The Fourth Mistress

By the end of the wedding ceremony held in the Reed manor's back garden, Louise Evardon and Graham Reed were declared husband and wife.

"You may now kiss the bride," announced the priest.

Hearing those words was enough to increase Louise' heartbeat. She turned to face Graham, where he took a step forward and kissed her lips. The kiss wasn't long as it lasted for two whole seconds before he pulled away from her. Her lips trembled from the little intimate contact she felt on her lips, and her cheeks turned red.

Soon the family members walked forward to wish the newlyweds one after another, and both Louise and Graham thanked their families members. Louise thanked her relatives when her uncle and aunt wished her, where Aunt Merlin's eyes were moistened because of overwhelming happiness.

"Congratulations, Graham and Louise," Viola wished the newlyweds with a small smile on her face.

"Welcome to the family, Louise," Mr. Reed welcomed her.

"Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Reed," Louise thanked them with a smile on her lips.

"From now on, you can call me Robert. There's no need for such formalities," Mr. Reed offered her a warm smile.

"It is good to have you in the family, Louise," Mr. Reed's sister, Agatha Wensley, wished her, "And congratulations Graham. You have wed a pretty one."

"She indeed is beautiful. I am fortunate that Louise agreed to marry me, Aunt Agatha," Graham praised Louise in front of everyone, and the blush on Louise' cheek was quick to return. Even though they had met a few times before, he had never complimented her, and neither had she.

Lady Agatha turned to look at Louise, and she said, "My my, I can only tell that you have charmed my nephew."

Louise cleared her throat and smiled, "Graham is too kind with his compliments for me."

"Don't be fooled by him, Louise. He is not generous when it comes to offering people his compliments," chuckled Alison.

Louise had never received this much attention until now, with everyone hovering around them. With the priest who had finished his work of performing the ceremony for what he had come here for, he was the first one to leave. Louise's uncle and aunt stayed for a few more hours until the afternoon tea. When it was time to leave, Aunt Merlin said,

"Take care of yourself, Louise," and they both hugged each other. "Don't get into trouble," she whispered, and this made Louise smile.

"I will miss you, Aunt Merlin. I will come visit you soon," replied Louise, and her aunt pulled away from her. The older woman took a good look at her niece, who was still in her white gown, who looked beautiful.

"I am truly happy for you," said her aunt before turning to look at Graham, "Louise is more than a niece to us, she is like our daughter who is very dear to us. Please take good care of her."

Graham offered the woman a bow, "I will do my best, Lady Merlin. Be at ease."

Aunt Merlin nodded her head, a sigh escaping her lips, thinking that Louise wouldn't be there from now onwards when she and her husband would go back to their home.

Her uncle then hugged her. Louise could feel a hint of sadness in her heart right now, at the thought that she wouldn't be able to spend her time like before. "Don't worry about me and your aunt, we'll be fine," he said to her and Louise couldn't help but smile where her own eyes welled up.

They were the only family she knew, the only one she had until now.

"I will try, but I will come to check on you," she grinned and he gave her a nod while returning her smile.

"We will take our leave now," her uncle announced.

With the carriage that started to leave, Mr. and Mrs. Reed had stepped back inside, and so had Mr. and Mrs. Wensley to be followed by Alison and her husband Henry, along with their daughter. Seeing her uncle and aunt take their leave in Reed's carriage, the thought of how she was now part of the Reed's slowly started to sink in her mind. From now on, this would be her home.

Louise stood there, watching the carriage disappear behind the trees. The sound of the carriage wheels and the horses' hooves completely faded and she heard nothing but the distant sound of the birds chirping and the crickets who had already begun to rub their wings.

Graham and Louise made their way inside the manor, and she saw Mrs. Reed standing in the hall with the staff. "As you are now part of the Reed's family, I would like to introduce you to the people who work here for us. It would be better to have yourself be familiar with them," said Viola Reed.

The last time Louise had been here, she had only seen four servants but now stood twelve of them in the hall. She had never seen these many servants working in a manor before.

Viola raised her hand as if to start from her left side where the three young women stood, "This is Carmella, Jemma, Meg. These three work in the kitchen along with Arthur, who is in charge of the kitchen," one of the oldest men in the staff bowed his head, and it made it easier for Louise to know who was who.

"Next is our gardener Baylor. Our workers in the manor- Denis, Saul, Philip, Jonas. You have met one of our coachman Roy, the other coachman we have is Harvey. Because of the number of people living in the manor here, we don't want to have a shortage if someone else needs to use the carriage."

That meant the Reed's owned two personal carriages, thought Louise in her mind.

"If we are busy and you have questions, you can always ask Gilbert. He is Reed's butler," Graham informed Louise, and she nodded her head. The butler bowed his head, his under eyes slightly hollow, making him look like he worked overtime here.

"And this here," said Viola, walking towards another maid, who stood in the line. Louise noticed how the maid looked a little frightened, "This is Emily. She will be your personal maid here, who will help you with everything, be it big or small."

Hearing this, Louise turned baffled, "I don't need a personal maid."

Though their family had Poppy to help in some of the jobs in the house, Louise had never felt the need to have a personal maid. She had always been capable of getting things done by herself.

"You might have not needed one before, but I insist that you have Emily around. You will need her assistance when we need to go attend the soirees or other occasions held by other families. I don't think you want to have us all wait while you get ready, do you?" questioned Viola, raising one of her eyebrows.

Louise pursed her lips before she replied, "I have never been late, Lady Viola. You do not have to worry about me keeping everyone waiting. The girl can be put to better use than being by my side," she bowed her head.

Viola didn't look one bit pleased by Louise' reply. Until now, in this manor, what the elders spoke was followed by the young people. With Louise, who had straight out refused the maid, the older woman stared at her new daughter-in-law.

Hearing the words exchanged between his mother and his newlywed wife, Graham said, "Louise is going to spend most of her time studying and working in the office. If she needs any help, I believe she wouldn't feel shy to ask for the maid's help."

"Yes. Graham is right," replied Louise, agreeing to her husband. And as she acknowledged the title, it felt a little odd, making her wonder if every newly married woman felt this way.

Viola's eyes shifted from her daughter-in-law to look at her son, her gaze stayed there for a few seconds, and she said, "Alright. I will leave you both now." She offered them a slight smile before dismissing the staff of the manor to go back to their work.

Seeing her mother-in-law leave the front hall where she and Graham stood, she asked, "Did I upset her?"

Her reason had been valid, and though she didn't agree with Mrs. Reed's suggestion, at the same time, she didn't want to create a bad relationship between them. It was because Lady Viola Reed was not only her husband's mother, but Louise would be living under the same roof as her mother-in-law.

Graham smiled at Louise' concern, "You don't have to worry about it. Everyone in this house follows her words. You are the first person to refuse her outright. She will be fine by tomorrow morning," he assured her. But before that, she was going to meet her mother-in-law during dinner, thought Louise to herself. "Come, let me show you the room."

Though outwardly she looked composed, internally, she was nervous at the thought of sharing the bed with Graham. Not that there was anything wrong with him, but until now, she had never shared a kiss or a bed with a man.

The last time Graham had given her a tour of the manor, she had seen his room only from the outside and had not stepped inside the room. The room was big, and so was the bed, next to which a fur-like carpet was placed on the floor. The windows were big, and the curtains had been pulled for the evening light to pass through. On one side, Louise noticed a desk in the corner of the room and next to it on the shelf was a collection of books.

Graham walked to where the closet had been built, and he informed, "Your clothes are already placed on the right side here. I have asked the maids to clear one extra cupboard if you ever feel the need to put more things in the future."

"Thank you," Louise thanked him for making arrangements for her and providing her with an extra cupboard. "Do we have any more formal ceremonies before or after dinner?" she asked him, wanting to make sure she didn't miss anything.

"Just the family dinner which you will be going through every day," he offered her a faint smile, and Louise felt a little more at ease. "You don't have to look too tense, take your time."

Louise wondered about what Graham was speaking about, if it was about her settling in here, or if it was about them...in the night. She knew what happened after a man and a woman were married. She wasn't naive to not know.

"I don't think your mother would be happy if I took my own time," said Louise.

Graham's handsome face looked at her, his eyes serious, and she saw his lips part to speak, "You are my wife and I don't think I married a woman who would agree to every little thing the other person says. At the same time you also know there are some rules that are placed here for everyone's well being."

So he was talking about the time she would need to settle in, thought Louise to herself.

"Thank you for your words," she thanked him again. Walking towards the closet, she pulled its handle open and found her clothes neatly folded inside.

While she was deciding what to wear for the evening, Graham had already picked out his clothes and had gone to the other side of the room. Louise closed the closet door, and when she looked back at Graham, he wasn't there. But when she turned around, she noticed him standing in the room shirtless, and she quickly turned her back to him.

Oh God, thought Louise to herself as her face turned red and her heartbeat increased by the sight of Graham's bare chest as he stood facing her.

She heard the shuffling of the clothes, and after two minutes, Graham came to stand in front of her fully dressed. He had changed into a blue shirt with beige slacks with a vest coat that he usually did when he was in the town.

"Louise, I am aware that we got married quickly and didn't have enough time to know each other well. I believe that a woman like yourself would want to proceed with the next step of our marriage when we have established an understanding with each other rather than jumping into the pond. But forgive me if I have misread you," Graham apologised in a serious tone.

Louise should have known that the man she had married was a gentleman. Even though he looked serious as if nothing would faze him, he had taken account of her current feelings, and her respect for him increased.