Dead Man's Bells

The Governess

It was a cold, crisp night when the carriage halted in front of the tall, grey-stoned mansion. The sun had concealed itself completely and, out of the dark night sky, stars twinkled out of hiding. The monumental moon also allowed its full face to show that night. The mansion stood strong and still, not a sound could be heard, save for the crickets crooning in the freshly manicured lawn. Rays of light escaped the long thick crimson curtains, which attempted to smother it. A slick, black carriage slowly made its way up the gravel driveway. Only the sound of horse hooves and grating gavel filled the empty void of night. The carriage door opened, revealing a single woman, dressed in her traveling gown. A black hat was placed on her head with a modest veil covering her angular face, gracefully, she slid out of the carriage and made for the majestic, wooden double doors. The carriage strode away and left the woman alone. Her knock reverberated through the night and echoed in the hollow house. Light flooded her vision, as the heavy deep set mahogany doors were pulled open. "Welcome, Miss Peridot." A husky voice said. A man appeared into view. He introduced himself as Mr Craig-Hart, his grey mustache and receding hairline, suggested he was in his early 50s. His shoulders were hunched as he worked long hours at a desk and Miss Peridot duly noted he unnecessarily used a cane, his tightly tucked in shirt exposed his rotund and a pair spectacles lay pinched on his nose. Miss Peridot, had deduced these things from just one glance; to her, they were obvious, but others overlooked simple obvious details that anyone could see if they only looked hard enough. She was no Sherlock Holmes, only an observer. Mr Craig-Hart, however, had only noticed her beautifully slender body and came to the conclusion that her face, even under a veil, was also pleasing to look at. His mustache twitched as he smilingly stepped aside for Miss Peridot to enter the threshold. She was led into a grand room; high ceilings were draped in flawless chandeliers. Sofas and chaise longs were displayed across the room and beautiful delicate portraits hung on the William Morris wall paper. A woman stood in front of the fire, her gently curling, blond shoulder length hair, caressed her shoulders as she turned her head to face the new governess. Young, beautiful and unmarried, were the woman's first thoughts, as she caught sight of Miss Peridot. Envy curling in her chest, the elder woman gave her a smile as cool as a Siberian night. "You may address me as Mrs Craig-Hart," she stated, "you will be undertaking the responsibility of caring for my children throughout their studies." She paused to place a list in her youthful hands, unmarred by the affects of time and added, "if anything happens to my children under your watch, I will hold you at reprise." Mrs Craig-Hart expected the girl to shy away, curtsy or cower, like the others did before her. But Miss Peridot smiled and nodded. "Of course." Was her single, firm reply. Mrs Craig-Hart set her jaw and signaled for a maid to guide Miss Peridot to her room. When her footsteps faded up the stairs, Mrs Craig-Hart faced her husband and snarled maliciously, "she won't last long." And she took a long drink from her Sherry glass, which immediately repressed her anger and relaxed her tense shoulders.

Miss Peridot lay out her few personal possessions in the room. It was a simple, small room, consisting of one single bed, whose frame was frail and rusting, a wardrobe with its paint slowly pealing away and an old desk. As she sat on the bed, its springs began a choir of screeching and groaning. She glanced towards the window, the tenebrous gardens reminded her it was late and she should sleep. But as she lay there staring at the plain ceiling, sleep didn't come. Her mind was racing, she started to recount all the people she had met. Her eyes wondered to her framed picture of a young man on her night stand. The handsome, dark haired man, stared back at her, smiling in a frozen memory, and when she averted her eyes from his, a silent tear slipped down her face. Sleep came soon after that, as the exhaustion of her journey finally wore out her muscles and she was consumed in a deep, dreamless slumber.

Golden rays of sunlight, seeped into Miss Peridot's window, and traveled across the wooden floor, climbed on her bed and reached her closed eyes. The light pulled her out of the darkness of sleep, and she awoke. Today, she would meet the Craig-Hart's children and initiate their first lesson, as their new governess. She did not know what the children would be like, maybe they were as... strong minded as their parents. Absence of dread washed over her, what if she could not manage the tasks beset upon her. If she failed the consequences would be too great. So when Miss Peridot descended for breakfast, she kept an open and hopeful mind about the children and hoped that no one would doubt her intentions of being there. When she reached the dinning room door she took a final breath before pushing it open. Three children sat at the dining table, one far too short, that she could barely see the surface of the table. The eldest was a boy, his name she remembered was Edmund, he had a round, pallid face, with coal-black hair and soft blue eyes. His sister, who was sat to his right contrasted him, with her sharply angular face, and her eyes as blue as streams of glaciers; her long inky hair was splayed down her torso. She wore a pale pink frock, with a matching ribbon in her hair. Her name was Rosemary. The last little child was named Agatha, barely three years, her face contorted into a happy smile as she saw Miss Peridot. Her hair was fine, black with whispering curls. Her immense blue eyes looked at her with wonder. This small individual, warmed Miss Peridot's heart, and as she neared them she introduced herself. They were polite and reserved, Miss Peridot smiled at them and said, "I'm looking forward to working with you all. After you have finished breakfast, come find me in the library and we will begin your studies." The feeling of content spreading from her heart, but was soon halted by the harsh realization that these children will have many hardships to overcome in the future, if she succeeded.

During the week, their lessons consisted mostly of French, literature and poetry for Rosemary and  Maths and History for Edmund. Rosemary excelled specifically in French, her natural accent came from being sent away to boarding school for a year in France. Edmund preferred History to Maths, which often angered his father, so the beer bellied and rude man would regularly intrude in the middle of the lessons and begin to lecture Edmund to focus more or say 'when I was your age...' and begin to tell a story of his youth which was undeniably embellished. One morning, Mr Craig-Hart had strolled in and launched straight into a so-called 'life lesson' and punctually dismissed Miss Peridot. The winter sun had come out for the first time in days, so she decided to take a stroll in the gardens, and maybe make some more acquaintances. The sky was oddly clear and a fresh breeze stroked her face, when she emerged from the back doors. Her small, modest heels sunk into the moist soil, as she began her lethargic promenade. Caught up in her own worries and problems, Miss Peridot did not see the approaching figure careening straight into her. She lost her footing and the world seemed to escape from underneath her feet. For a short period of time her body became weightless, but it was not long until her elbows and hips made rigid contact with the ground, sending waves of pain ricocheting through her bones.

Momentarily dazed, a small panicked voice, hastily apologized over and over, whilst attempting to help Miss Peridot to her feet. Calloused and clammy hands gently took hold of her and coaxed Miss Peridot to stand. She could feel the bruises already beginning to flourish underneath her skin. "I'm terribly sorry, I'm such a clumsy fool. I hope you are not injured?" The woman was tall, with limbs which seemed almost too long for her torso. The woman's angular face was writhed in worry and shame. "Only a few bruises" replied Miss Peridot sagely, "I am completely fine, just a bit shaken!" She added making her tone light and humorous, to spare the lady from continuously apologizing. They began walking towards a bench, Miss Peridot leaning on her ever so slightly to ease off the pain. As they sat, the lady introduced herself.

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