The Fourth Mistress

Reed's Manor

Louise moved her fingers as slow as she could without creating a noise in the quiet dining room in Reed's manor. Though she didn't lift her gaze to look around the table, she could feel the eyes on her.

"Would you like some more boiled carrots, Louise?" asked Alison, who sat next to her.

"No, I am fine. Thank you," Louise smiled politely.

It had been an hour since her family had arrived at Reed's manor in the name of having lunch so that both the families could meet and discuss the details about her and Graham's wedding. The discussion had finished before they had stepped into the dining room and everyone seemed to have agreed to have the wedding held right in this very manor, with only family members and maybe a few guests.

Louise noticed how Reed's family was fairly significant in number compared to hers, who lived together here.

At the head of the table sat Senior Mr. Reed, next to him on either side were Mrs. Reed, whose eyes were on her and Graham, who kept her uncle and his father company as they conversed. Graham's sister Alison was with her husband Henry along with their seven-year-old daughter Molly. Next to Aunt Merlin sat Senior Mr. Reed's younger sister and her husband, Agatha and Ernest Wensley.

The table was long enough to accommodate ten more people.

"So, Louise," Senior Mr. Reed spoke, bringing her attention to his side. "I came to hear that you are working in Mr. Winkle's office. You must be a very patient young lady if you are able to work with him."

It seemed like her employer was a famous man, but it was because he was of a distinguished man that Louise had decided to work for him.

"How is he?" questioned Senior Mr. Reed.

"A few days ago he fell from the stairs and is currently resting in his home. I visited him two days ago, he said the physician told he would get better in a week or two," answered Louise.

"Poor man," Louise heard Alison murmur under her breath.

"That must have been terrible," commented Senior Mr. Reed. "But it must give you enough time to prepare for the wedding, also for studying I believe? It is good to hear that you are putting your education to good use. Mr. and Mrs. DeRose must be very proud of you," he subtly praised Louise.

"We are," responded Uncle Hugo and Louise smiled at her uncle. "Louise is very hardworking and determined when it comes to accomplishing things. She will be attending the exam too."

Senior Mr. Reed nodded his head.

Mrs. Reed, who had finished eating her meal, where she hadn't eaten more than five bites, dabbed the napkin on the sides of her mouth.

"Have you started to look for the wedding gown?" asked Viola, placing the napkin on the side of her plate.

Louise nodded her head, "We are looking for it. There are so many choices with the designs and silk materials, Aunt Merlin wanted to make sure we got the right one."

"I remember the time when we went looking for my wedding gown. I think we went to many shops before I was able to decide what I wanted," chimed Alison before going quiet when she noticed the stare her mother passed at her.

"We'll be going tomorrow to look at the gowns, Mrs. Reed," said Aunt Merlin before adding, "One of my acquaintances suggested that we go and take a look at the shops that are in Southwold."

"About that, Mrs. DeRose," started Viola. "We have a family tradition where whenever a bride joins the family, she wears the gown from the Burnell's shop. My wedding gown was stitched from Burnell's clothes and craft."

"We would be sure to check with the Burnell's if you would be kind enough to share the details with us, Mrs. Reed," replied Aunt Merlin. "It is always better to go with someone who already has experience on how the tailor works."

Louise wasn't sure if she was supposed to be thankful that Viola didn't tell her she was supposed to wear a particular gown and had only picked a specific tailor.

"If I may ask for my curiosity," Louise took the permission to speak and asked, "What if in the future the Burnell's family ceases to exist with no person to stitch the wedding gown?"

The room turned even quieter than it already was, and Aunt Merlin closed her eyes, wondering from where her niece dared to ask questions like these to her future mother-in-law.

"Well, then those people will be lucky as I won't be there to judge to see the Reed's family rules being broken. We should also find a suitable tailor as it isn't something that can be helped," answered Viola with a dead expression.

Louise and Mrs. Reed stared at each other for a few seconds without looking away.

"I hope it is okay with you and it isn't a problem," stated Viola.

"Of course not," Louise offered a slight bow to the lady. "It is good that we haven't chosen any wedding gowns yet," else it would have been difficult, were the unspoken words that everyone heard.

A slight smile appeared on Mrs. Reed's face, and she said, "Good. Gilbert," she turned to the butler who was waiting on them in the room. "Get the address of the Burnell's for Mrs. DeRose and Ms. Evardon."

The butler bowed his head and stepped out of the room.

After everyone at the table finished having their lunch, Graham took Louise outside the manor for a stroll.

Louise had no idea how big the Reeds estate was, but the isolated manor stood tall surrounded by trees, which was also far away from the centre of Habsburg town. Currently, they were walking along a path in a forest-like area. The floor had grey square-shaped stones that were cemented together, where many had lost their original colour, turning slightly brown.

"This is a beautiful place to live in," said Louise, while her eyes admired everything that was around them.

Apart from the main garden in front of the manor, the place had paths built inside the estate, without cutting the trees, except where the manor was built. The sky had darkened even though it wasn't evening, and the servants of the manor had lit lanterns and placed it inside the small pillar-like carved stones that were the height of her waist.

"The manor was built in the mid of the eighteen hundreds. That must be nearly forty years ago by Malcolm Lestrange," Graham explained while walking on her left. "He wanted to preserve the beauty of the tall trees for everyone to see, which is why the path moves far and further into the forest. He wanted to build the fanciest manor. Unfortunately, he spent less than two months in the manor as he died because of failed lungs."

"That is unfortunate," murmured Louise as they made their way through the stone-floored path.

"It is. Sometimes a man gathers and saves everything during his lifetime only to not be able to enjoy it," said Graham, his voice deep and clear that easily sunk into Louise because of the silence that surrounded them.

She could hear the birds chirping and singing far away from where they were. Turning to look at Graham, she asked, "How about you?"

"What about me?" he questioned her back.

"What kind of person are you? Do you think what the man did was right or he should have done things differently?" asked Louise, her eyes staring into his green eyes with interest.

So far, the questions she had asked him were about his past marriages and not about him. If they were going to get married within a few weeks, it was only fitting that they knew a little more about each other.

A small smile came to settle on Graham's lips, and he said,

"None of us can ever tell what a person does is right or wrong. One person might gain from it and another might lose. To the original owner of this manor, it seemed it was time to finally build his dream home, but time is the factor here. The question can be about him missing on things, or that his time to depart from this world had come too soon. I am a person who has been blessed with the necessities," how humble, thought Louise to herself. Graham continued, "I live the life that has been given and make the most out of it. My father wants to create a brand name for our lumber business and it is something I have been working on to make it happen."

"You don't have one for yourself? My apologies if my words were rude," she added.

"To withhold my family's name and to protect them is my responsibility. I do have a hobby of writing in my spare time if that is what you were coming at," replied Graham and Louise' eyes brightened by hearing this.

"Wow, I would have never been able to guess that because of your demeanour," commented Louise in a tone of surprise.

"What did you think?" he asked with a pinch of curiosity.

"Probably someone who would make use of all his time in flourishing the business without spending a minute anywhere else," Louise answered his question. The breeze passed through where they stood to have her hair come in front of her face, and she quickly tucked the piece of her hair behind her ear.

Graham held a serious look with a no-nonsense attitude that gave out an aloof exterior, and due to this, it was hard to know what was beneath that surface and in his mind.

"Take my word when I say I will always find time for important things in my life. I might be rich, but I know what to value and when and where to stop working when I need to." His words made her wonder if there was something that troubled his mind and if he wrote to divert his mind.

"One day I would love to read what you have written," Louise let him know, and then said, "I love to read."

"I know. You wouldn't have come to the library, holding the copy of Emma in your hand when there was a room full of people on the floor below," replied Graham, remembering the first time when they saw each other.

Of course, they had also met in the local library, thought Louise in her mind, and smiled.

"How about you? What are your hobbies and what do you like to do apart from what I already know about you," asked Graham.

"Red is my favourite colour. I love to drink coffee and I always prefer it with milk and sugar. I like to gather petals of different flowers and place them between the pages of a book. They create beautiful markings on the next pages," replied Louise, placing her hands behind her back, and she looked at the trees as she continued. "I am allergic to nuts."

"I will inform the cook so that he doesn't mix it with what you are going to eat," replied Graham.

"Thank you," Louise thanked him for taking note of it.

"We should get back to the manor. It would be better for you and your family to get back home before the path turns dark as it looks like it might rain soon," suggested Graham, and they walked back.

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Note: Picture of the mansion has been placed in the comment section~