The card games kept us occupied for the rest of the evening. Mr Brown rejoined us for a few games. A delightful young fellow, he was. The parish was lucky to have such a good natured man at its head. The last clergyman I had had had been quite dry and had little interest in anything beyond his books. Hardly the pillar of the community that a good clergyman ought to be.
Eventually, the evening came to an end. Miss Mori and I climbed into our awaiting carriage, wrapped in a cloak the coachman had brought for us. I remember the cold biting into our skin, but neither of us bore it any mind. We had, both of us, had too good an evening to allow a trifling thing like the cold ruin our fun.
It was when we arrived back at Harker Hall that things seemed different…
A few servants had waited up for the arrival of the two women. Madoka said her goodnights, and Mai allowed a maid - not Nora, but Mai did not know the name of this one yet - to guide her to her bedroom by candle light.
She readied for bed and climbed into her four poster, head still buzzing from the excitement of the evening. The dancing! The card games! The wine! She had forgotten how much fun a public assembly could be. Madoka had asked her if she wanted to attend another, and she most readily agreed.
Taaaaap tap tap
After a night like that, how could she not want to attend another? The people present had been most wonderful. Everyone had been polite and pleased to meet her.
Taaaaap tap tap
If only she could remember half the names of those that she had met. Mai wanted to call on many of them. She had heard about children and family members and beloved pets and how she wanted to make acquaintances with them all.
Taaaaap tap tap
But she must sleep now. Else she would be so tired she would sleep through church. And she had no desire to disappoint Mr Brown, kind as he had been.
Taaaaap tap tap
Yes, sleep. She must sleep.
Taaaaap tap tap
If only that ridiculous tapping noise would stop.
Mai sat up and focused.
Taaaaap tap tap
What on earth was causing it? It was too heavy to be dripping water. It sounded more like footsteps…
Taaaaap tap tap
Mai turned her head this way and that, trying to locate the noise. Frustrated at her lack of progress in this task, she slipped out of bed and pulled on some house slippers. She struck a match and lit the candle beside her bed.
The bedsheets had been warmed by a bedpan full of hot coals, the rest of her bedchamber had not held the heat as well. She shivered and reached for a dressing gown.
Taaaaap tap tap
She tiptoed from her bed chamber, listening intently for the source of the noise. How would she ever get any sleep with that noise.
Taaaaap tap tap
It did not seem to come from any of the rooms adjacent to her own, so Mai continued down the corridor. She listened at the door that she knew led to Lord Pembridge's quarters, but the tapping did not seem to be coming from that way.
She shivered again, and pulled the dressing gown tighter around herself. Mai looked around. Goosebumps rose down her neck. Was someone watchi—
Taaaaap tap tap
A grand doorway appeared in front of her. She must be near the grand staircase by now.
"What is through here…?" she whispered. She racked her brains, but in the dark, could not place where she was in the house.
She forced a deep breath and the tension from her shoulders. She pshed the door in front of her open.
Stepping through, Mai recognised herself as being on the balcony above the ballroom.
Taaaaap tap tap
Below her a man twirled around the floor, holding his arms as if dancing with a partner. Mai released a breath she did not know she had been holding. It was only Lord Pembridge dancing! His shoes rapping against the floor causing the noise that had kept her awake.
What on earth was he doing dancing in the middle of the night?
She opened her mouth to—
"What are you doing in here?"
A hand on her shoulder forced her around to face—
"Lord Pembridge!" Mai clutched at her chest. "You startled me! But I was just watching you…"
She turned back around and looked down at the ballroom. It was empty.
"But you were dancing…"
"I do not dance, Lady Astley. Perhaps you were still half asleep. Let me escort you back to your room."
"I have not yet slept," Mai insisted. "And the tapping! I heard it!"
"This is an old house, Lady Astley, it is not unlikely you heard some noises. But you must sleep now."
Mai relented and allowed Lord Pembridge to escort her back to her bed chamber.
"Why were you awake?" she asked as she crossed the threshold. "You're supposed to be taking care of yourself. Mr Lin will make you take the cold bath he promised if he hears of this."
"Then it is a good thing that I trust you not to tell him that I was awake at this time."
"Will you also sleep now?"
"Yes."
Mai narrowed her eyes at him, unsure if she believed his promise.
"Goodnight, Lady Astley."
"Goodnight, Lord Pembridge."
As far as I could understand it, there were only two options.
One, I had seen Lord Pembridge's brother as a ghost.
Two, Lord Pembridge was some kind of devil or demon. A demon that liked dancing and then lying about it.
Neither of these options seemed particularly positive to me. Though I had a vague preference for the former. Imagining that his brother loved him so much as to remain on this earth had a certain kind of happiness to it.
Evidence against the second notion arrived in the form of Lord Pembridge's attendance at church. He attended, he participated, though admittedly in his usual grumpy manner. Though he did not touch anything without gloves on, which is the norm, of course, and yet it would protect him from the scared items if he were a demon.
I remember pondering these options on my walk around the estate on the Sunday afternoon after the assembly. Despite all of it, I did not feel like I was in danger. In truth, I thought Mr Lin the most intimidating of all. I do not think he can help it, being such a tall fellow with that too long fringe.
And so I continued my days, oblivious to the true danger contained in that house. Blind to everything in the belief that perhaps Lord Pembridge had been right, perhaps I had merely been half asleep…
On Wednesday, a young woman called at Harker Hall to see Mai.
"A Mrs Sakauchi for you, my Lady."
Mai's eyes widened in alarm. The lack of recognition at the name evident. Yet when the young lady was shown in, she realised who it was.
"We played cards together," Mai exclaimed.
"Yes, several times, I am glad you remembered me," Mrs Sakauchi said.
"I apologise, I met so many new faces that evening," Mai gestured to a seat. Mrs Sakauchi sat. "Tea?"
"Please."
Madoka remained quite quiet as Mai and Mrs Sakauchi chatted over tea.
"It has been quite some time since I last visited Harker Hall. I used to visit Lord Pembridge's mother."
"Ah, yes, she remains in London for the present, I have yet to have a chance to meet her."
"She is a most wonderful woman," Mrs Sakauchi said. "Strong in all the ways a woman should be."
"I have some hope she will rejoin the household for the Christmas celebrations, they are a time to be together, after all."
"I very much doubt she will come back to this place," Mrs Sakauchi said. "But I should not speak of it."
Mai frowned and dismissed the servants.
"Tell me, why would she not visit her home?"
Mrs Sakauchi hid her mouth behind a gloved hand.
"Her husband died a few years ago. She mourned as is expected, but came out the other side of that mourning as bright as she had ever been before."
"And then Lord Pembridge's brother died?"
"Yes. It was sudden, unexpected. He was young, but strong and healthy. He was not the sort to get into fights or cause serious trouble. He was a delightful young man. The sort that any young woman would be a fool not to marry."
"You cared for him?"
"It was hard not to care for him. But as the younger son, he did not have the fortune to marry for an inclination. But nevermind that, Lady Pembridge took the loss hard. She loved her sons fiercely. She had been attentive to their needs their entire lives, she secured only the best tutors and sought to learn herself in order to aid them in whatever took their fancy. The late Lord Pembridge was also academic, in a sense, but not nearly so active. He learnt from books in the comfort of his armchair. Lady Pembridge had the gardeners bring in plants for her sons to learn about them. A more hands on approach, if you will."
"No doubt why our current Lord Pembridge enjoys his science so much."
"She definitely inspired that in him." Mrs Sakauchi sighed. "So when her son died, she wept for days. She came to church, only to weep through the service. No one in the parish would tut though. She had done too much good for the community. Too many people respected her to admonish the sound of her grief."
"And so she went to London?"
"Not straight away. No, it took some time, but she regained her sense of self. She made visits to everyone to apologise for her behaviour, bringing gift baskets. I remember thinking that she was becoming more like how I remembered her from before when she suddenly disappeared."
"Disappeared?"
"Yes, one day she was here and the next she was gone. Weeks later my mother received a letter from her, they were friends you see, she had gone to Bath for her health. And then after that, moved to London. She said she could not bear to be in the place that had caused her so much grief."
"That poor woman."
"But that is not all of it," Mrs Sakauchi said, leaning forward in a conspiratorial manner.
"Is it not?"
"No, I heard rumours. The servants talk, you see."
"Rumours?" Mai prompted.
"Yes, rumours that she had gone mad. Had seen her son wandering around the house. That she had spoken to her dead son and he had replied."
Mai scoffed.
"But I have heard he looked very alike Lord Pembridge. Surely she just—"
"They were identical in every way," Mrs Sakauchi said. "Twins. But that they were both there! She saw them both! The ghost and the man!"
A shiver ran down Mai's spine.
"How dreadful."
"Quite. At that point she pretty much had to leave, for own sanity. Who knew grief could do that to a person…?"
"Quite," Mai agreed. "I hope she is faring better nowadays."
Conversation moved onto happier topics for a while, before Mrs Sakauchi announced it was time she must leave. Mai thanked her for her company and promised to call on her in a few days' time.
"Miss Mori, what do you know of Lady Pembridge?"
"Not a lot, I am afraid. She left before my arrival. But the staff all speak highly of her. She did a great deal of good for the poor. She sponsored a great many apprenticeships in the local area, something our Lord Pembridge continues."
"What did you think of Mrs Sakauchi's tale?"
"I thought the bit about the ghost quite far fetched, but otherwise she told of a grieving woman who escaped from the place of her grief. Having lost family members myself, I know that grief does not always pass in one session. Sometimes, a person might think themselves ready to continue their life, and they are not. Grief does not leave in one go, it ebbs and flows."
"How poetic of you, Miss Mori."
"Thank you."
Author's note: Oops, meant to do this two days ago! Enjoy :)
