One last try

'Miss Ash, you should know that all vampires are not the same. Some come from older families of vampires and are stronger. I come from a family where there were many humans, so I'm weaker. Miss Estena belongs to one of the most powerful families, I can't do anything to her.'

Martha looked so desolate on saying that.

Well, difficult times call for innovative measures.

'Martha, fetch me your strongest pan.' She looked at me weirdly, but cooperated. 'Knock at the door and talk loudly, telling her about Gati. I'll surprise her from behind,' I said lifting the pan in my hands like a tennis racket. It was one of those cast-iron pans and was quite heavy.

As quick as she could, she sped up the stairs while I had already reached my room. I went in through the bathroom and unlocked the door. I peeped in and saw that she had already taken off her dress and was just in her lingerie. I waited for the knock and for Estena to open the door. She looked quite victorious and perhaps expected the love rival to be at the door, which is why she went to open the door undressed like that. She ruffled her hair and pinched her lips to make them look plump and red, probably to make people believe she had been busy having sex.

'Lady Estena, Mr Dawn's fiancee has come. Maybe you should leave,' Martha said, keeping her eyes down as she saw her with the flimsy coverings. She started wailing and I vaguely heard her say something about losing her job.

This was the opening I had been waiting for. Holding the pan tightly in my hands, I tip toed in. I cast a sideway glance at Dave who luckily was still clothed. I never thought that I would have to safeguard his dignity like that. A few more steps and I was directly behind her. I wouldn't want her to turn around and mess up her pretty face. I aimed and hit her on the right temple, trying to avoid the eye area.

I once attended a talk on self-defense and the coach had said that knocking someone out was an art, not a science. It had to do with the angle and force. Apparently, I was a good student as I saw Estena's eyeball roll backwards and without a groan, she bent slightly backwards and flopped on the ground like a rag doll. I felt like punching the air like a boxer who had won through Knock-out, but I guessed that was not the moment.

I expected that Martha would be shocked to see me being so violent, but when I looked at her she was grinning. 'I wish I could have done that,' she said, making me smile too.

I gave her back the pan. There was no dent in it, it really was a good pan, but I wondered if Martha would still want to use it to prepare the meals.

Now what next?

'You take care of Mr Dawn. I'll take her to her room,' Martha said. And she pulled Estena over her shoulder like a sack of potato. She was stronger than she appeared, that dear woman.

I picked up her dress and went to Estena's room. Martha had already tucked her into bed.

'She won't remember anything in the morning?' she asked me.

'I hope so, Martha.'

I really hoped that she would not remember anything, but to be on the safe side, we had to come up with a valid story. She might not remember the night's incident, but she would recall her initial plan for sure and would wonder how she reached her bed.

'If she asks anything, we can tell her she tripped on the stairs when she was helping Dave reach his room.' The shorter we kept the lie, the less risks we faced of getting caught.

'But won't she ask why she's only in her underwear? We'll make her wear the dress,' I suggested. It wasn't that difficult as her dress were mainly a few scraps of cloth attached by strings.

Now we just had to wait until the next day to know the results. In the meanwhile I decided to go back to Dave's room, but before I left, I took Estena's ring with me. I wanted to have it checked before giving it back to her. I felt a bit cheap and guilty after doing that, but then I thought of what Estena had been ready to do and felt slightly better.

In the room, I took off Dave's shoes and tried to pull him more firmly in the middle of the bed. His eyes were still open, but I knew he wouldn't remember anything of this night. I caressed his hair and moved the strands which had covered his eyes. Even drugged, he still was so irresistible. I gave him a small peck on his lips and felt so frustrated that he couldn't return it.

I checked his temperature by touching his forehead, it was a bit cold and clammy to the touch and his lips was a bit dry. I took the pitcher of water on the bedside table and filled a glass. I tried to make him drink some water but his lips were not responsive and the water trickled down the side of his lips.

I went to the kitchen and fetched a spoon so that I could make him drink some water and on the way, I kept thinking. Dave was supposed to be able to read minds, so why did he not read through Estena's and guess what she was thinking? This could have averted so many problems.

After making him swallow some water, I covered him with a light blanket. I was on my way to my room, then thought better of it. What if his condition worsened during the night?

I pulled back the blanket and laid down next to him. I wrapped my arm around his waist like he used to do with me after my nightmares. I felt glad that I could take care of him, even though it was in such dire conditions.

I thought of the ring I had safely packed away in my underwear drawer. 'Let's hope that tomorrow brings some answers.'