Page 14 of Haunted Hearts

Four

“Sister,where have you been so long?” asked Serena, meeting Lillith as she rode into the courtyard. Huntley had left her at the gate and gone back to his village. “I was getting worried.”

“Did you tell anyone where I went?”

“Nay,” said Serena. “If I had, it would only have caused trouble with Uncle Arthur.”

“Lillith? Were you out alone this late?” asked her mother, walking across the courtyard to join them with Arthur at her side. Her handmaid, Posy followed at her heels.

“Yes. Where have you been? Your mother was worried sick about you.” Arthur didn’t really seem upset that she’d been missing, but acted as if he were trying to sound concerned for her mother’s sake or just to put on a show.

“I wasn’t alone,” she told them. “And if you must know, I went to the graveyard to pay Huntley the money he was owed for his services.” Lillith had to tell them something so figured it might as well be the truth.

“You did what?” Arthur’s bushy brows furrowed. “I said the undertaker would wait until morning for his pay, yet you went behind my back and did it anyway?” Now, Arthur seemed angry.

“Well, Serena and I didn’t agree with you,” Lillith answered, realizing by Serena’s expression that she hadn’t appreciated being included in this confrontation at all.

“I am your father now, and you’ll ask me for permission to leave the castle from now on,” growled Arthur.

“You will never be our father, even when you do marry our mother,” Lillith answered for them both. “Besides, we’ve never had to ask permission before to go riding. We’re not children anymore.”

“Well, things are different now that I am lord,” snapped Arthur. “You will go nowhere unescorted and will report to me before and after you go anywhere outside the castle’s walls.”

“Arthur, don’t you think you’re being a little harsh?” asked Beatrice softly. “After all, the girls are adults now and shouldn’t be treated like children.”

“That’s right.” Serena finally spoke. “Lillith will even be married soon.”

“You’re of marrying age too, Lady Serena,” Arthur pointed out. “As a matter of fact, I think it’s time you’re both betrothed. I’ll see to it right away.”

“What?” Serena’s eyes darted over to Lillith. She pleaded silently for help.

“Serena doesn’t know any men that she can marry,” said Lillith, not knowing how to help her.

“Arthur, it’s really too close to Henri’s death to be thinking about all this right now,” added her mother.

“My lady, would you like me to accompany your daughters into the keep and help them prepare for bed?” asked Posy.

The handmaid was about the age of Beatrice. She had always tended to the needs of Serena and Lillith as well as their mother, although the girls didn’t need it.

“Yes, thank you, Posy,” said Beatrice, sniffling and dabbing her nose with a cloth. It would take a long time for any of them to come to terms with the death of Lillith’s father.

“Wait,” said Lillith, not wanting to leave before she settled things with her uncle. “Uncle Arthur, I heard that Milo saw a man leaning over Father’s body. Is this true?”

“What? I didn’t know this,” said her mother, becoming very upset. “Arthur, why didn’t you tell me?”

“It means nothing, and there was no sense mentioning it,” remarked Arthur.

“There might have been foul play involved.” Beatrice wrung her hands together in worry.

“Nonsense. My brother had a bad heart, not to mention he’d been drinking heavily,” said Arthur. “The pageboy found him dead on the ground, having fallen off his horse and onto his own hunting knife. His death was naught but a freak accident.”

“But what about the man Milo saw?” asked Serena. “Who was he and why was he there?”

“I’m sure the boy just imagined the whole thing,” Arthur answered, trying to dismiss the matter. “He was so scared he was shaking like a leaf when he returned to the castle to tell me about it.”

“Arthur, mayhap you should look into this better,” suggested Lillith’s mother.

“It wasn’t foul play,” insisted Arthur. “I saw it for myself. Henri’s own bloody blade was next to him, after he must have pulled it out of his gut. He also seemed to have hit his head on a rock when he fell drunk from his horse. My brother never was smart when it came to his health. He always loved to go riding alone in the dark when he was soused. I’ll never understand it.”