The Lady in Yellow: A Victorian Gothic Paranormal Romance

Epilogue

The enchantment was over for the living.

Janet and Peggy cooked up a feast for them all. Jack chose to remain Jacqueline in honor of her other half, who had died as Jacques, and would go on, as the boy twin, to Heaven. He and Sylvie, lying in marble coffins, reverted to a state of mortal decay.

Mrs. Twig returned to her rightful self. Dropping her guard with the dissipation of the curse, her true personality emerged. Loyal and funny, still a trifle mad, Mrs. Twig went back to her housekeeping a new woman.

Sovay's corpse was laid in the silver casket, locked in with a padlock and wound round with a chain woven with briar roses that was secured, again, with another pendant lock. Pray God they would hold her in.

Rafe's wound was deeper than he thought. The silver bullet was lodged in his shoulder. He would only allow a doctor in France to remove it, one whom, Veronica sensed, knew the family's secrets.

Veronica had a question for Jacqueline that she'd never thought to ask in all the chaos of before.

"Why did you put those dolls in the well? And sing those songs? What were you doing?"

Jacqueline laughed and then grew somber, looking at her shoes as she spoke. "Mamma killed so many children, we had to save them. We thought if we wished hard enough, they would not become werewolves."

"Why did you sing that song?"

"Mamma dragged most of the bodies away so they wouldn't be found. We knew where they'd been buried, so we sang it." Jacqueline looked down, remembering. "Sometimes the farmers shot one of the children, but they were already werewolves."

"So they became vampires."

"But the children we put in the well didn't do anything bad or wrong, as they would have done. They couldn't pass through the water."

"What about the adults that were killed, like the farmers?'

Jacqueline looked away as if frightened at what she had to say. "Mamma, then the others, made those. Even Papa."

Veronica closed her eyes. Rafe was guilty. But how could Jacqueline be sure?

"And the lilies?" she asked.

Jacqueline's eyes glazed over as if it were too difficult, too painful to remember.

"Lilies are for everlasting life."

Everlasting life... But not necessarily in human form. Veronica did not voice her worries. She stroked Jacqueline's hair.

"Will you help me stitch my wedding veil now? It needs yards and yards of lace sewn all round the edges."

"Oh yes!" Jacqueline perked right up. "I'd love to."

It was a job to stop Wolfgang lying on the veil. He would not leave Jacqueline's side.

***

Rafe and Veronica were married in France, in the wooded garden of the Chateau Villeneuve.

Once the festivities were over, Jacqueline dragged Veronica through the house, talking non-stop about Jacques and all the things they'd loved doing together, showing her all the little hidden treasures, the tucked away rooms, the library of wicked books.

The black-winged moths were gone, the lady's hand that had once turned into a wolf's paw when the moon was full, was reduced to bones.

At last they came to the room with the murals. One was of a great, fanged beast devouring a man, and the other was meant to be that of the lady in yellow. Jacqueline was dismayed to have nothing to show, for the image had faded. There was no longer a wolf, or a lady, only a streak of bright yellow pigment on a snow-white wall. 

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Author's Note:

This is the end of The lady in Yellow. I hope you enjoyed it.. 

I figured out to late about adding images. The picture you see above was a primary inspiration for the story and was where I also got the title.

I have lots of images on Pinterest under Alyne de Winter or Gothic, including boards for this book and a backstory novel I am working on Called Sovay la Bete about how Sovay became a werewolf. I might start posting it on here before publishing it.

Thank you for reading! If you want a paperback version its available on Amazon.