The Fourth Mistress

"Right now there is no need to tell him anything. What I want is the truth, if she killed people and how many of them she has killed,"  Robert Reed stopped walking, and Mr. Wensley did the same. He continued to say, 

"Keep this as a secret from Graham. He's going away for work on the twenty-third and won't be in town. It will be the right time. I don't want him to know about it now. Once it is confirmed, I will tell him myself."

Mr. Earnest nodded his head, "Alright. I will go and meet that person to arrange everything."

Three days passed, and Graham left early in the morning on the twenty-third of July. 

The night was dark, and the sky was starless. Darkness surrounded the land of the Habsburg, including Reed's manor. The servants had gone to sleep, deep in slumber, and so did the family members of the Reed, at least that is what one would have guessed. 

Emily was alone in the room, her body stretched. While she enjoyed the luxury and comfort of the mattress, she was already missing Graham. Nearly four weeks had passed, but still, they hadn't consummated their marriage, nor Graham had made any attempt to kiss or touch her. She turned to her left, her hand running where he often laid to sleep. 

There was a smile on her face as she imagined him to be sleeping next to her. From the day she had married him, she got to see him sleep before going to bed and before getting out of the bed. Her mother's wishes had finally been fulfilled. She now belonged to the higher society, and soon she would change her last name to Reed. Emily Graham Reed, she very much liked the sound of it. 

While Emily was in her dream world, she had failed to notice that someone had entered the room without making a sound. Suddenly she felt someone place their hand on her mouth and she struggled to escape. 

Kicking the person, she tried to make her way towards the door, ready to scream, but the person quickly caught her and pressed her to the ground. He tied her hands and her mouth with the cloth so that she wouldn't scream and alert other people who were sleeping in the manor. 

The man then carried Emily out of the room, while her struggle was of no use. Panic struck her, questioning who had broken into the manor at this hour and kidnapped her! Muffled noises came from her, which wasn't loud enough for people to hear her. 

The man carried her out of the manor, walking towards the forest. The crickets made noise, and he finally brought her to a small hut. She was made to sit in a chair before her hands and legs were tied. 

Emily struggled to free herself from the binds that were keeping her tied. But the more she fought to free herself, the ropes only dug into her skin, the rough brown edges of the rope pricking her skin like needles.

When the kidnapper removed the cloth from her mouth, Emily glared at the man and said, "If my family or husband comes to know that you kidnapped me, they won't let you off that easily. Release me right this instant!" 

Hearing Emily's words, the man chuckled, "That is only if you are allowed to step outside this hut, isn't it? What are you going to do if you can't?" 

Emily tried not to be scared while her heart continued to pound in her chest in fear. Graham wasn't in town to save her, and she wondered when the other family members in the manor would notice her bed to be empty. 

But as the thought crossed her mind, she heard rustling outside the hut and soon, two unidentified men appeared. Behind them followed Mr. Reed and Mr. Wensley, who entered the hut. 

"Mr. Reed, please help me! These people have forcefully brought me here from the manor!" Emily cried out for quick help, but both the men didn't react to her words. 

The man who had kidnapped her chuckled, walking towards one side of the wall of the hut, and he leaned against it. Emily looked at Robert Reed, who had a serious expression on his face. 

"Mr. Reed? What is going on?" Emily questioned, sensing something to be wrong as the atmosphere inside the hut grew heavy. 

"Emily," started Robert, looking straight into her eyes and said, "Our apologies for having you tied up like this." 

"Y-you asked them to do this to me?" stuttered Emily, trying to keep herself composed and her voice shaky. 

From behind, she noticed Lady Viola and Lady Agatha made their way inside the small hut, and Emily was utterly perplexed. 

"Yes, we were the ones who asked them to do it. We wanted to have a talk with you and doubted sitting next to the fireplace would do the job," said Robert. He raised his hand for the men to step outside the hut. "We have some questions that we would like to hear nothing but truth. As you already are aware, Graham isn't here for two days, so make sure you take your time." 

"What is it that you would like to ask me?" asked Emily, her eyes shifting from one person to another to look at the family members. 

"Are you Dariel and Marlow Saltonstall's daughter?" questioned Mr. Wensley, his eyes narrowed at Emily.

Emily's hand gripped the armrests of her chair. It seemed like they had somehow found out about it. But what would they do about it? It was too late for them to separate her from Graham, and she was now Mr. and Mrs. Reed's daughter-in-law.

"It is very rude to dig for information. But, yes, I am," Emily replied calmly. 

"Why didn't you tell us anything about it until now?" questioned Lady Agatha. "There have been plenty of times where you could have told us."

"Yes, Lady Agatha," responded Emily, not knowing why they brought her here and tied her to ask her for such a simple question. 

"Did you use rat poison to kill Nancy and Johanna?" Robert questioned her next. They all noticed the sudden change in Emily's face. Though it wasn't too obvious, they noticed the way she slightly panicked before composing herself. 

"I don't know what you are talking about, father," Emily behaved as if she was innocent. "Why would I ever try to hurt them? Nancy and Johanna fell sick because of an unknown disease which even the physician said."

Lady Viola stepped forward and demanded, "You killed them! Why would you ever buy rat poison when Gilbert didn't tell you to buy it?"

"That is something you will have to explain to us, Emily. Now speak," demanded Lady Agatha, crossing her arms against her chest. 

"I truly had nothing to do with their deaths. It is absolutely ridiculous," stated Emily with her eyebrows deeply furrowing. "I think during that time at night, I heard some noises and believed them to be rats. I thought that I might need it. This is a baseless accusation and I don't know how all of you came to the conclusion that I could do something like that."