Enjoy.
The sun settles down in the sky; the bright and unusual oranges shifting into the murky blue announcing it is twilight. Although there are tree's lining my balcony, through the lacework of their leaves I can see the moon as full and as bright as it can be. I am mesmerized by the clarity; the fact that I can see it at all is a miracle in on it's own.
My head is pounding from the music downstairs; music which isn't in my taste at all. My heart is keeping steady time with my head because mother has announced that it is time I meet a boy and she will be sending a respectful choice up within the hour; with Ms. Emma as an escort of course.
I consider locking the balcony doors and staying out in the chilly night air forever. With a sigh I pull out the bands and pins holding my hair up and let the ringlets spill over my shoulders. The feeling I get when they blow in the wind is like a sigh of relief.
I hear footsteps drawing near my room so I scurry to put my hair back up. A lady is never in the presence of another with her hair undone. Another one of my mothers lessons drifts to mind. The thought of her alone makes me stop and let the hair fall back. Let them see me; lady like or not.
I hurry back into the room and pretend to be brushing through the knotted mess. Ms. Emma pokes her head in. Red splotches on her cheeks announce that mother has been giving her a difficult time recently.
"Lady Isabella," She begins politely. "A Mr. Tom Talbot seeks a word with you. Shall I let him in?"
No, I scream mentally but physically I smile and tell her I would love for him to come in.
I recognize Tom as he steps into the room. He is the son of a widow, who is acquainted with my mother. He is tall, taller than my father even, and has watery blue eyes. His dark, cropped hair contrasts them nicely.
"Isabella," He says while he crosses the room stiffly. "I'm charmed." He proceeds to bend down and kiss my hand ever so gently. A warm blush spreads over my cheeks and it deepens when he stands and looks me in the eye.
"Well, you can sit down." I say flustered and point to the arm chair across the room. He takes the seat and stares at me blankly, as if unsure as what to say.
"Well, what do you do for a living?" I ask him while I put the hairbrush back on the vanity.
"I work for the court. Your father didn't tell you that?" He says, surprised.
"He never said anything to me. Neither did my mother." I tell him.
"Well, yes. I need to support my mother after… the accident." He swallows hard and I watch sweat start to gather on his forehead. He wipes at it with a handkerchief that had been stuffed in his jacket pocket.
"Right, your father…" I can't bring myself to finish my sentence. His father was a soldier that had been killed in battle.
He clears his throat diverting the conversation to some other matter. "Your dress is lovely." He says while scratching at his ear. "And, your hair." The second compliment is phrased as a question. Mrs. Talbot had similar principles as my mother and she must have taught Tom a thing or two about women.
"Oh, this old thing. It's been collecting dust in my wardrobe for centuries." I joke but he doesn't laugh. I say nothing about the hair.
"Have you done any schooling?" He asks me, again not sure of what to say.
"Only with a governess covering the most basic of things a woman can learn. I wished I could go to Switzerland like my brother did, but mother would never allow it." I gush, letting my wildest dreams flow through my lips without realizing it. "And I'd always wanted to get some kind of job."
Tom snaps his teeth together with a loud grinding noise. "A lady's place is in the home. Women have no right to work, Isabella."
Anger boils up inside of me momentarily before I am able to settle it back down. "I know a woman's place Tomas. It was just a thought of mine. Very petty of me, isn't it?"
"It's alright Madam. I won't tell a soul of your sin. But please do call me Tom." He says with a flourish of his hand; waving away his last ruminants of hope for our courtship.
"Yes, sir. But if I may call you Tom, than you must call me Bella." I say my short form with a sneer, knowing how much mother hates the name. She had told me on several occasions that Bella was a tramps name.
"Bella?" Tom asks, unsure. "Isn't it a little informal?"
"Just as informal as Tom is." I say dully.
He can tell that I am not going to give up on my end of the argument so he shrugs it off. "Quite a beautiful night, isn't it?"
"Clearest one in a while." I comment.
Suddenly mother has her head in the door, her features alarmed. "Come now. Quickly!" She shouts.
Automatically I try to hide my messy hair and I brush it behind my shoulder. Mother doesn't seem to notice, her eyes frantic.
My joints lock in a moment of terror. Had something gone wrong at the party? Was father injured? "Mother what is it?" I ask her before anyone moves. I have never seen her more alert than at this very moment.
"Not now, Isabella. It is urgent." She makes rapid gestures with her hands and some stupid part of me notes that what she is doing is un lady like. Shut your mouth, the sane part shouts back.
Tom, Ms. Emma and I all scramble out into the hallway after her, quite unsure what is wrong. My heart is hammering in my chest as I have to run to keep pace with mother. I can't hear any sound from downstairs; no music, no laughter, not even a whisper of noise. I am expecting some kind of bloody scene in the foyer but there is nothing out of place.
The guests all stand in a clutter, my father in front. Many of them have similar expressions as I do; worry, fear, curiosity, all mixed together into some kind of un recognizable emotion. .
"Gather in." My father commands us and we do.
I notice Mrs. Talbot, her wrinkled face an odd shade of grey, peering out from behind my father. She is holding a handkerchief to her red, swollen eyes; she has been crying. I can see Tom looking at her questioningly but she simply stares at the crowd, her eyes unseeing.
Father clears this throat once more and I return my attention to him. "Mrs. Brandon has been found dead." His naturally loud voice booms and suddenly the crowd erupts in screams and cries.
Mrs. Brandon, I think to myself, That is Alice's mother. Alice was a girl who attended schooling with me and I didn't know her very well. Even so, I felt terribly for the girl.
"Quite down," My father is instructing the crowd politely. His voice had become his work voice, the one he used in court. To tell the truth, it was quite frightening. I had only ever heard it once before when he had forgotten his lunch and mother sent me to bring it to him.
"How can we quite down when there is a murderer at work?" One woman with orangey coloured hair shrieks. Her husband tries to quiet her but she pushes him back. "We have to leave. Get out of this town now. Mark my words. Who knows who will be next?"
"Margret, please." Her husband groans and forcefully pulls her from the house while she screams things that will surely occur in my nightmares. Murders didn't happen often in our community.
When the room hushed again father took an audible breath and continued. This time his voice was little louder than a whisper. "I have the unfortunate duty to inform you that this was no ordinary murderer. I saw Mrs. Brandon's body with my own two eyes and I can tell you, her body had been drained of blood. Completely."
The screams erupted once more and this time I joined them.
Alright, so I hope this is going well.
Drained of blood... hmm sounds suspicious
Please review and let me know what you thought. Maybe some theories.
Thanks so much for reading
oflm123