The Fourth Mistress

Music Recommendation: The Darkest of Days - Piotr Musial

.

Bright in the morning, Louise went to visit her parent's grave that lay in the local cemetery of Habsburg town. Graham had gone to look at the construction work, and she decided to travel by herself. She wore a black coat over her dress as she stood in front of their graves that lay next to each other. Because she had been only six when they passed away, she didn't have many memories of them, but she believed whatever time she had spent with them had been beautiful.

Placing the flowers on both the graves, Louise stood there for a while before stepping out of the cemetery.

As she mentioned to Lady Viola yesterday, Louise carried enough flowers for her parents and Graham's deceased wives. She knew for a person from outside, it would look odd, seeing her carry flowers for them. But she believed it would be rude not to offer flowers and pray for their souls.

Even though Louise didn't believe in ghosts, she did believe in luck being passed down from one person to another, which could be bad or good. After hearing the footsteps that night, she had turned a little weary. She wanted to offer the wives a truce, hoping they would watch over her and Graham.

On reaching Midville, Louise walked towards the large gates of the cemetery opened for visitors. The weather was gloomy, with heavy clouds in the sky. Spotting the caretaker of the cemetery, she made her way to him. On seeing her approach him, he stopped what he was doing, and his hands were supported by one end of the bow rake that stood upright.

"Good afternoon," greeted Louise, offering the old man a bow. The man bowed his head.

"Good afternoon," the old man answered, his voice slightly hoarse.

"I was looking for the graves that belonged to the Reed's family. Do you know where they are?" Louise politely asked, and the man looked at the graves.

"You can find them in the fifth row on the right," informed the man.

"Thank you," offering her thanks, Louise walked to the graves, and she found them.

The headstones were dark grey, and they were placed next to each other—Nancy Waltham, Johanna Leveson, Lisa Young. Bending down, Louise placed the flowers on each other before clearing the graves from the dried leaves. The truth was that she didn't know what to say to them, and she prayed for them to be in peace, hoping it would also bring peace to her mind.

Offering her prayers to each of them in order, Louise now sat in front of Lisa's grave. She couldn't help but feel pity for the women in the grave.

"Graham told me that you were very dear to him. You were loved and will always be," said Louise. "I don't mean to take your place, but only want to stand next to him."

After spending their time together yesterday, Louise felt closer to Graham. She wanted to be there for him and his family.

One of the dried leaves that was carried by the wind came to settle on the grave. Seeing this, Louise leaned forward to pick it up. Just when her hand reached it, a hand came from the bottom of the grave and caught hold of her wrist. A gasp escaped her lips, and her eyes turned wide. She tried to pull her hand away, but the hand didn't let go of her wrist.

The hand holding hers looked decayed with a dark greenish texture where she could see the bones.

The caretaker, who was collecting the dried leaves that had come to settle in the cemetery, noticed the young woman struggling, and he quickly went to where she was, "Are you alright, milady?" asked the caretaker.

By the time the caretaker arrived, Louise was on top of the grave, both her hands placed flat on the surface of the cemented grave.

Louise noticed the rotten hand that had caught her hand earlier had disappeared in thin air. Her palms turned cold, not understanding what happened. She quickly moved back, embarrassed to have been hovering over one of Graham's deceased wife's graves.

"I..I am okay," answered Louise.

The caretaker said, "You must have been very close to the person in there. People often break down here, losing people is hard."

Louise' hands clutched on her dress, and she got up, taking a step further away from Lisa Young's grave, the third wife of Graham. She wished she could explain what happened a few seconds ago, but it was as if she had imagined it.

She was thankful that the caretaker didn't think she was a crazy woman. The last thing she needed was word spreading about her climbing on top of a grave. Rubbing her hands, she introduced herself to the caretaker,

"I am Louise."

"Denis Svenson," the caretaker introduced himself and said, "I have never seen you here before."

"I don't live around here. I am from the town of Habsburg," answered Louise. "Mr. Svenson, if you don't mind me asking, for how long have you been working here?" she asked him.

"It must be around five years, milady. I used to work somewhere else, before I was transferred here to take care of this place," answered Mr. Svenson. "Many people think it is an odd job, but it is worth it, to think that as if you are the keeper to the living and the dead."

What a strange man, thought Louise to herself.

"Ah, there are only three graves here that belong to Reed's family. Do you know where the fourth one is?" she asked him.

"Four?" asked Mr. Svenson. He shook his head and said, "There are only three graves from Reed's family. I used to work in Warlington before, so I am positive that it is just three since the last one decade. Are you looking for people who belong to the older generation?"

"No," answered Louise, shaking her head and offering a smile to the man, "I must have been mistaken," she murmured. "Do you know why the caskets along with the body were shifted from Warlington to here? I heard something about the people being concerned."

"Oh, it was nothing much. The townsfolk believed that the graves located close to the centre of the town would bring ill luck, who lived. People should know that there's nothing to worry about, the living and the dead often live together," chuckled the old man, and Louise offered him a smile. "But what happened with these three women, it was sad."

"The death you mean?"

"Yes," Mr. Svenson nodded his head. "Nobody should die that young, it makes a person question what is stored in their fate."

"You must have met them then. These brides," Louise was careful and slow with her words, and the man nodded his head again.

The caretaker responded, "I do, but my memory has turned faint. They were like any other folks from the town and wealthy families. Are you close to the Reed's?"

Louise' lips pulled up, and she replied, "I am Graham's wife."

"Oh…" the man's eyebrows knitted together in thought. "So I see."

"Thank you for talking to me, Mr. Svenson," Louise bowed her head, and the man did the same.

"It was my pleasure, milady."

Louise later got into the carriage to leave from the town of Midville. On her way, she looked down at her hand, rubbing her wrist and wondering what happened in the cemetery. She looked outside the window, staring at the trees and then at the buildings. When she was crossing the town of Warlington, she caught sight of Graham's uncle Ernest Wensley.

He stood in front of another man, who was tall and looked brawny in appearance. It seemed like they were arguing about something in the middle of the street. What was he doing here?

Louise didn't ask the coachman to stop the carriage, and she continued her journey back to Reed's manor.

On returning to the manor, she was greeted by Gilbert at the door, who looked sleep deprived because of the expression on his face. She didn't know if she was overthinking, but there were times when she felt his eyes lingered longer in her direction.

"Welcome back, milady," Gilbert welcomed her in a dead tone.

"Has Graham returned?" she inquired with him.

"Not yet, milady. He must still be at the place of construction," replied Gilbert, and he asked her, "Would you like to have some evening tea?"

"No, I am fine. Thank you," Louise gave him a nod and he left the hall. She didn't want to fill her stomach with tea, when the time of dinner was near. While she started to walk, she ran into Molly, Graham's niece.

"Auntie Louise, you are back!"

The little girl came running towards her.

"Good evening, Molly. Look at those pretty ribbons," praised Louise, while placing her hand gently on the little girl's head. "Were you waiting for me?"

The little girl nodded her head, "I was hoping we could play hide and seek together!"

Louise smiled at the little one, knowing how lonely it might be to be the only young person in this big manor while the rest were all adults. "Where's your mummy?"

"She said she will join if you do. I asked the others, but grandmother said I should concentrate on my books rather than waste my time," the girl explained it with her slow and careful voice so that her complaint could be heard.

"Is that so? Did you finish reading?" asked Louise and Molly nodded her head vigorously. "Alright then. Two games shouldn't hurt. Why don't you get your mummy and I will be back in a few minutes, yes?"

"Yes!" the little girl dashed out of there in excitement.

After a few minutes, Louise stood with Alison and the small girl Molly. "It has been a while since I last played hide and seek," confessed Louise.

"That's fine. You can have the whole manor to hide except the bedrooms and the kitchen," replied Alison with a smile on her face. "Usually the servants play with her when the elders are not at home." That meant they did it without Viola's knowledge because they knew how strict she was when it came to things like this.

"More the merrier," replied Louise.

Curious, Louise asked, "What about Graham?"

Alison chuckled, "Getting him to play anything is hard. Maybe one day you can invite him," she suggested.

"Maybe I will," Louise answered with a smile.

"Since Auntie Louise doesn't know every place in the manor yet, how about both of you hide while I shall seek both of you," Alison suggested to her daughter.

"Yes, mummy!" Molly agreed excitedly, and Louise nodded her head because it would indeed give her time to know where to hide inside the manor.

"Remember now, no stepping out of the manor and we are playing only two rounds because after that we will need to go have dinner," said Alison. Louise smiled at the patient tone that Alison used with her daughter. Her voice was calm and sweet, the manner similar to Graham. "Once I start counting, you both can go hide."

Alison walked towards one of the walls, facing it. She brought both her hands to cover her eyes, "One, two, three, four..." she started to count.

Molly quickly ran out of there to hide, and Louise realized it was time. She turned around and made her way through the corridors while hearing her sister-in-law count the numbers. After quickly walking and taking lefts and rights, she ended up in front of a room. Louise opened the doors carefully before closing it behind her. She wondered which place was good to hide, under the bed or behind the door were places where the seeker often checked.

Alison had stopped counting after she reached the number twenty. Louise looked around as quickly as she could and spotted the closet. She tiptoed towards it. Opening the closet, she stepped inside and closed the door to make it appear as if she wasn't in the room.

A minute passed, then two that went to five minutes, and Louise stood in the nearly dark closet. The closet doors had little gaps in between, letting in light through the gaps of it. It made it easier to look at the floor of the room. A few minutes passed, and she then heard footsteps approaching the room, and she wondered if Alison was here. As expected, the door opened and in came the person, walking around the room while checking the backside of the curtains.

While the person continued searching for her, Louise tried to be careful with her breathing so that it wouldn't echo in the closet. Her eyes moved away from the gaps and fell on a dress inside the closet. Compared to the rest of the clothes, this looked bright because it was white, and on a closer look, she realized it was a wedding gown.

Hearing the footsteps get closer to the closet, she looked outside through the small gap. When she noticed a decayed hand that reached towards the knobs of the closet, Louise suddenly pushed open the door in force.

"Ouch!" Alison cried because the closet door hit her face.

Louise' eyes widened, and she looked left and right before her eyes fell on Alison, who was holding her forehead.

"I am so sorry! I didn't know that it was going to hit you," apologized Louise in worry. "Let me get a wet cloth to place it on your forehead."

Her sister-in-law, who recovered from her balance and senses, waved her hand, "That's fine, Louise. It was just a little bump," she smiled at her.

"No, please. Why don't you sit down," said Louise, making Alison sit on the edge of the bed. She found a cloth and wet it before placing it over Alison's forehead. "I am so sorry, I didn't realize it was going to hit you. I should have been more careful."

"You don't have to worry about it, Louise. It must have been suffocating inside the closet," Alison offered Louise a smile, but Louise still felt uneasy. Everything had happened so quickly. One second she was looking at the wedding gown, and the next second, she had seen the same decayed hand that had appeared in the cemetery. "I guess we should rule out the option of hiding inside the closets, we don't know when these old doors will get lock by themselves. There are some old closets that are faulty."

"I didn't know that," replied Louise, feeling her racing heart after the small accident.

When one of the maids walked past the room, holding the freshly folded clothes, Alison called the maid, "Emily."

"Yes, milady?" The maid quickly walked back to come and stand in front of the door. "Is everything alright?" she asked, noticing Lady Louise pressing a cloth against Lady Alison's forehead.

"Everything is fine. It was just a small accident. Could you find Molly and get her hands and face washed," said Alison.

"Of course, milady. I will find her right away," the maid bowed her head and left from there.

"I feel terrible for cutting short the game," replied Louise, hoping Molly wouldn't be sad about it. She decided she would make up for it with the little girl.

"That is okay. I am sure Molly is just ecstatic with the thought that she has another person to play with her," Alison heartily laughed. "You seem a little stressed. Everything alright?" she asked her.

Louise wasn't sure how to say this, that she had seen a decayed hand today. Not once but twice, and she wasn't sure if she imagined it. She was sure if she said she was seeing things, people would only look at her as if she had lost her mind. Her eyes fell on Alison's hand that was perfectly in good shape.

"It must be the worry about the coming exams," replied Louise with a smile while ridding any worry lines from her face and putting up a smile.

"You will do good. You don't have to worry about it. I heard from Henry that getting a job at Mr. Winkle's office is very hard. If you have succeeded, I believe everything else would go well," assured Alison, and Louise was grateful for her sister-in-law's words.

"Thank you, Alison," Louise offered her a smile. Once she dropped the cold cloth on the table, she asked, "Whose room is this?"

There were things in the room—clothes, objects, and items on the dressing table as if someone used this room. The smile on Alison's lips fell, "Nobody uses this room, but the things in here… they once belonged to one of Graham's wife."

This was a surprise to Louise as until now she was unaware of this. As odd as it was to question, Louise asked, "Lisa's room?"

Alison slowly nodded her head, "There were a lot of things and memories, I think Graham found it hard to let it go completely. I am sorry..."

"No, it is fine," replied Louise. Hearing this was slightly unsettling. Louise didn't know how to react to something like this. When she went to the graveyard today, she had strange visions of decayed hand.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you this before, Louise, but I cannot tell you how grateful I am that you are now part of the family," said Alison and Louise smiled.

At night, Louise was in her bed, reading a book in her hand and on the same bed sat Graham with another book in his hand. They sat in each other's company.

Away from their room, one of the family members walking in the quiet and empty corridors of the manor, holding a burning lantern.

The servants had disappeared into their sleeping quarters, and so did the family members of the manor, who had retired to their respective rooms. But the person with the lantern continued to walk until she saw the woman standing near the tall window.

"What is it, Alison?" asked Lady Viola, completely turning to face her daughter.

Alison's expression was serious, and she said, "She knows. She entered the room today."

"Did she now," hummed the older woman.

"We were playing hide and seek with Molly and-"

"How many times have I told you to not indulge in that silly game, Alison. My granddaughter doesn't have to learn such useless things. How do you plan to fix it if something happens?" asked Lady Viola, her gaze sharply looking at her daughter.

"She didn't seem fazed by the information," replied Alison.

"Hm. The girl has been found snooping around, looking at things and Gilbert said she locked herself in the room. She went to visit the cemetery today," stated Lady Viola. "Go back to your room. The night is high and cold. Goodnight, Alison," and she walked away from the corridor.

Back in the room where Louise was, she turned the next page and bookmarked the page to close it. She stared at the foot of the bed, thinking about Graham's third wife's belongings in this manor. To preserve things carefully as if the person still existed, she wondered how much the woman was loved.

"Did you finish reading?" questioned Graham, and Louise broke out of her thoughts, turning to look at her handsome husband, who was looking at her.

"I thought I would finish the rest of it tomorrow. I must be tired after travelling today," replied Louise, placing the book on the nightstand.

"I will blow out the candles in five minutes," said Graham and Louise nodded her head.

Just as she was getting ready to lay down, she asked him, "Can I ask you something?"

"You don't have to ask for my permission, Louise. Go ahead," Graham asked her to continue, wondering what she wanted to ask him.

Louise hadn't been able to ask Alison, but Graham was closer to her. It took her two seconds before she asked, "When I went to Mr. Burnell's shop to get my wedding gown, he told me your mother had returned the previous wedding gowns. Did they ever bring them back again?"

At her question, Graham's lips set themselves in a thin line, and he shook his head, "No. The wedding gowns were never bought back after they were given. I heard that someone else brought them."

"I see," said Louise. Until now, it was also what she believed to be the fact.

But today, she saw the wedding gown in the room that belonged to the deceased woman.

Did he not know about it?