Madeline

Part Five

   Thomas Greendale was a rather cheerful man, and one of the few of Arthur's friends I could tolerate. A hair shy of thirty, he was the village physician and a bachelor. He was a known admirer of the genteel sex and never let an opportunity of flattery slip past him.

   "I must say Alice, you look rather lovely this evening," With nimble fingers and twinkling blue eyes, he raised his glass in her direction as she laid out supper.

  Her cheeks became rosy in color, "I do not see why Mr. Greendale. I look as I always do."

   "And you always look lovely!" He laughed before taking a sip from his glass, "Does she not always look enchanting?"

   "Simply ravishing." Arthur replied, his eyes staring fixedly at her. His tone was of boredom, but double meaning laced his words.

   She is too pretty for her own good. My mother's words once more came to mind for a reason I did not quite understand.

   The blush quickly disappeared from her features and I stared at him nearly horrified. He was being crass without reason and no doubt embarrassing the poor girl. Thomas began to laugh once more, as if to ease the tension currently present in the room.

    "I do not think I have ever heard you say such a thing Arthur, especially to a lady. I did not think you could even speak to one!" He continued to chuckle softly, "Alice do not let his words both..."

    A look of confusion settled upon his face, I then realized that Alice had disappeared from the room.

  "Poor girl! You must have frightened her away." Thomas stated.

   "You should apologize to her Arthur." I found myself speaking between clenched teeth, "She does not deserve to be treated in such a manner."

   "Then how should I treat her? Am I to call her ugly and have her despise me even more?" His eyebrows arched as he awaited an answer.

  "How are you getting on?" Thomas was the one to break the silence, "I never did offer my condolences and I wish to say that I am terribly sorry. Madeline was a very beautiful woman."

  "That was all she really was, beautiful." Arthur toyed with his glass languidly.

   Thomas stared down at the tablecloth as if he did not know what to say. "Asphyxia, an awful way to die..." His voice trailed off. Something was peculiar about his words. He did not meet anyone's eyes as he spoke.

"Dying never really is a pleasant business is it?" Arthur muttered as he brought his glass to his mouth.

  "It is a shame that she wanted to take her life." Once more his words struck me as unusual, but I could not place why. "A great shame indeed."

   At that moment, the candles on the table sputtered, and then went out, leaving the room in total darkness. Spirals of smoke from the candles, wafted through the air. It was as if an unfelt draft had gone through the room. A great sigh filled the otherwise noiseless room.

   "What the devil is going on?" Thomas demanded indignantly as he arose from his chair.

   At that instant, I saw a figure in white appear behind him. The figure wavered like the candle smoke and eyes as black as pitch stared at me. The figure then vanished as quickly as it had appeared, so quickly in fact, that I began to wonder if my mind was playing tricks upon me once more.

   Light then filled the room, as the candles came flickering back to life. Thomas had a look of wonder about his face, Arthur a look of terror. I was no doubt the latter.

   "What a strange thing!" Thomas remarked, "Very strange indeed." He spoke once more softly to himself, as he sat back down.

"Yes, very strange..." Arthur commented, his eyes still traveling the room.

   Thomas nodded in agreement, not noticing Arthur's distress. "Come! Let us talk of more pleasant things. I heard the Derbyshires are returning to the countryside this spring!"

The rest of the evening, not one word was uttered about the strange phenomena.

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That night I dreamt of my father.

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"You stupid boy! You insolent little whelp! "

  The sound of leather meeting skin, echoed in my ears. I saw Arthur as a child cowering from the giant man that towered over him, leather belt in hand.

  "You'll git what's comin to ya's youn' master! Yee mark my werds now ya hear! You'll git what's comin to ya!" Daniel' voice exited my father's mouth as the scene changed.

   I now stood in the study and Madeline stood across from me. She appeared the same as she did before, dressed in the white gown that I now recognized as her wedding dress. The fire suddenly roared to life and the light from the flames gave the room an orange glow. The music box began to play once more. She once more smiled, even as blood began to pour from her eyes. The streams ran down her pale skin, until they began to stain her gown. She soon became a vision in red.

   As she opened her mouth, instead of screaming, she began to laugh. She laughed until she began to cackle like a witch of tales old. The harmony from the music box clashed with the crude sound. Then all at once the glass from the windowpanes shattered, flying into the room, as I began to shield myself with my hands.

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I awoke and for the rest of the night sleep evaded me.

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   The next morning, as I was dressing, I saw that the bruises across my throat had changed in color. They were nearly black. I was beginning to grow unnerved by the occurrences in the house and my dreams. I wished that I could return to London immediately.

  As I made my way down the stairs, a strange sight stopped me. Alice was seated near the door, her face pale and her arms wrapped tightly about herself.

"What has happened?" I placed my arms gently upon her shoulders.

  "A most horrible thing," She spoke slowly with tears in her eyes and I could see that whatever it was had frightened her a great deal, "It's Mr. Greendale. Oh Matthew, he's dead."

Part five is done!! I hope to have this story completed by Halloween if I'm lucky! Thank you again to anyone who has read it and voted or commented! I would like to dedicate this chapter to Dusk99 for reading it since the begining and just being amazing!! -The_Queenbee