[[Spoilers: For PL4 and Eternal Diva.
Set: AU where Melina lives a little longer.]]
Heirs
Maybe this was a mistake, Melina thought as she stifled another cough.
Janice had warned her about the fumes from the car factory- Father had begged her not to go- but Melina told them she could handle it (fresh country air and all that jazz).
She couldn't spend her life cooped up at home, and besides, Mr Barde was depending on her…
She cleared her throat, shouldered her bag and continued her journey through Misthallery.
There was a canal boat she could take up to Highyard Hill (very romantic- she'd have to ride it with Janice sometime) but the rest of the way was quite a trek, and she was exhausted by the time she reached Barde Manor.
She took a moment to catch her breath before tapping on the double wooden front doors.
A maid welcomed her into the manor and brought her to Mr Evan Barde in the lounge. He greeted Melina cordially and, no doubt noticing how tired she looked, asked the maid to fetch her some tea, along with his daughter, Arianna.
Arianna- having been playing by the lake with her bother, Tony- came in ten minutes later.
Smiling fondly, Mr Barde informed her, "Arianna, this is Miss Whistler, your new music teacher."
Arianna kept sneaking glances out her bedroom window as Melina demonstrated a basic C Major scale on the piano.
When Melina asked if she could play the scale, Arianna hesitated and said, "Can you repeat that, please?"
Melina closed the piano's lid, laughing, "Let's take a short break."
But-" Arianna frowned at the clock, "-won't you have to go soon?"
"I can hang on."
Staying in Misthallery had been easier since Mr Barde closed the factory- a drastic decision that put a lot of people out of work, but he had done it to improve Arianna's health.
Melina could see her own father going to similar lengths for her…
Much to her surprise, Arianna invited her to come to the lake to meet a 'friend'.
Melina thought she might mean the small boy in the blue cap- the one Arianna seemed to have a crush on.
…Actually, she meant Misthallery's friendly version of the Loch Ness monster.
That day, Melina was very glad Janice had decided to accompany her.
Her chest felt tight from the cold, she could barely see through the fog and to make matters worse, a policeman had interrogated them as soon as they stepped foot in Misthallery.
Janice demanded to know why they were being treated like suspects and the policeman revealed that a body had been discovered up at Barde Manor.
Melina ran.
Harsh whispers followed her through town: "Good riddance… He'll rot in hell… Let's hope his heirs don't take after him…"
Outside the manor gate, she tripped over a tree root and Janice managed to catch up with her.
Melina was wheezing and shaking by this point, but Janice helped her to her feet and they soldiered on together, arm in arm.
They pounded on the manor doors and Melina cried, "Arianna, Tony!"
She feared her voice would be too raspy for them to recognise, but finally, the doors opened and Tony rushed out.
"It's Papa," he sobbed as Melina pulled him close, "Papa's dead."
Melina ended up spending the entirety of the Christmas holidays at Barde Manor.
Her father was so busy writing an opera (one of his first in many years) that he let Melina go with his blessings.
It was a subdued Christmas for the Barde siblings compared to last year, when Mr Barde had bought enough presents to fill the dining hall and thrown a huge banquet for all their friends.
Nonetheless, Melina was determined to make their day special; they decorated a small tree with baubles and tinsel, strung lights on the willow trees outside, sang carols around the piano, exchanged homemade cards and gifts, baked gingerbread cookies, and delivered Loosha's present in the afternoon.
Janice joined them on Boxing Day but by then Arianna had retreated to her bedroom.
When Tony went up to talk to her, Melina sighed, "What are we going to do…? It's like the whole town has turned against them."
"It's scapegoating," Janice mused, "Things just haven't been the same here since Mr Barde's death... Maybe I could write to my old professor- he's solved a few cases for Scotland Yard…."
Despite everything, this made Melina chuckle, "You always were fond of him."
Janice gave her a flat look before moving forward to kiss her.
[[Because apparently the only way I can make myself write this AU is through ten-lined Tumblr prompts.]]