The Touch Of The Outcast

by Amalia Altman

  “No, Julian,” she said. “You can’t—“

  He cut her off with a soft kiss.

  “I’ll be right back,” he promised. “Stay in your room. I’m just going to look around. Then we’ll talk.”

  Elise nodded, unable to argue. She didn’t want him to go alone but she knew that she wouldn’t be able to relax or feel safe if she knew the man was wandering around the estate. Elise went back into her room and stared out the window, keeping an eye out for Julian as he came around the gardens. She didn’t see the man anymore, though she searched for him as far as she could look. There wasn’t even movement near the edge of the trees, not even a wind to stir the leaves above.

  Elise waited, her heart beginning to flutter nervously the longer Julian remained outside. it went and she still hadn’t seen Julian come around the back of the house. She leaned out of the window and tried to get a look around the corner, but there was no way she could see past the far end of the hedge maze. Elise waited for only another moment before she got up and hurried down the stairs, not caring if somebody was out there to get her. She had to find Julian, to make sure he was safe. Elise flung open the front door and paused, nearly letting out a scream when she saw what was there.

  Julian knelt over the body, looking down at her grimly. For a moment, it took Elise a moment to recognize the woman as Veronica. Her face had been stabbed so many times that she was almost mutilated, but the curves of her body and, that soft, lush hair gave it away. Julian looked up at Elise when she appeared in the doorway.

  “Go inside, Elise,” he said. She shook her head, walking slowly toward the body. She was arranged on the ground as if she was lying in a casket, her arms crossed over her chest. When Elise drew close, she saw that Veronica’s eyes were wide and gaping, her lips parted in a look of fear. Elise swallowed hard and knelt down next to the girl.

  “Did you find her like this?” she asked.

  “Yes,” he said, rubbing his hand over his mouth. “I don’t think—there’s not a lot of blood. Somebody just brought the body here and left it.”

  “It was the man,” Elise said immediately. “That’s why he was here. He’s sending us a message.”

  “Who is this man, Elise?”

  Elise looked down at Veronica. “We should call the inspector and talk to him.”

  Julian’s lips pressed into a thin line. “We cannot call the inspector, Elise.”

  “But Veronica was murdered,” Elise said, raising her eyebrows at him. “And left here. And he was in the yard near the maze. He’s the one who’s been killing all of the women around here, including Annalynn.”

  “Elise,” Julian said. “If the inspector finds this body here, I’m finished.”

  “What does that mean?” Elise asked.

  “It means that he’s half-convinced I’m responsible for all of those murders, and nothing, not even your visions, is going to tell him differently if this woman is found murdered on my property.”

  “There’s no way he’s going to believe that you did this,” Elise said. “Not if I tell him—“

  “What, that you were with me again? He didn’t believe that.”

  “He didn’t?” Elise asked.

  “No,” said Julian dryly. “No, he told me as much. But the maid who saw me at the house took it back.”

  “Why?” Elise asked. Julian glanced at her, then looked away. She reached for him, wanting to read his thoughts, but he dodged her before she could. She stared at him.

  “You cannot read me whenever you want an answer, Elise,” he said in a sharp voice. “My mind is not yours to toy with.”

  “I know—“

  He cut her off by taking a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I will explain things to you,. I promise. But right now, we have to take care of this before Potts and Nikola see.”

  “What are we going to do?” she asked, looking down at the body again. Every time she glanced at it, a wave of disgust roiled through her. Julian noticed her staring and put his hand to her cheek, lifting her face to look at his.

  “I’m going to carry her into the woods. I’ll bury her there. I don’t need your help.”

  “I’m helping you,” Elise said. “I’ll—I’ll help you carry her.”

  “No,” Julian said. “No, you can get the shovel.”

  “Okay,” said Elise. She watched as Julian lifted the body into his arms. Elise saw that underneath her body was soaked with blood, that it had coated his arms as he adjusted her and started to walk toward the trees.

  “The shed is just right next to the edge of the woods,” he said to her. Elise glanced at it. It was only a few feet away from him, yet she felt a stab of fear shoot through her when she thought about going alone. Still, she squared herself, refusing to be paralyzed by fear or show it in front of Julian. They walked alongside each other in silence before Elise turned, walking toward the shed as Julian walked through the trees. She saw him disappear into the shadows, and though she knew he would be only a few feet away, she felt a shiver run down her spine as she prepared to open the shed. Elise could sense that there was something wrong there. She took a deep breath and pulled the double doors open, having to tug on them with all of her weight. They groaned as she pulled them apart, coughing as a cloud of dust rose up over her head.

  When the dust cleared, Elise was relieved to see that there was no monster in the shed waiting to jump out at her. She knew that she had to try to relax—there was nothing that could be done from panicking, yet Elise didn’t feel safe on the estate at all, not even when she was with Julian. She closed the shed doors and started into the trees, carrying the shovel over her shoulder. She found Julian standing a few feet away in a clearing, and he watched her as she caught up to him, holding her eye. He had put Veronica on the ground and when he took the shovel from her he stuck it in the ground, kicking it hard with his boot.

  “Do you want me to help you?” Elise asked. He shook his head, not looking at her. She could tell how tense he was and she wanted desperately to read him, but Elise knew that she was going to have to get used to not relying on her powers to get into his mind. She knew that wouldn’t be fair to him for her to have open access to his thoughts, so she would have to rely on letting him tell her, something that she knew could be extremely frustrating.

  Julian dug as Elise watched, leaning against the tree. It started to rain and he looked up at her as it drenched him and his clothing.

  “Go inside,” he said. “I’ll be there soon.”

  She crossed her arms over her chest. “No.”

  “Elise—“

  She shook her head. He sighed and continued to dig, the process slowed down by the rain, and by the time he was finished, it seemed to have taken most of the day. Julian pushed Veronica’s body into the hole, then covered it with the dirt. Despite the fact that it was pouring outside, he lingered over the mound, looking down at it as he said what seemed to be a silent prayer. Elise watched him, letting him having a moment before she went to him and took his hand, leading him back toward the mansion. By the time they got there, they were both soaking wet and shivering, dripping onto the rug in the foyer.

  “We have to hurry,” Julian said. “We’ll go to my room. Quickly.”

  Elise nodded, following him hurriedly into his room, where they both started to strip out of their clothes. Julian wrapped her in a warm blanket as he dried himself off.

  “I’m going to have a bath run for us,” he said. “I’ll have it brought up. I’m going—I’m going to tell Potts that you’re in here.”

  “Okay,” Elise said, staring up at his face. He leaned down to kiss her and she saw that his mind was filled with blood and fear. She put her hand to his cheek but he pulled away, glancing at her before he disappeared from the room.

  Chapter 25

  Julian went downstairs, glad to find that Potts was in the kitchen. He wasn’t working, but leaning against the counter, staring out the window silen
tly as Julian came in.

  “Potts,” Julian said softly, breaking the man from his reveries.

  Potts turned around and looked at him.

  “Hello, my lord,” he said with a weak smile.

  Julian’s heart ached to see the look on his face—now that Julian had Elise, he knew how much Potts loved Nikola, how hard it was to see her so fragile and on -edge. Julian was barely able to have a conversation with her now that she was awake without her getting hysterical and insisting that Elise was troubling her at night. It had become so distressing that Julian found himself avoiding going to her room altogether.

  “Do you have a moment, Potts? I’d like a bath drawn, if you have the time.”

  “Sure, my lord,” the man said, sounding tired. He started off in the direction of the well, but Julian stopped him.

  “Elise is up in my room right now, Potts,” Julian said. “I—I intend to marry her.”

  Potts looked at him seriously, staring at him for a moment before speaking.

  “Don’t tell Nikola,” he said.

  Julian opened his mouth to speak but Potts raised his hand.

  “She’s dying. It’ll be any day now, Julian. Let her die in peace.”

  “Why is she like this with Elise?” Julian asked.

  Potts sighed.

  “I’ll fetch your water, my lord,” he said, avoiding the question. He turned around and Julian sighed, making his way to Nikola’s room. He wasn’t going to tell her, but he wanted to see her. Thinking about the fact that she was dying made a knot form in Julian’s chest that wasn’t relieved even by being close to Elise, who seemed to be able to heal all of his wounds. He knocked on the door, pushing in after a moment, knowing that she wasn’t going to answer. Nikola was inside in bed and staring at the wall.

  “Get away from me,” she said, and fixed her eyes on Julian. “Go away.”

  “Nikola, it’s me—“

  “I know who you are,” she said, her eyes narrowed into slits. Julian had never seen her look so angry before, never seen hatred in anybody’s eyes quite like that. He flinched away from it, taking a step back.

  “What’s wrong, Nik?” he asked in a soft voice.

  “You brought that witch into this house!” Nikola shrieked.

  “Elise is not—“

  Nikola started to scream then and there was nothing that Julian could do but leave, shutting the door behind him. He stood there shivering until it stopped a moment later, shivering, and then he went back up the stairs to join Elise. He could hear Potts in the dressing room that adjoined his, filling up the tub with the hot water.

  “How are we possibly going to fit in a tub together?” Elise asked, looking up at his face.

  “Haven’t you ever taken a bath with a lord before?” Julian asked her, tilting his face down to take her mouth in a kiss. He couldn’t get enough of her, how sweet she tasted, and Julian wished that he could spend every single day with her just like this.

  “Oh, I have bathed with a lord or two in my day,” Elise said. Julian grinned at her as he heard Potts leave the dressing room, then stood up and pulled the blanket that she had wrapped around her body. He lifted her naked into his arms and carried her shivering body into the dressing room, where the massive tub sat full of steaming water. He put her down and they both stepped into it, settling down at the same time. He was behind her, his back against the tub, while her back was pressed to his chest, her head resting on his shoulder. It was the perfect opportunity for him to reach around and touch her wet body. He settled his hands on her tight belly, stroking the skin there with his thumbs.

  “Did those lords make you come like I do?” Julian asked her in her ear.

  “Better,” she said, teasing him, and he nipped at her neck, wrapping his arm around her body and holding her close. He had never loved anything more in his life— he had never even thought that it was possible than he did as he held her in his arms. She slid away from him then, just enough so that she could turn back and look at his face.

  “Tell me why we had to bury that body, Julian,” she said softly.

  Julian sighed, wishing he could sink into the water, disappear underneath the surface.

  “Do we have to talk about it? Can’t you just touch me?”

  “No, it doesn’t work like that,” she said. “I don’t get stories—just flashes, images of what you’re thinking.”

  Julian nodded. “Do you remember that I told you about my wife? Back when we were at the pond for the first time?”

  “You said she drowned there,” Elise said, leaning back against him, holding onto his arm with both of hers.

  “She did. I thought she drowned herself at first. It seemed like something she would do. She was always sad, always unhappy. I didn’t piece together until later what had actually happened.”

  “She didn’t drown herself?”

  Julian closed his eyes. “No. She was drowned.”

  “By whom?”

  “By my cousin, a girl named Mary. She’s—she’s the one who lives upstairs. On the third floor.”

  “The blonde girl,” Elise said.

  Julian paused.

  “You went upstairs,” he said.

  “Of course I went upstairs. Did you really expect me not to?”

  He shook his head, chuckling with exasperation. “I guess not. What did you see?”

  “I saw her er—and—I saw an old man,” Elise said. “A very old man.”

  Julian gritted his teeth. “My uncle.”

  “The girl’s father?”

  He nodded. “And Thomas’s father.”

  “The gardener,” Elise said.

  “Yes,” Julian told her. “Haven’t you met him?”

  “No,” she said. “I haven’t gotten the chance.”

  “He’s a good man. Kind. Nothing at all like his father,” Julian said. “My uncle was my father’s brother. He was supposed to be the heir before I came along; my father was very old when I was born, you see, and my uncle had expected to inherit the title for much of his life. He hated me for that. He was always cruel to me. He was the one who—he convinced Mary to murder my wife and she did.”

  “Why?” Elise asked.

  “Because he told Mary that she and I would be married,” Julian said through gritted teeth. “As if I would—my cousin. And Mary has the mind of a child.”

  “But she murdered your wife.”

  “She did. There’s a madness in her. It’s aggressive and angry, and her father has always used it to his advantage. Thomas isn’t mad, but he’s simple as well. My uncle used to beat them as children—both of them—and their minds were never right.”

  “Why do you keep them upstairs? Why not send them both to a madhouse?” Elise asked. “And why didn’t you tell the inspector about Mary?”

  Julian felt tense as he answered. He tried to relax his body but couldn’t, and his mind was spinning in circles. Elise squeezed his hand, then put it on her right breast. He grinned and cupped it in his palm, circling her nipple with his fingertip.

  “Don’t get distracted,” she chided him when he still hadn’t answered her question.

  “You were the one who distracted me,” Julian said, bringing his hand around to touch her other breast at the same time. “Now I completely forgot what I was going to say.”

  Elise whimpered, arching her back, and he could see a smile on her lips as she pressed her chest against his hands. But then she moved away, sliding to the other side of the large tub and sitting with her back to it so that only their legs were touching in the middle.

  “Answer my questions, my lord,” she said.

  “The inspector despises me, but he loved my family. He was close with both my father and my uncle. I did call him over, but I didn’t tell him about Mary. I told him that my uncle was responsible and he disregarded it. Then he started looking into me.”

  “For your wife’s dea
th?”

  “Yes,” Julian said, gritting his teeth. “My uncle put him upon to it. He told the inspector that I beat Helen, that I had threatened to kill her. I never did. I didn’t love her, but I would have never hurt her.”

  “What ended up happening?”

  “I had witnesses to attest to the fact that I wasn’t at the estate on the day that Helen was murdered. But that didn’t stop the inspector of suspecting me. I still think he does.”

  “How can that be?” Elise asked.

  “You’ve heard the rumors, Elise,” Julian said, looking at her face. “That I’m mad, that this house is cursed. All of those began with my uncle. He’s poisoned the town and, the other noblemen against me. And now he’s making it look like I’ve killed these women.”

  “How could he possibly be doing that from upstairs?”

  Julian sighed, frustrated, running his hand through his damp hair.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “But whoever left that body—“

  “We know who left that body. It was the man from the party.”

  Julian gave her an exasperated look. “Please tell who this man is, Elise.”

  “I don’t know who he is, but I’ve seen him twice—three times now that he’s been here. He’s—he’s the man who’s been killing all of those women. Annalynn, Lady Rollifort, the other one.”

  “You have no idea who he is?”

  “No,” said Elise. “The first time I saw him, I was on the road back from town. He stepped out and he touched me—I just saw blood then, j. Just blood in his mind. And he had the strangest smile. I—I had no idea what it meant, if it was a dream or a nightmare or real. But then at the party, I saw him.”

  “You saw him where?”

  “After you left to go get the carriage, I followed you, but he pulled me into the back hallway. I could see Annalynn in his mind. All of the rest of the women too. And he told me—he told me he wanted to kill me. That I was charming.”

  Julian’s eyebrows rose. “And you didn’t think to tell me this, Elise?”

  “You weren’t speaking to me,” Elise said. “You had told me never to touch you again. And you wouldn’t have believed me, anyway.”