The Mask of the Vampire by Paul Halter

Author:Paul Halter [Halter, Paul]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-03-31T21:00:00+00:00

23

AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE

October 24

The next morning, a partly cloudy sky allowed a few rays of sunshine to filter through, which was beneficial to Ann, who had gone out for some fresh air after breakfast. The effect was calming after the turmoil of the last few days. The memories of the tragic events merged in a troubling manner with her feelings, and she felt buffeted like a frail craft in the middle of a tempest. She didn’t know where she was as she tried in vain to organise her thoughts and calm her burning heart, which became inflamed at the slightest spark.

She thought about Elena and their tender friendship, inevitably but cruelly snuffed out by the return of her husband. Five or six days had gone by, during which she had seen her friend be extinguished like a dying flame, unable to rid herself of the strange sickness overtaking her, almost unable to eat. The transformation was all the more astonishing because Elena had seemed overjoyed to see her Dorian again. On the rare occasions that the two friends had managed to meet alone, she had taken Elena into her arms and softly kissed her pale cheeks. Her friend had not rejected her, but the passion that had existed between them was gone. It was understandable that Dorian’s presence would put an end to their adventure, even though Elena had said that nothing could come between them. But now she appeared listless, not desirous of anything, as if life was inexorably draining out of her, and nothing or no one could stop it.

Dorian scarcely seemed to notice, probably attributing his wife’s state to the surrounding gloom. In that regard, he seemed blind to her but dazzled by a new light. And she knew what that new light was: herself. From the moment they exchanged their first looks, she had sensed that there was something between them, and she was sure he felt the same way. Adversity, ironically, had driven them closer together, particularly during the previous evening, after the investigators had left.

Dorian, Elena and she had spent the evening together in the salon, consoling each other with glasses of sherry. When her friend went upstairs to sleep, she had found herself alone with Dorian, who described the ordeal he had suffered since his arrival in the village; the tragic deaths of his previous wives; and the suspicions of the villagers about him.

As if to share in his misfortune, she had come closer to him on the sofa and rested her head on his shoulder. His smouldering look had broken down her resistance, and moments later they were exchanging passionate kisses... She had lost all self-control, abandoning herself to a passion all the more intense from having been bottled up for several days. Her body experienced hitherto unknown shivers, gentle and violent at the same time. Her cheeks, her lips, and her neck were burning under Dorian’s kisses. Her throat pulsed with a pleasure so intense that she had cried out. At

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