An Erotic Ghost Story Ch. 06

This is an edited DRAFT. Please keep that in mind when reading this story. There will be errors as I am writer and editor. This will be the last chapter I'll be posting on Lit. I'm writing the last few chapters and I hope to have this story professionally published in its entirety soon. Please follow my bio page for updates. Thank you for reading so far.

*****

After her third day in bed Lilly knew she was suffering from a deep and painful depression. She was stuck in a century completely unlike her own. Women were essentially powerless and were expected to bend to a man's will. She was passionately in love with Edward but couldn't be with him until she figured out why their fates were determined by a strong supernatural influence. Her entire body was racked with pain and her normally determined resolve was slipping into a black bottomless pit of despair.

Lilly hated the societal rules and de rigueur of this century. She missed her modern life and her 'real' parents so much it hurt when she dwelled on all she was missing. The terrible headaches returned. She made Millie close the heavy bedroom curtains up tight so not even a slit of sunshine could peek through. Sunlight mocked her with its happy attitude and she yearned for gray skies and cold rain to match her gloomy mood.

The maid would shake her head each time she tended to Lilly's slumped form, curled up in bed in the dark room. Worry and concern was etched on Millie's burly face. Her family was deeply concerned too. Mister Taylor and Master David left earlier that day to speak with a doctor at The Butler Insane Asylum in Providence. Millie shuddered thinking of her beautiful, vivacious Lilly locked away in such an awful place, filled with patients who'd lost their minds.

The servant was riddled was angst. Lilly's family just couldn't be serious about committing her. They just couldn't do that to her. As each day slipped by Lilly woke from terrifying dreams screaming and thrashing about and ranting about ghosts and demons. Millie wondered if her young mistress just might be loosing her mind.

Today, Lilly decided she had to solve the mystery surrounding her and Edward fates. The secrets were buried in that creepy graveyard, obscured and hidden like the mystery it was shrouded in. Lilly was sure of it. Buried like all the decaying, dead bodies taking those mighty long dirt naps.

The place terrified Lilly but knew she had to revisit it. Who were the demons and ghosts haunting the forest and her dreams? Lilly was the key but where the hell was the obscure keyhole? One thing was certain she was stuck here until she discovered whatever it was she was supposed to discover.

The chilling female apparition who had appeared to her in the forest seemed have been beckoning her. The skeletal finger had pointed and jabbed in earnest as filmy wisps of ghost clouds swirled around her bony hand, urging Lilly toward that direction. Lilly kept brooding over that. Instinctually, she knew the ghost woman was a sign and piece of the puzzle but who was she and what dark tale did she need to tell?

"I am your mother, Lillian." A disembodied female voice, as if on cue, whispered in Lillian's ear as she lay in her bed.

A raw, cold chill ran up Lilly's spine. She bolted up from her mattress, ridged and unflinching. The young woman listened intently, hoping the ethereal voice would speak again. The room was silent. Lilly shut her eyes and took a deep breath. An image of a beautiful, blonde haired woman's face flashed behind her lids and disappeared as quickly. Lilly's eyes flew open. The woman was her mother, without a doubt, Lilly just knew it was Caroline Taylor.

But how was her mother connected to this puzzle? The woman had just vanished many years ago. She supposedly had been a loving wife and devoted mother, so why had she just disappeared without a trace?

Millie, the simple but kind maid had been Caroline Taylor's family's servant for decades. When her mother married she joined her mistress in her new home. Lilly was sure she could get Millie to open up about her mother. She and Lilly had formed a strong bond over the last few weeks.

Fortunately her entire family was out for the day. Her father was in Providence for business along with David. Mary was with her beau. This was her best opportunity to snoop around. Lilly bathed and quickly dressed. She nearly ran down the stairs in search of Millie. Feeling a glimmer of hope for the first time in weeks.

****

The stout maid was singing a happy tune under her breath while she dusted Jonathan Taylor's office. Following her voice, Lilly stealthy passed through the threshold. Only Millie could be so happy while dusting. Lilly mused. Lilly hated the chore with a passion. So having servants to do such drudgery was one of the few things she liked about this century.

"Millie?" Lilly called out softly. Startled, the servant nearly jumped.

"Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" She placed a cubby hand across her chest letting out a deep sigh. "Gave me a start Miss Lilly!"

"I'm so sorry!" Lilly apologized.

"No worry child. Just day dreamin' away whilst I work is all." She continued swiping away with her feather duster.

"Mille I need to talk with you about something really important. I really need to know about my mother and what really happened to her" Lilly paused a moment "Please don't think of me as a child anymore. I'm a very strong woman and can handle whatever you tell me."

Clearly rattled, Millie's brow furrowed and she froze. She pursed her lips so tightly the color drained.

"Keep the past in the past, yes Miss Lilly. We need to keep the past in the past" Millie paused a moment like a child trying to remember how to recite a shakily rehearsed speech.

"Do you know one of the reasons I'm so unhappy Mille?" Lilly paused "Do you know why I'm so sad?"

She was setting the maid up and felt a twinge of guilt, but the feeling dissolved quickly. The situation was dire and Lilly was desperate.

"I'm thinkin' I know" Millie drawled out slowly as tears welled in her old eyes.

"I'm sad because I have no memories in me Millie. I don't know a lick about my mother. I've only heard the wicked whispered rumors. I don't know what she looks like because there isn't even one single portrait of her anywhere in this monstrous house.

"She's as beautiful as you Miss!" Millie blurted out then snapped her jaw shut.

"Just tell me Millie. I promise I won't tell a soul." Lilly crept closer and touched the maid's muslin covered beefy arm.

"I promised Miss Lilly!" She whined, shaking her head.

"Was she unhappy? Was she having an affair?" Lilly continued undaunted, determined she'd get the maid to spill her closely guarded secrets.

The older woman was a simple naïve innocent with zero ability to show restraint. Her eyes flew open and her face drained to a pasty color. So she'd guessed it. Her mother had an affair.

"Miss Lilly!" Millie feigned surprise. "Such talk from a fine lady. Me heart ill' give out for sure!" She blustered.

"Times are changing. I've seen the world and know about intimate relationships between men and women" Lily crossed her arms.

Millie blushed deeply. She swallowed hard to chock down a confession ready to spill out of her. Lilly pressed harder. Firm tenacity gripped her constitution. Yet the faithful servant remained tight-lipped.

The servant's childlike faithfulness and devotion was impressive and utterly frustrated Lilly. She needed to change her game plan and take baby steps.

"Can I please just see a picture of her Millie? There's got to be at least one or two photos of her in this massive place? Maybe if I see her face something will trigger my memory." Lilly's implored with genuine sincerity.

The servant's brow remained burrowed. She was ready to give in. Lilly was sure. She squeezed Millie's arm insistently.

"Ok, ok, Miss just a peak is all" The maid hung her head with guilt weighing heavy on her. "But no word to a soul, you promised, especially your pa!" He stashed a few things in the attic...

****

The fourth floor attic stairwell was coated in baked on dust. As they ascended to the uppermost floor oven hot summer heat wafted over them. Cobwebs clung to the corners and danced as the women walked by. They didn't speak. Millie hauled her bulky weight up each stair. After reaching the top Millie stopped to catch her breath.

"There was no finer lady then Misses Taylor, fine, fine lady" Millie shook her head. "A fine painter too, Miss Lilly. Paintings looked so real seemed ifn' they'd jump out of them frames at ya! Was ready to leave for France to paint in some fancy school but your pa asked for her hand." Misses Caroline wanted to wait but her pa ordered her to marry him.

"How long had you known her?" Lilly asked brushing off a stray cobweb from out her hair.

"I was 'bout your age Miss Lilly. Was a might slimmer then too." She smiled. She was from a right proper family from Boston. Her pa was a banker too. Family had loads of money.

Did she love him?" Lilly asked.

"Your pa loved her, more 'an any man I've ever known! That's a certain! Your ma respected him. She loved you young'uns that's a certain. Mister Taylor and her...well he was gone so much of the time. Your mother was lonely."

"Did she take a lover Millie, to ease the loneliness?"

"Heavens, it's hot up here!" She swatted her fingers frantically close to her to cheek to cool her flushed face. "Now I've forgotten what key is what."

Millie awkwardly dodged the question by fumbling with a huge steel circular ring filled with skeleton keys, trying each one in the attic door lock.

After many keys later, one finally clicked. Millie pressed her shoulder into the stuck door. The hinges had rusted from disuse and the wood had swollen from the heat, but the door finally creaked open.

The attic was huge, covering the entire footprint of the house. It smelled like dust, hot splintered wood and musty discarded things. So much dust clung to the air and made it hard to breath. A huge brilliantly colored stained glass window cast thousands of prismatic colored lights across the walls and dusty floor. The room was filled with forgotten, discarded furniture lurking under ghostly white sheets. An old wicker baby stroller was tucked into dark corner along with a cradle and other old fashioned looking baby items. A huge carved wooden rocking horse stood still near the center and seemed lonely and longing to be ridden. Other various well-loved wooden toys were scattered all over the dusty crowded floor. A multitude of old dress forms stood unused. Various hatboxes were piled atop each other some six or seven high.

Millie grumbled as she rummaged around in an old box stuck in the way back of the attic. After a few minutes of digging deeply into a dusty box, she pulled out an ornate diminutive silver frame. She handed the portrait to Lilly. Her heart raced. It was the face of the woman who haunted her vision earlier today. Lilly gazed intently into the frame. Her mother was stunning with wheat blonde hair like her own tied up loosely in an elegant twist. The woman in the frame was young then. Maybe early twenties, Lilly guessed.

"Twas painted as a wedding present for your pa Miss Lilly." Millie sighed as she looked upon the young Misses Taylor.

"She's beautiful." Lilly touched the slightly smiling image. 'What secrets did you run off with when you disappeared?' Lilly wondered.

"Aye, belle of the balls she was. Mister Taylor was smitten the moment he laid his eyes on her. Your pa had this frame tucked away aback in his office drawer one time. I caught 'um looking at her and bawling. Saw me, dried his eyes and stashed her away right quick. Her pretty face must've been too painful to look upon. Handed me the wrapped frame later that day and told me to bring it up into this dusty place." Millie shook her head, her eyes serious and solemn "Such a sad shame."

The heat in the stifling room was making Lilly feel faint; tipping her balance with a swirling dizziness. The dust was settling in her throat and choking her. She felt sick and nausea.

"Misses her something terrible." Tears welled in the maid's eyes.

"What happened to her? Please, I have to know." Lilly begged in earnest.

The maid nodded her head solemnly and placed her chubby hand across Lilly's slender fingers. "Lets get to someplace cooler, Miss, you're looking might peeked. Lets get you someplace not filled with all these memories." She jerked her head toward the door.

"I'm going to keep this picture Millie. I promise, I'll keep it well hidden from father." Lilly clutched the frame to her chest.

"You didn't get it from me Miss iffin' you get caught." Millie was strident and stern.

As the women crept downstairs, the old worn floorboards moaned under their weight. Lilly was glad to be gone from the place. Her sour stomach settled a bit once she descended from the third floor but she still felt queasy, her balance uneven.

They ducked into an unused room Lilly had never been in. Many parts of the house Lilly still hadn't ever seen. The place was enormous. The area was sparse except for the few pieces of furniture tucked under ethereal sheets. Sunlight filtered through the hoards of dust particles that littered the air.

"Mind you Miss Lilly I never believed Misses Taylor was stepping out on your pa until I saw it with me own eyes." Millie's beefy, red raw hands nervously smoothed over the apron lying on top of her uniform.

"Misses Taylor was a beautiful lady. All the men loved to get a good long stare at her wherever she went. She was lonely, really lonely. Your pa was away a lot. That cad knew it. Went after her and wore her down Miss Lilly. She gave in only because he broke her down." Her usual twinkling eyes were smoldering with hatred.

"Who broke her down Millie?" Lilly asked desperately.

"The groomsman, Patrick Kelly, Daniel's pa, he was in love with ya ma." Everyone knew it especially your ma. She was pleasant and kind to all the servants but she avoided him, knowing how the cad felt 'bout her." Millie wiped away an accumulation of sweat and dust from her face with a sleeve.

"Daniel Kelly's father?" Lilly was stunned.

"Yes, Miss. Your ma was an excellent horsewoman but your pa ordered Kelly to ride with her. The misses tried to talk your pa into lettin' her go off alone but he was havin' none of it. At first Misses was cool and lady like but that Kelly, that devil, got her alone and wore her down. Purposely got her lost back in them woods. Spooky, evil place!" Millie shuddered. "They'd ride out alone..." Her voice wavered and trailed off.

"Oh please Miss, don't make me speak ill of Misses Taylor. I'm not wantin' Miss Mary or Master David knowing of this." She wiped her moist nose with her apron.

"Keeping secrets is a terrible burden Millie. You'll feel better getting it off your chest. I'll never utter a word to my brother or sister." Lilly felt a sharp sting of guilt manipulating the maid in such a duplicitous manner.

"They would spend, um...time together. They would go out for rides," She repeated refusing to get to the point" Oh Miss they was together in the biblical way, Miss Lilly. I'm ashamed speaking so vulgar to a gentle lady as yourself is.

"They were having an affair," Lilly said softly, staring at her mother's picture.

Millie shook her head acknowledging the lascivious fact. "The last time I'd seen her Mister Taylor came home early from Providence one night wondering where Misses Taylor was. I told' um she was out riding with Kelly. He wanted to go his self to find her but I knew the terrible things going on in them woods. I didn't want your pa to find them together so I asked your pa if I could go fetch 'um. It would've crushed him Miss Lilly" The maid grabbed her arm and shook her.

"Your pa can never find out what happened with those two. He had suspicions, but we need to make sure they stay suspicions." Millie eyed her wearily and Lilly nodded reassuring the old maid again of her promised silence.

"I found them in the old graveyard, way deep in the woods near Mr. Kahn's property."

"The old graveyard is on Kahn's property?" Lilly asked.

"Your pa sold off some land to him. Glad that part's not owned by your kin no more, haunted and cursed with demons that land be." Millie said grimly.

"After I found 'em together. I ducked behind a tombstone, tryin' to hide. Heard 'um arguing. Mr. Kelly was a big, burly man. Your ma was crying and he was a shaking her something fierce."

"What were they arguing about?"

"Sounded like your ma wanted to end-things. Kelly refused. Misses Taylor loved her family, Miss Lilly, very much. Told 'um she made a mistake being with him. Kelly was fit to be tied Miss! Started screaming at her, said if he couldn't have her no one would. She was crying when he forcefull-like hauled her onto his horse and rode off afore I could run to her."

Important pieces of the puzzle were locking together. A clear and unsettling picture was becoming lucid. Lilly knew, as a deep gut wrenching pain chomped viciously away at her, her mother hadn't run away. She was murdered.

"I never saw your ma again, Miss Lilly. I should've run to her, should've tried to save her." Millie drew up her apron and swiped at her tear stained face.

"Misses Taylor's horse came back the next day. I knew right then Kelly had done somethin' to her. I kept quite though because I didn't want to tarnish the Misses reputation. That news would've crushed Mister Taylor.

A few days later a search party was out a'lookin' for Misses Taylor but found Patrick Kelly, dead and swinging from an old oak tree right where Mr. Kahn's building his grand house. His neck was broke and bleeding, he was purple and his eyes bleedin' from them sockets...oh my such horror to tell a lady of your breeding Miss Lilly, I'm so sorry!"

"He killed her didn't he? He killed her then himself." Lilly could barely get the words out. Her head was spinning, her stomach churning the rising bile inside her gut.

Millie hung her head "Yes Miss Lilly, I believe deep in my bones, he'd done away with your ma." She said barely above a whisper.

"And he buried her in them haunted woods, I'm a-sure of it. I finally told your pa Kelly might be responsible but I didn't tell him why. Your pa had his suspicions about the groom but he'd never dreamed his Misses were involved with Kelly.

"Your pa, doing it real hush-hush, hired men to search for her body but didn't find even a trace of her. Now you promised Miss Lilly, 'ta never breath of word of this to a soul?" Millie pleaded

Her mother, now a pile of bones, was buried in a shallow grave, somewhere in the forest, near the graveyard. 'Oh, her poor father!' Lilly lamented to herself. Mr. Taylor knew only that his wife was dead or she was so unhappy she left him and their children. Oh dear god, this explains so much! Edward died the same gruesome death as Kelly. Patrick Kelly and her mother haunted the woods. They were the ghosts and probably the reason why there was a curse on the land that Kahn now owned.

A curse hung over Kahn like a putrid shroud of sadness and decay. But how would she break the curse? Nauseas churned her stomach violently, her head spun. She felt she'd just stepped off one of those insidious spinning rides at the carnival. She was going to vomit.

Millie shouted out to her as she ran down the flight of stairs. Lilly nearly tripped on her long skirts and barely made it to the bathroom before she hurled the entire contents of her stomach into the toilet.

****

Lilly felt better after a few hours in bed. Millie had placed a cool face cloth on her forehead and had cooed to her softly as a mother might to a young child on the verge of sleep. The gesture had been comforting and Lilly slept dream free as the maid watched over her while she napped.