The Fourth Mistress

Chapter 73  New chapter in life

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It took a few hours for both Louise and Gilbert to find the blueprint buried under the pile of broken bricks, where the cellar was located. Louise took a good look at the unscrolled paper, and now that she had it, the next thing to do was find the people to fix the broken and burnt walls and replace the furniture. The reason why Louise hadn't left the manor to go with her uncle and aunt earlier was that she had to do something concerning the recently deceased members of the Reed's family with a few others. Right now, she stood in front of the cemetery with Gilbert, who shovelled through the graves that had been buried a few hours ago. Once they were pulled out, the fire was prepared, and Louise set the bodies on fire. "Do you think the officers will come back again to look at the case, Lady Louise?" Gilbert stood next to her as they both watched the flames move up in the air. The sky had started to turn dark. Smoke moved up from the wooden pyre in flames, which was enough to shed light all around where they stood. "Mr. Shaw said they closed the case and there's no chance for anyone to reopen it in the future," Louise then pursed her lips while feeling the heat of the fire and the cold air that came from the atmosphere. "He's already seen Graham's ghost once, so we have a witness if someone ever does come to point a finger." "Do you think he will testify for it, Lady Louise?" inquired the butler, and Louise replied, "Only time will tell," and a sigh escaped from Louise's lips. She had waited for all the guests to leave, making sure no one would witness her setting the bodies on fire. The townsfolk of Habsburg didn't believe in burning the dead bodies, and instead they believed that burning the bodies sent the souls straight to hell. The appropriate way of sending the dead was only burying the bodies in the ground with the casket. Which was the reason why she had decided to wait before doing it. "Are you sure you burned all the bodies of the servants?" questioned Louise, the last thing she needed was another servant coming back to haunt her or the people whom she cared about.  To the outsiders, it was told that the servants bodies had been taken away to be buried in the local cemetery, but in truth, they had been burned. "Every single one of them were burned until they turned to ash, milady," Gilbert promptly replied, and Louise nodded. "Thank you for doing that," she said, and her eyes moved to look at the graves of her in-laws, which were empty beneath the ground. Her eyes then shifted to look at her husband's grave, staring at his headstone for a long time until they heard the sound of the horses neighing. "Henry is here." Louise turned around and walked from there, with Gilbert following right behind her. The bodies continued to burn in the wood, while they left the Reed's property. After dinner, Louise had gotten to her room in the night, which her aunt and uncle hadn't touched and had left it as it was since the time of her marriage. Sitting on the edge of the bed, she stared at her ring finger where the diamond sparkled. She still remembered the nervousness her heart had held on her wedding day to Graham.

Hearing a knock on the closed door, Louise's gaze shifted to look in its direction. It was Aunt Merlin, who peeked her head through the gap of the door, "I brought you milk." When Louise went to stand up, her aunt waved, "Sit down. You don't have to stand up when I am here. It isn't like three steps is going to tire me." Aunt Merlin handed the glass to her.

"Thank you, auntie," replied Louise, and she saw her aunt hesitate as if she wanted to say something. Aunt Merlin said, "If you need company, let me know. We can sleep together and we'll fit right in the bed." Hearing this brought a smile on Louise's lips, and she shook her head, "I am fine. I will be fine." People who had to die often left the living, and the people who were still alive had to pick up the pieces and move ahead. That was what life was about, and no one could do anything about it. Louise said, "I will make use of the light from the lantern, and I know all of you are right here."

Aunt Merlin nodded, "You are right." The woman leaned forward and planted a kiss on Louise's cheek. "No matter how old you are, you will always be that little girl who used to cling to me when you came here. Make sure to use both blankets. It has been cold for the last one week. Have a goodnight, Louise." "Goodnight, Aunt Merlin," Louise wished her aunt back, offering an assuring smile, and she saw her aunt close the door as she left the room. She drank the milk from the glass and then placed it on the table. Everything had been so chaotic a week ago, but now, it was like the quietness after a heavy rain. Walking to the fireplace, she pushed away the good woods so that they wouldn't burn along with the coal. She knew the longer the fire would burn, the longer she would stay awake. But then she doubted she would be able to sleep. A lone tear spilt from one of her eyes, sliding down her cheek before it fell on her skirt. Another tear came to fall from her eyes, and Louise covered her face with both her face. No matter how strong she had tried to be in front of the people, and sometimes with her, the night had turned her will weak, and she felt her overwhelming grief. How could one die that easily? She had tried so hard to protect, to solve what had happened. But in the end, she was only a mere human, and there was only this much she could do. Taking a deep breath, she wiped her cheeks before pulling her hands away from her face. Standing up, she went to the lantern and lowered its flame before going to bed. In one of the rooms of the DeRose's house, Uncle Hugo and Aunt Merlin lay on two different sides of the bed. The lantern in their room had not been exhausted as they were heavily worried about their niece. "I don't understand why she would want to keep a property that has experienced such a tragic event. There are graves of the Reed's family," whispered Aunt Merlin, her eyebrows deeply furrowed, and she shook her head as if she wasn't able to comprehend what Louise was thinking. "Not to mention, she is still able to see his ghost."

"It was the place where her third family was, she probably cherishes it more than she fears a ghost. Louise is a strong willed woman, Merlin, you and I know both know that," replied her husband. "Though I must agree with you. As much as I dislike the idea, I wished she would have moved away from the town. It would avoid her having to listen to what people talk about her."

Aunt Merlin nodded her head, staring at the ceiling for a minute, and she said, "I know it isn't the right time to speak, but maybe in the future, she can meet someone more suitable for her. I am worried that one day when we aren't there, she will be left all alone by herself. She is, after all, still young and childless."

"Yes, let her take her time. She doesn't say anything, but her eyes look sad. Just like when she lost her parents," came the whisper from Uncle Hugo.

"I know," replied Aunt Merlin. Unlike last time, she wouldn't push Louise to something, and she would give her the space she needed. "Don't worry. Like many other hardships, this too shall pass and one day Louise will be happy. The happiness that she seeks will be delivered to her," Uncle Hugo consoled his wife, knowing the woman wouldn't be able to sleep and would think about their niece. In Louise's room, the flames in the fireplace had started to dull down, and the fire in the lantern softly flickered. Her eyes had started to turn heavy, and she slowly started to drift to sleep. And while Louise fell asleep, a shadow quietly moved towards her bed. It stopped right there, without moving, as if it was staring at the sleeping widow. Before dawn could break, Louise woke up. It was as if her sleep time had been shortened, and the first thing she thought about on waking up was Graham. She went to the kitchen, where Camille and Gilbert were awake like her. "Good morning, Lady Louise," the servants greeted her with a bow, and Louise murmured good morning. "Would you like to have tea?" asked Camille. "Yes, let me do it," replied Louise and Camille's eyes widened. When the maid was about to protest, she said, "This is not the Reed's manor, Camille." She took hold of the utensil from the cupboard and then started the fire. The maid's eyes moved to look at the butler, who didn't react and instead asked, "Is there anything that we can do to be useful, milady?" "Yes, you can go with Harvey to the centre of the town and bring the groceries. The horses will need to be washed and the carriage," said Louise and the butler bowed. But before he could leave the kitchen, she said, "Could you also fetch the newspaper?" When the newspaper came to Louise's hand, she didn't have to open the pages and as expected the headlines read 'Family dead, leaving the widow with everything. Was it planned or not?'

Louise stared at it, before tearing the front page and putting it in the stove's fire.