Irene Greves
Chapter One: Burned Alive
"Miss Irene, you must hurry with your bath, for Lord trench has arrived!" Marianne opened the wooden door, a drying robe in hand. She was my least favorite maid out of all forty-seven we had. She was always nagging and scolding me for everything I did. 'You mustn't wear such dark clothing, you will be robbed.' 'Friends are good for you. Meet new people, Mistress!' 'You should not have such a fetish as death and blood.' 'You act as if you were a Devil-Worshiper!' I disliked her very much. Did she not know how to leave a woman alone?!
"I am done," I stood up in the metal bathing tub. Marianne came over to me and wrapped the robe around my naked body. I did not like maids doing this for me, but mother insisted on it. We walked- me silently and Marianne, her feet loud on the wood- into my dressing room.
Marianne helped me with putting my black shift on. Then a red petticoat with another of the same color over, seeing of how cold it is in London. She pulled a gown- of course with a stay under first- over my head. It was my favorite. The floor-length skirt was as black as the heart of the man my mother wanted me to marry. The lace to the bodice was of the same color, while the bodice itself was as red as blood. There was also a stomacher, of course, which was blood-red with black edges. Black roses and thorn vines were embroidered onto the red. I slipped black leather shoes on. The heel was low, but it still made a horrid clacking noise whenever I took a step.
I decided to leave me hair down and unpowdered. It would take up too much time to fix up, and I had already made Earl Oscar Trench wait a half-of-an-hour. I hated him, but I was not rude.
"You look...beautiful," Earl Trench kissed my hand in politeness, but he did not mean and word of it. He did did not interest me at all, but the boy he had brought with him did. "This is my son, Alexander." his son bowed at the mention of his name, but in a quick manner. I curtsied in return.
"Nice to meet you, Miss Greves," Alexander said shyly.
"Pleasure it is..." I replied. Lord Trench took my arm and I showed him to the dining room. My mind was focused on Alexander. I could feel his eyes burn though the back of my head. I could tell the only thing on old man Trench's mind was sex, and I, his future and unwilling wife would have to give him that. In truth, I would rather die that do that, but I would never go against mother. The man was old enough to be my father. And his son was probably older than me! It would be odd to have a step-son older than I, but I could survive... but, what was mother thinking?! Was she that greedy for more money so as to marry her daughter off to a man her own age?
"Welcome, Sir Oscar Trench, to the Greves Estate," Mother greeted him warmly, then turned to Alexander. "It is pleasing to see you again, Alexander," She bowed her head slightly and briefly. Father stood and walked slowly, but noisily over to us. He shook the hand of the black-hearted, sex-crazed man in front of him.
"It is nice to see you again, Oscar," father said with his Italian accent. I did not say anything all throughout dinner, but caught Alexander looked at me every once and awhile. Earl Trench, well, I caught him staring at me chest every once and awhile.
After the women were dismissed to their quarters, I decided to go for a long walk through the labyrinth in the back of the mansion. I had been told when I was a little girl that it had been there for centuries. I loved it here, and wished I would never have to leave, but luck was against me. I knew my way completely around the labyrinth, and have not gotten lost since I was ten. There was no possible way to get into the center, but it was odd. There were thirteen different ways to get to the large, circular stone walls that surrounded the center, and seventeen different ways to get out. The first time I went through it, I was seven. I got lost, and ended up at at a mysterious castle that reached well beyond the clouds. It looked all but abandoned, except for a hansom, and a man. The man had yellow hair that was almost white, his skin was as pale as death, and he looked very sick. His face was hollowed out, and his eyes were sunken and sad. He scared me back then, because of his looks, but I learned he was kind. That was the man who had led me back to my mansion.
