Chiron Academy

Tales to Horrify #47: The Thrilling Conclusion!

Twenty minutes later found them rolling down the roads, the now rested horses once again dragging the carriage through the mud. The rain had ended but the mud would not dry out for many hours.

"I will be grateful for the stop tonight," de Burgh said. "Spending the days cooped up in this confounded carriage is destroying my body. I think when I finish this journey, I shall never sit again."

He crooked his head to peer out the window. The glow of lights from the town in the distance were clearly visible now through the window.

"I envy you your early night, Monsieur de Burgh," the mousy Frenchman next to him said. "I have a bit farther to travel tonight."

"What's this, Mister Leroux? You will not be joining us at the inn this evening?"

"No, I've further to travel tonight. My associate that I have come to meet with lives not far from the village. He is to have a carriage waiting for me at the crossroads, to take me to his estate."

"Well, miss," de Burgh said, turning his head to the woman," it looks like it will just be you and me."

Mlle. Faucheux did not answer, seemingly deep in her needlework.

"Well," de Burgh said to M. Leroux, "may you and your mummies enjoy all of the finest returns."

M. Leroux forced a smile.

"Uh, thank you, sir," he managed as graciously as he could. "I wish the both of you the best of luck on your journey."

Grabbing his bag from floor,  he pulled the carriage door open and stepped out into the night.

"I must say, woman," de Burgh said to his only remaining fellow passenger. "I am rather surprised at your readiness you displayed to share your tale. You didn't strike me as one who would enjoy such things."

"As you say, it is a long distance from the here to the continent and I have done it many times. One must fill the time somehow, and I've had the opportunity to talk to many people on the way. I've collected many a story on the my various passages."

"And the concept of monsters don't frighten you?"

"Monsters, as in the stories?" she asked. "Spectres, ghouls, phantoms. Why should I worry? They don't exist."

"So you don't don't believe in monsters? Wise girl."

"Au contrair, Monsieur de Burgh. There is such a thing as monsters, but not lumbering corpses or unseen beasts. In my experience, the darkness in the world does not exist in the unseen phantom lurking at night, but in the blackest hearts of mankind.

"In fact, such talk rather reminds me of another tale. But this one is not folklore, rather, recent event. When I arrived in London, I found the town was ablaze with the most terrific scandal. I don't suppose you heard anything about it?"

"I try not to indulge rumors," de Burgh replied slowly. "They are always the work of small minds."

"Normally, I would agree with you, sir, but this particular tale seemed to grab my attention.

"It concerned a woman, a girl from a prominent family, who had run away with a gentleman she had met while on holiday. He must have been terribly charming because he quite swept her off of her feet in a whirlwind romance. He talked her into running away with him. They say he must have promised to marry her, because they left across the country. Unchaperoned, living as those in sin. They apparently lived like this for some time, her whereabouts quite unknown to her family.

"During this time, the man began racking up huge gambling debts, ones which he was unequipped to pay himself, so he began paying back his debts with her money. By the time the young woman became aware of the foul deed, he had expended not only his own funds, but had further run up an monumental debt in her name as well, telling his creditors that the girl would cover them in full.