The Poison, The Knight and The Guillotine [TNN]

Chapter 3 - The Funeral

The organ's tune drowned out the whimpers and sniffles of grief that clouded the service. The church was small, nothing fancy, more modern than anyone would've liked.

It had been a week. The police had classed Marjorie's death as an accident. 'She tripped and fell, broke her neck and died. Happens all of the time!' Unsurprisingly this news pleased no one but Roger, who was able to bury the murder ever happening, like applying a new layer of cement in construction to cover up the last uneven set. His reputation was saved, and the Nursery was set to reopen that Monday.

It was an open casket funeral - as requested by Marjorie's mother. She'd never hear the end of it from her fancy friends if she didn't give her only daughter a big, fancy funeral, despite how long they'd been no contact for. Reece had argued back, the two being neck and neck for days until Autumn came in between and diffused the situation. So they'd settled on a small church, a simple grave, but lots of flowers and an open casket service.

Reece felt unsettled as he stood at the head of the casket, gazing down at his love. The makeup the practitioners had applied to Marjorie's face and neck made her look as if she was simply sleeping, her eyes resting, her hands clasped gently across her stomach. Reece took his time, he held her frozen hand for what felt like forever, slipping on the engagement ring he had picked out for her only a month prior, waiting for the perfect time to propose, which would now never happen. He whispered to her occasionally, begging her to open her eyes.

"This is a cruel prank Marj." He murmured, his throat thick with grief. He carefully placed her glasses onto her face, a staple of her character. She didn't look like Marjorie without her glasses.

"Reece, it's time." Autumn came quietly to his side, tentatively placing a hand on his shoulder as he stared into the coffin. With effort, he tore his eyes away from Marjorie to look at Autumn, eyes glistening with tears he was desperately holding back.

"Time..?" He rasped, his vice foreign to his own ears. Aut gave him a slight nod.

"Time for them to bury her." She whispered again. Reece nodded, almost as if in a trance as he turned back to Marjorie. Her body was outlined in white lilies. She looked like a princess.

He bent down, giving her one last, gentle kiss on her head, before he let Autumn take his hand and lead him back to the church pews. Everyone wore black. It was a suffocating colour.

The rest of the staff had come too - even Carly, against everyone's protests. She stood with Charlotte and Mia, sandwiched between the two women as she bawled into her hands, her cries probably the loudest out of anyone here - after all, she'd lost her motherly figure. She couldn't bring herself to walk up to the casket and look at Marjorie. No one made her. Charlotte wrapped her arms around the teens shoulders and clutched her closely as she held back her own tears.

Sorscha and Clodagh had left Quinn with their parent's and had appeared too, the two wives holding hands tightly as they stared at the service. Sorscha was only just keeping herself together as her jaw shook with effort, her eyes fixed on Reece. She couldn't imagine the storm that brewed inside him. She couldn't imagine what she'd do if that was her up there, with Clodagh in the casket.

"It's okay love." Clodagh whispered to her softly, rubbing her arm. Sorscha released the tension in her hand, realising she'd accidentally been crushing her wife's hand.

"I'm sorry." She murmured, leaning in and kissing her temple.

Roger and Siobhan had turned up to pay their respects as they were Marjorie's employers, not that Roger truly cared as he stood at the back of the church, glancing at his watch and tapping his foot in irritation, waiting for the service to end so he could return to his hot tub at home.