The Fourth Mistress - Chapter 55

Music Recommendation: Cosmic Background- Chris Warner

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More than two months passed after Emily had started to work as a maid in Reed’s manor and had become familiar with the servants and had adjusted to the work. During that time, she tried to get closer to Graham, trying to tell him who she was. But the time never seemed right, as always whenever they were near to each other, one or another person in the manor would come to interrupt them, or Graham would not be seen in Reed’s manor.

One morning after breakfast, Emily accompanied Lady Brielle, Graham’s paternal grandmother, out in the garden to take a stroll.

“Have you ever lived in Warlington before coming to work for Mrs. Hawkins?” questioned Lady Brielle. Emily turned to look at the older woman with her innocent expression while feeling her hands turn slightly cold. “You remind me of a woman, whom I met in the past.”

“No, milady,” Emily lied with a soft smile on her lips. To make sure the woman wouldn’t continue to question, she said, “I used to live in Midville, and Mrs. Hawkins had found me.”

“So I heard from Viola,” said the elderly woman, nodding her head. “It is good that Mrs. Hawkins took you in. God only knows how terrible it must have been for you, living alone by yourself.”

Emily didn’t comment a word on this, and the innocent smile on her lips continued. Carefully, she asked, “Which woman do I remind you of, milady?”

Lady Brielle took a step forward, her feet firmly on the ground so that she wouldn’t fall. She then said, “It was a woman whom not many liked or approved of. She was often seen next to different men who belonged to our high society. I still remember her because my grandson had once requested me to allow the woman’s little daughter with him in our family painting.”

Hearing this, Emily’s hands turned white as she held it tight while the expression on her face didn’t change, and she kept it calm.

“My apologies for comparing you with that woman. Nobody likes to be referred to as a woman who is low like that,” said the woman, looking ahead of her. “It must be because you have the similar shape of face that reminded me of her.”

“That’s alright, milady,” Emily offered the woman a smile while taking a note of how the elderly woman had degraded her mother.

It was the gossip and false rumours that had snatched her mother away from her. She had lost her whole family and had been left alone. It was the people who were responsible for looking down at her mother and talking ill about her mother. Remembering her as an uncouth woman, labelling her for things that she was not responsible for.

Emily then asked, “If I may ask, milady. Why did you allow them to be part of the painting?”

“Oh, no. I didn’t allow the woman to be part of such a special occasion. It was just the woman’s daughter. When Graham was young, it was very rare of him to ask anything and that time he asked earnestly. Of course, even though the painting was made, it was taken down after some time. Viola didn’t want to hang things where there were other people who were not related to the family,” explained Lady Brielle. “My daughter-in-law is careful, and she didn’t want people questioning who the girl is. Word reached that the family died.”

“Yes, milady,” responded Emily, trying to ignore the upsetting things and focussing that Graham had earnestly requested his grandmother to have her in the painting. “Master Graham must have built a good friendship with that little girl. Was he sad after hearing about her death?” She tried to fish for something.

Lady Brielle chuckled, “He was too young to remember her after some time. Children make friends and then forget and make new one new friends and some more. He was busy with his studies, to remember anything like that.” The woman stopped and said, “I feel tired now, I think the walk is enough and I would like to go back inside.”

“Yes, milady,” Emily bowed her head, and they went back inside.

But while going back, Lady Brielle walked a little too fast, and she almost lost her footing. Emily caught the woman, but the older woman had a muscle cramp, and she cried out in pain. Hearing the woman’s voice, the nearby family members quickly came out, and Lady Agatha’s eyes widened.

“What do you think you are doing?!” demanded Lady Agatha as she had thought that Emily had tried to push Lady Brielle. Emily shook her head, but that didn’t stop the woman from scolding her, “You were given the job to look after her, and you couldn’t do that?”

Lady Brielle raised her hand to say something, and Mr. Robert Reed, who had arrived along with Graham in the carriage, stepped down.

“Mother? Are you alright?” asked Robert, and he looked at the maid with a frown. “Are you going to speak, or are you going to stay mum?”

“Father, it must be the cramps,” Graham came forward and saw his grandmother’s face twisted in pain. “Where does it hurt?” he asked her. Noticing her leg had moved in an awkward position, and her hand was placed on it, he bent down and quickly straightened it, and she finally let out a sigh.

Graham’s parents helped Lady Brielle back into the manor, and Emily stood there too stunned, and her face had turned small. She said to Graham, “I didn’t do anything to Lady Brielle.”

“My apologies on behalf of my family. They were just worried about my grandmother. They shouldn’t have yelled at you,” said Graham, and he noticed the girl had turned red out of embarrassment and her hands clutched the sides of her dress.

That same evening, when Emily was walking in the corridor, she met Graham and he stopped her and gave her a box. He then said, “Consider this to be an apology from the family for what happened this morning.”

Curious, Emily took the box from him. When she opened it, she noticed a hairpin with stones inside it. A smile started to form on her lips that he had bought it for her.

But Graham burst the bubble by saying, “It is Alison’s hairpin. She was going to give them away and we thought you might like it.”

Emily stared at the pin before bowing her head and said, “Thank you, Master Graham.” Before he could take his leave, she said, “Master Graham, you are very kind.”

Graham only gave her a nod, “You and the other servants might be the people who are assigned here to work for us, but it is rude to treat you as if you have no feelings.”

She wondered when she would be able to get close to him.

Emily’s feelings of adoration and love had slowly turned into an obsession that she didn’t realize was unhealthy. Her eyes often searched for him, and when she didn’t find him, she became restless from not having a glimpse of him.

One day, in the morning while she was working, she decided to muster her courage and tell him the truth. Truth about who she was, but the same day Lady Viola appeared from a soiree with a wide smile on her lips and announced to Lady Brielle,

“The Walthams want to meet our family to give their consent and to finalize the matter. They will be here tomorrow.”

“Did you ask Graham about it?” questioned Lady Brielle.

Lady Viola smiled, “Graham will surely agree to what I say. He will never refuse my word and knows what we do is for his best.”

Hearing Graham’s name in the conversation, Emily wondered what they were speaking about. Lady Viola then continued to say, “By status, the Walthams match us and we all have known them for quite some time now. I will go and tell Gilbert to get all the arrangements started and also tell the news to Graham.”

When the woman had stepped out of the room, Emily, who stood next to Lady Brielle asked, “Do we have a soiree tomorrow, milady?”

“We do, but it is just for us and the Walthams. Graham’s wedding has been fixed with Waltham’s daughter, Nancy. Tomorrow we’ll be holding a small engagement,” said Lady Brielle with a smile on her face. But hearing this, Emily’s face turned pale, and she felt as if someone had pulled her heart out of her chest.

“Marriage?” came the whisper from Emily’s lips.

“Well, yes. Nancy Waltham is a nice and sweet girl. I have already met her a couple of times before, and I think she will turn out to be a wonderful wife to Graham. They look good together, and her father’s business is flourishing as well as ours. It is the right time,” said Lady Brielle, sipping her tea while Emily stared at the woman for what she just said.

In the evening, Emily was walking in the corridors, her mind barely working because of the news that she had heard about Graham marrying another woman. She wondered how he felt about it. While walking past his room, she heard Lady Viola and Graham’s voices spilling out from the room that was left slightly open.

“You didn’t even think about asking me before finalizing it,” said Graham, who had a deep frown on his face. “I am not ready for marriage. Right now, I have other things on my mind.”

“Who is stopping you from doing the other things, Graham? The only thing that is going to change is that you will have a wife. Nancy is a nice girl and you have spoken to her, haven’t you? She will fit well in our family.”

“You mean their family fits into ours?” questioned Graham, staring at his mother and Lady Viola’s own lips twisted into displeasure.

“And what is wrong if it does?” asked Lady Viola. “I think you both will make a good couple, Graham. I have already invited them to visit the manor tomorrow, so please. I would appreciate it if you give this marriage a chance.”

When Lady Viola started to walk towards the door, Emily quickly moved away towards the wall. The woman stepped out of the room, making her way down the stairs. Emily took a peek into the room and noticed Graham let out a frustrated sigh. She watched him walk towards his bed and sit at the edge, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

What was just words that she had heard about the engagement and marriage of Graham? It hit Emily hard when the Waltham family arrived at the manor to have lunch with the family.

Nancy Waltham.

She had braided her hair on both the sides of her head before tying it in the middle and letting the rest of her hair down. Emily didn’t understand what they saw in the girl that they thought she was suitable for Graham. It was apparent that if it weren’t for the expensive dress, Nancy would have looked like any other girl.

Emily remembered when she and Graham were children, and they used to sit together to eat. It was something she had looked forward to when she visited the soiree’s with her mother. It was supposed to be her, who was supposed to sit next to Graham, but instead, they had brought a doll to decorate the table.

Seeing Nancy sitting next to Graham had her blood boil, seething jealousy under her skin when Graham offered to pass the things on the table to the girl.

“We were thinking of holding the wedding in Lakeshire, what do you think about it, Mr. Reed?” Mr. Waltham asked while sitting next to Graham’s father.

“We do not have any objection towards it,” replied Mr. Reed. “Lakeshire is only thirty minutes away from here so it should be alright for everyone to be able to attend it.”

“It will be one of the most memorable weddings anyone has ever witnessed until now,” commented Lady Viola with a smile on her lips, raising her glass to toast. Everyone picked up their glasses, and to Emily’s vexation, Graham didn’t utter a word of refusal, and he picked up the glass with the rest of the family members. “To Graham and Nancy.”

“Graham and Nancy,” repeated others while happily looking at the couple.

On seeing this, Emily realized she was nothing in Graham’s life. She was nobody, just a metre maid. She had been easily replaced by another girl.

After a few days, both Graham and Nancy got married, while Emily spilt tears out of sorrow. That she hadn’t told him who she really was.

But within a few days, Nancy caught chickenpox, which made the family keep the girl in a separate room from Graham and other members.

One of the days, the maid attending to Nancy was busy, and Emily went to her place to bring the young lady her lunch.

“Will he like blue or maroon?” asked Nancy to herself, staring at the sweaters that she had asked one of the servants to get for Graham. “I think he will like maroon. It looks better on Graham.”

“He likes blue, milady,” said Emily, but the young lady laughed.

“What does a maid like you know about my husband? Go take this food out of here, you lousy servant,” commented Nancy before getting up from the chair and walking towards the open window. “I cannot wait to get out of here. Graham said that he would be taking me out once I get better. Wonderful, isn’t it?”

Emily could only stared at the back of the young lady while she picked up the plate and placed it on the tray.

“You will see he will like maroon as it is my favourite colour,” Nancy sweetly smiled. “Also, I prefer that you braid your hair. Mother said I should be careful of the maids, after all, I did marry a handsome husband,” she giggled, while her words were purely meant as a joke.

But only Emily could tell how careful the young mistress of Graham should have been.

While Nancy was recovering, this gave an idea to Emily. If Nancy could fall sick forever, she would never have to see the girl next to Graham anymore.

When Emily was sent to fetch vegetables from the market, she went to the shop and asked, “Is there anything that will keep the rats away?”

“Too many rats in the house?” questioned the man, and Emily nodded, her sweet looking face not giving away what she actually meant to use it for. The man handed something to her and said, “It isn’t effective, but it will keep them out.”

“Thank you,” Emily smiled, paying the money from her wages, and she returned to the manor with other things.

She started to mix it with the food sent to Nancy’s room, and Graham’s wife soon turned ill. The young mistress of Graham Reed couldn’t get out of bed, and more than two weeks passed, and she still stayed in bed.

Emily wasn’t happy when Graham had got the physician to take a look at Nancy.

“What is wrong with her, doctor?” questioned Graham, while Lady Viola stood next to him.

The physician had finished checking Nancy’s pulse, and he said, “I am not sure if it is because of the weather or if she caught something that I am unable to identify. How long has she been like this?”

“Nearly four days now,” replied Lady Viola, a deep frown formed on her forehead. “We thought it was just a normal flu but she has been getting worse day by day. What about the medicines?”

“I will write down the ones that I think will ease her pain for now. Until I don’t identify what the cause is, I apologize, but I won’t be of much help. Maybe it would be best for you to check with the other physicians if they can identify anything,” the physician wrote down the prescription of the medicines and after handing it to Graham, he left the manor.

One after another, the family invited other physicians to come to take a look at the lady, who was severely ill. All this while, Emily continued to mix the poison with small quantities in the food before being eaten by the young lady.

At the end of Nancy’s marriage to Graham, Nancy Waltham passed away with an unidentified sickness, and both the Waltham’s and Reed’s families grieved for her death.

Emily gave it some time so that Graham and his family could recover from the grief. She tried her best to get closer to Reed’s family, gaining their trust and being distinct from the other servants so that Graham would notice her. But then came the news of Graham’s second wedding with Miss Johanna Leveson.

“I don’t know why they even do it so quickly. He needs time,” muttered Emily under her breath.

“What are you mumbling to yourself, Emily?” questioned Lady Brielle to the familiar maid who always accompanied her. Right now, Lady Brielle sat in a wheelchair as her legs had turned weak. “I hope this marriage can fix Graham’s heart,” stated the old lady.

“Wouldn’t it be right for him to marry someone whom he loves, milady?” asked Emily. Noticing Lady Brielle looking at her in suspicion, she quickly bowed her head. “Pardon me for my audacity.”

Lady Brielle said, “Love will automatically happen once they get married. Even Nelson and I fell in love only after our marriage. It will happen eventually. What is important is that we see who they marry, and the background of the family. Viola has already seen and met Johanna when she had visited Levson’s manor. I can tell that you worry for Graham’s happiness and so do all of us, but this will be good. The previous marriage ended and maybe God prefered it that way.”

“Of course, milady,” Emily bowed her head. “Master Graham is a good person. He deserves happiness.” And she was the one who was going to make him happy, she thought in her mind. For a long time, she had kept track of every little habit of Graham’s. She had made a note of what he liked to eat, what colour he prefered to wear, how he liked to work in his study room after dinner and how he didn’t like women who were loud and frowned. He preferred a gentle and calm nature. Just like how she was.

“Where have you been going when you aren’t next to me, Emily? I have to wait or have someone call for you before you come to my side. What is keeping you busy?” questioned the old woman, her eyes subtly narrowing.

“I am just in the corridors, where else would I go?” Emily sweetly smiled at the woman sitting opposite to her while she stood at the front.

“That’s right. It is good to see that you work at ease with the other servants. It must be hard to not have your family when you were young. Do you remember your parents?” asked Lady Brielle and then added, “I think I should get on the bed and have some rest.”

Emily bowed her head and came to stand behind the wheelchair. Pushing and bringing it to the side of the bed, she helped the woman lay down on the bed. She pulled the blanket up to the woman’s chest.

“You didn’t answer my question, Emily,” Lady Brielle said when the maid turned around as if ready to leave the room.

Emily didn’t know why Lady Brielle was suddenly asking her this question. Turning around, she said, “Not much, milady. I was too small when I lost them.” The images of her mother and father’s dead body flashed in front of her eyes.

For a few seconds, the older woman didn’t say anything and Emily couldn’t help but question herself if the woman had found out about who she really was. She often wore her hair differently compared to her mother because of their striking resemblance.

A spark of fear had ignited within her if someone would find out that she was related to the Saltonstalls. But it had been years since her mother and her family had passed away.

“I see,” murmured the older woman, her eyebrows gently knitting together. “I am sorry to hear that. To grow up without any family. You should have come to us, but then we didn’t know each other.”

Emily wanted to tell the truth to the older woman, to someone because the secrets she had been harbouring for so long were only piling up one after another. In the hope that Lady Brielle would consider her for Graham and would drop Johanna, she started,

“Lady Brielle, I-”

“Grandma, are you resting?” In stepped Alison, making her way through the doors, and the older woman smiled.

“I wanted to get some rest, but I can always make time for my granddaughter. Come sit here,” she patted the space, and Alison smiled. “Emily, you can go now. Alison is here to keep me company.”

And just like that, the older woman brushed her away from there.

Emily stepped out of the room while turning behind to hear the two ladies laugh and talk inside. After an hour, Alison left the room when Emily returned to the woman’s room.

“Hm? Is it already time for evening tea?” asked the older woman as she had only closed her eyes.

“No, milady, there was something that I wanted to talk to you about,” said Emily, where she had locked the doors of the room so that no one would come to eavesdrop on the conversation.

Lady Brielle looked at her with a curious look and nodded her head, “Is everything alright?”

The older woman was polite and kind towards her, so Emily said, “Lady Brielle, there’s something that I need to tell you.” She took a pause and then said, “I, my parents, I do remember them. But it is hard to tell others about what has happened.”

The woman asked, “Why do you say that?”

At that moment, it was Emily’s naiveness or desperation that had made her tell the truth to the older woman,

“I am Marlow Saltonstall’s daughter, who had once come here to the manor. I didn’t know if it was right to tell it or keep it to myself. I was that little girl, who used to spend time with Master Graham,” she smiled as if feeling the heaviness from her chest being lifted.

Lady Brielle stared at Emily for a few seconds, and she then said, “Finally comes the lies that you have been hiding from me and my family. I had my doubts since the day you started to serve me, but I wasn’t sure.”

Hearing this, the colour on Emily’s face turned pale, and she asked, “You did?”

“It wasn’t hard. Call Gilbert so that he can send you out with all your things from here. You can return back to Mrs. Hawkins house, unless she realizes what kind of mother you had,” stated Lady Brielle with a serious tone. “I wouldn’t like a woman’s daughter as yourself to be walking in these corridors. We don’t want people commenting about it. Words about your mother still circulate in the soirees like an old story that is marked with sin.”

Emily’s hands turned into fists, and she fell on her knees and pleaded, “But I didn’t do anything bad, milady. I have been diligently working in the manor and yesterday you told me that you have been enjoying my company.”

“I was just coaxing you to bring out the truth. Who knows what other disgraceful things you and your family have done. I can have another maid to give me company by replacing you. Do you think we are not capable of appointing servants? I don’t know how you thought you could try to get close to Graham. Now call Gilbert. I want to speak to him immediately,” the woman’s words were harsh with a hint of arrogance in her tone.

“Please don’t do this to me. I have nowhere else to go,” Emily continued to plead, but the woman was not ready to listen to any of it.

The lady only turned restless, and before she could scream for the butler, Emily quickly covered the woman’s lower face with his hand. The woman flailed her chubby hands. If people were to find out, they would throw her out of here, but she wasn’t ready to leave.

“Please, don’t tell anyone. I only came here to meet Graham and to work in the manor. Please listen to me,” Emily continued to plead, looking at the woman. “You said you understood how lonely it is for me to not have any of my family members. You cannot do this to me, Lady Brielle. I only-Lady Brielle?”

When Emily saw the older woman go still, she pulled her hand away and noticed the woman stare. She pulled her hand away in shock, realizing she had covered the woman’s mouth and nose where she hadn’t been able to breathe.

Emily hadn’t meant to kill the older woman, and now that it had happened, she panicked. While killing Nancy Waltham, she had been careful, and it was properly planned. But this was unexpected. Before anyone would walk into the room, she closed Lady Brielle’s eyes and tucked the woman, making it look like the older woman was fast asleep.

When Emily walked towards the door, she noticed someone turn the doorknob, and she quietly came to hide behind the door when it opened. She could feel her heart beating loudly while she realized the mistake she had made by trusting someone like the older woman to care for her. Her lips trembled, and her eyes looked livid when she saw it was Graham, who entered the room.

She stood still, not moving until he stepped forward and towards the bed where the woman lay dead. Taking a step forward as quiet as she could, she stepped out of the room and made her way towards the kitchen.

By the time Reed’s family members found Lady Brielle to be dead, two good hours had passed, while Emily acted innocent as if she had been in the kitchen since Lady Alison had visited the now-deceased woman in the room.

Lady Brielle’s death had later been declared to be out of old age. To Emily’s delight, because of the death in the family, Graham’s wedding was postponed. But in the end, she couldn’t stop the marriage as Graham and Johanna Leveson were married after three weeks.

The innocence that Emily held when she was a small girl had scarred after seeing her mother hanging from the roof and her father shooting her sister and himself without a thought. And the scar was nothing less to rust on the iron that had started to corrode itself.

She had killed Nancy with a slow death and had killed Lady Brielle in pure desperation to cover a mistake. She decided to be careful. This was why, when it came to killing Graham’s second wife, Emily didn’t want it to look suspicious, and she gave it a year while keeping an eye.

As expected, the society was quick to jump to the conclusion, feeding each other’s curiosities with gossip.

“Is it really true that his second wife also passed away?”

“Something must be wrong with Graham Reed’s luck in marriages. Pity that they died so young.”

“Doesn’t it seem odd that they died in such a short span of the marriage? It feels like a foul play,” commented another, while Emily walked through the streets of the market after buying the groceries. “Do you think the family did something?”

“I think he just has bad luck, might as well stay clear of the Reeds to not catch the bad luck. I heard the Reed’s might try to get him to marry someone again, but I doubt any family would be willing to give him their daughter’s hand in marriage.”

Hearing this, Emily felt her mindset at ease.

The people of the society trying to defame him were the same people who had disgraced and shamed her beloved mother. But she was here for him. It was time for her to let Graham know that she was there for him. She would love and cherish him.

One week had passed since Johanna had died, but the murmurs continued. Emily made her way to Reed’s manor.

When she entered the manor from the backside and dropped the vegetables in the kitchen, she was making her way to check if Graham was in the manor when she heard the two women of the manor talking to each other.

“What did we do wrong that Graham is going through these sufferings? One is understandable but two?” Lady Viola shook her head in disbelief. Lady Agatha sat next to her, placing her hand on Lady Viola’s hand for comfort.

“The girls these days are weak and delicate, they aren’t as strong as us. It was something unexpected. People who are speaking right now will forget about it, which will be replaced by some other news to talk about,” Lady Agatha tried to console Lady Viola.

“I shouldn’t have rushed with the second marriage. I should have probably given it some time because I know…” Lady Viola took a pause, “Even though Graham doesn’t say anything, he must be hurting inside. It was too soon.”

“He’ll feel better after a few months. We all need time to recover from the loss that has occurred and he is still young. Didn’t you say Robert was planning to hand over the business to him?” asked Lady Agatha.

“Yes, he did. We thought it was time for Graham to take the responsibility entirely. It will keep his mind busy,” replied Lady Viola, and she took a deep breath before letting it go.

After checking for Graham’s presence, Emily walked back to the kitchen,

She had a faint smile on her lips. She picked up the tray and teacup, her body movements elegant like any other lady of an aristocratic family. Her nerves had calmed down, and she appeared more relaxed as there was nothing to worry about.

Once the tea was prepared, Emily took the tea tray in her hand and went to Graham’s study room, where he had buried himself with work. She placed the tray on the table, standing there, waiting to talk to Graham so that she could comfort him through her words. A few seconds later, Graham noticed her standing there idle.

He raised his head, “What are you doing simply standing there in the room? If that is all you came for, leave,” came his blunt words.

“I, Master Graham, wanted to ask if you need anything,” said Emily with her head bowed and looking straight at him before looking down at the table.

“If I have anything I will ask Gilbert. And don’t bring in things unnecessarily when I haven’t asked for it. Take this and leave the room,” said Graham, that hurt Emily, but she bowed her head.