When There Is Magic

Chapter Twelve

Beatrice was shocked that Annalise could orchestrate this kind of thing and even use Lucia, Beatrice's personal maid as a pawn. She had always known that Annalise did not like her but she had no idea her hatred ran this deep. The worst was yet to come though.

"My Lady, why I said that Miss Annalise expected a bad outcome from the event was because I heard her talking to herself the day after the ball. She talked about how she had learnt of the secret surrounding the Lady in the portrait of the great hall and Lord Alexander from Lady Victoria. According to what I heard her say, Miss Annalise wanted you to wear the dress to the ball while Lord Alexander was already there so that his tragc history with the owner of the main dress would make him angry and he would send you out of the hall, thereby embarrassing you in front of everyone. She wanted her plan to work and she wanted you to be disgraced. "

Beatrice was amazed at what Annalise had planned for her. Luckily, the plan had backfired and only good had come out of it. How wrong Annalise had been to think that her plan would work. And she as even used Lucia to carry out her plan. Poor, sweet, innocent Lucia who had a heart of gold and wanted only the best for her mistress. The event had even made Lucia to fall ill.

Lucia pulled Beatrice away from her thoughts when she spoke, "My Lady, if you would excuse me, I have something further to say to you."

Beatrice wondered what else Lucia wanted to drop into her lap again. She hoped it would not be worse news.

"You can go on, Lucia," Beatrice replied.

" My Lady, I think I know the reason why Miss Annalise wants to bring you down because I know she will not stop now. In fact, she just started. She will still think of more ways to bring you down. The reason is that Miss Annalise harbours a secret affection for the Marquess, Lord Alexander. Miss Annalise has lived in this keep since she was a little girl as she is Lady Victoria's goddaughter. It was been said that she and Lord Alexander, despite there being an age difference between them, played when they were little as mother and father. Lady Victoria wanted the Marquess to get married to her but when the Lord married you she simply resigned to fate. However, Miss Annalise did not. She sees you as the person who crushed her dreams of becoming the marchioness of Ludlow and therefore, she wants to bring you down."

Beatrice was totally stunned. She had no idea that Annalise had affection for Alexander because she never showed it. No wonder she acts so cold to me, Beatrice reasoned. The only time she ever acted kindly was the night after the ball when Beatrice left the great hall and wanted to turn the corner that would take her to their chamber. Annalise had asked her why she had not worn the white dress. She had not asked out of good faith. Rather, she was simply fishing for information as to whether things had gone bad between Beatrice and Alexander or not.

"Lucia, thank you so much for this information. From now on, I will do my best to steer clear of Annalise. Now I have known that she does not have good intentions," Beatrice said.

" Lady Beatrice, as you know, I was in this chamber on the night of the ball and I saw Lord Alexander come in after you had already put on the white dress. If you will forgive my asking, what actually happened after then?" Lucia asked.

" Oh, Lucia! It is a long story," Beatrice replied. " I shall tell you about it since you have helped me."

Beatrice cleared her throat and started to speak. " Lucia, I am not the Beatrice you know of. I am telling you this because of my trust in you. I believe you will not let me down."

" You are not the Lady Beatrice I know? What do you mean, my Lady?" Lucia questioned.

" What I mean is this; I am not the main lady Beatrice. I am not the one that Lord Alexander got married to. My real name is Matilda and I was living in Oxford of the twenty first century before I came here. There, we had amenities and we lived in comfort unlike we do here. One day in the store I worked in, I came across a book on spells. I read one that spoke about bringing one's true love to the person. I did not believe that magic existed and simply performed the spell for the fun of it. Before I could comprehend what was going on, I found myself on the bridge of Acera. Alexander came to get me and told me that I was Beatrice, his wife who had lost her memory and I was in the fifteenth century. I was shocked beyond words. When I finally found my voice, I told him the truth but he did not believe me. He even called in a healer to come and check on me but he did not find anything wrong with me."

Beatrice adjusted her position on the sofa and went on. "After that day, I found some free time and went to the lake side. As soon as I dipped my feet into the water, some of the memories of the main Beatrice came to me and I gained clarity of the situation. When Alexander came to find me, I told him that I had regained my memories and he was overjoyed."

Beatrice did not tell Lucia about Nomar, her magic abilities and her mission here because Nomar had warned her not to tell anyone about it. She did not intend on opening her mouth to tell any soul of it because she did not want to endanger their plans.

She continued, "Our life went on as usual and everything was alright with us but I did not tell Alexander of the truth about my identity because I had already told him before and he did not believe me. I wanted him to find the truth out by himself. I had an idea to host a ball to celebrate my recovery so I told Alexander about it. He agreed with my idea and provided the materials for it. He even sent the dressmaker to the keep to make a new dress for me," Beatrice said.

" On the night of the ball when Alexander saw me putting on the white dress, he was livid and asked me to pull it off. I asked him the reason for his order but he did not explain anything to me. I just did as he asked and went to the ball. On the way back, I ran into Annalise and she asked me why I had not worn the dress to the ball. I just replied that I had changed my mind and went on my way. When I got to our chamber, after me and Alexander had discussed, he found out that I was not the Beatrice he married. He was deeply shocked but soon overcame it. However, he did not tell me the reason he had asked me not to wear the beautiful while dress."

Beatrice paused and looked at Lucia. "Are you following the tale, Lucia?"

Lucia only nodded in response. She seemed to be lost for words so Beatrice continued.

"I woke up in the middle of the night and found Alexander having a nightmare. After I managed to wake him up, I asked him about the reason for his nightmare and he told me about it. He said that the Lady in the portrait in the great hall was his grandmother who had died when he was a little boy and he felt responsible for her death. I sternly told him not to blame himself for the chain of events that led to her death and to let the tragic memories go. He looked at me with different eyes and told me of his love for me. I too admitted my love for him and we had a private wedding and a feast afterwards. That was the most interesting and happiest moment of my life. Since then, we have been in love and have been living in peace and harmony. This is the end of my tale."

Now, it was Lucia's turn to be shocked. She had not expected the story that Lady Beatrice told her. Even if this was another Lady Beatrice, there was no change in the physical appearance. Even the voice sounded the same. Still, it did not matter to her that this was another Lady Beatrice. She would serve her faithfully as she had pledged to do since the first day. She had to assure her of that.

"Lady Beatrice, this story you have told me is suprising. Honestly, I did not expect something like it. It shocked me to the marrow but I have taken it all in. I am happy that you decided to stay back in this town and remain with Lord Alexander. However, I shall serve you as I served the former Lady Beatrice, faithfully and with loyalty."

"Thank you, Lucia for staying by my side. The evil Annalise wanted to happen changed into a good thing so I will have to thank her in my mind for that. However, if she plots another evil again, I am not sure it will turn into a good thing so I have to avoid her from now on."

" It is nothing, my Lady. I like you and you have a good heart. I shall not let any harm come your way as long as I am aware of it. You are a good person, Lady Beatrice."

Outside the door, Annalise smiled evilly. She had been at the door long enough to hear that this was not the Beatrice that Alexander had married. She did not care to hear anything of what was being said anymore. How foolish this imposter was to tell a tale to her servant. How fortunate of me to have overheard them, Annalise thought.

" This ugly new woman has given me the perfect tool to send her away from this keep. From what I have heard, Alexander knows nothing about this but now, I will tell him. I shall do it so artfully that he will have no choice but to send her away from this keep. I have to take some time to plan my next line of action so well that it will have no choice but to work," she muttered.