The Forbidden Room

The Graveyard

In the morning I am informed by Mrs. Edwards that my husband has gone to London for the day and I find a note on the dinner table by my breakfast.

"Dear Amelia,

Forgive my absence today but I have urgent matters to attend in the city. I shall see you tonight at dinner.

Yours,

Clarence"

I drop the note in the fireplace before eating my breakfast. I do wonder if this sudden trip has a genuine purpose or if it's a way for him to avoid me.

After my meal I take a walk in the grounds to clear my head. I leave the manor through the main door and find a path leading down to the chapel, my breath producing misty clouds in the cold air. Under the grey skies, the crumbling building stands amidst the frozen vegetation, forlorn and forbidding.

I push the wooden door open to peer inside. The building must have been abandoned a while ago: ivy has grown on the walls and the altar, and weeds have taken over the stone floor, making it impossible to go any further.

As I give up trying to make my way inside, a branch snaps behind me. I turn around, expecting an animal.

Sam is standing on the path and staring at me.

"What' you doing here, milady?"

"Visiting the premises," I reply with a smile, although I wonder what he is doing here.

Has my husband instructed him to keep an eye on me?

"There's nothing to see here."

"I think this place is fascinating."

I start walking toward the churchyard, and he follows me.

"It's cold," he says, "wouldn't you be better inside?"

He keeps his eyes on the ground, his hands in his pockets. He isn't like any footman I have encountered. He doesn't seem to have received any education. Where did my husband find him?

"I don't mind the fresh air," I say, "although I'm not asking you to remain here if you're cold."

He shrugs. "I don't mind."

I stop in my tracks to face him and he comes to a halt three steps away from me.

"Have you not been taught how to speak to a lady?"

He frowns, and shrugs again. "No. But I ain't exactly supposed to talk to you anyway..."

I take a step toward him to try and catch his gaze. "What are you supposed to do?"

"Make sure you're alright," he replies. "You know..." His voice trails off and I have no idea what he means.

"Well." I decide that it doesn't cost anything to teach him a few things while we're both there. "First, you stand up straight..." He raises a surprised eyebrow but he does as I say. "You take your hands out of your pockets and you look at me," I explain, "then you try to speak with full sentences, as much as possible, so that I don't have to read your mind to know what you mean."

I smile, because his posture is awkward but he is trying to make an effort to accommodate me. His cheeks redden, and I'm not sure it's from the cold.

"There," I say, "much better."

Before he has time to become more embarrassed, I start walking again. In the churchyard, the graves are barely visible among the tall grass, fallen branches and scattered leaves. Crows croak in the bare trees as I circle the graveyard to look at the half-hidden headstones. Sam follows me, his hands in his pockets and his back slouched again.

As we reach the back of the churchyard, I come across two headstones that appear much newer and slightly better taken care of than the others. I stop to decipher the words chiselled in the stone and manage to make out the names of two women, one who has been laid to rest five years ago and the other a year ago.

An uneasy feeling rising in me, I turn to Sam who is scowling at the crows.

"Who were they?"

He doesn't turn to me. "You should ask Master Ashton..."

"I'm asking you," I reply.

He hesitates, then points at the first tomb. "That's Lady Alma. She got married to Master Ashton before he went to Africa. When he came back she was pregnant and she lost the child and died. That's her and the baby here." He points at the other headstone. "And that's Lady Mary, Master Ashton's second wife. She died too."

I frown. "How?"

Sam shrugs. "Look, I ain't supposed to talk about it..."

"Alright," I say in a curt tone. "I'll ask my husband then."

I start up the path toward the main house, but Sam catches up with me to walk alongside me.

"I'll tell you, alright?" he says. "She threw herself out of the window and she died in the walled kitchen garden."

I stop in my tracks, my mouth gaping. "That's horrible!"

No wonder that garden is now closed off and my husband is so...odd.

Sam turns pale and he comes closer to me, his gaze turning fierce. "You can't tell Master Ashton you know! He'll know I told you, and he'll be furious--"

I give him a sharp look to show him he is stepping over the line and his sentence ends in a mumble.

"I'd appreciate," I say, "if you could at least try to behave towards me in the way I instructed you."

I'm annoyed now, and I hope he can tell. I lift my skirt and march up the path more quickly in order to distance myself from him. 

This time, he doesn't try to follow me.

***

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