The ghost of my past

CHAPTER 3

Third Person POV

Loreal watched Victor storming off, confused as to how the situation had turned so sour…did she say something to upset him probably?

In the process of trying to recall her thoughts, she was interrupted by her mother calling her to come prepare for the dinner they were about to have as their guests were soon to arrive. She figured she would talk to Victor later since she considered having him as one of her friends. Getting through the house was a hassle as everyone was running around being busy with either whipping the windows again or making sure the silver wear was shinny enough to see your reflection or if the curtain drapes were good enough to make anyone fill with envy.

The maids prepared Loreal, drawing her a bath with relaxing oils to calm her, ever so obvious nerves, after soaking herself in the bath till she felt a little bit relaxed she was then assisted with putting on her dress, a beautiful emerald, a green dress that matched her eyes with off the shoulder sleeves that were connected to a shimmery train, the dress had beautiful small green beads on the abdomen area and the skirt had beautiful green sparkling embroidery. It was a gown fit for royalty and Loreal loved every bit of it, the maids helped get dressed and then moved on to applying light, natural makeup on her face, her hair was curled into beautiful locks and then tired upwards into a messy, yet elegant bun with green gem pins placed in it to make it stay upright. When her mother came to check on her, she was very pleased with how her daughter looked.

The Willows were very punctual, Loreal noted, as they arrived exactly on the agreed-upon time. And there he was, the man of her dreams, she could count how many times she imagined their wedding day, he looked very handsome with his brown hair pushed back with no single strand of hair out of place, his sapphire blue eyes that you’d drown in, you were to look into them long enough, his sharp yet suitable nose and thin, perfectly shaped lips and aristocratic jawline, this man would make any woman drop her knickers in just a simple glance but Loreal knew that she had to contain herself and portray herself as a dignified aristocratic herself.

When Richard initially found out he had been arranged to marry Loreal Stone he furious, an arranged marriage was not what he had thought would happen to him since he had no trouble in getting a lady (if you know what I mean), so why would his parents arrange him to get married to a stranger, was she not beautiful to lack any suitors who would be lined at her doorstep for her hand in marriage, were his thoughts. He fought with his family refusing to e tied down to some wench-looking girl, that is until his father threatened to write him off the family fortune and so he agreed to the marriage. But he was not expecting to see such a beauty as Lory, he wondered how such a beauty could not be married right now, even his little man agreed with him. Loreal gracefully went down the stairs and was met by Richard who held his hand out and she gracefully put her hand in his, which he took and gave a light kiss that sent goosebumps all over Lory’s body. “My lady shall we,” Richard asked placing her arms in his, “such a perfect match”, “they were made for each other” cooed their mothers, making Loreal blush profusely. “Dinner is ready sir” announced Mary and everyone made their way to the dining room, which was filled with delicious smelling food, Richard pulled a chair out for Lory, and soon after everyone had been seated and the dinner proceeded on light conversation, with the mothers doing the wedding planning and the fathers discussing business.

Richard looked over and Lory, he had been trying to converse with her throughout dinner, but she only gave him short or yes and no answers, so he thought of an idea…

“Would you like to take a stroll with me in the garden,” he asked, earning an audience from the parents, “I’d like that very much,” Loreal stated and stood up from her seat with the help of Richard and both took off to the garden.

                Outside, Lory took in a very greedy deep breath before letting it out, she felt really suffocated during dinner that a whiff of fresh air made her forget that she wasn’t alone until she heard a chuckle from beside her, “wow I didn’t think I am that suffocating,” Richard jokingly, earning a deep blush from her. “Goodness, please do not be offended or take this the wrong way, it was just a little stuffy in there…thank you for suggesting we take a walk,” she said in an unusually small, “you look adorable when you blush,” he teased her, “so tell me Loreal, how is…”

“Please call me Lory, Loreal is such a mouth full,” she interrupted, having gained back her boldness, “right, Lory, well in that case you can call me Ric,” he said “so Lory, how is it that you and I have never met before and I’m only hearing about you, right when I’m supposed to marry you,” he let out a small chuckle, “well I hardly get to play with other children, being an only child my parents always kept me away from the world for protection I’m guessing, but I have heard about you Ric, you’re quit a busy man,” she said eyeing him from her peripheral vision, looking for a reaction which she got when Ric choked on his saliva making her laugh a little. “I see,” Ric said after recovering from his coughing fit. The conversation continued smoothly, with jokes here and there, and sadly the night came to an end for the couple…”I guess I’ll be seeing more of you now fiancé, thank you for the wonderful evening,” Ric said, giving her a light peck on the cheek turning her face as red as a tomato, “it was an honor, and I hope to get to know more about you,” she responded, thus ending the night with her fiancé. That night she went to bed as happy as a child who was given ice cream after dinner.

When Mary returned to the servants’ quarters, she found Victors room to be dark and thought he had already gone to bed, as she too was exhausted, she did not check if he was in bed or not, plopping to her own bed and allowing darkness to consume her. In the morning she did her normal hygiene and went to go wake Victor up, but he wasn’t there, and the bed had been made so she brushed it off thinking her son finally woke up on his own. When she did not see him at breakfast, she asked the staff if anyone had seen him, but no one had seen or heard from him yesterday. Panic began to form in her as she thought something terrible had happened to her son and she informed the Stones immediately, but they brushed off saying maybe he found a woman of his own and was just out with and she chose to go with their story as it was the least morbid one. Months passed and there was no sign of Victor and Mary had concluded that something terrible had happened to him, she had lost so much weight but continued her house duties because she needed the job. No one knew where Victor disappeared to or if he was still alive, even the Stones with the help of the Willows couldn’t find him and they were concluding that maybe Victor skipped the country and ran away, or he was dead. Little did anyone know that Victor was coming back with a BANG…..