A New Estate - Crimson Peak

Chapter Thirty Nine

The day passed in a sombre slowness.

The lead up to Nathaniel's burial felt considerably longer than David's, I believed the leading attribute to this being because his loss felt more emotionally stilting on the others.

Standing around the open grave, we all stared down at Nathaniel's bed cloth bound body as sniffles, sobs and hiccups filled the mist filled air.

"I still remember the first job we worked together," Jonathan smiled wryly, "just a small, quick fix job, but he really made a few hours work feel like minutes."

Alexander huffed out a sorrowed laugh through his nose, "He could keep you going for hours with his stories."

"Did he tell anyone else about his run in with a homeless woman in a bar?"

"The one with the crooked eye?" Ben smiled faintly.

"And the dress that barely covered her shoulders?" George added with a snort.

"And who was actually married to an aristocrat with two children?" Hille chuckled quietly.

Additions to the story went around the circle, quiet titters soon turned into respectful laughter as the workers shared stories about their fallen colleague and friend. The mourning didn't lift from the air, but the atmosphere was lightly lifted by a respectful remembrance using the older male's wild life stories.

This progressed into each person taking a handful of dirt, stepping forward to stand at the graveside and sharing a moment between the two that truly mattered to them as they scattered the dirt atop the body.

I watched the other with a fond and polite smile, listening to their stories that ranged from humorous debacles on drunken nights out to touching moments of brotherhood and caring.

As he finished his short story and scattered the dirt, Robert took his place at my side once again and laced our fingers together, giving my hand a soft squeeze.

Glancing up at him, I offer a look of reassurance then let go again and move closer to the grave myself, picking up a handful of dirt which instantly dirtied under my fingernails.

There was something daunting about standing beside that grave.

Looking down at the covered body made me feel queasy and lightheaded, so much so that I had to take a moment to steel myself by closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.

Once I felt stable enough, I opened my eyes once more and attempted to keep my suddenly shaken nerves under control as I looked back down at Nathaniel.

"I may not have known you long," I finally managed to start without my voice shaking, "but you truly were an amazing man, like the grandfather I needed in my hours of need as I settled into this place. You were grumpy, but a kind soul and I know you will find peace, you shall be sorely missed."

Leaning forward ever so slightly, I threw my fistful of dirt into the grave and, without turning my back on the grave, returned to Robert's side to take his hand once again. The grit of the dirt we had handled sticking to our skin and pushing straying clumps uncomfortably between our palms.

Ben, George and Alexander stepped forward to continue filling the hole as the rest of us watched in silence, the weight of the world sinking into our chests.

By the time the hole was filled and patted down, the sky had darkened with rain clouds and we had barely managed to make it inside before the first drops of drizzle started to fall.

It was no surprise that everyone once again wished to call it a day earlier than usual, the afternoon had been emotionally taxing and had left everyone feeling unmotivated and drained to the point of exhaustion.