Oh...How I love Jane Austen and the Georgian/Regency Era. Also apologies for any inaccuracies with regards to the period. I did try to research as much as I can online. For everyone who wanted Elly to have an affair. I'll give you two affairs with two of England's most fascinating male figures of the time. I just reread parts of the Other Petrova Girl. And I've found a loophole! See I wrote that she never slept with Kael & Anthony & she shrugged when Katerina asked if Klaus was the only man she had ever been with. She never said Yes or No. Ahahaha, so I suppose she could have her affairs just not with those two men, Anyway I just had to have the enigmatic Lord Byron in here...every girl's Regency era bad boy, Willoughby & Wickham rolled into one. Elly will also meet her very own Mr Darcy based on another historically famous gentleman. Anyway it's just a silly twist on history and all fictional. Also I know Lexie, as in Stefan's bestfriend, should at least be a hundred years older but wat the hey. Oh BTW its kinda sexed up. Winksz ;)
Chapter Eight. Pride and Vampyres.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that an Original vampyre in possession of a dark fortune would be in want of an immortal wife."
(Excerpt amended from Amanda Granger's Mr Darcy, Vampyre)
England 1804 – 1807.
My husband had finally decided to cut his hair. It was still beautiful of course. Short golden locks right above his collar. He was still a very attractive, handsome and rich gentleman. An aristocrat really. The seventh or was it the eighth Duke of Knighton? He had a place in the House of Lords, which Klaus felt was more like a gentleman's club for the nobility , where they'd smoke cigars and have silly discussions. Played card games and laughed to get away from their bothersome wives and mistresses. Klaus was an English or more accurately Welsh Duke and I was his Duchess and a fine pair we made.
Klaus wanted portraits done for us. One of me and him, our individuals portraits and a family one with Lexie and also one of his three concubines and one with all six of us. Painted by the talented Thomas Lawrence. Klaus had bought a vast estate in the Lake District and named it Cambrian Hall, after the ancient mountain range in Wales. I found the fashion to be more agreeable. No longer tight cleavage baring heavy gowns but simple empire cut, high waisted dresses mostly made of muslin and linen. Klaus still wanted us to be dressed in the finest silk and have us wear exquisite jewelry.
"We are nobility my Dear not the country gentry..." He would say in that upper class aristocratic English of his. I only snorted hearing that Lexie and the three concubines would burst out laughing.
Lexie had grown beautiful as the years passed. Klaus wanted her to be well educated and he had the best governesses to teach her. She was fluent in French, Latin and Italian and she could play the pianoforte and the harp wonderfully. Klaus was extremely proud of her. Although Lexie was our daughter, Klaus had no choice but to present her to society as the Lady Alexandra Smith, the Duke's sister. After all Klaus wouldn't age and people would find it strange that he had a teenager as a daughter.
The vampire concubines could now walk in sunlight, thanks to a witch Klaus acquired which spelled daylight rings. But they were still rather lazy, preferring to sleep in their rooms in the day. The witch was named Amanda Bennet. She was beautiful, a mulatto girl. A mother was a slave from Virginia and her father, well he was an English gentleman. Nephew of the plantation owner who had fallen in love with the woman and married her in secret. She died in childbirth and the gentleman brought his daughter to London with him. High society was not ready to accept the mixed race girl and so she was shunned out when her dear father died. Till of course, recognizing her gifts, Klaus came and took her in, she was only eleven then, a year younger than Lexie. Amanda and Lexie became close friends, almost like sisters.
We never treated Amanda differently, she was more like dear family to us. She had the same education as Lexie did and their rooms were next to each other. Whatever Lexie had, Amanda would have the same too. I had become somewhat of a liberal, a Whig supporter, while Klaus was more inclined to support the Tories. I read ferociously the works of Thomas Paine, Jean Jacque Rousseau, Mary Wollstonecraft and other liberal thinkers of the day. Klaus would accuse me of being a Radical and he hated the discussions we would have. He did not want me to influence Lexie and his three concubines.
"I do not agree with this Vindication of Womens' rights..." Klaus said and shook his head. "It is absolute nonsense."
We were seated in the family drawing room that afternoon. Lexie was sitting next to me while Amanda played the pianoforte. Lexie laughed hearing that. "Of course you would think that Papa. You are a man."
"Women are fragile creatures. They ought to be protected. Married with children and taking care of their delicate feminine bodies by being beautiful..." Klaus spoke and sighed.
"You just think that a woman should shut up and serve you..." I said and rolled my eyes.
"That is why concubines are useful..." Klaus said with a smile. "Especially when one has a stubborn outspoken wife."
I kept quite and ignored Klaus. One of the footmen walked in with a tray and Lexie smiled at him. I noticed the way she was looking at the young man. Coy and shy she was with men her age. Lexie had only turned sixteen. On the cusp of womanhood. She needed to have a coming out ball. Be introduced to society and maybe have a suitable suitor. Some Earl or Viscount maybe even a Duke.
"What is it?" Klaus asked lazily
"Letters Your Grace," The young man said a solemn, disemboweled tone.
Klaus signaled to the young man and he walked towards my husband. The footman bend and Klaus took the letters from the silver tray. He waved his hand, signaling for the footman to leave. He sighed and read the letters. Invitations by the gentry in town.
"There is to be a ball..." Klaus said and gave a bored look.
"A ball..." Amanda suddenly stopped playing the pianoforte, her interest raised. Both she and Lexie went to where Klaus was sitting on the chaise sofa. Lexie took the invitation of from Klaus' hands and read. Both girls looked very excited as eyes scanned through.
"A Midsummer's Eve ball to be held at Wickenshire Park..." Lexie read aloud.
"A costume masque ball!" Amanda exclaimed. She looked at Lexie and both of them exchanged bright smiles.
"I didn't know someone was there..." I said aloud. The country estate had been empty for months. Klaus shook his head and walked to me. He bent and kissed my lips. "You were too busy with your books my Darling."
"Oh..." Amanda sounded so excited and stared at us. "The Marquis of Clarendon and the Earl of Essex will be there..."
"And maybe dozens of other eligible handsome men!" Lexie said almost jumping. "Can we go Papa...Can we?" She asked Klaus, her face gone pink, bursting with delight.
Klaus rolled his eyes. He never understood how giggly and excited, young impressionable, teenaged girls were. "We should call upon them first before they decided to send the invitation." He sighed. "I am of higher rank."
"Oh Please..." I spoke, annoyed with this silly notion of class and rank. "Who cares about that?"
"Etiquette Darling. That's what separates us from animals. Etiquette and class..." Klaus smiled at me.
"How much are you worth Papa?" Lexie suddenly asked.
"Are you worried about your dowry Lexie?" Klaus asked her back.
She smiled and shook her head. "I've heard talk in town, saying you are one of the richest man in England.."
"Ah Cherie it is a topic not for a young woman to know..." Klaus spoke.
"He's worth at least three million a year..." I said. Klaus shot me an irritated look. Lexie's and Amanda's eyes just went wide hearing it.
"You're richer than the King and the Prince of Wales combined." Amanda spoke and stared at Klaus.
"Yes...yes..." Klaus sighed and smiled at the girls. "So you girls do not have to worry. Wealth begets wealth. You will be all well taken of for several lifetimes."
"We need to get our dresses made Mama..." Lexie spoke and went to me holding my hand. I smiled at her and kissed her head.
"Get Bess to call the tailor then." I said with a sigh. I looked at Klaus and both of us exchanged tired looks. A ball, a costume mask ball? I was not looking forward to it.
I went there, attending the ball in Wickenshire Park dressed as the fairy Queen, Titania, flowers in my hair a simple green masque covered my eyes and a gorgeous silk chiffon gown the color of deep turquoise. Klaus wore a black mask and a red coat and jacket over his formal attire. He refused to be Oberoi. Not wanting to dress as the Fairy king or any sort of fairy and insisted on his own costume. He looked like a European count. The three concubines were dressed in sheer gowns, forest nymphs. Every gentleman present was staring at them, the fabric so sheer and brazen their nipples could be seen. But they didn't care of course. Amanda and Lexie wore white chiffon dresses with silver trim, they looked beautiful, their hair in tendrils, tied up and feathered masks covered their eyes. They were swans. Graceful innocent creatures.
"His Grace. The Duke of Knighton, Her Grace, The Duchess of Knighton, the Honorables, Lady Alexandra Smith, Lady Amanda Bennet, Lady Alonna De Wolfe, Lady Mariah De Wolfe and Lady Letitia De Wolfe." The Master of ceremonies announced as we arrived and walked in the hall.
Everyone stood and bowed and Klaus smiled as he took my hand. I sighed seeing everyone. They all curtsied and bowed at Klaus and I. The Barons, Baronesses, Earls and Countesses, the Marquis and Marquises, the Viscount and Viscountesses. We were holding the highest rank in the ballroom and Klaus was pleased. He had hated to bow to anyone.
We had to start the dance, being the highest of rank. I hated it. I just wanted to sit down and fan myself. Drinking punch and listening to whatever gossips. We started with the usual dances. The quadrille and the waltz. After a few dances. I was tired. I sat down with the concubines, next to me. We had a large sofa to ourselves. Alonna and Mariah were chatting softly with each other, covering their mouths with fans.
They giggled and looked at the group of masked gentlemen standing there, staring at them. Fascinated and enraptured by their beauty. They would not dare approach us. I was the Duchess and the three concubines were the mistresses of the Duke. We were as untouchable and unattainable to them as the stars.
Letitia yawned and immediately covered her mouth, realizing it was not proper. "I'm hungry..." She spoke.
"Go and feed then..." I sighed and fanned myself.
"Lord Klaus told me not to do in the ball." Letitia said. I shook my head and handed my wrist to Letitia. "Cover yourself with the fan..."
Letitia grinned happily and bit into my wrist as she held it up, covering it with a fan. It looked as though we were whispering. "Thank you so much Milady..." She whispered gratefully.
She then kissed my lips sensually. Part of the fan did not cover. A few of the noble gentlemen saw and they gasped. It was salacious and scandalous but I did not care. Letitia only giggled and snuggled close.
"I should get up..." I said to the three ladies. "I need to mingle..." I said tipsily and laughed.
I walked on and the ladies in the ball smiled, greeting me. They recognized me even with my mask covering the top of my face. They curtsied, calling me "Your Grace."
All wanting to say something but couldn't, waiting for me to speak first. It was all so awkward. I looked around and sighed before smiling. "It's a beautiful night."
"Yes it is..." They said and nodded agreeably.
"I need to find my husband..." I told them. I said my goodbyes and went on my way. I found Klaus sitting in the library, with some of the noblemen. I didn't know what the hell they were discussing but they were smoking cigars and drinking Brandy. The gentlemen saw me and immediately stood up. They bowed respectfully.
"Niklaus..." I called my husband.
Klaus smiled and pulled me in for a hug. He embraced me so openly and lovingly in front of the rest. Couples were usually not encouraged to be publicly affectionate but Klaus didn't care. He was passionate with me. He kissed me deeply in front of all the men and I was aroused by it. They laughed softly seeing that.
"Now gentlemen, if you'll excuse me, my beautiful wife needs my full undivided attention."
Klaus sat down and pulled me in his lap as the men stood up, leaving the room. I kissed him deeply as I sat on him, straddling his lap. "Make love to me Niklaus..." I whispered.
"Here?" Klaus asked, surprised by my sudden lustful nature.
"I think this midsummer madness has driven me insane..." I laughed.
"Oh Elly...you'll never cease to surprise me my Love..." He murmured. Klaus looked at the door and it was shut. There was no one else. He hiked my skirt up and I pulled his manhood free from breeches. I groaned as I sank down, his length filling me up.
"Oh God..." I moaned as I felt him inside me.
Soon I was moving up and down, rocking myself to an orgasm. Klaus buried his head in my breasts and I closed my eyes. I opened them and I saw someone looking at me. Someone was right outside. Watching us through the window. He was tall, this fellow and handsome. His grey eyes locked mine as I reached my orgasm and I saw a smile on his face. I smiled back in drunken dazed state.
"The Lord Byron is here Your Grace..." My butler announced when I was reading in the drawing room.
I rolled my eyes hearing it. So much for some peace and quiet in the afternoon. Klaus had gone to London. He needed to oversee his business of trade. He brought his concubines with him. The girls, Lexie and Amanda were away calling on a friend of theirs. George Gordon Byron, the Baron of Rochdale, passionate, handsome and quiet an Arse. He was the consummate Casanova of the time. He was also the very same man who had watched me while I made passionate love to Klaus in the library at Wickenshire Park.
Lord Byron was relentless in wanting to pursue an affair with me. One I had refused many times. I smiled when George entered the room. He looked at me and bowed. He was handsome of course, maybe even handsomer than Anthony. Tall with such noble countenance, his features were like that of a Greek god. He had dark hair and steely grey eyes and he was rather pale skinned. He could have been a vampire and what a beautiful one he'd made.
"Your Grace..." He greeted me. A melancholic, haunting look in his eyes.
"What brings you here George?" I asked him. He gave me a charming smile and walked towards me.
"It should be quite obvious Your Grace..."
"I've told you plenty times I am not interested nor am I amused." I said with a frown. His obsession with me was becoming a nuisance, an inconvenience even.
"I would fight a duel with your husband for you." He spoke passionately. "I would win Eleanna and you'll be widowed and soon you'll be mine."
He was silly really. I groaned loudly. "For Goodness sake George." I stared angrily at him. "I am happy with the Duke. I will remain his immortal wife."
"Immortal?" George looked at me and laughed. "No one lives forever. And someday Nicholas will die."
"You are so naïve my Sweet," I sighed and held his cheek gently. He had no idea who Klaus was and what he could do. George moved to kiss me but I stepped back and slapped his face hard. He gasped, shocked by it and touched his cheek.
"You will not touch me!" I said sharply to the man. "I am a married woman and a Duchess."
"Why do you torture me so?" The Lord Byron asked. He sounded so broken. "Do you know I would bleed for you Eleanna..."
"Stop being so dramatic George Byron..." I said exasperated by it all.
He shook his head and saw the small knife that was in the bowl of fruits on the table. I watched in horror as the Lord Byron took it and cut his wrist. Blood started to drip. I rushed to him and tore the fabric from the hem of my newly made walking dress and wrapped it around his wrist.
"You crazy man!" I cried and shook my head.
"Tell me that you love me Eleanna..." He said and stared at my face. "I would rather die than have you not love me."
"Oh George..." I sighed and kissed his lips softly. "You crazy crazy man."
I did have an affair with the Lord Byron. But it was rather innocent. We didn't have intercourse so I supposed it wasn't really an affair in the greater scheme of things. I wasn't in love with him though. I was bored and my husband was away, busy being the Duke. I supposed I was curious and had decided to indulge in some silly forbidden pleasures that I had denied myself for far too long. George was lying in my bed that afternoon. Shirtless with only his trousers on and I had my chemise and pantaloons. We were just kissing and some light petting. Nothing too serious that Klaus might find out.
"I could stare in your eyes forever..." He sighed as he caressed my hair.
"Hmmm..." I said and breathed deeply. It felt nice being with someone who adored you. Someone so handsome, beautiful even.
"I wrote a poem for you." He said and I stared at him, smiling. "You did?"
"Yes..." George said proudly and gave smile. "It's called She Walks in Beauty." He moved to kiss me and I kissed him right back.
"It's still in the works though..." He sighed. George then looked gently at me. "Will you run away with me?"
"Are you crazy?" I stared at him and laughed softly. "My husband will hunt you down. And he will kill you in the cruelest way possible."
"I would be willing to risk it. To die for love..."
"You are such a child." I said and smiled at him. I touched the corners of his mouth and then his perfect chin. He looked like he had been sculptured from Marble. He was beautiful, like Eros himself.
"I'll recite to you the first few lines..." George said with a smile. "She walks in beauty, like the night...Of cloudless climes and starry skies..."
"It sounds beautiful." I said softly.
"I will love you Eleanna till my dying breath..." George spoke and looked at me. He sounded so sure, so serious, so passionate.
"Oh George, sweet George..." I said and kissed him again. Poets… I sighed inwardly, Always lost in their own melodrama. "Please do not speak another word for I fear that you might give me a splitting migraine."
Of course, it was all talk. He had fallen in love with another soon enough. Lord Byron became the scandal of London when his affair with Lady Caroline Lamb, who was a married woman, became public. I laughed when I heard it but I would cry later, when I heard news of his death in 1824. He died of sepsis when he was wounded in the battlefield. George had gone to war fighting the Ottoman armies for the Greek Independence.
I never knew why he did that. He wanted to run away from his life in London and became quite the bohemian nomad. Restless and lost, wandering everywhere trying to find something that could make him whole. He was suffering from depression. Cursed to be locked away in his melancholia. Lord Byron was like the male version of me. Crazy, passionate, sad and lonely creatures we both were.
We were like kindred spirits, George and I. He wrote to me constantly, calling me his Beloved Soul. He told me in his letters once that he wished I had loved him as much as I did Klaus. I said that the love I shared with Klaus was like darkness. The darkness that I had inside of me. One I never understood and I fear yet I was so drawn to. And he wrote a poem about that too, one aptly entitled, 'Darkness'
When I first met Arthur Wellesley, he wasn't the famous Duke of Wellington yet. But there was just something about him that caught my eye. So serious looking, he barely smiled. He had a noble mien about him. Strong and silent. The warrior that he was, a decorated war hero heralded by everyone. He was a Major General who had led men in battles in India, where his brother Richard was the Governor General, expanding the Empire. In 1805 he was in London, engaged to the lovely Kitty Pakenham but yet to be married.
I was at Vauxhall with Klaus and the girls. Lexie and Amanda were with us. No one would dare shun Amanda anymore. Klaus would not have it. So society treated her like they would any rich gens du couleur. With a cool, polite but distant manner. Arthur Wellesley was there with his brothers. Dressed in his gentleman clothes and not the regimental red of the British army. Ah…the way he looked at me, like a hawk. He was thirty five then, a true English gentleman, tall and handsome with brown hair, green eyes and an aquiline nose. When I began to read Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice that was to be published years later, I had always pictured Mr Darcy to look exactly like Arthur Wellesley, who would end up to be my secret lover in the years to come.
We were introduced and he bowed, polite and distant. Klaus was making conversations with the Earl of Mornington, the general's brother. I smiled at Arthur Wellesley but he gave a solemn look back. I was taken aback by his rather arrogant demeanor and his stern countenance. I rolled my eyes and took my fan. I was a Duchess, and he the untitled fourth son of an Earl. I didn't really care that he was knighted just recently. How dare he not smile at me?
"It is such a warm summer…" I remarked, imitating the imperious tone, that most of the higher ranked aristocrats used in speech, as I fanned myself.
"Yes…" He suddenly spoke. "It reminds me of India."
I was surprised that he suddenly talked, even though it sounded rather stony and he wasn't looking at me. I smiled at him sweetly.
"How is India anyway? I've heard such fascinating tales. I would love to visit it one day with the Duke of course. But he's simply too busy…" I sighed.
I looked at Klaus who was laughing with the Earl. Several other nobles had joined their conversations. I recognized them to be members of the Tory party from the House of Lords and Commons. My husband was having such a good time, I guessed he had forgotten about me.
"India is a very strange country Your Grace, very different from England. But She is beautiful in her own way." He spoke.
"Tell me more about it Lord Wellesley…" I said. He looked at me and I saw a smile that formed on his face. It was very rare but there it was. It made his otherwise stern face looked even handsomer.
He took my arm and we walked about in the grand assembly halls, before heading to the gardens. I listen fascinated as he described India and all her Majesty in the baritone of his.
"It sounds wonderful…" I sighed and smiled at him. Lord Wellesley smiled back and spoke. "But still it is not home to me. I feel fortunate to be back here. Back home."
I suddenly saw the sadness in his eyes. "What is wrong?" I asked.
"Some of my bravest man did not survive the battles…" He spoke. I kept quiet hearing that and I touched his hand squeezing it. He looked at me, his green eyes staring straight into mine. Our eyes locked for a while. And then of course, I had to say something rather inappropriate to offend the man.
"I am sorry for your loss. But the natives have a right to defend their land Lord Wellesley. We are encroaching on their territory."
"Madam…" He spoke in a surprised tone and stared at me. Lord Wellesley took his hand away from mine. I saw it in his eyes, he was not happy.
"This expansion of the Empire comes at an unfortunate cost. We are conquering sovereign lands belonging to others. It is not right. Surely you agree with me."
"My men died for Great Britain! For King and country!" Lord Wellesley snapped.
"For the King's greed you mean." I said and fanned myself. My politics was getting the better of me. Klaus had warned me against it.
"What you just said could be seen as treason Your Grace." Lord Wellesley spoke sternly and stood up.
"If you feel that way..." I sighed. I then stared at him. "I'm sure you'll report me to the King then…who as we all know is sinking further into madness…"
"The expansion of the Empire is responsible for your lovely silk gowns and your frivolous fans and fancy balls. Yours and the Duke's increasing wealth and his trades to India are largely improved because of it," Lord Wellesley grounded angrily.
"While you're having a ball of a time in your large estate my men lied dying in the Indian heat!"
I gasped hearing that and covered my mouth with the fan. That was not a gentlemanly thing to say and how dare he raised his voice at me…I would have Klaus ripped out that arrogant head of his. Lord Wellesley steadied himself for a while and I watched as his jaw was clenched. He then gave a curt bow.
"Good day Your Grace." He said coldly before he stormed away in a fury. I only heaved, exasperated by such a rude fellow and stayed in the gardens. Klaus came to look for me.
"There you are Darling," Klaus smiled and took my hand. "How was your conversation with the General?"
"He's an insufferable man Niklaus!" I spoke angrily. "I've never met such a proud, arrogant Arse in all my life! He's even worse than you."
Klaus only laughed and kissed my lips. "We want him to run for MP for the party."
I rolled my eyes. Of course, Arthur Wellesley, a Toryman. I was not surprised. "He will be the perfect Tory peacock."
I was very much surprised when the Lord Wellesley rode to mine and Klaus' large sprawling estate, Cambrian Hall one afternoon, weeks later. He came unannounced and my husband was away at the time. I didn't know where Klaus went, but he had said that he needed to meet a few witches who claimed they could help break the curse without the need for a doppelganger. He brought his three concubines with him, the three gorgeous beauties who were also his bodyguards.
"The Major General, Lord Arthur Wellesley Your Grace…"
The elderly butler, Addison announced when I was sitting in my large swing in my lovely sun room. It was like a greenhouse, where there were flowers and exotic plants, a pond right in the middle and a cockatoo. I was surprised hearing it. I turned to look and there he was, the tall, insurmountable, proud Major General. He bowed to me.
"Your Grace…" Lord Wellesley greeted me. I nodded and Addison left.
"The Duke is not here Lord Wellesley if you wish to see him…" I said lazily and read my book, determined to ignore the man as much as I could. I did not like him at all.
"No I'm not here to see His Grace." He said in that solemn tone of his. "I'm here to see you. To offer my humblest most sincere apologies to you…"
I just looked at him, surprised that he would even apologize.
"It was highly inappropriate and extremely rude of me. I was out of line…" Lord Wellesley said humbly. "My emotions got the better of me. "
"So you're not here to drag me to prison are you?" I asked him with such nonchalance. He stared at me, surprised and lost. "For my treasonous words…" I continued.
"Of course not…" Lord Wellesley stumbled and cleared his throat. "I know that you and His Grace are the King's most loyal subjects."
I smiled hearing that and looked at the General. Strange that he seemed nervous when he was always so sure of himself. "You should stay for dinner Lord Wellesley," I said. "Cook will be serving lobster. It's my favorite dish."
It was a quiet dinner. The girls were away again, spending the week in Bath with friends. The large dining room only had me and the Colonel and the servants of course. Oh My…What a scandal if word got out. The married Duchess alone, unchaperoned with a bachelor in her grand house. It would be like that of the Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire and Lord Charles Grey.
"How is your fiancée?" I asked Lord Wellesley who had been stonily silent. I wondered what went through his mind. He seemed far away.
"She is well Your Grace…" He spoke. I groaned hearing that. "Please. Enough with the titles. I beg you to call me by my name. Elly…"
"Elly…" He said and gave a smile. "And you may call me Wesley if you wish Your Grace…"
I frowned and he laughed. "I mean Elly…" He corrected.
I smiled hearing it. He had such a nice laughter. Deep and rich laughter that seemed to dance about in the room. Wesley was his actual surname before they changed it to Wellesley and only people close to him would call him that as opposed to his Christian name, Arthur. I then looked closely at him.
"You are too serious Wesley..." I commented.
"I've seen too much to take things lightly anymore." Wesley sighed.
"Such severity on one's outlook will surely take a toll on you." I said softly.
"I do not have the luxury of youth as you do…" He said and smiled at me. I laughed hearing it. If only he knew how old I was.
"Are you mocking me?" Wesley asked, eyes just staring at me.
I stopped laughing and covered my mouth as my chuckles died down. I smiled acidly at him. "No of course not… I would never mock a decorated war hero…"
He looked at me and I saw a smile forming on his stern serious face. "I'm just jesting with you Elly."
We retired in the grand drawing room, one Klaus had fashioned from the palace in Versailles, with painted ceilings, huge crystal chandeliers, furniture from the Baroque period. I sat on the pianoforte playing some pieces from Mozart. I didn't realize of course that the Lord Wellesley was standing behind me. I felt him bending down and he kissed my neck, breaking whatever proper protocol. He nibbled and licked and his kisses grew fervent and needy. Maybe he got tired of playing games, recognizing the strong sexual attraction that was sizzling through between us.
I stopped playing the piano and just leaned back, against him. His large, callused, battle weary hands cupped my breasts. It was so brazen of him but he squeezed it and flickered the nipple with his thumb. I gasped when he pushed the sleeves of my gown down and I was naked from the waist up. He turned me around and I watched as he knelt and took my breast in his mouth and started suckling it and then the other as I brought his head closer to me.
"Oh God…" I moaned. The pleasure was too much and the fact that it was so wrong made it even more arousing.
"Have you ever made love on a pianoforte Your Grace?" Wesley asked, a glint in his eyes.
"My husband will kill you…" I said and stared at him.
The Lord Wellesley only smiled and gave a smirk. "I'm a Major General. I'm sure I can best the Duke if there was ever a duel…"
He then moved to kiss me in passionate possessive way and carried me as I sat on the keys of the pianoforte. He pulled his breeches down and hiked my dress up. I didn't know why but I was so nervous. To make love to a man not my husband. Could I really do it? I pushed him gently away.
"No…" I shook my head. "I can't."
"But you want to…" Wesley spoke, his tone gone low and raspy even. He stared straight at me.
I saw the passion and lust brimming in his eyes. Oh God…I had never been so tempted. Not even with Anthony or Kael. Maybe just this once… But I couldn't. Klaus did have his mistresses, I should be allowed to have a lover, a real lover not some silly kisses and just kisses as I did with Lord Byron. I pushed him away and adjust my dress. But of course, I supposed he was already too aroused to accept rejection. Wesley pulled me back as I walked away.
"Don't walk away from me!" He commanded in that authoritarian general's voice he had used on his men. I was irritated to no end. How dare he? I was a Duchess, the wife of Klaus, a powerful Original vampire.
I faced him and glared daggers into his eyes and he did the same, challenging me with his dark green gaze. "Unhand me Sir!"
Wesley gave a smile and kissed me. He pushed me down the chaise lounge. I turned my cheek away but he didn't care, I felt his fingers spreading to the top of my thighs and probing my intimate folds. I moaned in pleasure to have him touch me there.
"You've been a naughty girl Your Grace…" He whispered huskily. "You can't just play and tease and get away with it…"
"Oh Yes…" I moaned when he probed two fingers in and started moving deft strokes inside me. "More…" I whimpered and he moved his fingers faster.
"Cum for me…" He whispered and I did. I really did. I bit my lip to contain my scream and then he removed his hand and replaced it with his massive manhood.
I closed my eyes as he moved deep inside me. It felt so good. I finally did it. After eight hundred years, I finally made love to a man not my husband in body or soul. Klaus was going to have my head and Wesley's. I looked at the Lord Wellesley seeing his face contorted in such passion as he let himself go. He was such a disciplined man to see him lose control was very, very arousing and that I had made him do it, was even more so. He grunted and groaned and released himself. I rested on top of him after wards.
"You're a dead man General…" I sighed and smiled at him.
He really was. Klaus would have his heart and I would be given the worst punishment ever. I was the adulterous wife who had betrayed him. Wesley just sat there breathing heavily probably coming to grips with what he had just done and what had transpired between us.
"Where did you get that one?"
I pointed to the scar on right underneath his chest and asked Wesley as we lied in bed later. I thought it would be safer to spent the night in one of the many unused guestrooms. He had several scars on him. His leg, his abdomen and other parts of his well toned body. He looked so different from Klaus who had grown pale in the English climate. Wesley had a acquired a tan from his days in India.
"Knife wound…" He sighed. "Not in battle though." Wesley said with a smirk. "A fight in the tavern when I was eighteen…"
He moved and kissed my shoulder and ran fingers through my hair. "Probably that's how old you are now…"
"Oh…" I uttered. "You have no idea how old I am. I'm ancient…" I said and gave a wink. "I doubt so..." Wesley said, pulling me closer and kissed my lips.
"Do you love the Duke?" He asked me, eyes just studying mine. I nodded and sighed as I thought of Klaus. "Of course I do. He's my husband…"
"I love Kitty too…" Wesley spoke of his fiancee. He then stared at me. "But I saw you that day…"
"In Vauxhall Gardens?" I asked him, the place where we first met.
"No in the Opera early in the season. You were wearing this red gown and you had rubies on your neck. Sitting in the private booth with your husband and his concubines…I was watching you."
"You were?" I was surprised and just looked at him. I tried to remember which Opera it was.
Wesley nodded. "I just returned to London and Kitty wanted to see the Opera. And then I saw you and I forgot all about my fiancée."
"I have that effect on men…" I said unabashedly and move closer before kissing him. I pulled my lips away but he wouldn't have it and kissed me more. I giggled and he pinned me down on the bed.
"You are perfect in every way Your Grace…" Wesley whispered seductively in my ear and kissed me deeply.
I felt him nudging his knee to part my legs. He was going to have me again. I knew it. He bent and kissed me more and whispered in my ear. "Except maybe for your politics of course."
I gasped and bit my lip as I felt him entering me once again. Ah…How scandalous to have a real lover finally. A man who seemed older than me. Someone so dark and dominant in bed. Wesley did marry Kitty Pakenham about a year later. They went to Ireland where he was born and got married in a quiet ceremony. I even send them a wedding gift and of course we still continue with our illicit liaisons.
Lexie had finally fallen in love. She was nineteen years old in 1807. And the lucky man was the Honorable Matthew Jasper Branson. A wonderful, handsome young man. He was the eldest son of a lord and Klaus approved of course. Her large dowry would go to her future husband. And it was a very fine dowry at a hundred thousand pounds. The engagement was announced and printed in the news and a ball would be held at the Duke of Knighton's grand residence right across St James' Park.
All the socialites came and it was a grand affair. The engagement ball for the Lady Alexandra Smith, sister of the Duke. I was quite giddy from all the champagne and found myself in my bedroom. My husband was there making love to one of his concubines. I smiled watching as Klaus rutted in the room, Alonna beneath him, moaning loudly. She groaned, her long nails raked Klaus' back. Blood flowed. Klaus growled and his vampire's face came out and so did Alonna's. They bit each others' throat and Klaus drank from her as she did him. He pushed her away after he orgasmed and crawled up the bed.
Klaus pulled me in his arms and started to kiss me passionately. I moaned and kissed him but pushed him away. "Let me sleep Niklaus..." I groaned.
"No..." He murmured and kissed me more. Klaus pulled the sleeves of my gown of my shoulders and bared my breasts. "I need you Darling..."
"You're such an animal..." I sighed as he kissed my breasts and suckled the nipple. Almost ravenous in his passions for me.
"I'm a wolf..." Klaus laughed. "Who wants to mate with his wife."
I gasped when he turned me around and soon I was on all fours. Klaus entered me with such a sudden thrust that I whimpered like a whore in heat. He pounded at me and soon I reached my peak, screaming when Klaus released himself.
The door was opened and I turned to look. Mariah and Letitia came in smiling at us. They took off their dresses and were soon naked before us. Their heavily jeweled necklaces and chandelier earrings where the only things they had on. Klaus grinned at them and kissed each of them passionately. He was insatiable as always. He made love to each of us at least twice before retiring at dawn. The concubines left to sleep in their own rooms with their other human lovers that they had compelled, while I rested in Klaus' arms.
"I love you Elly..." Klaus whispered as he fell asleep. I smiled hearing that and snuggled closer to the man, I would belong to forever.
I did not feel one bit guilty that I had betrayed Klaus with another man. I didn't see how serious it was. I let him have his concubines. Why shouldn't I have a secret lover? And it was just sex. I didn't love Wesley. Klaus was still the Love of my life. He will always be. Of course my husband did not share the same sentiment and I was about to find out the extent of his wrath and anger. I was smiling to myself that morning after breakfast. Wesley had written to me, calling me his Naughty Duchess, which I was. So very naughty. He had wrote to me, describing all the things he would do to me the next time he comes to visit. I would be punished and it made me blushed.
Klaus had been studying me the entire time, seeing that I was too pleased with myself the past few months. I was also rather reluctant to make love with my husband lately and if I did I would just imagine that it was the Lord Wellesley dark head and aquiline nose and his piercing eyes when I look at Klaus. I nearly called Wesley's name out once while I was making love to Klaus, which thankfully I managed to stop myself. It would have been a death sentence to the formidable Major General.
"You've been very happy lately," Klaus remarked, an edge to his tone.
"Oh it's nothing Darling…" I said with a smile. "Must be Spring and all its bright weather…" I told him.
"You know I compelled Addison…" Klaus said and I stared at him, surprised that he compelled the elderly butler. "It was interesting really…he told me of a certain gentleman who was always calling on you, except he can't quite remember who it was."
"Addison is old my Love…he does not know what he is talking about."
"Do not think me a fool Eleanna!" Klaus roared. I trembled hearing it. Klaus looked at me, his pale blue eyes sharp as icicles. "Who is he?"
"I don't know what you're talking about!" I screamed back.
"Your lover Elly! Your human lover!" Klaus hollered and pushed the table with such force, it was flung several feet away.
"You're absurd…" I said and shook my head and moved away but Klaus managed to speed and he stood right in front of me.
"I tasted your blood Darling…I would know if someone had touch something that was mine." Klaus gritted as he moved close to me, his furious face right above mine. "I told you once that I'll make you suffer an eternity didn't I? If you ever betray me…"
"And so what if I did!" I shot back at him. "You have your lovers Niklaus! I let you have three of them right here in this house! I should be allowed to have mine!"
"Do you think I would allow myself to be cuckolded? By my own wife! In my own house!" Klaus seethed and grabbed me violently by the throat.
"I will hunt your lover down and kill his entire family and then I will kill everyone that you love…" He told me in that cold cruel tone. I was choking badly and I couldn't breathe. Klaus could crush my windpipe at any moment.
"Mama…" It was Lexie. She had come into the drawing room shocked that Klaus had gripped me by my throat. "Papa. What are you doing?"
"What is going on?" Lexie asked as she walked in, rushing to me. Klaus stared at her, loosening his grip on me and my eyes widened. "No! No Niklaus!"
I watched in horror as my husband speeded to Lexie and held her by her neck. Tears streamed down my face. Lexie gasped, choking and Klaus just stared at me. "Remember Elly, this is all your fault."
"No!" I screamed as I rushed to her. But it was too late. Klaus had snapped her neck and let her fall to the ground. Lexie lied there, motionless and dead. I screamed so loudly and shook my head as I cradled her body in my arms.
"No…no…no…" I sobbed horribly. Not Lexie Please.
Klaus stared down at me. I could not believe he just did that. Killed a girl he had raised as his own in cold blood because I was unfaithful. No hint of remorse or regret in his face. He did not even appear sad. Just stoned cold. I stared up at him and realized that he was really a monster. That was when my hatred for him that I thought had long gone, came back with a furious vengeance. I had married a monster who would kill his child. Klaus then left the room and I held Lexie's body in my arms.
About an hour later I was shocked when Lexie stirred and gasped, coming back to life. I then realized that Lexie had ingested vampire blood. I didn't know whose but it didn't matter. She was back, she survived. My dear, sweet Lexie.
"Mama…what happened?" She asked me and touched her neck.
"It's okay…" I spoke and hugged her. "It's going to be alright Lexie."
I fed her my blood and she went through the transition becoming a vampire. Lexie started crying. She remembered everything even what had happened when she was a little girl in France. She remembered seeing Klaus draining her parents and her young siblings of their blood and how he had massacred the villagers. Lexie cried in my arms as I held her. I later discovered that Amanda was found dead in her room, having been drained of blood. Lexie cried even more when she found Amanda's body. Klaus had to compel her to forget everything and to be his faithful Childe. He was her Sire afterall. Everything changed that day in 1807. Lexie no longer called me Mama and Klaus Papa. We would no longer be the happy family that we had been for the past sixteen years. I didn't think I could ever forgive Klaus for what he did and I did often wondered if maybe it was my fault too.