Page 36 of Under the Earl's Wicked Spell

Chapter 8

Victoria couldn’t move as the other mourners walked away from the grave. The gravediggers were beginning to fill it in, but she couldn’t leave. She just stared at the hole before her and at the one next to it.

Lord Blackmore was dead. His health hadn’t been great in recent years, so his death wasn’t really a surprise. But Sebastien’s was. He had always been so strong, so full of life. And to see his coffin being lowered into a grave didn’t seem real. It had been a shock to her when they received a letter making her parents aware of the situation.

A week on, and it still wasn’t quite sinking in. Much as she hated their family and resented Blackmore for forcing her to marry his son, Victoria had never wanted this to happen. She wasn’t that cruel, and she had actually liked Sebastien. It was just a shame he was on the side of a killer.

Her gaze moved past the two graves to the headstone that had been newly erected. Father and son had been buried next to Lady Blackmore. It hadn’t been that long since she had passed away. Within just a few months, pretty much the entire family had been wiped out.

Except for Rafe Mowbray. He was still alive. And he was the one who should be several feet under, preferably not on consecrated ground.

He hadn’t come to the funeral. Victoria had looked for him but hadn’t seen any indication that Mowbray was here. He might have had his own mourning service at home, but he wasn’t present to watch his father and brother be laid to rest. Maybe it was for the best that he wasn’t present. Victoria didn’t want to see his face.

Not wanting to go home right now, Victoria wandered through the graveyard, absently looking at the other headstones. It felt like there were more and more being erected in recent years. People Victoria had known since she was a baby were suddenly gone and buried. Now all that was left of them were stones with their names. It felt rather impersonal.

Victoria thought back to her brother’s grave back in Whitby. Nobody had expected him to die so young, but everyone knew about his love of the sea. With the abbey situated where it was, they managed to find a place for his final resting place, overlooking the bay further down the slope. Richard would have liked it, but Victoria wished they hadn’t needed to do it. He should have had, at the very least, another forty years before he was gone.

Now he was reduced to a stone.

Victoria felt her throat tightening, and she tried to swallow the tears back. She had done too much crying lately. She was not going to do it anymore.

“Miss Victoria?”

Victoria turned. Abigail was walking towards her, huddled in her cloak. The wind had picked up a little, and the sun was not making an effort to come out and make an appearance. Almost appropriate for a funeral.

“Lord and Lady Selkirk are waiting for you.”

“Oh. Right.” Victoria had forgotten that they had all come down here in the same carriage. She sighed and started walking. “I’m coming.”

She was tempted to say she would walk home, but it was much too far for her to do it. Especially alone. Falling into step with her maid, Victoria left the graveyard and headed toward her father’s carriage. They were the only ones present, all of the other mourners having already left. Selkirk was pacing around beside the carriage. He stopped when Victoria and Abigail appeared. Victoria tried not to look at him; she didn’t want to start getting emotional again.

“Victoria?”

“I’m all right, Papa.”

Selkirk’s expression softened. He walked up to her and kissed her forehead.

“Things are going to be all right. I promise.”

Victoria didn’t respond. She kept her gaze averted as she got into the carriage. Lady Selkirk was sitting inside. Her expression softened as her daughter appeared, and she urged Victoria to sit beside her.

“Darling, I wish I knew what to say about this.”

“I don’t know what to say, either, Mother.”

The Viscountess gave her a smile and squeezed her hands.

“This sad time will get better. We’ll get through it all.”

Victoria hoped so. While she hadn’t been interested in this marriage, it had been her only chance of having people not whispering to her about how cursed her family was. She could have gotten away from all the rumours and her new husband and started out on her own.

The closer they had gotten to the wedding, the more Victoria had been looking forward to starting afresh elsewhere. Sebastien had promised that for her, and she knew he would have kept his promise.

Now he was gone. And it seemed that the curse had struck again.

Perhaps she wasn’t meant to be married. As of right now, with her emotions all over the place, Victoria didn’t know if this was a good thing or not.

The journey back to their home was in silence. Victoria held her mother’s hand, staring out of the window and trying not to look at her parents. She knew they were watching her, but she refused to do the same. If she did, she was going to end up crying, but not about Blackmore and Sebastien.

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