The Cursed Bride

by Camille Oster

  Chapter 9

  STARING OUT AT THE PASSING landscape, Aldine tugged slightly on her glove. They were visiting a friend of Wilhelmina and it was the first time Aldine was to be introduced properly to what society there was around these parts. It was something that was expected and Aldine liked that they were doing very normal things after the upset and concern she'd had.

  For a few days, things seemed calmer. Aldine felt as if she did know the basics of why Heinrich was a widower twice over. One bride had grown ill and died, the other had fallen and hit her head. Both very unfortunate events, and neither of them particularly questionable. It was simply bad luck it happened to Heinrich's brides. Both seemingly within months of marrying him.

  It was perhaps understandable why superstitious people would assign meaning where there simply wasn't any. Poor Heinrich, how much he’d had to bear. It was also understandable that he was a little remote perhaps, but he was kind and considerate.

  "Lady Thainer is married to my second cousin Walter," Wilhelmina said. "She will be curious to meet you."

  Aldine had to purposefully suppress the question in her mind if she had been equally as curious about Heinrich's other brides. It did not help with her mind running away with such things. She needed to stop thinking this way.

  They turned into a smaller road, which led them to a house that looked a little more Italian in design, large and rendered with pale stucco, windows lining the front façade in neat rows. It was very different from the local architecture, but then the gentry tended to choose their architectural style from a broader selection. It was beautiful.

  "Welcome," a woman said as they stopped in front of the house. Appearing in a silk gown, this could be no one other than Lady Thainer, Aldine guessed as the woman came down and embraced Wilhelmina. "It is a delight that you could come see me today, and your lovely daughters-in-law.” The woman's attention turned to Aldine. "And such a beautiful girl you are," she said and Aldine blushed at the barefaced compliment. "Please come in, have some refreshment with me. Mrs. Muller has baked this morning. She does wonderful pastry."

  It was warm as they walked inside. A fire had been lit, even as it was a relatively sunny day. The parlor was also in a more Italianate design. Lady Thainer was seemingly a fan of the southern aesthetics.

  "Walter isn't here, and he will be sorry to have missed you. I hope all is well with your family?"

  "Of course," Wilhelmina said. "The boys are always busy."

  "Such hardworking men. I understand why you are so proud of your two boys. Please come sit, Countess Graven,” she said, patting a chair next to where she herself sat down, and Wilhelmina stared at Aldine until she recognized this referred to her.

  Doing as she was told, Aldine sat down and Wilhelmina took the other chair, but there was none for Elke.

  "Oh, we must find a chair for you, of course, Elke. How remiss. Herman, please bring a chair for Elke. Quick, man. He is so slow. It's such a trial when your retainers age. Walter won't hear of us letting him go, even as I tell him, we must let the poor man retire."

  Herman came carrying a chair and placed it on Aldine's other side. The table already had a silver coffee pot and four cups lined up. Luckily, whoever prepared the coffee didn't forget Elke was coming.

  "Are you well read?" Lady Thainer asked.

  "I suppose. I like to read."

  "I am so enamored with the Greeks and the classics. It is a treat to meet people who share my passion."

  Elke fidgeted with her skirt and it drew Lady Thainer's disapproval, so Elke stopped.

  "Your father is Mr. Richter, the architect, I believe."

  "Yes," Aldine said.

  "I have seen some of his work. Marvelous. You must be very proud." Pride seemed to be central to this woman’s view on life, Aldine concluded.

  "Yes, of course."

  "Perhaps he can help us a little. We are trying to build a new spire for the church over in Freibronn. We are raising money to build a new one. The old is in complete disrepair, it is beyond saving. It was struck by lightning, would you believe? Weakened it substantially."

  "I can ask if you wish."

  "That would be wonderful," she said with a smile. "A spire of some acclaim then. Wouldn't that be fortuitous?"

  Wilhelmina and Lady Thainer went on to discuss some of the notable members of society nearby until it was time to leave.

  "It's a shame my daughter wasn't here. You should meet some of the young people in the district, of course, but she is in Stuttgart just now. We must meet again when she is back."

  "That would be lovely," Aldine agreed.

  "Now you must go before the weather turns. Herman assures me it will. Feels it in his knee."

  As they walked outside to their waiting carriage, Lady Thainer waved to them from the top of the stairs as they embarked.

  There was silence in the carriage as they pulled away, Wilhelmina seemingly lost in thought, as was Elke, who had mostly been ignored by the hostess throughout this visit. Either Lady Thainer didn't like her or she was a stickler for hierarchy and treated Elke as a mere wife of the second son. This made Aldine question the woman's kindness—if it was simply afforded to her because of her position as a countess in the region. Some people were like that, deferred to title and status more than the person carrying them. It was not how Aldine liked to see the world, preferring to think of people on their merit. Now it made her wonder if Lady Thainer's interest in her father had been simply to point out her more humbler roots, and that the shift from an architect's daughter to a countess was notable and deserved remark—even if veiled.

  Oh how she hated that she questioned everything, but perhaps this was all normal. Unfortunately, she didn't have anyone to ask. Her relationship with Wilhelmina and Elke did not extend to such frank revelation of her own insecurities, and she suspected that would continue.

  "That wretched boy," Wilhelmina said harshly, breaking into Aldine's musings. For a moment, she had no idea what Wilhelmina was referring to until she saw Wolfgang in the distance.

  "What's he doing now?" Elke asked.

  "Always skulking about," Wilhelmina said, her lips in a terse line. "Always hangs around and covets what's not his. Heinrich refuses to tell him to leave. He is too soft that way, completely remiss to the fact that the softness is not returned. Jealous and resentful, ever since he was a child. I never trusted him around the boys. Never. When can we ever be rid of that wretched man, who hangs around like a shadow all the time."

  Aldine hadn't realized that Wilhelmina's dislike for Wolfgang ran quite so deep. It was perhaps understandable that Wolfgang didn't spend time with the family. Elke didn't like him either. Granted, he was not the most charming man. In fact, he had few manners at all, but Aldine hadn't seen him skulking around.

  "His mother was a mere whore,” Wilhelmina continued. “Thought she'd get her claws into a title, stupid thing. Men are too soft with their ill-begotten byblows."

  Turning her face away from where Wolfgang was riding in the distance, Wilhelmina's head was high and her spine straight.

  In a way, Aldine felt sorry for Wolfgang for having so much dislike directed at him. It could not have been easy for him to grow up in the household with such a resentful stepmother. Aldine assumed Wilhelmina hadn't accept him as a stepchild, just some unwanted bastard foisted on her. His father, though, had accepted him and taken him into the family. Wolfgang wasn't, after all, responsible for how he came into the world, or whatever intentions his mother had had.

  The expression on Elke's face wasn't quite as harsh. She was amused and she looked over pointedly at Aldine, then away again. Perhaps she had been privy to this bile directed at Wolfgang before. Was Elke’s dislike of him simply a reflection of Wilhelmina’s?

  As soon as they arrived home, Wilhelmina was helped down and walked into the house. Weber then helped the two sisters-in-law left behind.

  "Bitter to the core when it comes to Wolfgang," Elke said. "Because if the old count had been given the
choice, Wolfgang would be the count now."

  Aldine's eyes widened. This was news to her. "He would have married that woman?"

  "Marguerite, yes. He was in love with her, it is said, but he would have been disowned if he'd married her. So Wolfgang came to be, but the marriage did not, and everyone knows it, including Wolfgang. It is the true source of Wilhelmina's hatred. Plus also, Wolfgang is a contemptible man. He really is. Jealous and falsely prideful. Only Heinrich cannot see him for what he is. Unfortunately, Wilhelmina can't convince him to send his bastard brother packing. He really should. Be it on his own head."

  Chapter 10

  SLEEP DIDN'T COME that night. The bedroom felt hot. Heinrich had no trouble, however, and slept soundly. It was too dark for her to see him, but she felt comforted by his slow and steady breathing. Still, she could not get cool and found herself forever turning, seeking a cool spot in the bed.

  It had been an eventful day, visiting Lady Thainer, and then the revelations about Wolfgang. It wasn't perhaps surprising that the former Count Graven had been threatened with being disowned for falling in love with the wrong girl. Such things did matter in many families, particularly old ones.

  Yet Aldine herself was not entirely from the best circles—respectable, but not titled. It was curious that their marriage had been proposed. But even in the best circles, Count Graven's bad luck with brides probably met a degree of concern as well.

  Her mind was so very tired, but her body refused to let her slip off to sleep. A squawk of a bird sounded outside, but the whole house was silent. If only she could sleep. There was nothing to be enjoyed from lying in bed at night, being exhausted but unable to sleep.

  *

  There was hot air all around her as she walked through the house with lumbering and slow steps. It was indeterminable whether it was light or dark outside. It was dark inside, hidden corners draped in shadows.

  She didn't know where she was—or where Heinrich was. He was supposed to protect her.

  Her vision shimmered with the heat and the smell of smoke tickled in her nose. There was fire, but she couldn't see it. Not in front or in back, but she felt hot winds lick along her skin, lift strands of her hair.

  It felt as though the whole house was watching her. It didn't want her there, and it was hiding itself. From room to room, she walked, but she got nowhere. Old furniture, old paintings, and they moved. People spoke to each other with silent mouths, playing out the scenes they depicted. They didn't see her, those little figures.

  The carpet undulated under her feet as if it would lift and fly like a magic carpet, but it never quite pulled away from the floor. She tried to step off it, but the heat got worse closer to the walls.

  "Heinrich?" she called, but got no answer. "Where are you?" She had to find him; had to find any of the others. They were in the house, but she couldn't reach them. "Heinrich, I'm scared."

  On and on, she walked, going from one room to the next, unable to see out the windows, until she reached one where the shudders were open. There was nothing but clouds directly outside the window. It was dark, but light bounced off the clouds—reds, oranges and yellows. The fire was outside. It wasn't inside at all. It reflected off the clouds almost as if she could reach out and touch them, but it was so hot inside. Was the house burning? Was that where the heat came from?

  Aldine started to run, but the carpet seemed to move under her feet in the wrong direction, forbidding her from reaching where she wanted to go. A door to escape—that is what she needed. If the house was on fire, she needed to get out. Everyone else had gone, she realized. They had fled the danger and they had forgotten her, or hadn't found her.

  "Heinrich!" she called even louder, but there was no noise. And then there was. The distant murmur of voices. People had gathered outside, watching as the house burnt. But she was still inside, and she couldn't get out. Why wasn't anyone trying to help her?

  The carpet was refusing to let her get anywhere, but she knew that if she stopped and let the carpet carry her in the direction it wanted, things would go very badly for her. She had to fight or it would be all over.

  Suddenly, it stopped and there was utter stillness. The carpet stopped tugging and stayed still. The heat didn't stop, though. Whispers she couldn't make out murmured around her, but she reached a window where she now saw clearly. They were all standing outside, watching the house. People were gathered from the village, all staring helplessly at the house.

  Banging on the window, she tried to draw their attention, but no one looked her way. Heinrich, Wolfgang, Elke, Ludwig and Wilhelmina. They were all there. Ludwig had his arm around Elke, who was crying. Banging harder, she screamed for them to hear her, but no one looked her way.

  Tugging on the window, she tried to get it up, because she knew she wouldn't be able to get to a door. If she left this window, she would lose any connection with the outside world and simply be lost in the house again. But the window refused to budge. It would not open for her.

  A vase stood not far away, but it would mean having to leave the window and her connection with the world outside, and she wasn't sure it would be there again if she moved away. The vase could smash the window, though. It was her only chance. It was only a short distance away, mere steps, but she feared taking them.

  Turning back to the window, she saw them again. A bonfire cast shadows on their faces, but it was the house they were watching. She must break the window. Stepping away, she ran to the vase, but fire flared up the wall in an instance as if it just caught fire. It enveloped the vase. It had been a trap, and she realized it had been.

  Every wall was on fire, yellow flames licking up the dark wooden paneling. It was encroaching on her from all sides, crawling along the ceiling over her head. She had to run and she did, but every room she entered was on fire. The varnish on the panels was blistering and cracking, the paintings were starting to burn and flames licked over the door archway she ran through.

  She had to find the door out. The kitchen, but she couldn't find it. Salons and parlors were all she passed through, familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

  Her heart beat wildly now as the heat encroached further and further. It licked up her arms, which would blister like the varnish shortly. Her skirt caught fire and she kicked at it in sheer desperation.

  Hands took her face. "Wake," he said. Heinrich. For a moment she saw him, then darkness. "Wake," he said again.

  Sheets were trapped around her feet and she was desperately trying to free herself.

  The nightmare house as had been was gone and she was back in bed, Heinrich still talking to her. "Just a nightmare," he said.

  "I was on fire." If her heart had ever beat that fast, she didn't know. Her nightgown was drenched in sweat. "I couldn't get out and you couldn't hear me."

  "It's alright. It's over now. Calm yourself." His voice was slow and steady. There was no danger. It had all been a dream. It still took some time to calm her heart and her breath. She'd never had a dream like that before, one eliciting complete panic.

  "Shhh," Heinrich said, stroking her head.

  Breathing deeply, Aldine tried to calm herself. "I'm sorry."

  "It's alright. Everyone has nightmares every once in a while."

  Not like this, she said to herself. "Do you?"

  "Not for a long time," he said. "But I used to as a boy."

  "I dreamt the house was on fire and I was trapped inside. I couldn't get out. The house wouldn't let me leave."

  "Dreams are irrational imaginations."

  "Yes," she quietly agreed and tucked her hands under her cheek.

  "Think of something pleasant," he said, leaning over to kiss her forehead. "Sleep now. The nightmare is done."

  The problem was that she was struggling to do so. Her mind was still caught on unpleasant things. This was all simply tension she'd felt recently, she determined, related to not knowing exactly how she belonged here and what her role was. It wasn't perhaps surprising that such a dream should ari
se, but the sheer panic she had felt was. She'd never been that frightened before. Her body still shook with the tension of it.

  With his hand resting on her shoulder, Heinrich fell back asleep and Aldine drew a deep breath. The bed was a mess, she must have kicked the sheets, now she pulled them up again, but the wetness of her nightgown made it clammy and unpleasant. Sitting up quietly, she pulled it off and let it drop on the floor. Too often, she seemed to be doing so recently.

  Freezing for a moment, she pulled the covers up her, shuffling herself a little closer to Heinrich's body because the cold wasn't relenting. It was so hard to keep an appropriate temperature in this bed. Most of the time, she was either too hot or too cold to be comfortable.

  Holding her blankets in her fists, close to her neck, she breathed deeply again and closed her eyes, praying for pleasant dreams of summer fields, or the flower market back home in Manheim. She loved that market, with all the gloriously colorful flowers, some exotic, like orchids. Tulips and roses. Their petals so soft and almost fleshy, like the dewy cheek of a child. Firmly she tried to recall the smells and the sights that she knew so well.

  Chapter 11

  LIFTING HER COFFEE CUP to her lips, Aldine drew in the hot, pungent liquid, letting it coat her tongue and warm her as she sat at her dressing table, looking out the window. She felt strangely lethargic today, as if she had just recovered from a fever. It had only been a nightmare, but the tension of it had exhausted her.

  Heinrich had already gone, as he did most days, shortly after waking at dawn. He'd kissed her and told her to rest before walking out the door. She'd heard his horse on the gravel below, and him giving orders to Weber.

  But it was a pleasant day outside from the look of it. The sun shone and birds chirped. Later, a lovely day for a walk. Stretching her legs might build up some energy in her as well.

  Anna appeared at the door. "Are you ready to dress, madam?"