The Fourth Mistress

Music Recommendation: Impermanent - Keith Merrill

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On their way back to the manor in the carriage, Louise wondered if it was alright to ask Graham about the files that she found. But then, at the same time, she felt it would be rude to bring up his dead wives when he was trying to move on from what happened in his past.

Why was there a fourth consent paper which Lady Viola signed? She would have guessed that it was a premonitory document, but the signature was faint, and the first half of the page was blank. Was it possible that the writing had faded over time? Louise wondered to herself while she sat next to Graham in the moving carriage.

"Did you get all the books that are needed for your study?" asked Graham.

Louise turned to look at him, "I usually borrow them from the local library or from Mr. Winkle's office."

Hearing this, a small frown appeared on his forehead, and he said, "If you want, we can buy them. I am sure you might need them in the future for reference purposes," offered Graham.

"No, that's fine," replied Louise with a smile on her lips that Graham wanted to help her. "I like the smell of the old books and there are notes by the previous users of the book which have been useful. The books must have been borrowed by many people because I found different handwriting on the pages of the books."

"Looks like people like to vandalize things that don't belong to them," murmured Graham and though Louise would have agreed to it to be true, having the little notes and marking made it much easier while studying, which was why she didn't mind them. "Let me know if you need anything in particular, I would be happy to assist you," he offered his help.

Louise nodded her head with a smile, "Thank you, Graham."

After a few more minutes passed, Graham asked, "Would you like to go out somewhere during the weekend? I believe we haven't spent much time together."

Her heart fluttered at the thought of them spending time away from people and just the two of them. Remembering what Lady Viola said, Louise asked, "But won't you be busy with work? I heard your hands are full because of the construction work in Hungate," her eyes looked into his olive-green eyes.

"Just because I am busy with the new project, doesn't mean I have no time to pay attention to my wife," said Graham, while he stared back at her. "I don't want to commit the mistakes that took place in the past."

Louise wondered what he meant by those words.

"We can probably go on a ride with the horses," he suggested, and though Louise had told Viola she didn't have time to spend outside and that there was nothing to worry about, she agreed to Graham's plan of them spending time together.

Louise couldn't help but look forward to it, and for those few minutes in the carriage, her thoughts about the file that she had handed over to Mr. Winkle had disappeared from her mind.

The rest of the week went as usual, and as Graham had told, the grandfather's clock on the wall had been replaced by a much fancier one that worked perfectly well. Her sleep was slowly getting back to the normal routine while she adjusted to her new surroundings.

When Saturday arrived, Louise wore a pale lavender coloured dress and white gloves on her hand. She and Graham walked towards the stables where the horses had been tied. Louise said, "I have never taken a ride on a horse before."

"But your family owns horses, don't they?" questioned Graham while they walked through the ground that was covered with dry hay and mud.

"We do, but they are mostly used for the carriages and uncle uses it," replied Louise.

"I am surprised," responded Graham, and Louise turned to him in question. "You don't seem like a person who has never tried to ride a horse. You seem to be a person who likes to move in the wild. To be more precise, someone who would be found in the moving water than the still one," he let his thoughts known to her.

"Then even I would like you to know that you appear to be a person who is like a still water. In a good way," responded Louise, and Graham gave her a curt nod.

They walked towards the stables where the stallions and mares were tied. One of the male servants offered his bow to them.

"Do you want to take the horses for a ride, Sire?" asked the servant.

"Lady Louise would like to learn how to ride a horse," informed Graham, and Louise smiled at the servant.

In five minutes, one of the stallions was brought out from the stable. Graham patted the horse, and he said to her, "It isn't too hard to ride a horse. All you need to do is to not fall and don't be frightened. Place your foot here and then you climb on the saddle."

Louise had seen men mount on the horses. When Graham gave his hand to her, she held it and tried to mount on the horse, sitting with the help of Graham, who held her waist.

Having never been touched like this before, Louise felt heat rush up to her cheeks. Sitting on the horse, she corrected her dress so that it didn't look odd.

Looking at Louise, Graham said, "I will have Gilbert call the tailor so that a new set of clothes can be stitched for your future horse riding," she nodded her head while making sure to grip the reins of the horse.

Now that she was sitting on the horse, she felt as if she had grown taller, and she could see things more clearly. So clearly that when her eyes went to look at the manor, she noticed her mother-in-law standing in front of one of the windows, watching her and Graham.

She heard Graham speak about the horse, "Charlie is gentle and more tame compared to the rest of the horses in the stable. You can learn how to ride with him before trying the others."

"I will keep that in my mind, thank you," said Louise. Somewhere, she had started to enjoy this. "Won't you be riding the horse?" she asked him because he was on the ground, slowly walking next to the horse along with her.

"I am fine," answered Graham.

The serious expression on his face didn't change. Even though he wasn't as expressive as her, Louise felt like she was slowly understanding him, and the man wasn't as cold as he appeared to be.

They walked away from the manor and towards the forest area surrounded by trees and bushes and the sounds of the birds chirping that echoed in here.

"Is this one of your hobbies?" Louise asked Graham.

"One of the many things," he replied to her.

"What are the others?" she asked him curiously.

"Attending the soirees where people gamble with money, supervising the business or reading and writing as you already are aware of. In the past, we used to go fishing," said Graham.

"We?"

"Back when we used to live in Warlington, my family and I used to spend a lot more time together than now," explained Graham, and Louise quietly listened to him. "After the first two death's, it took a toll on my family, and people speak."

That was possibly why they had moved from Warlington to Habsburg to get a different atmosphere, thought Louise in her mind.

"It is fine. You don't have to worry about it," Graham assured Louise.

"I heard from Lady Agatha that there's a lake at the far back of the manor. I have never gone fishing before, maybe you can teach me," proposed Louise. She was not an outsider but part of Reed's family, and she wanted to bring back the life which seemed dead now.

"We can see what can be done in the future," replied Graham without promising anything right away, but for now, she was satisfied with it.

When a few more minutes passed, Graham said, "You look more comfortable sitting on the horse compared to the first few minutes."

"Yes, much better. I was worried that I might fall," confessed Louise with a smile in the end.

"You don't have to worry about that. While I am here, I will make sure to see that nothing happens to you," Graham gave his word to her, and that was enough to warm Louise' heart. "Can you move a little to the front?" he asked her.

Louise didn't know why, but she did as he instructed. In the next second, Graham held the saddle with his hand before mounting on the horse and sat behind her. Though Graham had a serious face, Louise felt her cheeks burn when he took the reins from her hands.

"Let's take the ride back to the stable. Sit tight," advised Graham, and Louise held on tight, and the horse started to gallop. The wind breezed from the opposite direction, and she was glad to have braided her hair. As the horse moved forward, her heart raced with Graham, who sat right behind her, her back touching his chest.

When they returned to the horse shed, there was a big smile on Louise' face. It had been a while since she had this much fun.

Graham was the first to unmount, and when it was Louise's turn, he stepped closer and held her waist before helping her get down. They stood close until the servant appeared to come and take the horse back to tie it. She took a step back, looking at the ground and then back at him to say,

"I had fun."

"Me too," replied Graham, even though he mainly walked her horse. Getting inside the manor, Louise went to wash her hands, and Graham went to meet his father in the study room.

While she was walking in the corridor, she met Lady Viola on her way, and she offered her greetings to her mother-in-law, and the woman gave a curt nod. Before the woman could walk past her, Louise said,

"Lady Viola, if you don't mind, there is something that I would like to ask."

The woman had a serious expression on her face, and she asked, "What is it?"

"I was thinking about visiting the family graves with some flowers. I wanted to know if there is anyone in the Reed's or the Ernest's family, who I might need to get extra flowers for," Louise's words were polite and not an octave down or up.

"Apart from Graham's grandparents, who passed away a few years ago, no. And the graves aren't here as we moved to Habsburg three years ago," replied Lady Viola.

Louise opened her mouth, ready to ask more, but she nodded her head, "I see."

"Was that all you wanted to ask?" asked the woman in a grim expression.

"Yes, Lady Viola. Thank you," she bowed her head and saw the woman walk past her.

Seeing the woman leave, Louise wondered why another paper was in there with Lady Viola's signature on it. Was it for someone in the future?