The Fourth Mistress

Music Recommendation: Cosmic Background - Chris Warner 

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Little Emily held her sister, shielding her sister's face from the tragic incident that had occurred in the room. Her mother was brought down and placed on the floor, and Emily heard her father sob. Her mother looked as if she was sleeping, where her father hugged her mother while tears fell from his eyes. 

"Please don't leave me!" her father quietly cried when he said those words to her mother, "I am sorry for saying those words to you. Please come back."

Emily watched her father blame himself for the grave loss that had happened in the Saltonstall's family. A crowd had formed inside and outside Saltonstall's house on hearing about Marlow's death. 

"Take the children from here, it would be better if they do not see this," someone whispered at the front of the room. "God only knows for how long she has been hanging from the ceiling."

Someone else replied in a hushed tone, "I heard that she has been like this until Dariel returned home in the evening."

"What a pity. But for the last two days he has been at the mines, hasn't he?" came the surprised question from the first person in a low voice, while watching Mr. Saltonstall continue to hug his dead wife in his arms, whispering incoherent words to the woman who was long gone.

"Emily, dear?" a woman, Saltonstall's neighbour who knew Marlow for quite some time, came near the little girl and her younger sister. 

Little Emily tore her gaze away from her parents and looked at the woman with whom she had spoken in the past. She stared at the worried woman, who said kindly, "Why don't you both come home, I am sure you are hungry. I will fix you something to drink and eat?"

"But mama?" asked little Emily, and the woman pursed her lips. A sadness came to befall her face, and she bent down to say in a quiet voice, "Your mama is asleep. She must be tired. Come."

While taking the two young daughters of Saltonstall to her house, the woman noticed the number of people gathered around. They were here to see the dead woman. Wanting to know why the woman committed suicide while also making their own assumptions. 

"What is going to happen now, Maria? The father cannot feed his children if he doesn't go to the mines and that will leave the daughters all by themselves," commented one person. The elderly woman tugged the two girl's hands with her own. 

"I heard that Marlow has been teaching the girls how to seduce men, it will be easy for them to be taken care of," commented one of the women in the crowd. 

"How disgusting!" exclaimed another one. "Maybe it is good to know that she killed herself. It is better to not have a parent like that-"

"That's enough!" The Saltonstall's neighbour stopped them. The elderly woman sent a quiet glare at the woman who had been bad-mouthing. She said, "Not only is this not a time to gossip, but it is also not good to be ridiculing the person who died. The least you can do is hold your tongue in front of the children who have lost their mother."

One of the women who had commented earlier let out a dry laugh, "What is wrong in speaking the truth? Everyone knows Marlow was sleeping with men."

"And who are these men, whom you were talking about?" demanded the elderly woman. Her feet had paused, and so did the two little girls, staring at the elders while not knowing what exactly was going on. "I would like to know the names, whom you outrageously claimed Marlow slept with, or is it that you decided to label her out of sheer jealousy? Jumping into things without knowing the truth, shame on you."

The two women looked embarrassed for being shamed and called out in front of everyone. 

"Maybe if she didn't go around accompanying other men, this could have been avoided," one of the lady's huffed, as if not believing this old hag was blaming them. 

"Not everyone is born with wealth in their pocket and even if she did, how is it that you don't hold those men guilty and only her? It is a shame that being a woman, you try to shame the other. Spreading gossip and this is what it has come to," the elderly woman clicked her tongue in distaste. The people who had gathered around suddenly looked uncomfortable. "If you aren't here to mourn Marlow's death, you can go back to your fancy life and spread ill rumours here."

Soon people started to scatter away from the front of the house while muttering under their breath.

"What is wrong with her?"

"She was close to Marlow and couldn't even see the truth?"

"Come on, we don't want to stay in such a place."

The older woman sighed, and when her eyes shifted to look at the two small girls, she noticed the younger one looked lost, unable to understand what was going around, while the elder daughter stared at the people who had bad-mouthed her mother. 

"Let us go inside," proposed the woman, taking the two girls inside her house, and she made them sit in the chair while offering them biscuits and warm milk. Emily barely touched it. Her head had turned to look at the window where the direction of her house was.

"Was mama really bad?" questioned Emily, and for a second, the woman turned stunned at the question, and she shook her head. 

The elderly woman came to sit next to her; she said, "Your mama was a good person. Don't let anyone else tell you otherwise. She was a wonderful person, who loved both you and your sister very dearly. People only like to gossip."

"Gossip?" asked the little girl.

The elderly woman nodded her head, "It is something false and hurtful words being spread about people. It isn't a good thing to do." Saying this, she placed her hand on Emily's head and said, "Don't pay heed to them, dear. It is just… sad to think that something like this happened. If only I knew," her voice cracked in the end. 

She hid her face behind her handkerchief for a moment to hold back her tears before offering the two girls encouraging smiles. 

The investigating officers came to ask the two small girls to see if they could get anything more than what Mr. Saltonstall had mentioned about the fight he and his wife had. Once they finished their job, the officers left the place and the family, and a few people came to say goodbye to Marlow Saltonstall, offering their prayers. 

After burying their mother, when Emily and her sister returned with their father, their home felt empty with the lack of her mother's presence, who had always smiled at her. Her father didn't go to work, as there were no other relatives to take care of his daughters. Another reason was that he had turned depressed by his wife's death.

Days passed, and Emily saw her father drink himself to sleep, muttering things that she could barely hear and understand. During that time, their neighbour, whom her mother had a good relationship with, cooked food and sent it to them to eat. 

One night after dinner, Emily heard her father crying whilst he sat at the dining table with a half-filled bottle of alcohol and the glass in his hand. 

"Why did you take such an extreme step, Marlow?" questioned her father while Emily stood in the room, watching her father through the crack of the door. "I have loved you, all I wanted was for you to listen to me. I wanted to protect you, and instead-" he closed his eyes for tears to spill down, "-you killed yourself."

All these days, Emily saw and heard people blame her father for her mother's death. 

When Mr. Saltonstall stood up from his chair that made a slight screech, he staggered towards the drawer. Pulling out something in his hand. Turning around, he made his way to the room where his daughters were sleeping. Little Emily hadn't expected her father to come to the room, and she saw him open the door while he made his way to the bed where her younger sister was sleeping. 

She heard him apologizing, "I am sorry… I am sorry… shouldn't have… I will be there soon."

Her father raised his hand that held a gun pointed towards his younger daughter, who was fast asleep. When he pulled the trigger, the sound made her numb. Emily's eyes widened in fear and shock, watching her sister's blanket that started to turn red. 

"P-papa?" Emily stuttered, stepping away from the wall in shock.

Hearing his older daughter's voice, Mr. Saltonstall snapped out of his daze, and he finally realized what he had done. He had planned to shoot himself and his two small daughters so that they could rejoin his wife. But on seeing Emily's shocked face, which looked pale, he came back to his senses that he had killed his younger daughter. 

"I don't deserve to live," Mr. Saltonstall muttered, and little Emily quickly made her way to where her father was. But the man in shock had already raised his hand to place the nozzle of the gun into his mouth, and without waiting for a second, he pulled the trigger. 

Emily went to hold her father, who shot himself, and she noticed blood drops fall on the ground. As if having its own last thoughts, the body staggered, and she tried to hold him, but the weight was too much for a small child like her. Heis weight fell on her, and she fell backwards with her head hitting the ground hard enough for her to lose consciousness. 

Hearing the gunshot, the neighbour came to check on them and immediately went to inform Mr. Cooper, who was in charge of the area. The officer took a look and went back to get his co-workers, while Emily remained unconscious until the officer left and her eyes opened. 

Back in the present, Lady Viola said, "Back then, I had no idea of what happened to the girl who had tried to take up Graham's time and after finding her with him in the shed. You can tell I didn't care that time as it was just a trivial matter and there were other important things that had to be done. But I didn't know that after many years, she would come back to Reed's manor."

"As a maid for the family," said Louise, and Lady Viola nodded her head. 

"Yes, as our maid. That time Graham's grandparents were still alive, and one of our servant's who looked after Lady Brielle had fallen severely ill. We needed another maid's help so I had inquired Mrs. Hawkins if she could find a servant who would perfectly follow our rules of manor and to not misplace anything. Because when the maids are young, you never know what mischief they bring with them. Some steal, some are terrible and like to go against our word."

"So it was Mrs. Hawkins who got Emily to work for you?" asked Louise, hearing the crackling sound of woods from the fireplace. 

Gilbert, who had sent their coachman along with one of the male servants to fetch the priest as well as Graham, returned to the drawing-room. The remaining servants had taken their seats outside the drawing-room.

Lady Viola replied to Louise, "At that time, Emily was working in Mrs. Hawkins manor. Mrs. Hawkins' family used to live in Midville, who had moved to Warlington. I found out that Mrs. Hawkins had found Emily alone on the road when it was dark. The woman took pity on her and took her in, grooming her to be a fine maid. We thought we could trust her. And maybe that is why, at that time we didn't question her background. Her record was clean in the Hawkins family…"

Back in time, Emily stood in front of Reed's manor. 

As if it was fate, Emily had packed all her things from the Hawkins' manor and had come here to work as a maid in Reed's manor. There had been many times in the past, where Emily wanted to come and visit Graham. But she hadn't been able to. 

The last time she had placed her foot here was when she was a little girl and she had come here with her mother. But now she had grown into a young and beautiful woman, her features remotely resembling her mother's characteristics. 

As she walked inside through the wide gates of Reed's manor, it felt like it was only yesterday that she and her mother had come here. She remembered her mother's warm hand that had securely held hers. It was alright, thought Emily to herself. She wouldn't feel lonely anymore as Graham was here. With that thought, she stepped in front of the manor entrance that the butler had opened. 

Compared to the last time, Emily was able to admire Reed's manor better, looking at the high ceiling where the chandelier hung inside in the hall. The garden at the front was big. 

She introduced herself, "I am Emily. Mrs. Hawkins sent me to work for-"

"Follow me," said the butler with his expression barely changing, and she did as she was told. While on her way, her eyes caught sight of some of the family members, but the person she was eagerly looking for wasn't in the hall. 

She followed the butler with both her hands holding her things, and he led her to the kitchen before introducing her to the other servants. 

"This is the new maid and from today onwards, she will be working here and be mainly in charge of Lady Braille," said Gilbert to the maids who were in the kitchen. 

Emily bowed her head and said, "I am Emily. I look forward to working here with everyone."

The maids nodded their heads, and one of them said, "Welcome to the Reed's manor, Emily. I am Meg, and this here is Camella and Jemma," the maid introduced the young girls who were in the kitchen.

The butler then instructed her, "For the time being you can work here in the kitchen today. But before that let me walk you around the manor so that you know what comes where."

Emily bowed at the maids and then stepped out of the kitchen, following the butler. Camella, who was older than the rest, said, "Does her face remind you of someone?"

Meg turned to look at Camella and asked, "Hm? I don't think so. She has a pretty face, doesn't she?" 

Camella stared at the entrance of the kitchen and then nodded her head, "She does. There used to be this woman, she was considered to be very beautiful and I must have seen her once when I was young."

"Oh?" questioned Meg, going back to what they were doing.

"I forgot her name though, it was a long time ago," stated Camella and she went back to continue cutting the vegetables that were placed on the platform. 

Emily was not new to the kinds of the manor, but her eyes continued to sweep through the place while the butler told her which rooms she was allowed to enter and which ones she was not supposed to step into. On their way, the young woman's eyes finally fell on the handsome man, who was walking in the opposite direction, while he tried to wear his watch. 

One look, and Emily knew who he was. 

The memory of him, which had until now been of the young boy who had shown her kindness and care, inviting her into his house, slowly started to fragment and disappear. It was replaced with how he looked right now. 

Graham Reed had grown tall, and his shoulders had broadened where he wore a shirt with the suspenders strapped in front of him. Even though he was in his house, his hair had been combed with the side partition, and his olive-green eyes looked mesmerizing to her. 

"Where is my grey coat that I wore two days ago, Gilbert? I didn't see it in my room," spoke Graham to the butler, his deep voice fascinating the maid, whose eyes were on him. 

The butler bowed his head and said, "It must be on the stand near the entrance, Master Graham. Let me go and get it right away," and Gilbert left the floor, walking down the stairs.

When Graham caught the young woman looking at him, she quickly bowed at him and looked down at the ground. Emily could feel the blush that started to appear on her pale cheeks. 

"Are you the new maid who joined today?" questioned Graham, his words polite.

Emily bowed her head, "I am." Lifting her head and letting her eyes lingered longer on his face when he asked her,

"Pardon me, but have we met before?" Graham's eyes had a curious glint in them, and the more he spoke to her, the more the spark of fire started to keep itself alive. 

Did his question mean he still carried her in his thoughts? Happiness bubbled in her mind. 

Before Emily could reply to it, the butler climbed up the stairs and returned, holding the grey coat in his hand. She wanted to tell Graham, to remind him that she was that girl whom he had offered his handkerchief, which she still had in her possession. But she didn't want to tell it in front of the butler, and she decided to keep her mouth closed for the moment. 

"No, Master Graham," replied Emily. Her words were gentle and poised. 

She knew mentioning her last name would only get her replaced by another maid, and she didn't want that happening. She decided to tell him her full name some other time. 

Graham gave a short nod to the butler for fetching the coat quickly, and he made his way back to his room, which was on the same floor. 

"Shall we?" the butler asked Emily, and the young woman nodded her head. When they walked past Graham's bedroom, she couldn't help but turn around to take a longer look before they walked past it. 

After a few days in the manor, one afternoon, Emily was cleaning the study room when she caught sight of the written papers on top of the table. She recognized the handwriting to be of Graham's.

"You haven't changed much, have you?" There was a smile on Emily's face as her eyes took in words, watching the way the words started and curved around. 

"What are you doing there?" 

Emily heard the deep baritone voice from behind her. Startled, she quickly turned around and ended up with her hand knocking the glass that was filled with ink to fall on the ground. She remembered it was just like the first time they had met, shards of glasses on the floor. The only difference being, this time, she was greeted with a grim expression on his face. 

"My apologies, Sir! Let me clean it right away," Emily apologized, worried that she had upset him. Bending down, she started to pick those pieces when one of them sliced her finger, and she winced. 

"Why are you picking them up in your bare hands?" asked Graham. Walking forward, he said, "Leave them as it is before you make things worse. I thought my mother said that you have some experience by working with the Hawkins family."

Emily dropped the glass pieces and stood back up on her feet. 

A deep frown came to settle on Graham's face on noticing the blood and the ink mix together. When Emily went to wipe her hand across the apron that was tied around her waist, he said, 

"What are you doing? It is only going to make it worse," and he picked up the jug of water before saying, "Follow me." He walked towards the window, opening it and raised the jug of water. "Bring your hand forward." 

Emily did as she was told, and Graham poured the water from the jug on her hand to remove the ink stains and blood from her palms. And during that time, her eyes were fixed on his face, somewhere his action warmed her heart.