Once Johnathan swung the heavy oak and iron door shut behind him, he placed his back against the cold stone wall and let out a sigh. He hadn't understood why the man he'd paid to take him up here had been so adamant that he'd be turning his carriage around shortly before sundown. Johnathan had rather assumed that the man had seen a stranger appear in town and decided that this would be a perfect chance to charge triple his usual rate. It wasn't until the sun was almost down and the wolves had started to howl that Johnathan had realized that he really should have waited until the next morning to ride to the castle. Still, he'd made it here in one piece and had somehow managed to keep his bag with him in his haste. It would have been a wasted trip if he'd lost the documents that the countess would need to facilitate her relocation to London.
Johnathan pushed away from the wall as another howl split the air, prompting a wry smile to form on the man's face at the thought of the wolves' disappointment at being denied their meal. He was just grateful that the countess had been kind enough to instruct him to let himself in when he reached her home. The letter had suggested she preferred to do business in the evenings so Johnathan wasn't entirely certain he'd find her up yet and he certainly wasn't going to go searching the castle for a lady's bedchambers. Mina wouldn't enjoy hearing about that in his letters, that much was certain. Of course, posting said letters was going to be more difficult now. He'd sent one off when he arrived in town to let her know that he'd arrived safely but if correspondence necessitated braving wolves and skittish carriage drivers he'd probably be better off waiting and sending her another letter as he began his return journey.
He removed his coat and found a spot for it near the door before proceeding into the building, helping himself to a candlestick that happened to be at hand and showing himself around. The scent of food caught his attention and he turned his feet to follow. Surely he was expected and he presumed that the countess wouldn't be far off if dinner was being served. A flickering fire in the dining room's fireplace, along with a multitude of candles illuminated the room. He approached the table but was loath to sit until he'd found his hostess.<|im_end|>
As Jonathan waited, hot steam and enticing aromas wafted from the food upon the table: freshly cooked meat and vegetables, warm bread, honey, butter, and wine all lay temptingly before him, and the sight and scents of it all served only to remind him how long it had been since he'd had a truly good meal. The journey from England to the Carpathian mountains had been a long one, and even though the taverns he'd stayed in had on occasion served good food, in memory they simply gelled into one mediocre meal, always in uneasy company and cramped surroundings. The castle may not have been in magnificent repair, but still it was spacious and warmed by an open fire, and the meal was more reminiscent of Mina's home cooking than of some tavern stew. Gratefully, he did not have long to wait before the countess made her presence known. Silently she ghosted down the stairs, her attire all lace and gossamer, and as black as the night sky. Her hair, too, was black; her lips a rich, blood red upon blanched, snow-white skin. She wore a long dress whose tails skirted the floor, and whose bodice clung tightly to gently curving hips, and full breasts. Her nails were long and pointed, painted red, and if she wore footwear at all they were hidden beneath the reach of her dress. When she spoke, her presence took him by surprise; one moment he had been waiting on her, the next she was slipping past him and into view, a polite, if mysterious smile on her blood red lips. "The food will not stay warm for long," she said, her voice intoned with the deep, sultry accent of Transylvania. As she spoke, the countess slid around the table and faced Jonathan across the steaming plates, before settling into a high-backed armchair and crossing one leg over the other. "Sit. Eat. I am Countess Cocula; you must be Mr. Harker, no?"<|im_end|>