The Lady in Yellow: A Victorian Gothic Paranormal Romance

Eight

Veronica's china teacup rattled slightly on the saucer. She tried to be calm, but it was difficult. Once pleasantries were over, Mrs. Twig just sat there, sipping her soup. Every time Veronica ventured to speak, the housekeeper looked down or away.

"Where is Jack?" Veronica asked, noting their empty plates. "I've been worried..."

"No need, Miss Everly. After a long, exciting day, they're too tired to join us. Janet will bring something up to them later."

Veronica considered, for a moment, how to broach the subject of the horseman on the moor. "I'm glad they're not outside. How far do they range? I mean, when they're out playing?"

"Oh, I don't know... the woods, the fields. They've always been here and know the area like the back of their hands. They always come back."

Janet arrived with a plate of vegetable and meat pie. Mrs. Twig took a slice. Veronica followed suit, and watched Janet bustle back to the kitchen.

The darkness was heavy outside the window, transforming the orchard into a mass of shadows under a sky that was thinly veiled with moonlight. It would be easy for a darkly cloaked stranger to slip through those shadows unseen. He could be at the window now, watching them through the candlelight. Waiting for his chance to come in.

Veronica set down her fork, unable to eat.

"Mrs. Twig? I saw a man out on the moors today, riding on a black horse at great speed. Who might he be?"

Mrs. Twig crumpled her napkin, pushed her plate away.

"A neighbor, perhaps."

"He threatened me with his whip. And ordered me to leave."

"I can't imagine why."

"Well, he did."

The housekeeper began massaging her temples. "If you'll excuse me, Miss Everly.... I'm very sorry, but I have a terrible headache."

"Oh, of course... I'm sorry."

Mrs. Twig got up and strode off.

What was left of Veronica's appetite departed with the housekeeper. Having been so rudely dismissed, all she could swallow was her tea. Why was Mrs. Twig so unsympathetic? Didn't she care that her new governess had been terrified out of her wits on her first day here? And where were the twins, anyway? It seemed the height of bad manners to exclude people so.

She suddenly felt foolish for questioning her place in the pecking order. What business was it of hers to be informed? Still, Mrs. Twig had seemed so friendly at first. Perhaps she'd taken liberties...

Veronica left the table and went to the windows to look out at the now invisible orchard. No one was there. She'd been over-reacting. Now that she was nineteen, it seemed she should stop being so excitable. In time, maybe.

With a sigh, she blew the candles out. Let the horseman try to spy on them. She wasn't that easy to fool.

Veronica dragged up the stairs to her room. Before she went in, she rounded the corner to the twins' rooms. Though she hated to admit it, she had to be sure they really were there.

Both doors were locked. She knocked on each door and was met, each time, with cold silence.

They must be sleeping.

Baffled and unable to do anything about it, Veronica went back to her room and collapsed in the easy chair. She kept seeing the horseman in her mind, warning her away. Why did he hide his face? Bright blue eyes under black brows would give anyone away.