Chapter 15: The Last Duchess
Chapter 15: The Last Duchess
Seraphina's breath caught in her throat as Lady Eleanor's warning hung in the still air of the library. The dim candlelight flickered, casting eerie shadows over the aged spines of forgotten books, as if even the walls of Valemont Manor knew the weight of the secrets they concealed.
"The last Duchess?" Seraphina echoed, her grip tightening on the ledger she had pulled from the shelf. "You mean Evelyne?"
Eleanor hesitated, the deep lines of her face etched with something that looked suspiciously like grief. "Yes. And she was not the only one."
A chill crawled down Seraphina's spine. "What do you mean?"
The housekeeper exhaled slowly, stepping further into the room, her voice barely above a whisper. "There have been others, my lady. Wives of the Valemont bloodline. Women who asked too many questions."
Seraphina swallowed the knot in her throat. "How did she die?"
Eleanor's fingers traced the spine of a book on the shelf, almost absentmindedly. "No one truly knows. She was found in her chambers, lifeless. The official story was an accident—illness, they said. But those of us who served her, who knew her, we whispered otherwise."
Seraphina's pulse thundered in her ears. "What did they whisper?"
Eleanor met her gaze, dark eyes filled with unspoken truths. "That she was murdered."
The room seemed to shrink around her, the air thick with something unnameable. Seraphina's hands clenched at her sides, her mind racing. Murdered. And now she, Adrian's wife, was receiving cryptic warnings to beware the one closest to her. Was she destined for the same fate?
She forced herself to steady her voice. "Who would have wanted her dead?"
Eleanor hesitated, glancing toward the open door before lowering her voice. "She was seeking something. The truth about this house, this family. And the truth has always been dangerous here."
Seraphina's heart pounded. "And the other women? The ones before her?"
Eleanor's expression turned grim. "All gone. Some disappeared without a trace. Others were found, lifeless, like Evelyne."
Seraphina's skin prickled. "And my husband? What does Adrian know of this?"
Eleanor hesitated. "The Duke was a child when his mother passed, but the shadow of her death has followed him ever since. He was… changed by it. But whether he seeks justice or merely to bury the past, I cannot say."
Seraphina swallowed hard, her mind racing. If Adrian wasn't responsible, did that mean he was in danger too? Or was he protecting something even darker?
A sudden noise from the hallway sent a jolt through her. Footsteps. Slow, deliberate.
Eleanor stepped back, her voice urgent now. "Be careful, my lady. The truth is a blade that cuts both ways. And those who seek it often do not live to tell their tale."
Seraphina's breath hitched as the library door creaked open. The flickering candlelight cast long shadows as Adrian's imposing figure filled the doorway, his silver eyes locking onto her.
"Seraphina," he said, his voice dangerously soft. "What are you doing?"
She straightened, willing her pulse to steady. "Looking for answers."
Adrian stepped inside, his gaze flickering to Eleanor before settling back on her. "Some doors are meant to remain closed."
Seraphina lifted her chin, refusing to back down. "And some secrets demand to be uncovered."
For a moment, they stood in silence, the weight of unspoken truths pressing between them. Then, Adrian exhaled slowly, his expression unreadable. "You need to be careful, Seraphina. This is not a game."
Her hands curled into fists. "Neither was my father's death. And neither was your mother's."
A muscle in Adrian's jaw tightened. "Then let me give you a warning of my own, wife. If you keep digging into the past, you may not like what you find."
Seraphina's heart pounded as he turned sharply on his heel and strode out of the library. She released a shaky breath, her gaze darting back to Eleanor.
The housekeeper's expression was filled with something she had never seen before.
Fear.
And that terrified Seraphina more than anything Adrian had said.