Arabelle

Chapter 18 - Memories laced with Pain

Derrick’s POV

I watched as Arabelle was pulled away by Ian Langrove, I had no idea they knew each other, I knew him only on business level and even that was just what I heard from the business critics, I knew he was a business man that had been staying in London before but had recently returned to New york city, he was an only child and they had said he was a very skilled business man, but I not known about relationship between he and Arabelle and he was not on the list of acquaintances Alfred had submitted to me, judging from the way he spoke about her, I figured they were quite close, and with the way he held her hand when they left without any objections, they must be really close indeed, Arabelle will never let any random fellow hold her hand like that,

She had once smacked a lord on the head with her purse during a ball because she said he had dared to hold her hand without her permission, I believe it was the first time we met, that was her first time being introduced into society and she had made quite an impression on everyone, as for me, she made a lasting impression, i had asked around after the ball who she was, I had found out she was the only daughter of the Highwater family, I also heard she was a wild one and could not be tamed, I was intrigued by that, I found the other ladies boring and I could not have a proper conversation with them, I had watched out for her in the next ball, my eyes searched for only her and when finally arrived, I felt a certain joy, I still clearly remembered what she wore on that day,

She had worn a royal blue dress with long sleeves, her jewelleries were made of blue crystal and gold, the jewels were braided into her hair, she was truly a sight to behold, I had summoned my courage and walked up to and asked her for the first dance, I was a bit surprised when she accepted without a fuss, the moment the music started to play, I found her in the crowd and we danced, we danced together for the rest of the night and that was how our story began.

I was snapped out of my reverie by the sound of a throat clearing, it was then I remembered that Alfred was still there and he had been watching the exchange between Arabelle and I plus she has called me Richard and I am sure the words Ian had said called for questions,

I turned to look at him, he was looking at me with an expression that told me he needed answers,

Taking a deep breath, I said “I will explain everything to you later but now, let’s get out here, this place sickens me”

Alfred hesitated for a while then he said “This might be forward but I hope that you can trust me Sir, it’s beginning to look like I am the one on your side”

I smiled and said “So it will seem Alfred, so it will seem but I am thankful that you even bother trying to help me, I really appreciate it”

Alfred gave me a small smile and said “You are a good man Sir but it seems like bad things keep happening to you”

I laughed and said “I don’t think you will believe that when I tell you my story later but let’s get out of here before I end up being really sick,

Alfred nodded his head and said “Yes sir”

I smiled and started walking toward the exit, Alfred followed behind me,

I got to the door leading out of the hospital when my phone rang, I stopped and pulled it out of my pocket, I let out a low cuss when I saw the caller, this was the last thing I needed, I couldn’t deal this right now, reluctantly, I pressed the answer icon,

“Hello Mother” I said, I almost couldn’t recognize my own voice because of how cold and void of emotions it was,

“Where are you Derrick?” she said, her voice was surprisingly warm, looks like we were back to this again,

“I am at the hospital” I said,

“Hospital? Are you feeling unwell?” she said,

“No, I came to pay my condolences to Ruth’s family but something came up and I have to leave” I said,

“Then could you come home? I have something I need to discuss with you” she said

I was about to protest when I heard the sound indicating that the call had been disconnected, I let out a heavy breath, seems like I needed to go home,

“Alfred, I need to go home, I need to have a discussion with my mother”

“Yes Sir” Alfred said

Taking a deep breath, I walked out into the sun and the noise of the reporters.

***********************

15 minutes later, we pulled up in front of my house, I let out a deep breath, this was going to be a long discussion because I also needed to have a discussion with her,

We drove past the gates, Alfred parked the car and I was out of the car before he could come over to open the door for me, I headed inside, I saw one of the maids climbing the stairs

“Where is my Mother?” I asked her,

“She is the study sir” she answered,

I headed towards the study, on reaching the door, I pushed it open,

“I am here mother, what did…………” I stopped dead in my tracks, I felt like I was seeing things, my mother was sitting on the chair with her all scattered and messy, her clothes were dusty, she looked like a lunatic, she smiling at me like a lost child, I found that I could not say anything, I felt all the word dry up in my throat,

“Richard, you have arrived, I was waiting for you, where have you been?” she said with that same smile that I was beginning to find frightening and scary

“Richard? Why are you calling me that name mother? You said you didn’t remember, so why are you calling me that name and why do you like that?” I said,

She kept the smile on her face “You are my son, Richard, don’t worry son, I will protect you from all of them, they won’t hurt you, I will make sure they never come close to you, I will keep you safe from all harm because I am your mother and you are my dear son” she said and stood up from her chair to come and hug me,

Her slender arms wrapped around me, she placed her head on chest and hugged me tightly

I felt my heart fall to the floor, I could not believe this was happening, I felt tears well up in my eyes, my heart broke into a million pieces,

Memories came crashing back into my mind with a vengeance, memories that I had refused to revisit since my memories returned, memories that made me feel such hate and anger toward my mother,

**************

I woke up from shaking and drenched in sweat, looking around the room like a lunatic, after a few minutes, my pounding heart quieted down and my surroundings began to look familiar, taking a deep breath, I fell back to the bed looking up at the ceiling, it was no use trying to go back to sleep, I knew it was futile, I lay there thinking of what my life had become, I had become a pitiful soul.

“My dear Arabelle, will you never stop hunting me?” I said to myself,

My throat was dry and patched, I had spent the previous night with the bottles, my head was heavy, I turned to the side of my bed, the pitcher that was normally filled with water was empty, the maids were becoming incompetent, with a groan, I came down from the bed, I walked out of the room with unsteady steps, I headed towards the kitchen, hoping to find someone that might be able to get me water to drink,

To get to the kitchen, I had to pass my mother’s room, as I passed by her room, I heard voices, like she was awake and talking to someone, it was really late and she was supposed to be asleep by now, I decided to find out the reason, perhaps she was feeling unwell, I pushed her door open and walked in, my eyes were met with a sight that wiped away the after effects of alcohol away, I saw a sight that I would never had dreamt of seeing in a thousand years,

My mother was seated in front of her dressing mirror, her hair was a complete mess and it was scattered in every direction, she was muttering something I couldn’t hear clearly, it didn’t sound like English, it didn’t resemble any language I knew, it was like she hadn’t noticed I had entered the room, I stepped closer to her and the words began to make a little sense, they were not words in any language I knew, they sounded like spells, just like the once I had heard Arabelle say on different occasions, but I couldn’t understand why I was hearing such words from my mother, she had no business saying any of those words, they were words used by witches and from what knowledge I had, my mother was not a witch,

“Mother” I called, even as I said the word, I could hear the uncertainty in my voice,

She turned to look at me, she was looking at me like I was her entire word, she had a smile on her face like that of a lost child,

“Richard my son, come and sit by your mother, my dear son” she said and pulled me down to sit beside,

I thought that perhaps she was under the influence of wine but I didn’t perceive the smell of alcohol on her breath,

“Mother, are you feeling unwell? You don’t look like yourself, you seem unwell” I said,

She smiled and I felt sick to my stomach, I was beginning to have a bad feeling about this, I felt like I had forgotten very important, something that was too big to be forgotten so easily and yet I had forgotten somehow,

“I am not unwell my dear Richard, in fact I have never felt better, I am happy now that she is finally out of our lives for good, that girl I hated so much, she wanted to take you away from me and leave me all alone, she wanted to steal you from me, she wanted to take away my baby boy, no way, she had to be punished for that and you, my dear sweet Richard helped me punish her” she said, looking at me like a child would her hero,

And I felt my blood run cold and memories that I had no idea were locked away came rushing back,

I had gone to see my mother after my wedding, I had wanted to discuss something very important with her, there was no way I could let Arabelle stay in this house, there were too many eyes watching and they might end up seeing something they shouldn’t and Arabelle will be in danger,

So I wanted to tell my mother that a week from today, Arabelle and I will be moving to my family house in the country side, that way, she could be safer.

I found my mother in her room, she was seated  in front of her dressing mirror, I rushed over to her and hugged her, she smiled at me from the mirror,

“I am so happy mother, Arabelle is finally mine, she is now my bride” I said with a smile, the happiness in my voice was undisguised,

She smiled and said “I am happy that you are happy son, that is my only happiness”

I smiled, then released her from the hug, I knelt before her looking into her beautiful eyes “Then permit me one more happiness mother, I wish for your permission to go and live with Arabelle in the manor in the country side, it is time for me to start my own family and I wish to do so with Arabelle in the country side, please give me your blessings mother” I said,

The reaction I had been expecting from my mother was not the one I got, she stood up from the chair so quickly, it almost toppled over and I was pushed to the ground, her eyes were suddenly wild and feral,

“You wish to abandon me because of that witch, she wants to steal you away from me, she wants you to abandon me, I will make sure she regrets this” mother was saying, it was more like she was rambling, she was suddenly looking deranged, she began to pull at her ruining her perfect hair do,

“Mother, what is wrong with you? Why are you behaving this way?” I said as I stood up and tried to restrain her from pulling at her before she hurt herself

She was crying hysterically by now, I couldn’t understand what was wrong with her, I had known my mother to be the personification of elegance and grace, but the woman before me could be considered as mental and deranged,

“Don’t leave me Richard, I am your mother, you are all I have left, please don’t leave me too” she was saying,

“I am not leaving you mother, I will stay with you, I promise” I said and I meant it, I couldn’t leave her when she was like this, she obviously needed help and it was psychological help she needed without a doubt,

“You mean that Richard?” she said, she was looking at me like I was her hero,

I nodded and said “Yes mother, I mean that”

Her suddenly narrowed into slits and her beautiful face suddenly looked wicked “That was what your father had said but yet he still left me, he wanted to go and be with that slut so I killed them both” she said,

I felt my body go rigid, slowly I let go of her, my father had died in a carriage accident when I was just a boy of 17, he had told me he was going on a trip with his sister, Aunt Mary but she known as Lady Caldwell, she went by her husband’s tittle, the Earl of Caldwell, her husband had passed away when I was much younger, she had no children, she and my father had been very close since they were little, my father loved Aunt Mary dearly, they had been found together in the carriage on their way to Boston,

Mother and I had mourned their  death and now here she was telling me something else

“He loved her more than he loved me, she wanted to take him away from me and he wanted to go with her so I killed them  both, if couldn’t be with him then no one else could be with him” she said, a sickly smile on her lips,

Good heavens, I thought, how long had she been like this and I had no idea, she needed help, serious help, she was obviously a complete loon,

“Arabelle will do the same with you, I love you too much to ever harm you my sweet Richard, so Arabelle must die instead, she will never take you away from me” mother said and I suddenly felt my blood run cold,

“You will not hurt Arabelle mother, you will stay away from her, she has done nothing wrong to you” I said, my voice came out louder than I intended,

Mother coiled back in fear, then tears ran down her cheeks, before I could say a word to pacify her, her eyes turned black and she began to chant words, words that I instantly recognized as spells,

What the hell was I seeing? My mother was a witch, I could not believe my eyes,

I suddenly felt my knees weaken and I fell to the floor, mother was still chanting, after a while all I heard was her voice in my head,

“Arabelle must die, she must pay for trying to take you away from me, she will die in the worst possible way, she will burn and bleed, and you will do this for me because you are my dear son” she said

And I had only one answer to that “As we wish mother” I said,

“I am the only that makes you happy and only me will bring you comfort” she said

“Yes mother” I answered

“And you will forget we ever heard this conversation about you leaving, you will stay here with me forever” she said,

“As you wish mother”