My breath collapsed into a sob.
“I didn’t mean to,” I choked. “I didn’t mean to.”
He didn’t answer.
He simply stared back at me, his dark gaze searching mine. For the first time since our marriage, I saw true fear in his eyes.
Of what, I wasn’t certain.
Perhaps of me.
Perhaps that I remembered too much…
I looked away from him, unable to bear the weight of his stare, and instead focused on the still form beneath the shroud—the pale,unmistakable curve of Lydia’s body, stretched out stiffly beneath the sheet on the floor, like a ghost preparing to haunt the manor.
That's when I noticed… that’s when I heard it.
The sheet rose and fell in rapid, fluttering movements at her chest so imperceptibly that I had to squint to be sure. I focused, staring until I was certain it had to be a trick of the light.
Or perhaps only my mind.
A dull ache spread through my head and I suddenly heard ringing in my ears. The ringing became more distinct, until at length, I found that the noise was not within my ears. It was coming from her body.
It was inside of her.
Again, I watched the sheet rise and fall in hurried repetition.
Th-thump. Th-thump. Th-thump.
No doubt, I grew very pale, and the sound increased. It was a low, dull, quick sound—much like the sound a watch makes when enveloped in cotton.
I descended the stairs slowly, ignoring when Sylum reached out to stop me. I drew closer to her as I reached the main floor, unable to stop myself.
I paced back and forth with heavy strides, staring at Lydia’s body. Still, the noise steadily increased and the movements came more frequent. Even above the commotion of the hall—the servants, the inspectors—the noise arose over all and continually increased.
It grew louder—louder—louder!
I glanced at the constable, his eyes meeting mine as he smiled.
Was it possible he heard not?
No, no! He heard! He suspected! He knew! He was watching… waiting for me to unravel. Waiting for me to confess.
And now again, the sound continued to beat painfully in my skull, taunting and torturing.
Louder! Louder! Louder!
The shroud moved again, barely a breath, as if some foul creature moved briskly beneath it… but I knew it. Knew it deep in my marrow. Lydia’s heart was still beating.
That wretched thing was going to tell them what I did to her! I could bear it no longer! I felt that I must scream or die!
“I admit the deed!” I shrieked, clapping my hands over my ears as if that could silence my guilt. My voice echoed off the marble as I squeezed my eyes shut. “It is I who stopped the beating of her hideous heart!”
The room stilled.
All noise fled except that awful drumming, echoing louder and louder inside my head. I dug my fingers roughly into my skull, desperate to silence it.
Sylum was on me in an instant, his hand clamping hard over my mouth. “Be quiet!” he hissed into my ear, low and sharp. “Do you hear me?Quiet.”
