Chapter 10: Lesson One

The next week was terribly long for Charlotte. Not just because she had to busy herself with tedious tasks with an injured hand, but because she was anxious to speak with Lord Hunt again. The cycle continued the next day as though they had never had their talk. Every afternoon that Lord Hunt issued out his task list, Charlotte swore she caught his eyes lingering on her for a second longer than they did anyone else.

When at last it was her turn to offer blood again, she found herself eager to have a moment alone with him. Although, she did have to admit that being made to wait twelve days instead of just a single week was a little irritating. Lord Hunt had promised her a meeting once a week and had yet to follow through with that promise. If he had meant for it to be two weeks, then that was what he should have said, she felt. It was just something else that she intended to talk to him about when he finally showed up to her room.

Just as he had nearly two weeks prior, Lord Hunt arrived at ten o'clock that night. This time when Charlotte pulled the door open, he held nothing in his hands. Instead, they were folded behind his back. This had her hesitate at the door, unsure what the reason was behind this. Surely the last time he fed on her had been nothing more than a stunt that went a little unplanned to try and shake her nerves.

"Don't worry," Lord Hunt said as though he could read her mind. "I have things set up already. Tonight we'll head out to the gardens."

She raised a brow to this news. "Aren't the gardens forbidden for us servants to enter?"

His smile was tight while he motioned for her to follow him. "Yes, but you've already broken that rule, haven't you? There'd be no better place for us to have privacy to talk since the others don't break my rules."

"That's another thing, you said a week. It's been almost two weeks," Charlotte responded. She finally moved past her hesitation, only to cross her arms.

"Would you rather we not discuss anything?" Lord Hunt questioned, arching his own brow.

As polite as he was most of the time, he had ways of doing things that could get under someone's skin. These little tests of patience and challenges that Charlotte caught him doing, were annoying. But she knew that if she argued with him, he could just as easily change his mind. The last time they had spoken, Charlotte seemed to catch him in a mood to share. She had a feeling he would snatch that opportunity away if he was pushed too much.

"Lead the way, then," she said after a pause. Giving up her argument for now, she dropped her arms to her side and waited to follow after him.

She followed behind him to the floor below her own. Just as she had found them, about two weeks ago, he led her to the pair of glass doors. Charlotte wasn't sure what to expect once they got into the gardens. It was already off his routine to be bringing her to a location that was off limits. She wondered if he ever did little things like this with the other servants. Although his statement about none of them breaking his rules had her convinced otherwise.

It left the question as to whether or not anyone else had ever pressed him for his story. Or if they had just simply accepted the mystery that surrounded him and his castle. Charlotte wouldn't be surprised if some of them had just gotten too caught up in the idea of being a vampire's servant to care how he conducted himself. Maybe, the reason was that Lord Hunt liked the challenge more than he led on. That would explain why he was always pressing on her nerves.

They stopped at the end of the pathway, the same place Charlotte had found him before. Just a few feet in front of them was the large, circular stone fountain. Lord Hunt indicated that he was already set for her donation of blood for the night, but when they arrived she didn't see any signs of the knife nor the matching chalice. In fact, all that was waiting for them was a couple of neatly folded, fresh bandages which sat on the edge of the fountain.

"I thought you said you had everything ready?" Charlotte asked. She was the first to approach the fountain, observing the bandages before she turned back to look at him.

"Yes, we have all we need. You wish to learn more about the history of Willow Creek and I promised to give you a share of my knowledge. In exchange, I'll need to feed," Lord Hunt explained calmly.

"Are you doing this just to get under my skin? None of that was in the terms of your contract. I was told you don't feed off your servants directly," Charlotte questioned. These games were becoming irritating to her. She just didn't understand why he agreed to things when he intended to see how far he could push her.

"Proving a point, is all," Lord Hunt said coolly. He made a quick approach to where she stood and stopped in front of her.

Charlotte wasn't able to question him what he meant because just as he drew close enough to her, he took hold of her and pulled her closer to him. An arm slid around her waist to hold her in place, while the other hand came to take a firm hold of her chin. Charlotte's lips fell open in surprise to the sudden change in the distance between them, but words failed her in that moment.

Her hesitation didn't seem to matter, nor did it slow him down for a second. Just as quickly as she had reacted, Lord Hunt used the grip of her chin to pull her head to an angle and leaned in. In the next few seconds, his lips were pressed to her skin just below her jaw. The hand that held her chin in place tightened in order to keep her from jerking away from him. She could feel the brush of his long hair falling across her shoulder. Her heart pounded in her chest and heat rushed to her cheeks.

"Does this not make you uncomfortable?" Lord Hunt whispered into her skin.

Charlotte closed her eyes and swallowed. Uncomfortable wouldn't be the word she would use. The last time he had placed his lips on her skin, it left a tingling sensation and had sent shivers down her spine when she thought of it. It wasn't as though she had never been touched before, but it was the way he did that made it different. Which was something else that she found to be troubling because Charlotte had never wanted to be on the receiving end of a vampire's touch. His had only just recently made her begin to question that.

"Do you intend to harm me, Lord Hunt?" Charlotte asked quietly and only opened her eyes after a pause.

Now he hesitated, freezing in place without a word. Charlotte wondered if she had struck a nerve with her words or if he was considering that option. Finally, he released her and took a few steps away from her. His eyes met hers and just as she had seen on that night two weeks ago, there was a mournful look in his gaze. Had she hurt him by asking him that?

"I came to Willow Creek in the late 18th century. Back then, it was a flourishing little town. At the time, I was only passing through the countryside," Lord Hunt said suddenly and he turned his back to her as he spoke. "I didn't decide to stay here permanently until after I met the Lady of the town. That is–the founder's daughter."

"What was her name?" Charlotte asked. She was a little bewildered by the sudden change of mood, but she wasn't going to interrupt him if he was willing to share his history. Even if it was just a little piece.

"Lady Serina Bennett, you can read about her in the local records, I'm sure. She was not like any other lady I had met before. That was why I decided to take residency here and the reason this castle was built," he explained.

"If she was the reason, then you must've been close," she mused.

"If you want information on her lineage and the accomplishments she made in Willow Creek, I can provide that to you. But as I said… that's as far as this goes," he said and finally turned to look at her.

She watched him for a moment, considering what he had said so far. The look in his eyes then made sense to her as though a light had gone off in her head. He must have had some sort of relationship or at least romantic connection to Lady Bennett, otherwise he would not have said what he did. The reason he didn't want to tell that story was because it made him uncomfortable. Why? She wasn't sure why talking about someone you cherished so much could be uncomfortable. Unless, things had not worked out in the end. That was just her guess though. Without being able to confirm it with him, she had no real way of knowing the truth.

Charlotte sighed, straightening up where she stood. If his game was to play eye for an eye or rather have her experience what he thought might make her uncomfortable, it only made sense to return the favor. So with a quick lick of her lips, she slowly reached up to pull at the collar of her shirt. Just enough to expose more of her neck and collarbone for him. Sometimes, she thought, being uncomfortable was necessary.