TUDOR CASTLE
This is an AU Tudors story set in the late Victorian era, (c. 1890) featuring Catherine Howard and her friends. It has a gloomy castle, tons of mystery and suspense and even some steamy sex. Please comment nicely!
Chapter One: Night Train
"Humph! I'll bet they call it Gloomy Castle for a reason," Catherine Howard snarked, trying to sound sophisticated and superior instead of young and jittery about her future.
"Tudor Castle is yours, Catherine dear. Only your uncle made Mr. Culpepper your legal guardian until you turn twenty-one. Officially you're Thomas Culpepper's ward, and therefore subject to his authority."
"Oh, fudge!" Catherine couldn't believe that in modern England a girl who was completely grown up could be locked away in a castle and forced to obey the commands of a complete stranger. Thomas Culpepper had been a good friend of her uncle, which meant that he was probably a soft, wheezy old man with a big fat tummy and smelly cigar breath. Catherine felt quite determined to rebel against his authority and establish her independence at the earliest opportunity. She wasn't a babe in arms, after all. She was nineteen years old!
"Ah, here's the evening train at last." Lady Anne Cleveland placed her slim, bejeweled hand firmly in the small of Catherine's back, gently guiding her towards the luxurious first-class apartment Mr. Culpepper had thoughtfully provided for them.
"I suppose it's better than being dragged off in handcuffs." Catherine stole a glance out the rain-streaked window, hoping to get a last look at glittering London. Instead she caught a glimpse of her own reflection, looking pale and gloomy. But then the ghost-girl in the window shook her head and frowned, showing her true resolve.
"We must make the best of things, my dear," Lady Cleveland said cheerfully, once the two of them were safely settled in their snug compartment. A trim young man in a blue uniform was already serving dinner.
"I do wish the great Mr. Culpepper could have let me stay in London," Catherine complained, carefully carving her juicy roast chicken and taking just a tiny bite. "I could have gone right on living in your little town house." Catherine dabbed her lips daintily and sipped a little white wine. "After all, you've been my guardian for ages. You've been like a mother to me, a true mother, ever since mama and papa died!"
"That will never change, my dear," Lady Cleveland said, deeply touched. She watched with a smile as elegant Catherine devoured her dinner. The slim, golden haired girl's refined manners and ladylike deportment didn't hide her affectionate nature or her healthy appetite. "I'll always be a true mother to you. But life must go on, you know. To new and exciting days!"
"To new and exciting days," Catherine echoed, raising her glass. Back at Cleveland Manor wine had been a rare treat, but evidently the mysterious Mr. Culpepper of Gloomy Castle had plenty of money. Only it was really her money, and now thanks to her uncle's will he had total control over it. And her!
After dinner Lady Cleveland took out a book of spiritual devotion, a heavy black leather-bound book with a gold cross on the cover. For a time they read together, but prayers always made Catherine sleepy. She knew that the book was a gift from the Dean of St. Paul's, a very respectable clergyman who had always been fond of Lady Cleveland. Would the two of them ever marry?
Catherine didn't want to marry. She wanted to travel and have romantic adventures and see the world. But when she closed her eyes, resting her heavy head on her guardian's fur-clad shoulder, she didn't see the glamor of Paris or the excitement of Rome.
Instead she saw a dark, gloomy castle rising out of the mist.
Later that same dark night . . .
Catherine was dreaming about her parents. They had both died at sea when she was just a baby. But in her dream they were calling to her, warning her to be careful. They sounded like seabirds, and she could hear foaming waves crashing on the rocky shore. Catherine could hear the voices, but she could not see them.
"Ah, here we are. This must be the village of Tudor. Catherine, my dear, it's time to wake up. We're here!"
"What?" The golden-haired girl sat up and looked around the darkened train compartment, unable to work out where she was. "Are we there yet? Where's the castle?"
"This is the fishing village of Tudor," Lady Cleveland explained, sliding the slim black book of religious sermons back into her bag. "We're staying here for the night. In the morning Mr. Culpepper will send a coach to take you and your luggage up to the castle."
"I don't see why we can't go up to the castle right away." Catherine didn't like being told what to do, especially by a man she had never met. She stood up and stretched, rubbing her eyes while Lady Cleveland spoke briefly with the porter.
"It seems there was a storm last night, with a bit of local flooding. But don't worry, my dear. It will be safe to travel in the morning."
"I can hardly wait." Catherine yawned, annoyed by all the fuss. Now that she thought about it, a night's sleep at the village inn sounded much better than trying to find some gloomy castle in the dead of night.
Early the next morning, Lady Cleveland received an unexpected telegram from London. One of her elderly female cousins was ill, and she needed to return to the city at once.
"I do wish I could see the castle with you," the kindly older woman said, bending over the bed and kissing Catherine on the cheek. "You will write and tell me all about it, won't you dear? Promise to write and tell me all about the castle and especially Mr. Culpepper!"
"Mm. Yes, I promise. Write and tell you everything!" Catherine adored Lady Cleveland, but she really didn't want to think about the gloomy castle or the great and lordly Mr. Culpepper. Instead she rolled over and went right back to sleep. And this time there were no bad dreams.
What woke her was the most terrific crash. It came from the bedroom next door. Catherine jumped out of bed and ran to investigate, not even thinking to put on a robe.
"Oh! He's too fast for me!" The slim young man perched on top of the rickety chair was waving a small net at a very big black spider.
"He's not poisonous, is he?" Catherine detested spiders, but she was determined not to behave like a baby, especially not around an attractive young man. The frantic young man with the pale blonde hair, wide blue eyes and delicate features was very attractive. He looked like a storybook prince.
"No, no, he's just a common household spider. But he's the first spider we've seen in days, and Seymour is dying to say hello!"
"Who's Seymour?" Catherine wondered if there was another young man staying in the cluttered bedroom. Then she noticed the large overturned cage lying open on the floor. And the large green lizard standing on top of it, hissing and showing his fangs.
The proper thing to do would have been to faint and fall gracefully to the floor. Instead Catherine Howard began to laugh. She was laughing her head off by the time help arrived.