Hello dearest readers! I AM SO SORRY. I swear, I meant to have this up by Wednesday, but fate reared its ugly head and gave us the biggest thunder storm we've had in fifteen years! I have been without power since Wednesday night, and was finally able to get to a Starbucks today to get this chapter up. Once again, so sorry! Please enjoy this chapter, and I promise I will have another one up ASAP.
I do not own the Haunted Mansion or its characters.
Enjoy!
XXXXX
1871
Two years had passed since my father and I arrived at the mansion, and in that time, Edward and I had grown remarkably close. Though my fear of thunder storms had greatly lessened since that first fateful night, I knew that each time a flash of lightning appeared in the sky, I could count on Edward to come knocking mere moments later at my door…a sound which never failed to make my heart leap with anticipation. Suffice to say, late nights spent whispering in the window of my room became a rather common occurrence for us. Especially as I discovered they were one of the few cherished moments we were able to spend together.
The twins – whom had also become very dear friends to me – were true to their word when they told me that Edward could hardly be seen while the sun was still high. Every moment of every day for him was spent cooped up in that dreadful study, agonizing over what Lady Gracey often referred to as "the art of being a gentleman", so that he was prepared to assume full control of the mansion once he'd reached the age of twenty one. This was not, of course, to say that I was without occupation during the day. Though my father was only caretaker of the manor, the twins had been quick to insist to their aunt that I be raised alongside them in the fashion of a lady, and with Edward's approval silencing any objections, the stern and stiff woman had little choice but to agree. Much of my time now was spent in the library with Jamie and Agatha, learning proper etiquette, or yelping my way through sewing practice, or even sitting through private lessons with the girls' tutor - though I confess this was my least favorite of the privileges that had been bestowed upon me. The three of us were often united in boredom more than anything else, and it became rare when a lesson didn't end in a harsh scolding for giggling too much or for falling asleep on the sofa.
There was, unfortunately, one thing that had yet to change during my time at Gracey Manor. Try as I might to show respect and gratitude towards her, Lady Gracey had yet to reward me with any true display of kindness beyond what Edward and the twins requested of her. True, she was never explicitly cold or cruel, but every now and then, out of the corner of my eye, I could see her watching me with an expression of great contempt, as though I were some rodent that had snuck its way into the woodwork and needed to be disposed of as soon as possible. She didn't approve of me – that much was obvious – nor did she condone my heritage. However…the more I observed her…the more I realized that there was yet another reason for her disdain, which – at my young age – baffled me. Her scorn was always most fierce whenever Edward and I were together.
As soon as I had come to this staggering conclusion, I found myself asking over and over again what I had done wrong. Was I hurting him in some way? Or perhaps I wasn't showing him the proper respect? After all, we were only friends. What could be the harm in that?
XXXXX
I was in complete agony.
It was barely afternoon, and yet it seemed like hours since Lady Gracey had taken Jamie and Agatha to town for new dresses – an invitation that, this time, had not been extended to me. So now here I lay, bored out of my mind and stifled by an unbearable heat that left me both unwilling and unable to move from my position on the cool, wooden floor of my room. I wondered how badly I'd be scolded if I decided to simply go about in my chemise today…
Knock, knock, knock.
"Elizabeth?"
The door opened and my daddy poked his head into the room, looking about in confusion when he didn't spot me right away. I let out a groan and very reluctantly pushed myself up, despite the fact that every muscle in my body instantly protested, and the amusement that appeared on daddy's face when he saw where I'd been laying at the foot of my bed.
"Were ye plannin' on spending the entire day sleepin' in yer room, or are ye just mopin' because the girls are gone?" He chuckled, much to my chagrin.
"There's no one to play with when they're gone! Edward is still studying." I tried to reason with him, slowly staggering to my feet. "And besides, it's too hot to do anything today."
His eyebrows raised at that.
"Oh really? Well, Emma's been cookin' in the kitchen since before the sun rose this mornin'. And I've already made my first rounds along the border of the grounds."
"But it's your job to do that." I frowned.
He smiled and kneeled down in front of me.
"That's right. And it's your job as a young lady to keep yerself occupied while we're runnin' things around here. Now, do ye think ye have the energy to get yerself down to the gardens?" He asked.
I hoped the dread on my face was enough of a response.
"Now, don't ye give me that look." He smirked, ruffling my hair. "I happen to know ye've got two legs that work perfectly well when ye want them to, so go on. Ye've spent enough time indoors."
An indignant yelp escaped me as he whacked my behind and directed me towards the door, and I turned to give him an annoyed glare as I stalked from the room.
XXXXX
Oh god, the heat was even worse outside than I had feared it would be. I trudged begrudgingly along the garden path, muttering to myself bitterly and cursing my father for forcing me from my perfectly comfortable place inside the mansion. It wasn't my fault that there was nothing to do. And what was so great about the outdoors anyway? There was nothing for me to see here that I hadn't explored a dozen times with Jamie and Agatha already. By the time the garden's pond finally came into view, a fine sheen of sweat had formed on my forehead and on my neck and back, and I didn't waste a single second in running to the water's edge and scooping the cool liquid up into my hands, raising it above my head and letting it drip through my fingers and into my hair.
Sweet relief.
I let out a thankful sigh as the water trailed down past my ears and began to dribble down my neck. Though it was not as cold as I would have hoped, it did manage to alleviate my suffering to some degree, and I soon found myself kneeling down to stick my whole face into the pool.
It feels so nice!
Though I was sure I looked rather ridiculous with my face submerged like it was, I couldn't help leaning forward just a bit more to let the water engulf my neck and shoulders as well.
Just a little further in-
Had I been able to, I would have yelled out in surprise as my hand suddenly slipped, and my legs pitched me forward and into the pond. It took me several moments of clumsy flailing before I felt my feet finally hit mud, and I emerged gasping and spluttering from the water, sopping from head to toe, but at least – I thought admittedly – feeling much better than I did before. As I waded back over to the edge of the pond and pulled myself out onto the grass, I could only hope that no one had witnessed my rather embarrassing tumble. But then I heard it.
Laughter.
Oh, how I prayed that it wasn't who I thought it was.
I hurriedly climbed to my feet, eyes fretfully scanning the windows of the house, until, at last, I found the study…and all of my fears were confirmed.
There was Edward, looking as merry as ever, standing in the open window and staring down at me with a bright grin that told me, much to my horror, that he had indeed seen everything.
My first reaction was mortification. The moment that I realized I'd been caught, my cheeks went up in flames and a humiliation like I'd never felt overwhelmed me, leaving me unable to do anything but gawk up at him. But then another reaction took over. As I stood there watching him enjoy my awkward predicament, I grew rather resentful towards the boy whom I had, until this moment, called my ally. Perhaps, it was time I finally got him out of that room…
A mischievous smile crossed my lips, and without a second thought, I turned and began to run back up the path towards the mansion.
XXXXX
My skirts left a wet trail as I made my way through the halls and up towards the study, silently hoping that Ramsley had found something to detain him from being with Edward at the moment.
As I reached the stairs that led up to the third floor, I saw Emma coming down, and I beamed up at her.
"Hi Emma!" I greeted.
She paused when she saw me, looking me up and down with an expression of both amusement and puzzlement.
"Oh, Elizabeth." She sighed. "What have you gotten into now?"
"Just the pond. Have you seen Edward?" I immediately inquired, nonplussed by her question.
For a long moment she stared at me with a strange look on her face, but seemed to decide it wasn't worth worrying about and nodded.
"Yes, I just brought him lunch." She told me.
"Is Ramsley with him?" I asked the truly important question.
"No, not at the moment. Why?"
I was running up the stairs before she was even done speaking, feeling giddy with new confidence.
"Nothing! Thanks Emma!" I called over my shoulder.
As soon as I had reached the top of the stairs, I bolted down the hall and made a break for the study door, nearly slipping several times in my wet shoes, but not even bothering to knock before I gripped the handle and announced my entrance into the room with a loud bang.
I had been in the study only once or twice before – both instances in which Ramsley was not present. The room was very large, but one would certainly never guess it thanks to all of the clutter that lined the floor and the desk at which Edward currently sat with a book in his hands. His head snapped up in surprise as I stepped inside.
"Elizabeth?" He gaped at me. "What on earth are you doing here?"
"I saw you laughing at me when I fell into the pond." I told him, crossing my arms.
The sheepish smile that appeared on his face made me all the more displeased with him, and I made it a point to glare at him as he stood from the desk and came towards me.
"I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it." He smiled. "You looked so surprised when you came out of the water!"
"It wasn't funny." I replied huffily.
"Oh, come now, Elizabeth. Look at yourself. You're still dripping wet!"
"Well, it's not my fault!" I frowned indignantly. "Besides, I thought you were supposed to be studying."
"I was. So you can imagine how relieved I was to have something else to watch for a while." His eyes sparkled amusedly, making my blood boil all the more.
My eyes caught sight of the book he had left on his desk and I began to march over purposefully towards it.
"What are you reading about anyway?" I frowned, taking the large book in my arms and trying not to show my surprise at how heavy it was, though judging by the smirk on Edward's face, I was sure I failed.
"It's just a history book, Elizabeth." He shrugged. "Nothing that would interest you, I'm sure."
That did it.
"Hmmm." I began to flip slowly through the pages, strolling casually around the desk. "Then I suppose you wouldn't mind if I ripped out a few pages, would you?"
Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Edward give a small start, but then he chuckled and shook his head, moving towards me.
"Very funny, Elizabeth, now hand it over." He smirked.
He held out his hand towards me and quickly stepped away, pulling the book tightly to my chest.
"Oh, so it's important to you?" I asked innocently.
"You know it is, Elizabeth. Now come on. I'm sure Ramsley will be back any moment." He told me, appearing quite confident that his threat would persuade me.
Though the mention of Ramsley did make me hesitate for a moment, I simply smiled and twirled out of Edward's reach and over towards the door, all the while he watched me carefully.
"I wonder what you would do to get this back." I mused.
"Elizabeth-"
"Would you chase me?"
"Elizabeth, I've got work to do!" Edward sighed exasperatedly.
"Well it will be rather difficult to do that without your book!"
Without another word, I turned and fled from the room, and was quite pleased when I heard his footsteps racing behind me.
"Elizabeth!"
An excited shriek escaped my lips as the two of us dashed down the corridor, and as we reached the top of the stairs he almost caught hold of my arm, but I slipped from his grasp and flew down the steps. My smaller size gave me an advantage as we entered the living quarters and I rapidly pulled ahead of him.
"Elizabeth, come back here!"
"Only if you catch me!" I baited him.
As soon as I made it to the grand hall, I didn't hesitate to practically throw myself down the stairs, but as I chanced a glance behind me, I could see Edward quickly closing the gap between us. In fact, I had barely set foot on the carpeted floor when his arms suddenly came around me, picking me up and twirling me around as I squealed in delight and began to squirm helplessly against him. His grip only tightened as he chuckled in my ear.
"You little minx, you stole that just to get me out of the room, didn't you?" He smirked down at me as I stretched my neck back to give him an unabashed grin.
"Well, it worked didn't it?" I said smugly.
"Far too well, it would seem."
I gasped. My heart plummeted down to my stomach like a heavy stone and Edward whirled us both around to see none other than Ramsley standing beneath the clock. His horrible, pale eyes immediately locked onto me and darkened dangerously as they saw the book still clutched in my arms, though it took all of two seconds for it to fall to the floor with a loud thud. My hands were shaking as Edward set me on the ground and pulled me protectively behind him.
"Ramsley, I can explain-"
"Master Gracey." He rasped out with astounding authority. "It is your mother's greatest wish that you learn as much as you can before you claim the manor, is it not?"
"…Yes, Ramsley." Edward conceded.
"Then I think it best that you return to the study at once." Ramsley hissed.
I watched in horror as Edward's eyes dimmed and he nodded obediently, his features overcome with shame as he slowly knelt down to collect his book from the ground. My gaze darted briefly back to Ramsley - who was watching me like a hawk stalking his prey - and as I looked back at the boy who now knelt in front of me, I couldn't help but wonder what kind of dark spell the old man had cast upon him that could make him appear so unusually solemn.
"Edward?" I whispered fearfully.
His dark eyes glanced over at me. For a moment, I thought he would be angry that I had gotten us in trouble…but then his face softened and he gave me a discreet smile.
"Don't worry, Elizabeth. I'll find you later tonight." He promised.
Relief and warmth filled me as he stood and gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, and I felt remarkably happy as I watched him turn away and begin to retreat back up the stairs to the study. But then a petrifying realization came over me.
He was leaving me alone.
"Ms. Henshaw."
I flinched.
Ever so slowly, I turned towards the man who was now staring at me with eyes so piercing and vicious that they felt like daggers. God help me, he was furious.
"If you and your father wish to remain here…"
That harsh, grating voice…as cold as ice.
"…then I suggest you learn your place and stay away from the Master."
"I'm sorry, sir, I didn't mean any harm." I choked out, my voice shaking violently.
Ramsley's eyes narrowed.
"Let us hope not, Ms. Henshaw. Now, allow me to make myself clear. Should you continue to interfere with the Master's future - as you have ever since you arrived here - then I shall not hesitate to take the necessary steps to remove you from this home…by any means necessary."
I couldn't breathe. And I certainly hardly dared to move.
"Am I understood?" He hissed out.
What on earth was I supposed to say?
"Yes, sir." I whispered.
The frown that appeared on his face nearly made me gasp out in terror.
"Then good day, Ms. Henshaw."
With a death-like silence, he turned on his heel and slowly followed Edward's path back up the stairs, leaving me gaping up at his brooding figure in terror until he finally disappeared into the depths of the mansion.
All I could do was pray that his words would never come true.
XXXXX
Ooo…shivers.
Again, so sorry this is late!
Next chapter will be up whenever I have power again.
Until then!
Elactress
