The Vampire Maid | Page 3

black eyes, those moist scarlet
lips, and each morning I rose more languid than I had been the day
before. Sometimes I dreamt that she was kissing me with those red lips,
while I shivered at the contact of her silky black tresses as they covered
my throat; sometimes that we were floating in the air, her arms about
me and her long hair enveloping us both like an inky cloud, while I lay
supine and helpless.
She went with me after breakfast on that first day to the moor, and
before we came back I had spoken my love and received her assent. I
held her in my arms and had taken her kisses in answer to mine, nor did
I think it strange that all this had happened so quickly. She was mine,
or rather I was hers, without a pause. I told her it was fate that had sent
me to her, for I had no doubts about my love, and she replied that I had
restored her to life.
Acting upon Ariadne's advice, and also from a natural shyness, I did

not inform her mother how quickly matters had progressed between us,
yet although we both acted as circumspectly as possible, I had no doubt
Mrs Brunnell could see how engrossed we were in each other. Lovers
are not unlike ostriches in their modes of concealment. I was not afraid
of asking Mrs Brunnell for her daughter, for she already showed her
partiality towards me, and had bestowed upon me some confidences
regarding her own position in life, and I therefore knew that, so far as
social position was concerned, there could be no real objection to our
marriage. They lived in this lonely spot for the sake of their health, and
kept no servant because they could not get any to take service so far
away from other humanity. My coming had been opportune and
welcome to both mother and daughter.
For the sake of decorum, however, I resolved to delay my confession
for a week or two and trust to some favourable opportunity of doing it
discreetly.
Meantime Ariadne and I passed our time in a thoroughly idle and
lotus-eating style. Each night I retired to bed meditating starting work
next day, each morning I rose languid from those disturbing dreams
with no thought for anything outside my love. She grew stronger every
day, while I appeared to be taking her place as the invalid, yet I was
more frantically in love than ever, and only happy when with her. She
was my lone-star, my only joy--my life.
We did not go great distances, for I liked best to lie on the dry heath
and watch her glowing face and intsense eyes while I listened to the
surging of the distant waves. It was love made me lazy, I thought, for
unless a man has all he longs for beside him, he is apt to copy the
domestic cat and bask in the sunshine.
I had been enchanted quickly. My disenchantment came as rapidly,
although it was long before the poison left my blood.
One night, about a couple of weeks after my coming to the cottage, I
had returned after a delicious moonlight walk with Ariadne. The night
was warm and the moon at the full, therefore I left my bedroom
window open to let in what little air there was.

I was more than usually fagged out, so that I had only strength enough
to remove my boots and coat before I flung myself wearily on the
coverlet and fell almost instantly asleep without tasting the nightcap
draught that was constantly placed on the table, and which I had always
drained thirstily.
I had a ghastly dream this night. I thought I saw a monster bat, with the
face and tresses of Ariadne, fly into the open window and fasten its
white teeth and scarlet lips on my arm. I tried to beat the horror away,
but could not, for I seemed chained down and thralled also with drowsy
delight as the beast sucked my blood with a gruesome rapture.
I looked out dreamily and saw a line of dead bodies of young men lying
on the floor, each with a red mark on their arms, on the same part
where the vampire was then sucking me, and I remembered having
seen and wondered at such a mark on my own arm for the past fortnight.
In a flash I understood the reason for my strange weakness, and at the
same moment a sudden prick of pain roused me from my dreamy
pleasure.
The vampire in her eagerness had bitten a little too deeply that night,
unaware that I had not tasted the drugged draught. As I woke I saw her
fully revealed by