“And what made you finally approach me?”
“The book.” She nodded at my hand, where I was still holding the Edgar Allan Poe’s collection. “Can I borrow it?”
“You like poetry?” I asked, smiling.
“I do, but I haven’t read this collection yet. I didn’t know we had it in this library.”
I rubbed my fingers over the smooth surface of the book. “How old are you?” I asked, finding myself wanting to talk to her.
“Fourteen.”
So young, so full of life. I wondered what that would feel like.
“I could give you the book, but you haven’t even introduced yourself to me yet. What’s your name?”
She rolled her eyes, like a typical sassy fourteen-year-old. “Mirai. It means the future in Japanese.”
“That’s a pretty name. I’m Julianna,” I introduced myself.
She waved a hand, as if to disregard my introduction. “Oh, I know. Killian Spencer’s wife. The girl who hides behind her veil. The new mistress of this haunted castle. Oh yes, I know who you are.”
“You’re smart,” I deadpanned.
“Sarcasm doesn’t suit you,” she said, popping her gum in such an obnoxious way that it should have annoyed me but I was definitely intrigued by this girl.
Or maybe I had just been lonely for so long… that I just craved companionship, or simply just someone to talk to.
I closed the book and placed it on the coffee table in front of me, tapping my fingers on top of the cover. “How long have you been living in this castle?”
“Almost a decade. My mother is a drug addict and could care less about me. My grandma, Emily, is my guardian.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to apologize or maybe give her my condolences, but I saw the look on her face and I realized that this girl didn’t want any pity. No one could understand that better than me.
Pity was ugly to people like us, a poison without its remedy. We only wanted people to understand us.
I looked at Mirai and only saw a younger version of myself. “So, you must know a few stories about this place?”
Mirai quirked up an eyebrow. “I know a lot of stories.”
I grinned, although it was hidden behind my black veil. “First question, is this place really haunted?”
“Yup,” she popped the p and nodded at the same time. “Definitely. Arabella’s ghost roams these halls.”
Curious, I leaned forward. “Arabella?” I asked.
“Marchioness of Wingintam. The wife of the first Marquees of this castle,” Mirai explained patiently. “They were the first couple to settle here.”
“They are the tragic love story I’ve heard about?” I had been dying to know about this couple since I heard of Isle Rosa-Maria, but both Emily and Stephen had been disinterested in my questions and barely gave me any good answers.
“Yup. And there are three others. Before you, only four couples have lived in this castle and each story ended tragically.” Mirai paused, looking thoughtful before she nodded to herself and continued. “The last couple lived here in 1914, just before world war one. The man died in battle and the wife soon succumbed to a heart sickness, and she ended up passing away two weeks after her husband’s death. She was pregnant at the time.”
I gaped at her, my jaw slack. “You’re saying, this castle has been deserted for over a hundred years?”
Her lips curved into an infectious smile. “Well, not exactly! Housekeepers and butlers have been keeping this place polished and liveable. My grandma, and her mom and her mom’s mom… they were all the housekeepers of this place. They practically kept this place alive.”
“That’s interesting,” I mumbled. “Back to Marchioness Arabella. Wasn’t it called Isle Wingintam? Why did the Marquees change the name to Rosa-Maria?”
Mirai clucked her tongue at me, smirking. “Now you’re asking the good questions.”
I let out a small laugh at the wicked look on her face. She was a little gossiper, this one, and I was eating up every little detail of this story.
We both leaned forward, as if we were sharing a secret. “No one knows why the Marquees changed the name to Rosa-Maria. No one knows the meaning behind the name, what it was or who it was. But there are… rumors.”
I quirked an eyebrow, waiting.
“Before Arabella, the Marquees was in love with another lady. He had a short affair, but sadly, he was betrothed to Arabella and once they married, the lady left the Marquees and that’s when he decided to settle on the Isle. Far away from his lover’s memories. So, rumors say that Rosa-Maria was his lover.”
She sat back, rubbing her chin with her fingers. “But it’s all rumors. No one knows the truth.”
My stomach fluttered but there was pang of pain in my chest. An ache that wasn’t there before, but it was just an echo of my own heartbreak. “If what you say is true… it must have been painful for Arabella. Living in the shadows of her husband’s lover.”
I knew exactly what that felt like.
“They say that she was madly in love with him, but poor Arabella only ended up with rejection and misery. She passed away without her husband’s love or devotion. But it’s more tragic than that. A tale of unrequited love, heartbreak, jealousy and death.”
I settled back into my chair, smiling and delightfully intrigued. “We have all night.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Julianna
“Gracelynn, no!” She tried to grab my arm, pulling at it. I gripped the steering wheel tighter. “Let me go!”
“Julianna, slow down. You’re going to kill us!” she cried. “Please, I don’t want to die.”
“I’m going slow.” I grinned, keeping my foot on the accelerator.
She clutched her chest, her face red. “Julianna, stop! Please. You’re going too fast.”
I laughed, glancing at her before looking back at the road.
“You’re drunk,” she accused, tears spilling down her cheeks.
I was? I didn’t know…
There was a dull throb at the back of my head, like a low hum. Confused, I blinked hard once and then… pitch-black darkness.
The scene faded away and we were now driving down a lonely, dark road. My heart hammered in my chest.
The car was unstable under my hands; I could feel myself losing my grip, but for some reason, I didn’t lift my foot off the accelerator. My foot was glued to it.
My lips parted and I let out a silent scream. Stop, I told myself. Slow down.
My lungs squeezed and I seemed to gasp for breath, my hands clammy and shaking.
“I’m scared,” Gracelynn whispered.
“Me too,” I said.
I heard her screams first.
I remembered my body flying airborne when the car flipped – then silence. I crashed into a void before landing back in the present. With the stench of blood strong in my nostrils and searing pain coursing through my body.
So much agony.
I couldn’t feel my legs. There was an insistent pain in the back of my head and my ears were ringing. There was an echo, but I didn’t know where it came from. Blood rushed between my ears and my head was heavy, as my body dangled upside down.