The first to step out of the carriage was a dashing but somber looking young bachelor named Leomord. Upon setting foot on the property, he held out a hand while bowing his head to assist his mistress, the Countess Vexana, in getting off the carriage. She was followed by the last member of this household, her step-daughter Eleusia.
The countess could not hide her disgust and disappointment upon seeing the cold, damp, depressing sight around her. The manor felt more like a prison than a home, paling in comparison to the aristocratic villa she bequeathed from her late husband, Eleusia's father. Unfortunately, due to her lavish spending and underhanded dealings, her palatial home was seized by authorities and she had to escape to this dreadful town. With her dwindling fortune, the old mansion was the best they could afford to keep up appearances.
The carriages were not even hers! They belong to Lord Faramis, a marquess who pitied and secretly had affection for the countess. He would have courted her but the strange details regarding her late husband's untimely death made him suspicious of the widow's propriety. Still, he could not resist her when she came to his doorstep, pleading for help.
The marquess' men, however, were less empathetic of the family and the sense of dread they felt upon entering the hill was growing. The air was heavy. Everything was eerily quiet and still despite the woodlands surrounding the manor. They hastily and recklessly dropped the family's baggage then set off, not even looking back. The countess screeched at this blatant display of disrespect, vowing vengeance once she had regained her status.
Vexana had many plans to regain her fortune, one of which included her step-daughter. The countess despised Eleusia with an unbridled passion for the young maiden grew more beautiful each day while she was slowly becoming nothing more than a husk of her former glory. But the girl was necessary in securing the inheritance and gaining sympathy when her father died. She would prove useful again. If Vexana could find a wealthy nobleman to marry her step-daughter, the countess would be rid of the girl and the large dowry she planned to demand would take her back to the lavish world of the elite.
For now, they must settle in the old mansion. Since they could not afford servants and not wanting to be seen with her step-daughter as she secretly feared being compared to the young girl, Vexana left Eleusia to do all the chores while she and Leomord went about their schemes.
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Midnight Nuptials: A Martis and Lady Shura Halloween Skin Story
FanfictionA disgraced family is forced to move into an abandoned mansion rumored to be cursed and haunted by its previous owner, a ruthless blood-thirsty warlord. Are the strange occurrences simply a trick of the mind, or is there truth in hearsay? Characters...
