells on the wall that led up to the rooms upstairs.
Once outside, Jim turned up the lamp, the light extending outward in a warm glow. Leading Prudence down the front lawn, he took her past the wildflowers, the same path taken during the picnic earlier in the day. The soft rustling through the tall flowered grasses, signalled some small rabbit startled as they walked too near. And as the trees came into view, gargantuan monoliths, black against the black of the moonlit sky, gnarled fingers scraping at the heavens above, they could hear the occasional call of night birds. As the serene pond came into view, silver light glittering upon it's inky surface, the harsh shriek of an owl punctured the docile air, wings distant and haunting, chilling the bones.
"You spooked?" Jim asked in a low voice, giving her an impish grin. "Yer not, are ye? You're like him. Like us. You take pleasure in the night and all its terrible monsters."
Pleased by this thought, Jim led her further, past the tree that her family had lunched under, following the footsteps she and the duke had trekked towards the field of stones in the shadow of the church.
"Careful," Jim cautioned her, staying close to her side now, letting her use the light. Some of the tombstones were rather low and he'd scraped a shin earlier. He dreaded the thought of ruining the evening if the poor young lady were to trip over a grave and be sent sprawling to crack her head open.
Still, the warning was unnecessary. As soon as they came abreast of the rows of stones, they could see the solitary figure waiting for them. Dressed in black leather coat, his clothes relaxed underneath, Emery presented both a dark, sinister lordly image and yet, an intimate picture as well. Without a tie, his deep, blood red maroon shirt hung loose and open down to his breastbone, and his trousers were fine yet of a casual style. The calf-length leather coat elevated his look, and of course, he always looked the part of a duke with his clean-cut facial hair and regal pose. The feral brightness in his eyes, illuminated by the lamp as Jim neared, showed his passion in this moment as he stared at the young woman who emerged from the cloak of darkness.
All arrangements had been premade, so, as they came up to where Emery stood, Jim was silent, handing off the lantern to his Master. A respectful nod was all he gave to Prudence as the butler retreated back the way they came, to stand watch while also giving the couple their privacy. With the lamp held level at his middrift, lighting his features from beneath, they gave his expression a malevolent cast as he smiled warmly at his beloved betrothed.
Riegler took in a deep breath, rolling his eyes at himself briefly. "I was thinking of Carmilla earlier and I couldn't get that out of my head. Especially knowing what I planned for tonight...once I had it planned. Might have even been as early as when we first stepped these grounds."
Setting the lamp onto a thick gravestone, Emery stepped closer to her, his hand drifting up to cradle her beautiful, pale face. "How attached are you to your virtue?" he murmured in a low, deep tone. "Do you think me selfish to ask you for it now? Is it too soon for you?"
Leaning close, planting a chilled, teasing kiss upon her lips, he eased out of it, his breath ghosting against her cheek as he staying achingly close and purred, "Are you ready for more than my fingers? Are you willing to see me...beyond the man that I am? Are you frightened?"
Another half smirk as he quoted another passage, his voice dark silk, lilting and deeply passionate, as he cradled her face with one hand, the other idly working at the strings of her cloak. "You must know that I am made of death from head to foot and know that it is a corpse who loves you and adores you and will never, never leave you!...Look, I am not laughing now, crying, crying for you, Christine, who have torn off my mask and who therefore can never leave me again!...Oh, mad Christine, who wanted to see me!”
Handing her the lamp carefully, Jim pressed flat hands against her hands and middle, silently telling her just to stay put. With slow, creeping movements, Jim walked the rest of the way down the steps, turning into the hall. He peered down that way for a long moment, realizing as he listened, that there seemed to be just a few servants still awake in the kitchen. From the idle conversation and scent of cigarettes, Jim surmised that they were likely just smoking and playing cards. Stepping lightly back to the stairs, Jim motioned Prudence to follow him, warily leaning to look down towards the light from the kitchen doorway, making sure no one moved from the room or saw them. Once she'd reached the bottom of the stairs, he took the lantern from her and ushered her towards the back door, passing the line of bells on the wall that led up to the rooms upstairs.
Once outside, Jim turned up the lamp, the light extending outward in a warm glow. Leading Prudence down the front lawn, he took her past the wildflowers, the same path taken during the picnic earlier in the day. The soft rustling through the tall flowered grasses, signalled some small rabbit startled as they walked too near. And as the trees came into view, gargantuan monoliths, black against the black of the moonlit sky, gnarled fingers scraping at the heavens above, they could hear the occasional call of night birds. As the serene pond came into view, silver light glittering upon it's inky surface, the harsh shriek of an owl punctured the docile air, wings distant and haunting, chilling the bones.
"You spooked?" Jim asked in a low voice, giving her an impish grin. "Yer not, are ye? You're like him. Like us. You take pleasure in the night and all its terrible monsters."
Pleased by this thought, Jim led her further, past the tree that her family had lunched under, following the footsteps she and the duke had trekked towards the field of stones in the shadow of the church.
"Careful," Jim cautioned her, staying close to her side now, letting her use the light. Some of the tombstones were rather low and he'd scraped a shin earlier. He dreaded the thought of ruining the evening if the poor young lady were to trip over a grave and be sent sprawling to crack her head open.
Still, the warning was unnecessary. As soon as they came abreast of the rows of stones, they could see the solitary figure waiting for them. Dressed in black leather coat, his clothes relaxed underneath, Emery presented both a dark, sinister lordly image and yet, an intimate picture as well. Without a tie, his deep, blood red maroon shirt hung loose and open down to his breastbone, and his trousers were fine yet of a casual style. The calf-length leather coat elevated his look, and of course, he always looked the part of a duke with his clean-cut facial hair and regal pose. The feral brightness in his eyes, illuminated by the lamp as Jim neared, showed his passion in this moment as he stared at the young woman who emerged from the cloak of darkness.
All arrangements had been premade, so, as they came up to where Emery stood, Jim was silent, handing off the lantern to his Master. A respectful nod was all he gave to Prudence as the butler retreated back the way they came, to stand watch while also giving the couple their privacy. With the lamp held level at his middrift, lighting his features from beneath, they gave his expression a malevolent cast as he smiled warmly at his beloved betrothed.
"You will think me cruel, very selfish, but love is always selfish; the more ardent the more selfish. How jealous I am you cannot know. You must come with me, loving me, to death; or else hate me, and still come with me, and hating me through death and after. There is no such word as indifference in my apathetic nature."
Riegler took in a deep breath, rolling his eyes at himself briefly. "I was thinking of Carmilla earlier and I couldn't get that out of my head. Especially knowing what I planned for tonight...once I had it planned. Might have even been as early as when we first stepped these grounds."
Setting the lamp onto a thick gravestone, Emery stepped closer to her, his hand drifting up to cradle her beautiful, pale face. "How attached are you to your virtue?" he murmured in a low, deep tone. "Do you think me selfish to ask you for it now? Is it too soon for you?"
Leaning close, planting a chilled, teasing kiss upon her lips, he eased out of it, his breath ghosting against her cheek as he staying achingly close and purred, "Are you ready for more than my fingers? Are you willing to see me...beyond the man that I am? Are you frightened?"
Another half smirk as he quoted another passage, his voice dark silk, lilting and deeply passionate, as he cradled her face with one hand, the other idly working at the strings of her cloak. "You must know that I am made of death from head to foot and know that it is a corpse who loves you and adores you and will never, never leave you!...Look, I am not laughing now, crying, crying for you, Christine, who have torn off my mask and who therefore can never leave me again!...Oh, mad Christine, who wanted to see me!”
