The Fourth Mistress

Louise fiddled with the pencil between her two fingers that she had sharpened a while ago while a large book sat open on her desk. Moving the pencil now and then, she stopped writing before a sigh escaped her lips.

Since her aunt had mentioned Mr. Graham Reed and his deceased wives, Louise couldn't help but ponder on why all of them had died. It wasn't uncommon for people to die, but it made one question if the man was truly unfortunate when it was three wives.

"Louise," Mr. Winkle called her from his room. "Mr. and Mrs. Miller would like to have tea."

"Yes, Mr. Winkle," she pushed her chair and got up to go to his room.

Mr. Winkle had received new clients who wanted his advice by having him take a look at their case. The couple were fighting to get their share of property from Mrs. Miller's sister. From what Louise had gathered while sitting outside and listening to them, Mrs. Miller's father had made a will where he had handed the entire property to her elder sister when Mrs. Miller wasn't born yet, and the woman now refused to share it.

Though she sat outside, at the desk, completing the work given by Mr. Winkle, Louise's ear often listened to the cases' discussion. It would be wrong to call such a habit eavesdropping, and instead, she believed it was one of the fastest ways to learn from her employer.

"It must be good to have a helping hand of a woman in the office. It is always nice to have a maid around," Mr. Miller commented on seeing Louise walk to the other side of the room to make tea.

Mr. Winkle corrected the person, "Ms. Evardon is working as my assistant associate in this firm. She's not the maid."

"How strange to have a woman working. Stranger that you want to be part of the legal system," said Mr. Miller to Louise, who had her back facing them. While the tea boiled, she turned to face the man.

"So I have heard, Mr. Miller. But I don't see why a woman should hold back, when she receives an education that equals what men learn," she offered him a smile. She had noticed the surprise in most people's expressions every time they found out about her working, and she didn't take any offence to it.

Mr. Miller said, "Maybe you are right, but then it would be more suitable for a woman to work behind the desk. Men can handle tough situations and they can go out in the open to look for things. It isn't the same when it comes to a woman."

"I would like to disagree," Louise's words were polite, and she turned around to pour the steaming tea in cups. "Women are as capable as men, it might be just that we aren't getting enough opportunities."

"You cannot deny that they have their own shortcomings," stated Mr. Miller.

Louise brought the two teacups and placed it in front of the couple. She knew that Mr. Winkle didn't take his tea at this hour of the day and hadn't poured him a cup of tea. The people in here were clients of Mr. Winkle, and she had spoken as much as she was allowed to without overstepping her line.

Mr. Winkle said, "Ms. Evardon is smarter than the men who had previously applied to work with me. Both men and women have their own shortcomings when it comes to certain work, Mr. Miller. Don't you agree?" questioned the old man. "Anyways, you aren't here to discuss about Ms. Evardon, but about the dispute over your wife's father's land."

When it was time for Mr. and Mrs. Miller to take their leave, Louise bowed her head with a polite smile and saw them out of the building.

"People are really nosey when it comes to their opinions," she heard Mr. Winkle speak. Louise turned around to see he had come out of his room, who stood at the door with a distasteful look on his face. "They feel like they are entitled to comment on everything."

She smiled at his words. Mr. Winkle reminded her of a man from a book she had read, who didn't want to mingle with anyone and preferred not to be bothered by anyone.

"Do you think Mrs. Miller will get her share of the land from her sister?" asked Louise.

"Hm," the old man nodded his head. "Did you finish filling up the entries in the register?" he looked at her table.

"I am almost done with it. There seems to be some mismatched entries but I got it sorted out," replied Louise.

"Good job on finding it. The previous assistant was useless, who kept spilling tea and ink, and whatnot," Mr. Winkles shook his head.

Louise saw Mr. Winkle get back into his room, and she followed him, "Mr. Winkle, there was something I wanted to ask you." The man had walked around his table, and he looked at her now. "Have you heard about the unfortunate events with the Reed's family?"

"Unfortunate events?" asked the old man. "I doubt a wealthy family like the Reed's can ever have anything to be unfortunate."

Mr. Winkle probably hadn't heard about it, but she was still curious. With three consecutive deaths, anyone in the town would have heard about it.

"It is about Graham Reed and the death of his three wives," explained Louise, and it seemed to finally dawn on the old man on what she was speaking about.

"Oh, that one. Hm, I wonder how I missed that. Poor man indeed had a wretched luck with marriage," Mr. Winkle responded. "I heard two of them fell terribly sick, and the third one died in a freak accident. It seems she had gone to the attic and somehow the wooden floor wasn't strong enough and she missed her step from the stool she was standing on."

"Do people fall down from the stool and die?" Louise expressed her thoughts with a frown.

"Well, that is why it is called a freak accident. Apparently it broke the woman's neck," Mr. Winkles took his seat behind his desk. He asked, "Do you plan to marry the man?" and when Louise's eyes widened, he started to laugh.

"That's not the reason, Mr. Winkles!" she immediately denied his words.

Louise had brought it up because she was sure Mr. Winkle would know the truth. Some of the people in the town passed rumours and turned Graham Reed into a serial killer; there was very little a person like her could believe anything to be true. Of course, she could directly ask the man involved, but then it would be rude to do that.

Louise had no plans to marry him, not that she didn't want to, but the thought hadn't passed her mind in full seriousness. In the past few days, she had seen glimpses of Graham Reed in the town when she went running errands for her aunt or her uncle.

Occasionally, their eyes met each other's from afar like strangers they were, before either of them went on their way.

Even with the known and unknown rumours that circulated about him, it still didn't deter most people's attention away from him, especially not the young girls who stole secretive looks at him. And it was because the rumours about him were baseless and made up from the idle minds to feed on.

Away from Habsburg's town, a coachman drove a carriage that was pulled by four brown horses that were tied to the front of the carriage. It had started its journey from the town, moving through the path inside the forest before the carriage finally made its way towards the manor's gates, which was pulled open by the servants for the carriage to pass.

The carriage moved straight before moving in a semicircle around the fountain before it came to a halt. The coachman got down and opened the carriage's door, and Graham stepped down on the ground before making his way inside the manor. With the sky that had broken through the dusk, the sky had started to darken, and one could see the torches of fire that were lit with some of the lanterns hanging outside the manor.

Before Graham could reach the door, Gilbert, the Reed's family butler, opened the door, who appeared to be in his late forties. He was lean in appearance, his cheeks slightly hollow along with his eyes that left a shadow underneath his eyes.

"Welcome back, Mr. Reed," greeted the butler, bowing his head. He then came to stand behind Graham to remove the outer coat that he wore. "Lady Viola said she wanted to talk to you once you return," informed the butler.

Graham didn't move from where he stood, and it was only his eyes that moved to the corner to look at the butler, "Where is she?"

"In the drawing room, sire," came the quiet voice of the butler, one hand of his had carried the folded coat, and the other was aligned to the side of his body. Before the butler could ask what Graham would like to drink, Graham had already started to walk towards the drawing-room.

Graham knocked on the closed door before pushing it open to see his mother and father sitting in the room. They sat not too far away from the fireplace from where the light emitted to most parts of the room.

"Good evening, mother and father," Graham greeted his parents as he entered the room, making his way to where his parents sat before taking a seat in front of them.

"Evening, Graham. How was work?" inquired his mother.

"The same as yesterday," came the short answer, and he turned to look at his father. "Father," he addressed, "Mr. Pearce has agreed to provide the black wood that will be used for the closets and drawers. He will be signing the documents tomorrow and we can start working on our next project."

Mr. Reed had a pleased look on his face, "It's good that he's finally come around."

Graham said, "There's a plan to set up the factory for lumber. I have already seen the land that is next to the forest. It will be easier to transport the woods."

Mrs. Reed intervened in the conversation, "Graham, your father and I have something we would like to speak to you about."

Graham saw his mother turned to look at his father for support.

"Son," started his father, "We didn't bring this matter up before, but time keeps moving forward and it will leave you behind if you don't walk along with it. It's been around five years and your mother believes that you should remarry and settle down."

His mother said, "It is not right that a young man like yourself who has an entire future ahead of you has to spend it all alone."

Hearing this, a deep frown appeared on Graham's face.

"I thought I made it quite clear that I am not interested in the marriage proposals," came the firm words from Graham. Noting this was what his mother wanted to speak to him about, he stood up from his seat.

"Do you know what people speak behind our backs?" asked his mother, her expression stone like.

"The man who killed his wives," stated Graham.

Mrs. Reed rolled her eyes, "Don't dramatize it like the people in the main town. The soirees I attend, women there mention how you are wasting your life when you can get married. And I don't see anything to be wrong with it. People always talk, but that doesn't mean it has to be true. They are just stories," she paused for a moment before standing up and walking towards her son. "You are educated, wealthy, handsome. You are one of the perfect bachelor, where girls want to be your wife."

Graham's lips set itself in a thin line. His mother had conveniently forgotten that he was a widower.

His father then said, "There are some pictures of the girls whom your mother picked for you." The older man pushed the envelope that was on the table forward. "The girls in here are all who have been handpicked personally by your mother."

Graham had a long day at work, "If you have nothing more important to discuss about, I will be taking my leave."

He had started to walk towards the door, when his mother, who hadn't changed her stone like expression, said, "You cannot live a life all by yourself, Graham. By not marrying, you are only proving people's words to be true. Just meet the one's I have arranged, and if you don't like them, I will not bring them up again."

When Graham left the room, Mrs. Reed frown slightly.

She heard her husband ask, "The girls in the envelope, do they know about it?"

"Do you think they will agree if I were to mention what exactly happened? The women I meet speak fondly to me, but when it comes to speaking about their daughter's marriage, I can tell they refuse the idea of it," replied Mrs. Reed.

"He knows. Graham," said Mr. Reed. "The girls will only run their mouth unnecessarily. I spoke to him about purchasing a new land, away from the town and build a new factory."

Mrs. Reed snapped her eyes to look at her husband, "You cannot chase him away from here, Robert. He is our son, and I would like us to live together."

Her husband placed his hand on her shoulder, "It was only a suggestion. We should find a person who is willing to accept that there were dead wives before her. I doubt there's anyone who would keep an open mind and marry him."

Open-minded girl? thought Mrs. Reed in her mind. She tried to remember who was like that in the town of Habsburg.

And after a few seconds, she said, "I think I know one."

The next day, Louise finished her work in Mr. Winkle's office and headed towards the main town as she had to return a book that she had borrowed from the library. The book was about the country's laws, and she had been using it for reference while studying one of Mr. Winkle's old cases.

Adjusting the strap on her shoulder, Louise reached the town before walking towards the town's local library.

"Ms. Evardon, it is good to see you here today," the helper boy, who was around the age of sixteen, greeted her. The boy wore a pair of overalls, and he held a few boxes in his hand.

"Good evening, Winslow. How have you been doing?" greeted Louise, "Do you need a hand with that?" she politely asked him.

"Oh, I would never ask a lady to carry these boxes. They are quite heavy," the helper boy replied. "I see that you are here to return the book," and he placed the boxes he was carrying on the ground.

"Where is Mr. Sherman?" she inquired, leaning to her right side while taking a look around the place and not catching sight of the owner of the library.

The young boy pulled the register from the drawer to place it at the top of the counter, "He must be behind the racks sorting out the old newspapers. He has asked to shift them to the storage room so that there can be more space for the new books that will be arriving in a month from overseas," he explained before flipping the pages and searching for Louise' name in it.

"That sounds like quite some work for both of you," hummed Louise.

"Ms. Evardon, the book was due to be back two day ago," informed Winslow before showing the date to Louise.

"How strange, I thought I counted it right," said Louise. She was sure she had to return it today, and now as two days passed from the expected return, she would have to pay the fine. She pulled out her purse and started to place the coins one after another on the counter while counting it.

"I think I can do something about it, Ms. Evardon. You are one of our regular customers and I doubt anyone ever borrows this book from here," said Winslow before pushing the extra coins towards Louise that was on the counter.

Louise looked taken aback, and she whispered, "I think it would be wrong to get you fired from working here anymore."

The boy smiled at her words, "I doubt my uncle would fire me. And I believe a book is better to be needed by someone than to stay closed to never be opened. Do you not agree?"

At the same time, footsteps approached towards where Louise stood that she didn't take note of.

Louise, who was speaking to the boy, nodded her head, but she didn't take the coins that Winslow had pushed towards her. "I would feel terribly bad if I were to know someone else was getting special treatment while I was getting charged. Thank you, Winslow."

"Ah, I already marked it," stated Winslow, and Louise smiled.

"You can keep it for your own use, and I promise I wouldn't tell it to a soul," she brought her finger to place it on her lips, and the boy smiled.

"How interesting," came a man's deep voice not too far behind her and Louise's eyes widened hearing that voice.

Even the library's helper boy, who was earlier smiling, his smile fell on seeing the person behind her, and Louise turned around to find Graham standing a few steps away from where she stood.

Louise felt her heart skip a beat because she had not expected to cross paths with this man in here, in the library. He looked the same, hauntingly handsome but with a certain melancholy that drifted behind him.

Graham said, "I would have never guessed that a woman who wants to become a counsel would try to reason out from the rules that have been set. One would guess from the heavy book that you are returning, you are already aware of it."

She caught sight of a book that he carried in his hand. Wait, did he look down at her? Asked Louise to herself.

In response to what he just said, Louise said, "Rules are set to guide people, Mr. Reed. But there are also some exceptions where certain things can be overlooked as long as it doesn't harm anyone."

"Looks like a lion that overkill's the deers from its hunt, can get away from its actions by making its action as an exception," he responded to her.

Louise looked at him with her brown eyes, "Are you a vegetarian?" humour in her voice, but Graham didn't find it to be funny. She knew he had used the animals as a way of personified analogy.

"I can only imagine what kind of a legal advisor you turn into. I look forward to it," said Graham before stepping around to reach the counter of the desk behind which the library's helper boy stood.

"You speak as if you have never broken a single rule or derailed from the normal ways," said Louise.

Her eyes watched him place the book on the counter so that its detail could be added to the library register with Graham's name. Graham signed on the book, and the boy took it back.

Feeling Louise's eyes, Graham turned to meet her eyes, "I never said you did something wrong. I only said I found your action to be interesting. Now if you will excuse me," he bowed his head and stepped out of the library. Did he try to get her off his back by concluding the conversation?

Letting Winslow keep the change, Louise stepped out of the library, and she looked around and saw Graham making his way towards the carriage that was waiting for him. Before he could reach the carriage, a pretty woman appeared in front of him, bowing her head before she spoke to him with a blush on her cheeks.

The ever-popular Mr. Graham Reed thought Louise in her mind. He has such an old-fashioned name.

With her footsteps that had halted, she tilted her head in wonderment. While Louise turned around as she had to go in the other direction, she had moved too fast and ended up crashing against a young woman. Potatoes and onions fell from the woman's bag that she had been carrying, rolling away from her.

"I am so sorry!" Louise quickly apologized, looking at the young woman who was probably of her same age. The woman had a troubled expression on her face, and she bowed in apology.

"Pardon me, I wasn't watching where I was walking," and she started to pick the vegetables that had fallen on the ground.

"I should have been more careful. Here let me help," offered Louise feeling guilty before picking up the vegetables and placing them in the woman's bag.

"Thank you," the young woman thanked her. Noticing the bag torn on one side, Louise was about to offer her to help her with it, but the person apologized again and hurried away from there.

When Louise turned back, she saw Graham, who continued to speak with the girl before they both started to enter his carriage. From his side view facial features, she caught the slight look of irritation on his face. She sensed that Graham Reed preferred to keep him to himself.

During the time of night in Reed's manor, Viola Reed sat in the drawing-room with her daughter Alison. The atmosphere was heavily silent, and the older woman looked miffed about something that had taken place two hours ago before dinner.

Viola muttered under her breath, "At this rate, there will be no one to continue the Reed's family name."

Alison placed her hand on her mother's hand, "You should have told him, mother, before springing a girl at him in the middle of the town. We should also consider how Graham feels about it, after all, he's the one to marry."

Lady Viola's eyes were concentrated on the table that sat near them, "It has been almost six years since that unfortunate accident and death took place. And Carman la Hale is the perfect match for him. She's only nineteen years old and beautiful, and she also comes from a family that is just like ours. I don't see what the problem is."

The younger woman in the room lowered her eyes in thought, "I have met Carman and I don't think she will be able to adjust with him." The girl was indeed young, but she also had a loose character, and it would never gel with her older brother Graham, thought Alison to herself. Her mother was still looking for a rich bride, and that was the problem. "Have you thought about looking at others? What about that girl whom you met at the soiree?"

"Which one?" questioned Lady Viola as none of the girls had caught her eyes at the soirees she had attended. Her mother raised her eyebrows as if waiting for her to speak.

"The one you mentioned who spoke about the house and home," Alison had heard about the girl from her mother. On hearing her mention this, her mother narrowed her eyes.

"That's ridiculous!" exclaimed Lady Viola. "We aren't so desperate to have Graham married to a girl who doesn't know her manners with the elders. It seems like you have developed quite a sense of humour, Alice," and her mother stood up from her seat.

Before her mother would leave the room, Alison stood up along with her mother and said, "Mother, Graham needs someone who understands him-"

Lady Viola shook her head, "I cannot allow a girl like her to join our family."

"But by the way you spoke about the young woman, she seemed quite open minded compared to the rest of the girls in Habsburg or around the town. Who knows, she might be the one person who might stick by his side. You have to give her a chance," she tried to persuade her mother. "It is only going to be difficult for Graham to get married because of the rumours that continue to spread."

The older woman was not ready to accept a girl who had dared to put her in her place, not knowing how to speak. But somewhere in the corner of Mrs. Reed's mind, there was a speck of guilt, a secret that she had never shared with anyone before… Her eyes turned hard, and she said,

"Speak to Graham about it," and sparing a look at her daughter, she walked out of the room with her shoes clicking against the polished marble floor.

Days passed and finally another weekend arrived a day, where Louise could sleep a little longer as she didn't have to work for Mr. Winkle on Sundays. Rays of sun cracked through the gap of the curtains that tried to cover the windows. She stretched her toes and her hands.

The door of her room opened, and in came the helper girl Poppy, who worked in the morning to help Aunt Merlin with the house chores and left around three in the noon to go back to her family. Poppy had married two years ago, yet she was younger than Louise by three years.

"Good morning, Lady Louise. You need to get ready quickly," greeted Poppy, pushing the curtains to the side and opened the windows for fresh air to come in.

"Hm? But I don't go to work for Mr. Winkle today," replied Louise, pushing herself up and stepped out of her bed. She then frowned, hearing a couple of voices that came from outside her room. "Do we have guests?"

She turned to meet Poppy's eyes that looked excited, who said,

"We do, milady. There are people who have come to see you."