I own nothing of the Twilight universe.

Chapter 17

Bella could hear Angela calling to her from behind the door.

"Bella, are you all-right? I heard shouting and the door slam. Is he gone?"

Bella was grateful that there were two doors and a dressing room separating Angela and her.

"Yes, everything is fine now. He left. You can go back to sleep." Bella did not want Angela to see her face until she had time to clean up.

Although Angela was not convinced she did as was suggested, knowing she needed her rest for the babies.

Bella stood up slowly. It had been a long time since someone had hit her and she was unaccustomed to the sensation. She found a cloth and held it to her face as she poured some water into the basin. She dabbed at the cut with the cold water. It stopped bleeding quickly. She went off in search of a mirror to assess the damage, lantern in hand.

She found one in the master suite. She also found a great mess. There was clothing strewn about, books tossed around, and the bedding dislodged. There were several small sweet tins tossed onto the stripped bed. Bella struggled to remember what the room had looked like before Mr. Cullen came home. She noticed a pair of valises near the bed and wondered what he had been packing. Was he planning on leaving the children and his parents? Was he running away from home like a spoiled child.

She could not fathom this man.

Bella turned back to the vanity and sat to have a look at her injury. It wasn't that bad, she'd definitely had worse. The cut was only around an inch and a half and although it was swollen and likely to bruise, she knew the cut itself would only leave behind a small scar. Probably hardly noticeable unless one looked closely.

The headache she currently had was more concerning to her than the injury. Bella decided to be bold and search through the vanity dresser for a headache remedy. She was surprised that the vanity was intact, most everything else in the room had been gone through.

She scavenged through the drawers, finding a mid sized apothecary case tucked at the very back of the bottom drawer. She had a difficult time removing it from its place, there seemed to be something blocking it's removal.

Bella got down on her knees and looked into the drawer. A thick book had been wedged on top of the case and had to be wiggled out slowly to free it. After she was able to remove the case she placed it on the dresser and looked inside.

There were many small bottles, some labelled and some with only colours marked on the corks. It did not seem to be a regular apothecary kit a lady would live with. Nothing was recognizable to her.

She lifted the first stage to see if there was anything kept underneath. Where one would normally find bandages and cotton, Bella found a pastille press and a small set of scales. It had a odd smell coming from it, something rather earthy. Bella couldn't place the scent but it reminded her of the forest.

Bella turned her attention to the book. She knew she shouldn't read it, it was not her book. She did not know to whom the book belonged but she had a fairly good idea. Mr. Cullen had said that his late wife had brought demons to the house. Perhaps this book held the answers.

Bella opened the book to the first page. Property of J. Carmen Witherdale soon to Mrs. Edward Cullen, was written on the page in a very feminine, almost childish hand. It was dated two years ago.

Against her personal morality, Bella sat back to read.

'Dear Diary, tonight Father invited one of his students to dinner. He is the most lovely looking man I have ever seen. I have decided that he will be my husband and provide me with a son. I could tell he was in love with me and that it would take no time before there was a proposal because when he took my hand and bowed before me, I knew he wanted to say I love you rather than Pleasure to meet you Miss Witherdale. I could see he was trying very hard not to let Father know of his ardent desires by pretending to ignore my presence in the room. When it came time for him to leave he was so passionately possessed that he forgot to say good-bye to me. I'm sure that within the month we will be wed.'

Bella read on until sunrise and the house began stirring. She was now convinced that there were indeed demons in the house and she knew exactly where and what they were.

AN: I figured that after the last chapter, I could leave this on a cliffhanger, because if you can forgive for that you can forgive for this.

I can't send a private message to Guests, so I will have to do it here: Thank you for your lovely messages, and for taking the time to review.

Thank you specifically to alchemilla for finding 3 published typos. I found one more in a subsequent chapter.