The Fourth Mistress - Chapter 20：Disappearance

Music Recommendation: A heart made of yarn- Franz Bengtsson

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The following day before Louise joined the other family members in the dining room, she made her way to the room she had hidden in yesterday. She could sense something to be amiss. She stood in front of the closet now. On opening it, she found the wedding gown to be missing.

She searched for the white gown between the other clothes, but it wasn’t there. Did someone take it away from here?

From what she had heard from Graham, none of the three gowns had returned to the manor. And according to Mr. Burnell, three gowns had been returned by the Reed’s, and someone bought one of it. Was it possible that Mrs. Reed had bought the gown? Something just didn’t feel right, considering how the room was kept as if the person still existed.

Two hours later, Louise was at her workplace, working on the new case that Mr. Winkle had given her. And while she made notes, in the back of her head, she continued to question where the gown had gone? She had seen the gown with her own two eyes. The only people who had seen her enter that room were Alison and the maid named Emily. One of them must have informed Mrs. Reed about it, but then at the same time, Louise didn’t remember anyone mentioning that room being inaccessible.

Louise heard the tinkling of the bell attached to the door, and she looked up to see two young women enter the building.

“We are here to see Mr. Winkle. Is he available now?” asked one of the women, staring at Louise.

“Yes, he is. Let me go and check if he is free to see you now,” offered Louise with a polite smile, and once she checked with Mr. Winkle, she asked the two women to go inside.

The women took almost fifteen minutes with Mr. Winkle before stepping out of the room and coming near Louise’ desk.

“Your name is Louise, isn’t it?” asked one of the women, who had worn white gloves on her hands.

“Do I know you?” Louise returned the question.

The woman who questioned her lips twisted in a smile. Their eyes looked at Louise’ attire and face, judging her. The first one who had spoken to her said, “I don’t think you know us, but we know you. You must be the new wife of Graham Reed, aren’t you?”

Louise nodded her head, “I am.”

“I am Chloe Walls. You are the person who is mostly spoken about in the soirees. Young women have been wondering how you both met and fell in love. You wouldn’t mind attending the soiree, would you? It would be a great pleasure to have you there and know you,” said the first woman.

To convince Louise, the second woman said, “You must come. We would love to have Reed’s daughter-in-law being friends with us,” she smiled.

“I am not much of a soiree person and I have a lot to study,” responded Louise with a polite smile that matched theirs.

“Thank you,” murmured Louise, and she saw the two women leave. She put the address in her bag.

It wasn’t that she didn’t receive any attention before, but now that she was a Reed, outsiders were curious to know more about the family she was part of. Not to mention, she was not Graham’s first wife but the fourth wife, his fourth mistress.

“Louise?” Mr. Winkle called her.

“Yes, Mr. Winkle?” She left her desk and went to see him in his office room.

“I will need you to get some stamps for tomorrow. There are some documents that need to be sent through Mr. Cardiff. He will be here to pick it up from here,” said her employer. “Also, did you finish drafting the points for the case?”

“I should be able to give it to you in half an hour. I am going verifying to make sure I didn’t miss anything,” replied Louise, and the man nodded his head.

“You are the most efficient apprentice I have had the pleasure to work with, Louise. And I am not saying this because I helped you hone your skills, but you have a knack when it comes to this field,” said the old man before continuing, “I know times like these can be distracting,” said Mr. Winkle with his lips set in a thin line. Louise wondered if she had been too lost today because she had been consumed with questions in her mind. “I am sure you are thinking about your handsome husband, but I want you to focus and think about him later. After work.”

Louise’ cheeks turned red, and she offered the man an awkward smile. Both she and Graham had not done anything except share a kiss at their wedding. Their marriage had taken place with mutual understanding, and they agreed there was no need to rush things.

“Of course, Mr. Winkle,” replied Louise.

Once she did complete the report, she packed her things and left the office, making her way to the post office, which was in the centre of the town. She had left the office an hour early, and there was a lot of free time before she would show up at Graham’s office.

“Good afternoon, Mrs. Dormer,” Louise wished the woman at the post office.

“Oh my, it feels like years have passed since I last saw you. I heard about your wedding to Mr. Graham Reed. Congratulations for that,” the woman gave her a knowing look which she only returned with a polite smile.

“Thank you,” replied Louise.

“I must tell you that I was hoping to attend your wedding. It is a shame that it was a private one. Nonetheless happy to see that you are married now,” stated the woman. “What brings you here?”

Louise smiled, “Mr. Winkle wanted postal stamps. He needs them for tomorrow.”

“Let me get them, dear,” said the woman, and she left her chair. It seemed like news about her quiet wedding had spread, thought Louise to herself. The woman returned with the stamps, and once Louise paid for it, she thanked the woman.

“Actually we have some letters that need to be delivered to Reed’s manor. You don’t mind taking them with you, do you?” asked Mrs. Dormer.

“Not at all, I would be happy to help,” replied Louise, taking them from the woman and placing them in her bag. She walked towards the local library.

On entering the local library, Louise walked to the back section while Mr. Sherman, the owner of this place, was busy talking to an older man.

“Lady Louise, it is so good to see you here!” It was Winslow who was carrying books in his hands. “It has been a while. Are you here to take a look at the new books?” asked the young man.

“Good afternoon, Winslow. Actually I wanted to take a look at some of the old newspapers. Are they still stored here?” inquired Louise.

“They must be, milady. Let me show you the way,” said the boy. He placed the books in the rack and walked her through the door that was at the back. The corridor smelt like cardboards and dust. When they reached one of the rooms, Louise stepped inside a room to catch sight of shelves built in the walls. “You will find them segregated in the order of years and months at the top. Would you like me to stay?”

Louise shook her head, “I will be fine. Thank you for guiding me here, Winslow.” The boy nodded his head and left the room.

When Louise came to stand in front of the shelf that held papers five years ago, her feet stopped. Her hand touched the papers.

“The time before spring,” whispered Louise, and she pulled out the newspapers before going through them one after another.

Louise wanted to know if the Reed’s had given out any statements after Lisa’ death. Asking the family would be strange. But she couldn’t shake off the feeling of what she had seen yesterday.

Finally, she got her hands on the paper she had been looking for. The newspaper had a bold headline that read: ‘The Reed’s lose another family member in an accident or was it a murder?’

‘This is the third death in the family of the Reed’s, and Graham Reed, son of the wealthy and well-known family, has turned a widower again. The question here is if it was just another ill luck or if the Reed’s are involved in something that they have been tight-lipped about the incident. Lisa Reed was found dead in the attic with her neck broken.

According to the doctor’s report, there are no fingerprints, but it does make one question how a person could die from a simple fall from the chair. One of our sources has confirmed that Graham had an argument with the deceased person in one of the soirees. Was everything not well with the couple?’

After Louise was done reading the newspaper, she went to meet Graham, who was speaking to some of his employees about the work that needed to be completed.

“Did you finish your work early today?” questioned Graham on noticing her, and he walked to where she was.

“I had some work at the post office for Mr. Winkle,” replied Louise, noticing Graham had removed his coat and he wore a pair of rubber gloves. He must have been helping his employees.

“I am almost done here. I will have Harvey bring the carriage to the front,” informed Graham, and Louise nodded her head. When her eyes met the other men’s gaze, they were quick to bow down their heads in greeting, and she offered them a polite nod.

On their way back, Louise said, “I received a personal invitation to attend a soiree. I was wondering if you would like to accompany me there. It was from a woman named Chloe Walls,” She noticed how his lips set themselves in a thin line on hearing about it.

“Unfortunately, I will have to refuse it, Louise. I have work this week. Maybe we can attend next time,” he proposed an alternative, and she nodded her head.

“That will be fine. Do you know this person named Chloe?” Louise directly asked as the expression on his face had turned serious.

“She is Lisa’s second cousin,” replied Graham, and Louise understood the discomfort it could bring him. “When Lisa and I were married, she wasn’t happy about it. Lisa came from a fairly moderate family compared to my first two wives, whom my mother hand picked for me. From what I heard, Chloe was against it and she probably blames me for her cousin’s death.”

Louise’ eyebrows knit together, and she placed her hand on his, “It wasn’t your fault, Graham. You loved and respected her when she was alive and even after it. You do not have to carry the guilt.”

Graham hummed.

Louise then said, “I came upon her room yesterday…” She didn’t fill the sentence, but Graham caught her drift of what she was speaking.

“When we moved from Warlington, my family was still grieving and in pain. We packed everything and brought it here. I couldn’t throw her things away and we decided to have a separate room to keep her things in there. Something to remember by. It must have been uncomfortable for you-”

“No,” Louise shook her head. “You cherished her when she was alive and I am sure she loved you too. If anything, she deserves to be remembered,” she offered him an assuring smile to let him know that she was alright with it. When she had decided to marry Graham, she had tried to understand his situation and the situations she might have to face.

Louise knew she had married a man who had values, which was why she didn’t doubt his intentions.

“There is something that has been on my mind,” stated Louise, pursing her lips for a moment before she asked, “Do you believe in ghosts, Graham?”

Hearing this, Graham’s eyebrows drew in together, “They are only a figment of imagination. Stories made up to scare children so that they listen to their elders. Why do you ask?” he questioned her.

“I…I think I saw something yesterday,” confessed Louise, hoping Graham wouldn’t think she was losing her mind.

“What was it?” he asked curiously.

Louise was about to say about the hand that she had seen, but she ended up saying something else, “I thought I saw a wedding gown in there. In Lisa’s room, but it wasn’t there this morning when I went to see it.”

A grim expression came to fall on Graham’s face on hearing Louise’ words. When they reached the manor, they went to meet his mother, who sat in the drawing-room with his aunt.

“Mother, there is something I would like to ask you,” said Graham.

“What is it, Graham?” questioned Lady Viola, her eyebrows raising in question. She noticed her daughter-in-law standing behind her son.

“Did you buy the wedding gown from the tailorman after they were sent to his shop?” he questioned her.

Lady Viola frowned on hearing about the wedding gown, “We don’t rebuy things once we give it away, son. And to answer your question, no. The wedding gowns haven’t been purchased for long. The recent one was Louise’s which she bought. Why do you ask?” she asked in a calm tone.

Louise stepped forward to speak, “Forgive me, Lady Viola. Yesterday, I noticed the gown in the closet of one of the rooms and just happened to wonder about it.”

“Let us see which gown you are speaking about,” suggested Lady Viola and Louise said,

“It’s not there now,” and the two older women raised their bows.

“You must have imagined it then. Because as far as I remember, the wedding gowns were not brought into our family again,” answered Lady Viola, staring at Louise. “You should concentrate on your upcoming exams, dear, than on such unimportant things. I have already spoken about you with my relatives. It would be quite shameful if you fail the exams.”

“She would never do anything that will bring shame to our family. Louise has been studying hard, mother,” said Graham, standing next to Louise.

Louise wondered if Lady Viola was annoyed because she had played hide and seek, or for disturbing her son’s time, or if it was because she had found the gown, which had disappeared.

“Undoubtedly she has, but a little more effort wouldn’t hurt,” commented Lady Viola.

“I have a very good memory, Lady Viola,” Louise smiled at the woman. “Once my eyes fall on something, I don’t forget things that easily.”

“Then all is well,” Lady Viola offered Louise and her son a slight smile. After they left, she picked up the cards to continue to play with her sister-in-law.

Once the doors of the room closed, Lady Agatha asked, “Did you buy the wedding gowns back?”

Lady Viola huffed, “Why would I ever do that? Something that is tainted in death. Things like that carry bad luck. She must be just imagining things.”