Jane wrenched her eyes away from Dracula's and looked past him into the hallway. She swallowed hard as she saw rugs, a suit of armour, and a verdure tapestry. Her escape from the castle had all been in her mind. A deceptive fantasy put there by Dracula. She had been standing in the doorway of the bedroom the whole time.
Her first impulse was to burst into tears, but she would not give the monster that satisfaction. Dracula had fooled her. Totally and absolutely. She struggled to think of something to say to him. The demon's face was only inches from her own. He was so close that he could have sunk his teeth into her neck and killed her on the spot.
But he had not.
What he had done was release her from her mesmerised state. Why? There had to be a reason. She remembered what she'd said to him back at Ransome Park.
I suppose that's the only way you can control a woman.
Was that part of this?
'Then I was right,' Jane heard herself say. 'I said you could not know love through normal means. Your only way of receiving it would be through deception. You are a shameless charlatan.'
Dracula lowered his eyes. 'Join me downstairs. Have some food and something to drink.'
He turned and strode down the hall. Jane considered turning her back and locking herself in the room, but it seemed pointless. What would that achieve? He would only batter it down. And then what?
Jane trailed him down the corridor.
The red dress had been in her imagination. She still wore her clothing, but her weapons had been removed. She really was in a castle. Dracula must have mesmerised her again as she opened the door to leave. They reached the main hall. It was similar to what she had imagined in her dream, but not exactly the same. Perhaps she'd seen it when he brought her here. The dining room was large, with seating for twelve, but only one place was set.
A roaring fire bathed the room in a scorching heat. It was a blessing after the cold of the bedroom.
'Where is Cassandra?' Jane asked.
'She is about.'
'I demand to see her.'
'That may happen,' Dracula said, sitting at the head of the table. 'But you should eat first.'
Jane reluctantly slid into a seat. A woman appeared with a jar of red wine and a plate of meat and potatoes. Gazing at the woman, Jane realised she was the woman from the inn. The one she had seen in her dream.
Jane sifted through her memories.
I must have incorporated both the waking and sleeping worlds, she thought. God help anyone living in this mesmerised state. It's impossible to tell fact from fiction.
'Thank you,' Jane said to the woman.
She did not react.
'You may leave us,' Dracula told her, and the woman vanished through a doorway.
'Another slave?' Jane said.
'You should eat.'
Jane glanced down at the food. She was famished, and there was no telling how long it was since she had eaten. Forcing herself to eat slowly, she picked at the food, eating everything on her plate, and washing it down with the wine.
'Why am I here?' Jane asked.
'Is that a philosophical question?' A faint smile played on Dracula's lips. 'What is my place in creation? Or why have you brought me to this terrible place and plied me with food?'
'Why am I alive? Surely you slaughter everyone you meet.'
'Not at all,' Dracula said with a mask of wounded dignity. 'You don't understand me at all.'
'Then explain yourself.'
Now that Jane was sitting opposite him, she realised he really was a very good-looking man. Not exceptionally handsome, but he had a slightly foreign quality about him that made him look mysterious. Dracula's hair was jet-black, and his eyes were not as dark as she had first imagined: they were hazel. His hands were fine, with long porcelain fingers. His alabaster skin was the most remarkable oddity about him. No living person could have skin so pale or unblemished. His skin really was like bone.
'You're really very direct,' he said. 'I like that in people. Well, I've lived a very long time under many different names and in a great many places. The name I currently use is the one I adopted in Transylvania. My name then was Vlad Dracula. Are you familiar with that name?'
'I am not.'
'Probably for the best. My enemies cast terrible assertions against me. They said I committed horrible atrocities against my enemies.'
'And did you?'
'No more than any other.' Dracula shrugged. 'We were at war. Terrible things happen in wars.'
'But you have killed many people.'
'Yes.'
'Many hundreds. Even thousands over the centuries.'
'Most likely.' He paused. 'But I urge you, Jane, to see this as I do.'
'I doubt that will ever happen.'
He gave a small smile. 'I am a being of the ages,' he said. 'I do not live like other men. I haven't for thousands of years. I've watched men live and die. I've seen civilisations rise and fall. I've observed ancient lands shift and change.' He steepled his fingers. 'Can you imagine that, Jane? I've seen a river break its banks and form a new tributary. I've seen that tributary grow over decades into a raging torrent that has eventually served towns that have taken root upon its banks. Then I've watched that river die over time through some change in the landscape or the climate.'
Jane tried to imagine what that would be like, but she couldn't.
'You speak to me of human lives?' Dracula said. 'My goodness, I've seen babies born, grow up, and grow old, and I've stood at their gravesides. I've watched their own children live and die. And their children after them.
'I'm a traveller through time—a man of the ages. You can't expect me to regard a single life as holding any great power. Ordinary men and women are like flowers that grow in a field and last a single season before falling beneath the blast of winter.'
Jane leaned forward. 'Have you ever considered that God has granted you this life for a noble purpose? What if you were to use your abilities to help others? To make this world a better place?'
'Jane,' Dracula said. 'That is exactly what I intend to do.'