Death of a Duchess

by Nellie H. Steele

  After several moments, Headmistress Williamson regained her posture. She wiped at her face. I offered her a handkerchief from her night table. She dried her eyes. We sat for several more breaths in silence before Headmistress Williamson stood. I rose as she did.

  She breathed a deep breath, squaring her shoulders and raising her chin. She set her jaw and made eye contact. “Go to bed, Lenora. Speak of this to no one,” she instructed.

  I nodded and crossed the room without comment. As I stepped through the doorway, I reached behind me to shut the door. “Oh, Lenora,” Headmistress Williamson added, “do not expect this incident to change my opinion regarding you and your ... ability. I still find it abnormal, amoral and foul.”

  I nodded to her again and pulled the door shut, retiring to my bed. After that night, while there was still no love lost between us, Headmistress Williamson and I avoided each other as much as we could. My treatment, though still callous, lacked the usual cruelty I endured as a younger child.

  The carriage rocked after hitting a bump in the road and my mind snapped back to the present. My situation no longer depended on the whims of a harsh and spiteful woman. I drew in a deep breath, gazing at the scenery as it passed. Each passing moment brought me one step closer to my home. The thought brought a small smile to my face, and I rested my head against the side wall as I continued to gaze out the window.

  Chapter 8

  Blackmoore Castle rose from the mists high atop the moor. The sight delighted me, setting my heart aglow with excitement. This had been my first extended trip away from my new home since I’d arrived three months prior. Even in that short time, the attachment I’d formed to the property ran deep.

  The connection surprised me. After bouncing between three locations in eighteen years, I grew unsure that I could ever truly feel at home. I assumed, unless I obtained a suitable placement in another’s household, I would stay at the orphanage. A home, it was not. The concept that I had my own home still astounded me.

  I leaned forward, focusing on the growing outline of the castle. “Anxious to return home, Lenora?” Robert inquired.

  “Very,” I replied with a grin.

  Robert matched my expression. “You must be eager to rest after the long journey.”

  “I am eager to be in my home,” I responded.

  The carriage slanted as we began the climb to the castle. “Soon, my dear, soon.”

  We drew up alongside the castle’s main entrance, greeted by the staff. I entered the foyer, allowing the sense of comfort to wash over me. Buchanan collected our outerwear. Movement drew my eyes upward as I removed my gloves. I glanced to the balcony above. Annie stood overlooking the floor below. Her tattered and dirty red dress hung around her frame. Her dark hair remained as mussed as the first day I witnessed her specter. Perhaps she had missed me in my absence, I pondered.

  I stared at her, making eye contact. Robert, noting my fixed stare, followed my gaze. Before he could inquire about my behavior, the doors to the drawing room burst open. A young, dark-haired man emerged from the room beyond. Even from a distance, he smelled of liquor.

  He stumbled from the doorway into the foyer toward us. He eyed Robert, then me. His lips curled into a scornful sneer as he returned his glare to Robert. “I see you’ve brought the harlot back after I warned you…” he slurred.

  “You’re drunk,” Robert hollered at him. “Get out of this house before I throw you out.”

  “No, Robert,” he argued, “we’re not finished with our discussion.”

  “We are quite finished, Edwin, now get out.”

  Edwin struggled to focus his gaze on Robert. “But we’re not. Not until that strumpet is out of this house!” He lunged toward me. Robert placed himself between us and Edwin fell against him.

  Robert shoved him back. “Get out, you drunken dolt. You are not welcome here until you understand how to behave. In particular, how to show the proper respect to my wife.”

  Edwin teetered on his feet but managed to remain upright. He scoffed at Robert’s last statement. A grimace settled on his face. “I shall have what is rightfully mine, Robert. Not you, nor her,” he shouted, pointing his finger at both of us, “will stop me.”

  Robert lunged toward him, but Edwin leaned away, escaping his grasp. He held his hands up in defeat. “Fine. I shall leave.” He spun on his heel, coming close to losing his balance and sprawling across the floor. Righting himself, he stalked from the castle.

  Robert faced me, searching my face in an attempt to discover my reaction. “I am sorry, Lenora. My brother is…”

  “Angry and upset,” I finished for him. “And drunk. He is lashing out, nothing more.”

  “He does not deserve your generosity. You are gracious to a fault. Still, I shall make every attempt to ensure you do not endure any more of his poisonous hostility.”

  “You defend my honor quite well,” I assured him.

  “I am certain you would like to rest after our journey,” Robert responded. “If you prefer to take dinner in your suite, I do not object.”

  “If you prefer it, I shall. Though I am capable of attending dinner despite the travel.”

  Robert smiled at me. “Then I shall see you for dinner, my dear,” he replied with a kiss to my forehead.

  Before ascending the stairs, I glanced to the balcony above. Annie no longer stood overhead. The outburst between Robert and his brother, Edwin, must have frightened her off. Perhaps I’d find her waiting for me upstairs. I navigated to my bedroom, finding it empty, even of ghosts.

  I left the room behind after discarding my purse in favor of climbing to my tower room. As I entered, warmth washed over me. A fire blazed in the room’s fireplace. Buchanan, anticipating my affinity to be in the room after my journey, must have ordered the fire be lit upon my return. The thoughtfulness brought a smile to my face.

  I retrieved my book and fur blanket, curling on my window seat. The book lay in my lap as my gaze fell to the landscape outside. I had missed the moors even with their colorless winter landscape. My mind processed the encounter with Edwin earlier. It was the second of such encounters. Neither was pleasant.

  My mind flitted to the first clash with Robert’s brother. Days after our wedding, Edwin appeared at the castle, riding furiously to our door on his jet-black steed. His dark, curly hair, a match to Robert’s minus the graying bits, was unruly on his head after the hard ride. I witnessed his frenzied ride from this very room.

  He dismounted and raced to the main doors, throwing them open. Curious, I descended from my hideaway, overhearing the argument occurring in the drawing room.

  “… demand to know if this is true!” a voice unknown to me shouted.

  “I owe you no explanations, brother,” Robert’s voice responded.

  Brother, I pondered, as the argument continued. “You owe me a hell of a lot more than that, Robert,” the voice countered, heat entering it.

  “I owe you nothing! And with your crass behavior, you shall have no more from this estate.”

  “You are cheating me out of my inheritance.”

  “I am doing nothing of the sort. How dare you accuse me of this? You received what was due you from this estate. You are owed nothing more.”

  “Do not expect you can swindle from me from what is rightfully mine. I shall challenge any will that contains her name!”

  “Lenora is my wife. No court will agree with you.”

  “Wife or not, she is a woman. So, I stand to inherit the bulk of this estate upon your death…”

  “That is where you are wrong, Edwin,” Robert retaliated. “My chosen heir will inherit the bulk of my estate, not you.”

  “Your heir? Oh!” Edwin exclaimed, letting out a callous laugh. “The reason for the rushed marriage is revealed! Are you sure the little slut is carrying YOUR child, Robert?”

  A loud crash emanated from the room. I jumped at the sound as I stood at the bottom of the staircase. Another harsh laugh. “My, we are sensitive about this. I suspect you
do question if she has made you or some other man a father.”

  “I question nothing about my wife,” Robert roared. “And I will not stand here and allow you to impugn her virtue. Get out of this house, Edwin, before I throw you from it.”

  “Oh, Robert,” Edwin replied, “I will go further than impugning. I will destroy her if I must. I will NOT be robbed by that little whore.”

  A scuffle sounded behind the doors. I recoiled as the doors flung open. A dark-haired man slid sprawling on the floor in front of me. He appeared at least a decade younger than Robert. His lip was bloodied, his eye purple-red and already swelling. He rubbed his jaw as he pulled himself to sitting.

  “Lenora!” Robert exclaimed at the sight of me as he entered the foyer.

  Edwin glanced up to me. “I… I heard a commotion,” I stuttered.

  Edwin climbed to his feet, his eyes surveying me from head to toe. “Ah, here is the little tart now. I suppose…”

  His statement hung unfinished as Robert flung his cane aside and grasped him by the collar. “I have warned you once about your foul mouth and using it in regard to my wife. Do not EVER speak about her in this manner again. Now get out!” Robert dragged him to the door, tossing him through it into the autumn air.

  Robert shoved the doors shut, bolting them as Edwin threatened to return. He crossed the foyer, straightening his jacket. My eyes remained downcast, studying the marble floor below my feet. Our rushed nuptials were already causing ripples.

  “May I ask how much you overheard?” Robert inquired.

  “Most of the conversation,” I admitted.

  “I apologize for my brother’s behavior,” Robert voiced. “This is not the way I hoped you two would meet.”

  “There is no need to apologize,” I assured him, raising my eyes to his face.

  “Yet there is,” Robert argued. “I have placed you in a position to become his enemy. The circumstances of our marriage opened the door for him to utter those vile insults. And those circumstances are of my creation.”

  “And of mine. I agreed to this marriage.”

  “Without a solid understanding of the family politics. I have used you, Lenora. The consequences of this you have just witnessed firsthand. My desperation to learn the circumstances of Annie’s… well, my desperation has led me to make selfish choices.”

  “Your brother’s behavior is not your fault.” Robert offered a brief smile, averting his eyes from mine. “And your defense of my honor was… commendable.” I offered a smile. “I hope you did not hurt your hand.”

  Robert eyed me sideways. “No need to worry, my dear. It is quite fine. I’m afraid my magnificent ability in a brawl is another fact I have kept hidden from you.” He paused. “I do apologize, Lenora. This marriage must be far from what you hoped for as a young woman.”

  “There is no need for an apology. Your choices were not selfish. You have provided more than what is fair in this arrangement.”

  “Arrangement…” Robert answered, leaving the word hang in the air for a moment before continuing. “Not quite the stuff of a young woman’s dreams.”

  I chuckled, drawing a questioning glance from Robert, his brow furrowing at my reaction. “Given my circumstances,” I explained, “I’m afraid I hadn’t many dreams. Therefore, I can say without hesitation this marriage has provided me with more than I could ever have dreamt of!”

  Robert’s eyes met mine, and he studied them for a moment. “You are too kind, Lenora.” He paused for a breath. “I regret disturbing you with Edwin’s nonsense, though. It is nothing more than that, Lenora. Drunken nonsense.”

  “No bother. I was on my way to the library.”

  “Oh? I shall walk you,” Robert suggested, offering his arm.

  “Thank you,” I said, accepting it.

  “And what has you heading to the library? Considering making some changes? Removing it to add another parlor?”

  “Absolutely not!” I exclaimed. “What a ghastly idea!”

  “Ghastly? I should imagine the dusty library itself ghastlier than the idea of its removal.”

  “I happen to cherish your dusty library. What a treasure to have so many books, so many escapes at one’s fingertips.”

  “A treasure? Am I to understand you are an avid appreciator of books?”

  “I am,” I admitted. “Books kept me company on a number of lonely nights at the orphanage. Though, the library there was woefully lacking compared to yours.”

  Robert smiled at me. “Compared to OURS,” he corrected. “Though I must admit I am unaware of its contents. I have spent little time there. Is our selection sufficient?”

  We reached the library doors. “More than sufficient,” I assured him.

  He smiled at me as we parted ways. “I am pleased you find it so. I shall leave you to your books, my dear.”

  I glanced down at the book on my lap, one that I found within our library after my arrival with a smile. The library far surpassed the one in my previous residence and had brought me many hours of enjoyment.

  I opened the book to the marked page to continue my reading. As I settled into the first words of the chapter, a chill suddenly overtook me. I clutched the blanket closer to me, drawing it further up my lap. Perhaps the chilly air outside made my window seat too cold a place to read, I mulled. I glanced to the fireplace. Large flames still danced inside it, and I considered drawing closer to it for warmth.

  Before I could make my decision, my fur blanket began to slide slowly off my lap, taking my book with it. I grabbed at it, pulling it back toward me. I snuggled into it, tucking it around me, and retrieved my book.

  I had not read two words when the blanket began to creep toward the floor again, as though something weighed it down. I pulled it back, ensuring no parts of it remained on the floor. With a deep inhale, I returned to the pages of my book.

  Within seconds, the blanket inched away from me for a third time. I grasped at it, now realizing the source was otherworldly. A powerful force tugged against my grip. “Show yourself,” I ordered. Nothing appeared. Instead, the yanking grew stronger. I wrestled with it, clinging to the blanket as my book clattered to the floor. “Stop this nonsense at once! If you are not willing to show yourself, stop! You are acting like a child!”

  The force on the blanket ceased and the lack of tugging in the opposite direction caused me to fly backward, striking my shoulders and head against the wall behind me. With a groan, I rubbed my head where it hit. The damage seemed minimal, though. I tucked the blanket around me again with a sigh and leaned over to retrieve my book from the floor.

  Opening it to the marked page a second time, I attempted again to read the first sentence of the paragraph. Halfway through, an unseen force ripped the blanket from my lap, sending it flying through the air and discarding it on the opposite side of the room.

  “Annie?” I questioned. “Is that you? Your trickery is not amusing!” I warned as I rose from the window seat and crossed the room. A red deer skin rug adorned the space in the middle of the room. As I trampled upon it to cross the space, the rug moved, pulled from underneath my feet. I landed hard on my backside as objects lifted from the various surfaces of the room and floated.

  As I attempted to pull myself upright, a voice joined the fray. “Lenora! What’s happening?” Robert shouted, alarm sounding in his voice. The floating objects, a variety of books, a large, red vase and a few knickknacks halted their airy dance instantly, crashing to the floor. By sheer luck, the vase landed on the chaise, preventing it from shattering against the hard stone floor. The porcelain trinket box I’d borrowed from another room in the castle did not fare as well.

  “Oh, no!” I cried, reaching for a splintered piece of the small box.

  “Careful,” Robert warned, rushing to my side and removing the piece from my fingers. “Lenora, what happened? Were my eyes deceiving me?”

  “No,” I responded with a shake of my head. “Just a bit of mischief.”

  “Mischief? Lenora! Objects
were floating about in the air. And how did you come to be on the floor?”

  “My blanket,” I explained, “was pulled across the room.” I pointed toward it. “When I tried to retrieve it, the rug was pulled out from under me. Quite literally. I lost my balance and toppled over before the objects began their dance through the air.”

  “Are you quite all right? Are you experiencing pain anywhere?”

  “I am fine. Though I am brokenhearted over this little box,” I lamented as I stared at its broken pieces.

  “I shall buy you another,” Robert assured me. “Can you stand?”

  “Yes,” I nodded, accepting his hand to pull me to my feet.

  I replaced the vase on the bookshelf and collapsed onto the chaise. “Was this…” Robert’s voice trailed off as it often did before mentioning Annie’s name.

  I nodded again. “I expect so. A bit of mischief on her part.”

  “Mischief? She has come close to harming you. I cannot understand this behavior!”

  “Something has perturbed her. Perhaps our absence.”

  Robert knit his brow. “Our absence?” He shook his head. “This is no way to welcome us home! She was not violent in life. I…”

  “I am sure she was not,” I reassured him. “But something irritated her. When the dead are agitated, they often lash out in this way.”

  “And you expect that our trip caused this?”

  “I assume so. When we arrived home, Annie was waiting on the balcony.”

  Robert’s eyebrows raised and his jaw opened as realization dawned on him. “Your gaze…”

  I nodded. “Yes. But…” my voice trailed off as my forehead wrinkled in thought.

  “What is it?”

  “I am not certain,” I replied, still lost in my reflection. “She did not appear upset. I had hoped we would finally have the chance to communicate. I imagined our absence may have been a constructive action.”