The Lady in Yellow: A Victorian Gothic Paranormal Romance

Six

Veronica slept deeply. The exhaustion of the long journey, the excitement of change, and the utter quietness of Belden House had combined to lull her into the deeps, and her dreams, if any, had dissipated with the dawn.

She woke, stretching like a cat, opening her eyes on her beautiful room. Everything had turned out just right. And the prospect of having a free day to do as she pleased was an unexpected bonus. There were no church bells to herald the dawn, no hymns being sung to wake her, only wan, watery sunlight brightening the window, and the voices of a thousand songbirds.

She rose and went out to the balcony, her balcony now, and looked out over the back yard. Rays of sunlight angled through the slim, white trunks of the birch grove, brightened the fringe of lilies where she'd first seen the twins at their strange little game.

Far up, at the top of the lawn was the ruin. In the morning light it proved to be a chapel with an empty clerestory window and a crumbling bell tower. A dark hedge with two tapering cypress trees loomed up behind it.

Shivering with a sudden chill, she went back inside.

When she opened the doors of the wardrobe for her dressing gown, the scent of cedar wafted out. This was another luxury. At Saint Mary's, the closets reeked of mothballs. The nuns reeked of that obnoxious smell after they changed into their winter robes. It took days to for it to dissipate. No matter how much incense they burned.

Nothing here at Belden House reminded Veronica of that life. Nothing at all. That book she'd seen in the library, Le Dragon Rouge, brought up a shudder. Hopefully it was just being stored there. Still, if it was valuable, why didn't Mr. de Grimston sell it? Antique books like that fetched extremely high prices at auction. Maybe she would suggest it. Maybe not. As much as she hated being near such a book, it wasn't her place to comment.

She remembered hearing a bell last night. Was there a Catholic church nearby? No one had said a word about how she was to worship here. She rummaged through her satchel for her daily missal, and clutched it like a shield against the influence of that other book, the one in the library.

Thinking about the book made her feel anxious. How annoying! The nuns had done a good job teaching her to be afraid of things they didn't approve of. It was only a book. Belden House was so beautiful. The twins were lovely. Mrs. Twig was kind. Things here were new and different. That was all. Fear was really just excitement over the new life unfolding before her. There was so much to learn!

Whatever made her waver could be chalked up to insecurity in the face of the unknown. A lot was expected of her. What if she failed to measure up?

Admit it, Veronica; you always assume the worst, she thought. Relationships shall sour, happiness crumble, and everything fall into ruin. Life had always been that way and always would be. On and on and on...

But, this was to be a new life. One of her choosing. There was no reason to anticipate disaster.

A long day stretched before her, with the freedom to do as she liked. A cup of tea was first in order. Then a walk. After that, she had two trunks to unpack, and clothes to organize. Perhaps she would have a hot soak in the hipbath. She'd not had one of those in months.

***

Breakfast was set out on a sideboard large enough to supply a groaning feast. There were more than enough eggs and toast and beans and sausage for one person. The teapot was boiling hot. Picking what she wanted from the covered silver platters, Veronica took a tray to the dining room where she could look out at the orchard.