The Fourth Mistress

Music Recommendation: Our walks - Aleksandar Dimitrijevic

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Louise sat at the table with the rest of Reed's family, and like yesterday the dining room was quiet as a cemetery at night would be.

"How are things going on with the project, Graham?" inquired Mr. Reed to his son. Louise felt like if there was someone in this family who seemed or appeared to be reasonable, it was Mr. Reed.

Graham nodded at his father and said, "It has been going smooth, father. Mr. Perrot said he has already arranged the men to start the construction work and they will be starting from next week. We have already received the permission regarding the land handover so there shouldn't be any disruption when they start the work."

"That is good news," commented Mr. Reed.

Alison, who sat at the table, asked, "Will Graham and Louise be moving there once the business starts flourishing?"

This was something Louise had not expected or considered, and she looked at Graham. Mr. Reed smiled and said, "I don't think the construction will be ready any time soon as we still need to get the machinery in there. It might take a couple of months. But maybe in the future, Graham can consider it."

"That is true," replied Graham.

Viola said, "We should definitely hold a celebration when the office opens. It isn't every family that can manage and succeed in their business like ours has," and she raised her glass of water.

The rest of the dinner went quietly, and Louise dabbed the corner of her lips with the napkin and placed it back on the right side next to her plate.

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Louise was the first to get back to their room, and she waited for Graham while sitting on the edge of the bed.

"You don't have to wait for me, Louise. Please retire to the bed whenever you feel like it," said Graham when he noticed her waiting for him. Unlike other men, he didn't want to keep Louise up for no reason.

Louise shook her head. Getting up from the bed, she said, "I don't have the habit of sleeping this early. Back in my home, I used to sleep around eleven or twelve."

"I can tell why you woke up late when my mother came to visit you," he replied and then walked across the room towards the closet while unbuttoning his vest and shirt.

"I thought she would have mentioned it," murmured Louise to herself. It wasn't that she wasted her time as she had been preparing for her exams by studying in the evening that stretched close to midnight.

"Do not fret about what my mother thinks of you. She holds strong opinions about people and as far as I remember she has been like that," assured Graham. Louise went back to sit on the edge of the bed while looking at Graham's reflection from the windowpane as she had her back facing him now.

It seemed like she was building a habit of staring at her husband, but then Louise wondered who else would if not her, and she cleared her throat. Graham continued to say, "Not every finger is of the same length. Just like that, not every person has the same nature and they have their own ways of doing things."

Louise nodded her head and then came back to the point of why she was waiting for him, "I wanted to ask you about what came up in the dining room today."

"Hm?" he responded.

"Will we be moving to Hungate once the business flourishes?" she asked him and slowly turned back to face him as it was rude to not look at a person and talk.

Graham noticed the little worry in her eyes, and he said,

"Currently, everything is only in the beginning stage. But yes, my father wants me or us to move there more than Henry because of my mother's wishes." Hm? Did not Mrs. Reed like her son-in-law? But then, at the same time, she didn't receive the loving vibes from her mother-in-law. "What I mean to say is mother is very specific on matters when it comes to the family tradition and the family business. She wants to keep our lumber business within the family. Also, if we do move, the court and other offices are nearby which will make it easier for you in the future."

That was true, thought Louise to herself, but she hadn't thought of leaving Habsburg behind. The town and the surroundings had been her home. But, more importantly, she had her uncle and aunt, who lived near the edge of the town.

"Your exams will be over in two months and the construction of the building will take at least five to six months. It will give you enough time to decide," said Graham to her.

Graham had changed himself into a loose white shirt and a trouser. While pulling over the shirt from his head and downward, his hair had turned slightly messy. He looked much younger with his hair not neatly combed to the side, thought Louise in her mind. Who knew that one day she would marry a handsome man with a smouldering look on his face, not to forget a wealthy husband.

A few minutes later, Louise and Graham got into bed. She wondered if it was odd to be using two separate blankets while they slept on the same bed. On the one hand, Louise was touched by Graham's gesture of giving her time to settle in without demanding anything. But on the other hand, she couldn't help but worry that he might not feel the same way towards her as he did with his previous wives.

"Graham?" Louise whispered his name, seeing him lying flat on his back.

On hearing her call his name, Graham turned his face and met Louise's eyes. "Yes?"

"Have you ever been to Lakeshire? The one that has the sea," asked Louise, her eyes meeting his olive-green eyes.

"A couple of times in the past," answered Graham.

"Did you meet the crabs there?" she continued to ask him and he nodded his head. He raised his hand and Louise's eyes fell at it. Her eyes on the little mark on his hand before they turned back to look at him.

"The mark in here. It was when we came across a crab in the sand. We didn't know it was there," said Graham before clarifying, "Lisa and me. She used to love the shore. Getting her feet wet."

A faint smile appeared on Louise' lips.

She then said, "I was looking through the portraits that are in these walls of the manor, but I didn't find any of them."

"The old ones? Yes, you won't find them on the walls," answered Graham. "Somewhere after the family members death, my parents believed it would be better to keep them away from curious eyes. Even though we don't have many visitors, a few of them sometimes like to speak. All the portraits that were created in the past will be found in the cellar room."

Louise had already heard from one of the maid's of the manor that they were in the cellar.

"Do you think it would be alright if I would take a look at them?" she asked him. Louise was curious, but at the same time, she wanted to respect his feelings. After all, it was something about his past.

She saw Graham purse his lips before he gave her a nod, "I don't think it should be a problem," he answered her. "I will have Gilbert give you the key to the cellar so that you can look at them."

"Thank you," Louise thanked him.

Minutes passed, and they both fell asleep like the rest of the family members and servants of the manor. Louise was having a good dream where she was in a meadow, surrounded by flowers, when suddenly those flowers started to wilt, and it started to turn dark. She heard a distant scream of a woman. Her eyes snapped open, and she was greeted back by the darkness in the room except for some of the candles that continued to burn.

When she turned to look at Graham, he was fast asleep. His lips parted as he breathed in and out.

She wondered who had screamed in her dream.

Feeling thirsty, she got up and reached for the glass of water that was on the nightstand. As she gulped the water down her throat, it felt like Heaven.

Louise could hear the deafening silence of the night where not even the sound of the crickets could be heard. But then she realized why it was so quiet. Like in the evening, the clock had stopped working again.

Picking the candle stand that dimly lit in the room, she got near the clock to see the hands of the dial had stopped at four past eleven. It was a strange clock, thought Louise to herself because clocks often stopped at random positions, but this one was stopping at the same time. She was about to return to her bed when she heard a rustling sound from outside the bedroom.

Her eyes were quick to move towards the door that was closed. Walking towards it, she slowly turned the knob of the door before stepping outside in the long corridor. Holding the candle stand that guided her, Louise stepped forward on the carpeted wooden floor.

Her movements were slow because she didn't want to create noise and wake up other people in the manor. Noticing a window that had not been closed, she kept the candle away before closing it. When she picked up the candle stand again, walking back towards her bedroom in the corridor, she heard something creek from behind her.

Louise stopped walking, because as she walked, she could feel as if someone was walking not too far behind her. The floor creaked and it didn't seem like it came from her footsteps. She brought her hand forward to shed light from the candle to the corridor, but there was no one in there and the creaking stopped.

Walking towards the bedroom, she heard the creaking sound of the flooring much clearer this time. She quickly snapped around, and the candle light blew out.