CWMBR 16

 Chapter 16

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***

The ride in the carriage Magnus had ordered was the worst.

Despite her efforts to hold back, Bridget had to stop the carriage several times during the journey to vomit. Even after vomiting everything she had eaten, something kept coming up, forcing her to stop.

Magnus urged her to stop the ride and take it easy, but she didn't want to. Magnus was unable to break her stubbornness.

It was worth the effort, though. The carriage finally reached its destination. A few more nights on the road, and she would have collapsed from exhaustion. Magnus was greatly relieved and quickly helped Bridget to her feet.

The Abbey was a small place on the outskirts of Glynford, up in the hills away from the city center. Most people didn't know it was a monastery because of the Cemetery tucked away behind it. While old-timers and locals might call it a monastery, it was generally known more as a cemetery than a monastery, and it also served as a place to stay for visitors to the cemetery.

Bridget stepped out of the carriage and stared up at the small stone building for a moment before a gray-haired holy priest emerged from inside.

"I've been waiting for you, sister. It's been a long time since you've visited."

"Thank you for the welcome, Abbot Joseph."

Bridget was a regular visitor to the cemetery since her parents were buried there. As a result, she and Joseph were quite familiar.

He'd probably heard all the sordid tidbits that were going around. But when he looked at Bridget, she saw only the warmth of welcome in his face. He smiled kindly at Bridget, then looked back to Magnus at her side.

"I am informed that the lady’s the only one staying."

"Oh, I'm just going to check on the lady's health and then return."

In truth, Bridget had repeatedly urged him not to, but Magnus had insisted. Perhaps it was because of the way she'd looked throughout the trip.

Joseph nodded in understanding at Magnus's answer.

"There's a room just inside. I'll show you."

Just as she remembered, the monastery was quiet.

After Magnus, who quickly checked on her, left, Bridget was alone in the small, simple guest room.

It contained a hard, single wooden bed and a small desk and chair. On the desk was a palm-sized statue of a saint, immaculately clean and carefully maintained.

Bridget tilted her head slightly and stared at the zen-like statue, then raised her eyes. The desk was set against the wall, with a small window in front of the chair. Through the small arched window, she could see the rainy ash-colored sky.

The weather had been fine for a few days, but it was about to rain again. The Abbey was quite remote and could be isolated if it rained hard enough.

Still, it was a relief compared to her days at Breford Manor. In fact, she might have preferred the isolation.

At least here I have my parents with me.

Dropping her bag in the corner of the room, Bridget plopped down on the bed. She would have to start planning her life at Glynford and her future, but for now, she needed to get some rest. Fortunately, she felt like she could fall asleep if she laid down right away. In fact, she had gotten a lot more sleep since the miscarriage, so she didn't have to worry about not being able to fall asleep.

Her dreams would not be restful, but that was her karma, and she didn't mind.

***

After a brief conversation with Bridget in downtown Breford, Ain returned to his mountain mansion.

In truth, there was no reason for him to remain in Breford any longer. With Declan's arrival, and the arrival of several clerks to assist him, the investigation of the manor's employees would move quickly. Ain should now leave the manor's affairs to Declan and return to his office. He must return to his office and take care of the unfinished business. The trade ships, for example, and other urgent and important papers awaiting his signature.

Despite knowing it all in his head, Ain was still in the mansion.

"Still here?"

Ain didn't even respond to Declan's plaintive voice. Instead, he stared at the view of the room he'd been poking around in for days.

"Did she hide something here, some treasure?"

"Maybe."

Ain was just curious. Why Bridget was standing in this awkward position, what she was thinking as she stood there.

It was a futile curiosity. Ain realized that his time was being wasted on nothing, but at daybreak, like a haunted man, he would rush into the room where the master had left it; one day he would futilely rummage through a handful of ashes in a fireplace that had long since lost its embers; another day he would open and close the window, listening to the creaking latch.

The maids had temporarily given up on cleaning Bridget's bedroom because of their eccentric master's behavior; they were afraid they might get in trouble for hastily sweeping and wiping something away, and the mansion's hired hands were too busy to bother with the cleaning that hadn't been done. Declan's men have been out in force, inspecting the mansion's employees.

Sensing something was amiss, the hired hands simply held their breath and rolled their eyes. Most of them were still unsure of the exact problem.

"I don't know what the hell you want to find, but if it's not there, it's not there."

 "Is it?"

Declan clicked his tongue at  Ain's lifeless retort.

"If you're not sure, rip up the floorboards. If there's something important hidden, it's not going to be in plain sight."

He didn't sound like he believed there was a real treasure, more like a wake-up call.

But to Ain, his words sounded quite plausible. Ain glanced down at the floor he was standing on. There was a thick carpet on the floor.

Declan chuckled as Ain stooped down to grab the carpet and lift it up.

"Do you want me to get you a crowbar or something?"

Declan's question slipped past his lips as Ain yanked the carpet wide open.

In fact, he'd already seen under the carpet. But whereas before he had simply realized that it was a hardwood floor and covered it up, this time he was more interested in examining it more closely, picking out every grain. At first glance, it was a normal hardwood floor. Moderately dirty and stained..................

"Hmm?"

Ain crouched down, fully bending his knees. Up close, the stains along the grain were more obvious. He thought it was just the inherent pattern and color of the wood, but upon closer inspection, he could see that it was something else.

Ain stretched out his large hand and touched the stain.

His palm felt cool, faintly damp, and the grainy texture of the wood.

"What are you doing?"

Declan's question did not reach Ain's ears. Ain ran his hand over the stain, lost in thought.

Recalling, to be precise. The day he met Bridget in this room.

The first thing he saw when he opened the door to the bedroom was Bridget crouching down, the carpet still uncovered. The first thing he saw was this stain.

So what she was looking at was this stain.

"What does this look like?"

Ain asked, and Declan craned his head to look over Ain's shoulder at the floor.

"I don't know............. something spilled, like a drink or something?"

"It looks like blood."

"Oh, right, blood.................. blood?"

Declan, startled and alarmed, hurried to Ain's side and crouched down. Declan narrowed his eyes as he lowered his head and carefully examined the floor.

"You're right, there's blood in the bedroom. What happened here?"

"Have you forgotten why I came to this mansion?"

"A miscarriage? Ah! So these are the fake bloodstains the hired help told you about?"

Fake bloodstains. The hired help claimed that all of Bridget's blood was fake. The woods were all around the mansion, they said, where creatures great and small abound, where you could find the carcasses of birds with their heads crushed against the mansion's exterior walls.

But how could he listen to the hired hands who had not even served their hostess properly?

"It could be real."

"But......."

"What if it's real?"

***

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