The Fourth Mistress

Chapter 71  Funeral of the Reeds

With the men gone Aunt Merlin asked Louise, n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"Are you sure about it? The place to live I mean. You can continue living here, and your uncle and I would be more than happy to have you here. As much as I wanted to see you to marry someone who could take care of you, and live your life. We have missed you." Louise smiled at her softly, "And I have missed you, Aunt Merlin." She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around her aunt, who had brought her up. "I am so sorry that you have to go through this," whispered Aunt Merlin, and Louise placed her chin on the woman's shoulder. She then heard her aunt ask her, "Do you want to visit the church?" "Maybe later," replied Louise, pulling away from her aunt's embrace. Soon word reached out to the people of Habsburg town about the death of the Reeds' family members. The news had been shared through the invitation to the funeral, but words passed from one person to another, and it suddenly turned into the most spoken gossip in the entire town.

"Can you believe that they passed away? Almost an entire family!" gasped a woman, who had picked up the news from the local newspaper, while standing next to her neighbour. "All this time people speculated that the newly married wife would be the next victim, considering how it was the previous wives who passed away," said the neighbour, shaking her head in pity.

"The bad luck must have reflected back to the family this time. She just got lucky and missed death," said the first woman, who continued to read the news that was written about the members of the Reeds family's death. "Look what's written in here. 'Officials say that the manor was found half burnt when they reached the property, with Lady Louise, her butler and two other servants outside the building. Bodies of the servants have been recovered from the grounds, who seem to have been mysteriously buried without anyone's knowledge.' Don't you think it is a little too suspicious?" "Why do you say that?" The woman folded the newspaper, looking around the place before she lowered her voice and said, "For a whole family to die, what if Lady Louise Reed was the one who pulled this stunt to get the property? The Reeds are worth a lot of fortune." "That does make a little sense, but isn't Alison and her husband still alive along with their daughter?" Soon there were speculations by the town's folks as if it was Louise who had killed the entire family and was now acting the part of a grieving widow.

The next day during the funeral, a tent had been put up not too far from the Reed's manor, and the caskets of the Reeds deceased members were placed inside them as if they were sleeping in it. All the arrangements had been done by Henry and Uncle Hugo. Most of the people who had come to attend the funeral were only there to get a glimpse of what might have happened in the manor, and also to see if they could get a hold of some fresh news about the curious case of the Reeds death. Louise stood at the side with Alison, Henry as the guests came to pay their respects. "We were shocked when we heard the news," said one of the women who was close to Lady Viola. "My deepest condolences." While Louise was speaking to one of the guests, she noticed a young woman entering the area. It was Lisa's cousin, Chloe. She came towards her, and offered her condolences. The woman said, "I am sorry for what happened. How are you doing?" "I am trying to hold up. Thank you for coming," Louise thanked the woman, who like the others wore a black dress. "When I heard there was death in the Reeds mansion, for a moment I believed it was you," Chloe said in a low voice, her words were blunt and her lips pursed. "I hope you can overcome what you have gone through, Lady Louise." She placed her hand on Louise's shoulder, "I know things aren't as what others speak or see and it runs deeper. At least that's what I learned from Lisa's death." Some more people came to attend the funeral, offering their kind words while praising the good deeds of the deceased. The next person was Alison, who stood at the front, holding a handkerchief in her hand and her eyes teary at the loss of her family members. "I don't think any of us who have been close to the people we have lost, can ever fill the void. Maybe in time it will get better, but they will be dearly missed. Uncle, aunty, mother and father, my brother… and the servant's presence that I came to grow up," Alison took a deep breath, as if trying to not break down in front of the people. She continued,

"I hope wherever they are, they are at peace now. They were taken away too early, too unfairly…" her voice cracked at the end. Alison's husband came to her side, while Molly was left in Aunt Merlin's care right now, who held the little girl's hand in hers. Henry put his arm around his wife's shoulder for support, while Alison tried not to cry. "I will miss them. A lot. If only I knew this would happen, I would have never left and would have tried to prevent whatever happened. My family…" "That should be enough, dear," Henry spoke to his wife gently and helped her walk away from there. Alison quickly brought the handkerchief to her face, dabbing the corners of her eyes and then her nose. "Louise?" called Uncle Hugo, and Louise gave him a small nod. On seeing Louise walk, the guests turned quieter than before. She took the spot where Alison had been standing earlier. Her eyes moved from one corner to another, looking at the people who watched her keenly. While looking around, Louise's eyes fell on the ghost that stood at the back. Graham was in the same clothes as the day he had died, watching her from where he stood. Louise's heart squeezed. Graham wasn't a stranger, and he was her husband. Her deceased husband, whose ghost only she could see. The fond memories of the time she had spent with him flashed in front of her eyes, that delayed the words that she was supposed to speak in front of the people. She started to speak, "Thank you all for coming here today, to speak good words and remember the family. Like Alison mentioned, they left us too early. Senior Mr. and Mrs. Reed, they were amazing and respectable people. So were the servants, who have worked for the Reed's for so many years with nothing but pure dedication," she stared at where Graham's ghost stood. "My husband Graham..."

At the mention of Graham's name, the officers, who had come to attend the funeral, their eyes subtly shifted to look at where the lady was staring. "He was a man of values, and he was a very good man and a compassionate husband," Louise took a pause, and she then continued, "He always made sure to see that I was doing well. We didn't get the chance to spend enough time with each other, but I came to love him for who he was," she confessed, not to the people but to Graham's ghost, feeling the heaviness in her chest.