Page 46 of Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
Victoriaskippedbreakfast.Sheknew Gabriel was waiting for her to make an appearance in the dining room, but she couldn’t face him.Not after last night.
She was a coward.
Instead, she put on one of her favorite day dresses and tied on a bonnet and headed out the front door to the gardens.She needed fresh air and fresh perspective.She needed to get the enigmatic Gabriel out of her mind.And she needed to pretend, for one moment, there was not a strange presence haunting her home.
Regret pounded through her most of the night.How could she be so foolish to think he wanted to kiss her?She replayed it over and over in her mind.The way he held her, whispered in her hair.The way he looked at her with raw, unabashed longing.She was certain he felt the same as her.That he longed to kiss her as much as she wanted to kiss him.
But, no.She couldn’t want that.Hedidn’t want that.
There was something sinister going on here and she refused to become ensnared in it.
Even though she was likely already ensnared in it.Whateveritwas.
In the foyer, she noticed Gabriel had removed the broken chandelier.The only remnants of it was the scuffed floor where it landed.
With the sun shining brightly in the brilliant blue sky, she headed down the footpath to the garden.Everything was still damp from last night’s storm.The flowers were blooming in vibrant colors, emitting their sweet fragrance.
It gave her pleasure to know her mother planted most of this garden and tended it herself.She smiled at the thought as she moved down the path.
To her left, the bushes rustled.She halted there, peering at the greenery waving in the faint breeze.Overhead, a raven cawed as it flapped through the sky, its dark feathers gleaming in the morning light.She watched it fly overhead, then she saw the path.Overgrown.As though it had been forgotten.
Instantly, that sense of something not being right rose within her, burning in the center of her chest.
You want to know the truth, don’t you?
Lenore.Her voice floated through the gardens as though she followed her out here.
Taunting her.
Her mouth went dry as she stared at the bushes covering the gravel path.It was different from the one she stood on.Not well-maintained like the rest of the garden.
Yes, she wanted to know the truth.Hadn’t she been hunting for it since all the strange happenings began?
Victoria stole a glance over her shoulder at the colorful foliage around her.Gabriel was nowhere in sight.Perhaps he was still rattling around in the kitchen.Good.That would give her time to explore.To find out exactly what was down that ominous gravel path.
She pushed aside the branches, their damp leaves leaving wet droplets on her sleeves.It was so overgrown, she had to fight her way down the path, but she felt certain it was leading her somewhere.To something important.
The raven followed above her.
Ahead, the oak tree stretched into the sky, its branches reaching outward providing significant shade from the harsh afternoon sun, as this side of the garden was on the west.The closer she got, the more her heart pounded.
The raven moved ahead of her, perching in a low branch and cawing as if to announce her arrival.
Then she saw it.The two-foot iron fence that had seen better days sectioning off what appeared to be a forgotten cemetery.
She froze there, staring at the two headstones.The engraved lettering was faded.She could not make it out from where she stood.Swallowing hard, she forced her feet to move.A gate hung by one hinge, as though a violent storm had ripped it apart.She pulled it open and stepped inside the small area.
The raven watched.Waited.Its keen eyes fixed on her.
The grass was still wet, but she didn’t care as she dropped to her knees.Moss covered the engraving, hiding the words.She reached out and brushed it away, then read the engraving on the first headstone.
Lenore Blackmore Allward, Beloved wife
And the second, smaller marker.
Lily Everleigh Allward, Our brightest light
The girl had been eight years old.Both headstones marked their passing over a hundred years ago.Her breath hitched as she pressed cold fingertips to her lips.A wife.A child.Gone in the same year.
