Free Bathory's Secret: When All The Time In The World Is Not Enough (Affliction Vampires Book 1) by Romina Nicolaides Page B

Latin books so you won’t have to interrupt your studies while I’m gone. I will be back after the holiday and we can pick up where we left off, though I think as far as Latin is concerned you don’t need me for much more. You’ve shown an exceptional thirst for knowledge and more aptitude for the language than I ever expected of you and it has paid off.
    God be with you.
    Oriana.
     
     
    Overjoyed, Kati pushed the letter to her chest and grinned. Here was proof that in a few months she had learned to read in an ancient language. I can read, I can read! She told herself again and again as if the months of incessant practice had not convinced her in the slightest.
     
    Looking at the letter again, she folded it and put it inside the book which she placed at the bottom of the laundry basket, piling the dirty clothes on top, and headed for her room to immediately hide it.
     
    Unsure of who had access to her bedroom she thought that under the mattress would be an obvious hiding place for a book, especially if someone other than herself was to change the sheets. Looking around the small sparse room she was stumped. Lying back on her bed wondering what to do, her eyes fell on the exposed ceiling beams. Using the chair in the room she was still too short to reach, and looked around for anything that would help add height.
     
    Seeing the laundry basket, she stuffed it really well with clothes and placed it upside down on two chairs which she arranged to face each other. Tentatively stepping on the bottom of the basket she feared the delicate woven structure was going to give in at any second but to her relief it was stronger than it appeared and the clothes inside gave it support. Quickly she tucked the book between two joining beams and got down to check that it wasn't visible. Relieved that she had stashed it safely away she returned the chairs to their place and went to the yard to continue with her chores.
     
    The sheets all hung in a neat line drying. Mačka was enjoying playing with the frayed corner of one of them, flicking the water off himself every now and again when he got too saturated. When he got bored of getting wet, he sat on the rim of the well and proceeded to wash himself thoroughly, paying particular care to the area behind his ears with his little paws. The days had grown longer and warmer and he enjoyed sleeping in the sun.
     
    The barn having been emptied and cleaned, Kati sat on the entrance step and took a little break. It well past lunchtime, she thought, and judging by the last time the chapel bell had gone off it must have been around three in the afternoon. Returning to her room she found lunch waiting for her as usual and after finishing that she took a nap. The six o’clock bell ring woke her and she sat up feeling fuzzy and disoriented. The irregular hours she kept here at the castle were still playing havoc with her body.
     
    Oriana’s letter playing heavily on her mind, she looked up at the beams feeling relieved that the book was so well hidden. Getting up off the bed she went straight to the Library. The room was empty and cold in contrast to the vivacity the four girls brought to it. Approaching the bookshelf she felt her breathing quicken. The Library was vast and she had no idea where to begin, but she remembered how one of the girls always approached the far right section when they would be reading the “classics,” which, as Oriana had explained to her, were important Roman authors. After passing several books with titles she didn't recognize she came across one that said “Thesaurus”. With trembling hands she opened the cabinet and took it out. Opening it, she was delighted to see that every word she knew in Latin was explained by one or several others also in Latin. Her jaw dropped at this treasure and she flicked page after page refusing to believe her eyes.
     
    “What on earth do you think you are doing?” The voice was unmistakable and Katalina unwittingly held her