Chapter 57: Murder- Part 1

Heidi woke up to the chirping of the birds outside the window. Bringing her hand up to cover the yawn which broke out of her mouth. Pushing the blanket away from her body, she sat up groggily. The fever she had yesterday had finally disappeared and she felt much better now. Walking towards the balcony doors, she pushed it open with both her hands, letting the rays of sun in to the room which brightened up the entire room.

Like her fever, the dark clouds had disappeared to let the endless sky stretch up to the horizon, touching the forest. Continuing to walk to place her hand on the railing of the balcony, she heard the little bird chirp its heart out as it sang its morning song. Not wanting to startle the little bird, she stood there quietly looking it. Since her mother, Helen had passed away there had been no one to take care of her. Her feverish nights were always lonely and she had to cope with it all by herself while also handling the household chores. Heidi couldn’t remember everything about last night due to the fever but that didn’t mean she hadn’t felt the lord holding her in his arms. She was sure it wasn’t a dream yet she had her doubts on what exactly happened and how much was her imagination.

It wasn’t Warren but Nicholas who had come to look after his return to the mansion. Clutching her hands over the railing she lowered her gaze at the thought of lord Nicholas. The bird that sang suddenly fluttered away from the tree.

Hearing the sound of a carriage and the hooves of the horses, she saw the lord and the butler step out of the mansion. Lord Nicholas was in a fresh set of clothes, his hair done neatly unlike the previous night which was disheveled.Wondering where the lord was going, she continued to look at the lord speaking to his butler. When the coachman opened the carriage door for him, as if knowing she was there he stopped in his tracks to turn back and look at her standing at the balcony.

With only one look, she could feel her heart skipping and beating rhythmically against her chest. They stared at one another, both their gazes locked time stopping still for a fleeting moment. Turning away, he said something to the butler which the butler nodded giving him a bow as he stepped into the carriage.

When the time of breakfast arrived, Heidi decided to have her meal in the hall than stay couped in her room. Warren who had arrived before the lord left, accompanied her at the table even though he didn’t eat anything, telling he wasn’t particularly hungry. Nonetheless, he sat with her until she finished her meal. Making sure she was doing better and apologizing for not being able to come earlier.

“I am not sure what a human is and isn’t supposed to eat during and after a fever. But I visited the doctor before coming on my way here. He gave me a list of what do to and you will be eating the prescribed meals for few days until we know you are better,” Warren informed her.

Heidi didn’t know if she had to thank him when she wasn’t thankful at all. She didn’t know why he had turned suddenly so diligent since she had come back from Woville. His intentions were kind but doing things to a perfection was never a good thing. For now, she was asked to stay inside the mansion and not go anywhere out. At first she thought he was joking but she had forgotten momentarily that Warren never joked. He wasn’t the lord to speak sarcastically.

She had thought to give Lettice a visit but it would have to wait. Thankfully Warren stayed with her, helping her with her studies which usually Stanley took care of. Warren was lenient than the head butler, taking his time to make sure she understood. Before noon, both of them took a walk around the mansion. With all the paintings that hung on the walls, Warren introduced each one of them to her.

“They look really realistic,” she murmured, running her hand over one of the painting.

“Even though these are centuries old, the paint is still intact. It was done by one of the famous painter during their time, a half vampire. Gifted, isn’t he?” he asked her to see her agree with a nod.

“It is a gift. To capture a person in a single frame of canvas.

They walked through the corridor, taking a right she came across another painting which was placed at the far end. She wasn’t an expert in it but she could guess by the different and varied strokes of color that was used on it, it wasn’t the same painter who had painted the previous paintings they had walked by. It was a painting that belonged to an extremely beautiful woman, a beauty that she had never come across in real life. Was she real? thought Heidi to herself. Her long brown locks that cascaded down her shoulder to the length of her waist. She had a tender smile, not big but there was something missing in the picture. As if the painting hadn’t been completed. No name was mentioned below the painting.

“Who is this?” Heidi asked, taking a step closer to the painting to have a better look and into the eyes of the woman.

“This is Lady Louise Perone. She’s lord Nicholas’ mother.”

This was his mother? Heidi couldn’t believe it. Of course there were slight resemblance between them but the lady here had the charm and air of gentleness which the lord usually adorned when they were out, “She’s beautiful,” she murmured and turned towards Warren, “What happened to her?” She had never heard about his parents, they were never mentioned due to which she didn’t know about them.

“I am not sure myself. Even though I am his cousin, it was years after I was born. So I am not sure but I did hear it was a tragic death,” Warren said looking at the painting along with her, “No one speaks about it.”

“What do you mean?” She asked him, her eyebrows furrowing in question.

“Even though Nicholas is the lord, no one speaks about Lady Louise in the family. My mother was her younger sister and she doesn’t talk about it. Even though many pure blooded vampires have died, my relatives don’t mention about her. And personally I think it is very rude to put your nose in others matters and therefore I never tried to know,” he frankly confessed and she nodded understandingly, “I also believe there are few things we shouldn’t dig deep into. Because in this world, there are things we couldn’t be able to handle or look at. That is why it is wise to be ignorant.”

“Did Lord Nicholas paint her?”

“He did. Nicholas is a very skilled painter. Would you like to see few of his pieces?” Warren asked with a smile, diverting her to another topic.

“Of course,” she said, giving the lady one last look and turning her back to follow Warren.

Reaching an expansive room, she found several canvas stands holding on to a canvas which were filled with colors already. She was surprised that Lord Nicholas was actually good at it. The paintings consisted from landscapes to objects like teacups. It made her smile when she caught sight of a painting of the head butler holding an apple close to his cheeks. When the bell from a nearby town rang loudly, Warren said,

“I will return in few hours, Heidi. Please do take care of yourself until then,” he wished her taking his leave.