Page 54 of Once Upon a Midnight Dreary
Victoriaremainedwhereshestood, unable to move, as she watched them leave.Moments later, the front door opened and closed with a snap.
Silence descended.
She heard the clink of dishes in the kitchen.Gabriel emerged carrying a broom and dust pan.They stared at each other for a long moment, as if separated by a vast ocean neither could traverse.The distance felt wide and un-crossable.
Victoria moved aside to allow him to clean up the remaining pieces of the shattered plate.She hated this dissonance between them and searched for a way to smooth things over with him.
“Gabriel—”
“This is what happens when strangers enter the manor.”He scooped the remaining shards of porcelain into the dust pan.
“I didn’t know until it was too late.”
“They cannot return.”His voice was hard as he turned and headed into the kitchen.
Anger flared bright and hot through her.She followed, shoving open the door.“And how am I supposed to keep them away?”
He tilted the dust pan into the trash, the shards leaving a tinkling sound behind.“I couldn’t say.But if they return, things will get worse.”
“She is my aunt.My mother’s sister.The only family I have left.I cannot simply forbid her to return.”Victoria clenched her hands into fists, a hot wave of fury rising through her like a tide threatening to crash.
Gabriel turned away from her, refusing to look at her, as he leaned the broom against one of the cabinets.He picked up a bowl and poured out the remaining soup, as though she hadn’t spoken.
“Gabriel, look at me.”
Her demand was met with cold silence.He replaced the bowl and picked up another one.In a fit of rage, she moved to him, jerked the bowl out of his hand and dropped it in the trash.He started to protest, his face turning a pale shade of red, when she clutched his hands.Stunned, he froze, his eyes pinned on hers.
“I know what’s happening but I don’t know why.Tell me.”
He jerked his hands free and turned toward the sink.“No.You wouldn’t understand.”
“Maybe I will,” she insisted.“I know your wife and child died here, but I do not know why or how you are still here.I know I saw you when I was a child.Did my parents see you?Did they know you were here?”
He said nothing.His back stiffened, the muscles going taut across his shoulders.He would not meet her eyes.She forged on, trying to put the pieces together.
“Lenore’s spirit is restless.She haunts this place, doesn’t she?”she asked.Still nothing.“My father was searching for answers.I think he knew.I think he was close to the truth.Is that why we had to leave?Why we—”
“Enough!”
He spun to face her, fury etched on his features.She had never seen him this way before.Never felt the anger and the despair emanating off him in heated waves.
“If you are going to leave and return to the city, Miss Ravenwood, then perhaps you should do that tonight,” he said.
And then he stomped out of the kitchen, the door swinging shut in finality.In that instant, her heart shattered.
The letter she intended to post to her uncle was still in her pocket.But she didn’t need to announce her arrival, did she?Her uncle would understand something had changed if she simply appeared on his doorstep.
Victoria fled from the kitchen, up the stairs, to her room.She paused there in the doorway, scanning the contents of her life.When she first arrived, she thought this was a fresh start.A way to put the past behind her.Instead, the past continued to haunt her and follow her every step through the manor.
She didn’t need any of these things.They were justthings.And with her inheritance, she decided, she’d buy a new wardrobe once she returned to the city.She’d stay with her aunt and uncle until her aunt managed to marry her off.Perhaps to Lord Charles, which made her shudder.
Turning away from her room, she paused in the hallway, staring down at Gabriel’s room.Door shut.Then glancing at the west wing, shrouded in shadows and mystery.
With her gut twisted into a knot, she headed down the stairs, her hand on the banister.She did not know where Gabriel was in the house nor did it matter.
She stepped off the stairs and halted there, giving the house one last glance.
“I’m leaving,” she announced, unsure if Lenore was listening.Suspecting she was.“And I won’t be coming back.”
