The Fourth Mistress

Louise sat with a blanket put around her while she sat on one of the garden benches. She stared into space while the bodies of the deceased had been picked so that it could be used for examination before being buried. 

Thanks to what had been happening all these days, because of Emily's doing, it had cushioned the shock of what she saw a couple of minutes ago. Graham was right here, in front of her, and he had then disappeared. 

"Lady Louise," Mr. Burton walked to where she was, and she raised her head to meet his eyes. 

The man looked in denial of what he had seen, while it was Officer Shaw, who had a look of disbelief on his face right now. Because it wasn't that he had seen something similar to a ghost, but he had actually seen a deceased person's ghost near the lake. The officer's face was frigid, and he barely spoke since they had returned near the half-burnt manor that belonged to Reed's family. 

"About the lake," started Louise, but Mr. Burton changed the subject,

"I am taking all the bodies along with me in the carriage. I will have them sent back to you so that you—"

"No," replied Louise, standing up from where she had been sitting until now, and she pulled the blanket around her. "You don't have to bring the bodies back in here."

Mr. Burton looked surprised, and so did the maid Camille, who was one of the few survivors after the ghost's attack. The officer asked her, "I thought you might want them back, considering they worked here for two years? Alright then. I will have them buried in the local cemetery of the town."

Louise nodded her head, "You can bring my husband and my mother-in-law's bodies back. I would like to have them here," her eyes held a slightly dazed expression as everything had come like a shock, and she was still processing things around her. 

Mr. Burton gave her a nod, "I will do that once I get the reports. Is there anything that you would want us to help you with?" he asked her. 

Louise noticed how the officer looked as if he wanted to leave Reed's property as fast as possible so that he could forget the daydream he had witnessed. 

"No," replied Louise, her lips setting in a thin line. 

"Thank you for your cooperation," Mr. Burton bowed his head, and he started to head towards the first carriage, which was empty, and only the two carriages behind it were filled with the dead. When her eyes met officer Shaw's, he held his gaze with her for the briefest second before following the other officer. 

And soon, it was just Louise, who was the sole lady of the house and three servants—Camielle, the maid. Gilbert, the butler. And Harvey, the coachman. 

"What did you see back at the lake, Lady Louise?" asked Harvey, his voice filled with fear, who had missed seeing Graham's ghost out from the manor. 

"A ghost," replied Louise, her voice barely holding any emotion in it, and it sounded distant. 

In the end, Emily had won and lost. Even though she didn't want Graham to be with anyone, she couldn't keep him for herself. And in the end… Graham had chosen not to speak about his death, as if he was fine and breathing, to go to the lake where Lisa's ghost resided…

The butler stood next to her, and he said, "The townsfolk or the officer will never believe what we saw and heard, milady. With the amount of deaths that have taken place here, they will only doubt your intentions."

"I know that," replied Louise. She closed her eyes for a moment, trying to get a hold of her emotions and gather it. "Harvey or Gilbert, I would like you to send a message to Alison. Let her and her husband know what happened here before they hear the news which turns into gossip."

Alison and her husband, Henry, had been smart enough to leave the manor before Emily would attack them. Knowing how close the Reed's were when it came to family, she didn't want Alison to know about it through another person. 

"You don't have to give the complete details. Tell her that I want to meet her here," said Louise and Harvey bowed his head before taking his leave in the only carriage that they were left with. 

Louise stared at the manor, which was half broken and barely intact. She walked towards the place, going through the things that she could identify and seeing if she could pick something from here before unnecessary things would be thrown away. 

She came across the family portrait, which was when Graham was young, and she noticed how the flames had wrapped itself, burning the surface of the paint while leaving the people in there mostly unrecognizable. 

Not for a moment had she doubted that Graham had died. Her husband… he was no more and had been killed by Emily's ghost. 

She took a deep breath before a shudder escaped from her mouth. Her hand reached to cover her face, and her eyes prickled. As the realization sunk deeper, her heart turned heavy, and she couldn't believe it. When she had married Graham, she had hoped for their marriage to work. But they hadn't been able to spend proper time without having to look over their shoulders. 

People had believed that she would be cursed like the other wives who had passed away, but the curse had touched Graham this time. 

Louise couldn't bear looking at the things, and she turned her face away from it. Her eyes met Gilbert's eyes, who was watching her with the dull expression on his face. 

"Allow me to go and get something to eat, Lady Louise," Gilbert's expression was cold as ever. She shook her head. 

"I don't think I have an appetite for it now. I don't think I will," she whispered the last words. "Do see if you can get a carriage. I would like to go visit my uncle and aunt's home." 

Gilbert offered her a slight bow before he walked away from there, heading towards the main gates of the Reeds manor, while Louise took a look at the maid, who was sitting on the bench. She started to walk, her feet moving in the direction of the lake. 

The rays of the sun were warm, but it wasn't enough to warm her frozen heart out of shock. The light glimmered on the surface of the water, and she wondered if Lisa would emerge out of the water. But nothing like that happened. While she continued to stare, she heard footsteps approaching from behind. 

"You should sit back, Cami—" Louise stopped speaking, and she abruptly stopped speaking. 

Her lips trembled, and she softly gulped while staring at Graham standing there, staring at her. After seeing his battered body, because of the fire, Louise couldn't get rid of it from her mind, and it made her realize what she was seeing. 

This was not Graham but his ghost. 

"I… I thought you left," said Louise, not knowing if she was imagining things now, but ghosts existed. 

Seconds passed before she heard him say, "I couldn't."

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