March 2, 1888
Dear Mrs. Ashfield,
As requested, here is the excerpt from old Nan's spell book:
A spell for the covetous:
"Ash and burning sand come forth,
Fill the gob of avarice,
Slit the throat, rip the lip, tight as the greedy grip,
Ash and burning sand,
Come curse the avaricious hand."
I am not certain if this is what you are looking for, Mrs. Ashfield. If the man you wish to curse has a strong affinity to light, I doubt this spell would work at all.
Good luck to you.
Sincerely,
Ms. Lorelei Engle
... ... ...
Jen Ashfield waited patiently at the front steps of the Faelore's patio. Despite the chilly March air, Jen made do with her thin shawl, too stubborn to get back inside for the sake of changing into warmer wear. Kleena knows it was too early in the morning for the earl to get on her nerves. If the man knew how much hassle it took to prepare breakfast, he wouldn't have stormed off unannounced like the complete prick he was.
Then again, had the lord known of her efforts he would have sauntered off into the city either way.
She pulled the piece of paper she received from Ms. Engle of the Godwin House not too long ago. Jen smirked to herself. It was just the spell she needed to put the earl in his place.
Her eyes caught the iron gates of the estate opened. A black automobile drove through the path signaling the lord's return.
Jen hid the spell in her pockets upon hearing Lucian's car stop. She fought against gritting her teeth in annoyance. The obviously smug look in his eyes spoke volumes as he went out of the vehicle with a new little curiosity in tow.
Wait, was that a little girl?
"Ah, Mrs. Ashfield!" the lord greeted chirpily, tipping his hat. "Top of the morning!"
"Ye seem rather full of beans today, my lord," Jen replied, feigning pleasantry.
Lucian grinned—smile hurriedly disappearing as he regarded the housekeeper. He stared at the missus in suspicion. "You look like some knob cheesed you off Mrs. Ashfield."
She was very cheesed off indeed. "It would 'ave been jolly good for my lord to inform his maidservants that he'd go off on a morning romp and return on the noon. Would 'ave saved us girls the hassle of preparing breakfast," she bowed slowly while keeping her eyes on the lord, "don't you agree, sir?"
Lucian visibly gulped. Jen saw how he struggled to keep his cool, smirking while she heard Allen and Katherine snicker behind him. Under normal circumstances, a housekeeper would have been shamed for speaking to the lord in such a manner.
But the lord knew better than to stoke the ire of banshees. Silence was the correct move. Good man.
She descended the front steps, inspecting the child that Allen carried. Upon closer look, she found that it was no child, but a doll that spectacularly resembled one. Jen pursed her lips and nodded slowly. At least this time, the lord made a purchase worthy of his collection.
"Do you like my new collectible Mrs. Ashfield?"
She turned to the lord, caught off guard by the gentleness in his voice. These were one of those rare cases when Lucian got lost in the past. His glazed ruby eyes stared fondly at the doll in Allen's arms, as if he was looking at a lover long lost or a fatherless child. It was a curious sight, Jen decided, as the lord never expressed quirks of vulnerability until that moment.
Jen took a deep breath, nodding to herself in understanding. The lord must have been remembering his Elizabeth. Poor chap has only ever cared about one human and it was the late Queen Elizabeth of the 1600s. Jen heard she was one cunning yet benevolent ruler.
She squared her shoulders. Now was not the time to encourage the lord's reminiscing. Bad things happen to a dhampir who reminisces.
"Would ye like to take yer luncheon in the study like usual, my lord?" she responded, ignoring the lord's question.
Lucian cleared his throat. "Yes, of course. Include a bottle of brandy, if you may."
Ah, this prick of a lord! "Sir, ye cannot be drunk today. Lady Godwin shall be gracing us this afternoon."
Lucian sighed, waving her off. "Just a glass then."
The lord turned to Allen and Katherine. "Mr. Matthews, take the doll up to the study. And Ms. Edwards, change into your working clothes. You may resume your duties for the day."
"Yes, my lord." Allen and Katherine responded in unison. Jen could hear the irritation craftily concealed in their tone. Crikey, these two youngsters have no backbone!
Jen sighed, tapping the pocket where she kept Ms. Engle's spell. Perhaps she'd reserve the hexing for another day.
... ... ...
Jen and Allen observed the lord as he sat behind his desk, eating luncheon. They stood like statues, their uniforms crisp and immaculate, the way servants should be. The housekeeper made sure that Lucian and the rest of the household eased into the guise of an English count before Lady Godwin's visit—because if there was one person Jen Ashfield feared, it was the earl's longtime friend and counselor Lady Godwin.
Lucian was reading through the current month's accounts—a task that should have been accomplished by Allen, had he not dilly-dallied the day before. However, dealing with numbers was one of the earl's rather endearing points, and Lucian took pleasure in doing his taxes out of sheer habit. Having used to serve as one of Queen Elizabeth's advisers (or at least she thought he was if she could remember), he may have picked up on the skill. Even when Jen or Allen had the time, the lord insisted on handling his accounts himself.
Lucian sipped on his brandy as he finished the last of his calculations with flourish. After placing his accounts to the side, he stood up and bit off the last piece of his minced meat pie. Jen hummed in satisfaction. A quiet Lucian meant a pleased Lucian.
Sometimes the housekeeper forgot that they had no need for human sustenance—just that working for the lord and keeping up appearances with English society made her feel like she was indeed, Mrs. Jen Ashfield the housekeeper, who waited on one of England's brattiest lords. She frowned. Sometimes she wished they all were actual humans serving an actual human lord.
"My lord," said Allen, breaking the silence. "If I may—"
"You may not—"
"I am a bit concerned about your latest purchase," Allen continued despite the lord interrupting him. "We set out to find where the dark energy Froilan felt was, and it has been found. But we have not resolved anything as a result of your hoarding."
"Matthews," Lucian interrupted him, holding a finger up. Jen spotted a tiny vein throbbing on his temple. The lord was irritated. "I am perfectly aware, my good friend."
Allen grit his teeth, massaging the bridge of his nose with thumb and finger. "My lord... Lucian," Allen paused—never a good sign when Allen forgone propriety, "you just signed a deal with a really powerful magician. We have no knowledge of the man's intentions. It was a painstakingly obvious trap!"
"You. Did. What?!" Jen's eyes narrowed to slits, turning ocher as she regarded Lucian. The room shook with the intensity of her voice.
They knew better not to upset a banshee.
Allen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Wish you were with us, Mrs. Ashfield. Might have dodged a bullet even if you were there to twist the lad's ear."
The butler began narrating the details of their visit to Pinocchio Antiquariato. The more Allen told the story, the greater Jen's headache became.
"What kind of earl in his right mind signs off a contract he couldn't read?" Jen asked, incredulous. "Were ye drunk the night before ye went out to the square—" Jen held out a finger, "—wait, don't even attempt to answer that, you scoundrel."
Lucian shrugged, cocking his head to the side. Did the bastard think this was humorous?
Allen wiped his face with a gloved hand. The man was clearly exasperated. "Overconsumption of absinthe, I suppose."
Jen screamed. Lucian's study shook with the intensity of her sound. The housekeeper was barely aware of the clocks that fell of Lucian's shelves and the sounds of birds that flew away from the estate in flocks.
Lucian flinched. "She was worth it," he grumbled. "And if there were any complications with regard to that contract, I have you, my faithful servants, to clean up after, have I not?"
The lord turned to them, arms clasped behind him. How Jen wished she could wipe the insufferable smirk off his face.
"Yer a grown man, Lucian. We're not nannies of yers to pick up after the shit you've left on the floor," Jen spat, throwing away propriety as Allen did. "'Ave you ever considered yer younger staff, ye old bloke? What about Edwards? What about Dolson? 'Ave ye no care what happens to them newcomers if ye've bound yerself to some magician's deal?"
The blasted Lucian didn't answer her immediately. He walked across the room, towards the glass casing he had Allen set up for the doll. He planted his hand against the glass, smoothing the surface with his palm as if desiring to caress the doll's face.
"Would you not take a moment and look at her?" Lucian murmured. He seemed like he sounded... fond. "I've no care what I signed. It's just a piece of paper with my bloody name on it. What have I to lose?"
Jen decided reason has left the earl.
"You are—" Jen groaned, massaging her temples, "one spoiled little lord, that you are Lucian Mircea."
"I've reason to believe that doll is bewitched, sir," Allen remarked. "I've been told by Mr. Rhodes through telepathy that it is possibly hexed."
Lucian snorted. "Since when did hexes ever bother me?"
"And what do ye plan to do with the doll then, oh wise sir?" Jen asked. The lord better have better ideas other than using it as a plaything or she would definitely cause a rampage.
The lord smirked. "I'm not an imbecile, Mrs. Ashfield. I am aware of the consequences of my actions." He turned to the doll, opening the lock to its glass casing. "Besides, this doll is the old man's most precious thing. I could see it through his eyes. I am rather good at knowing the desires of the human heart." He combed the doll's hair with his fingers, watching the ringed locks untangle into voluptuous waves. "The man may have been powerful, but he was no different from all those peasants who came and sought my assistance. He wouldn't dare harm his treasure's new keeper would he?"
Jen watched Lucian hold out his hand and caress the doll's cheek with his finger. She squinted, seeing how the appendage pressed into the doll's skin.
The doll had soft skin.
"I wonder what secrets you possess, little one," the lord murmured, "that a powerful magician would bait a dhampir such as I, Lucian Mircea, into a contract I could not read."
Maybe the lord could not see it, but Jen noticed the small jitters running through the doll's limbs. She heard the click of gears turning—tick, tock, tick—tock—counting seconds like a grandfather clock. "My lord—"
It was too late.
"What the—"
The doll opened her eyes and flung herself towards Lucian's body. Her arms circled around her torso in a vice-like grip, catching the lord off guard.
"My lord!"
Allen turned, fangs bared and ready to strike at the doll with a rapier he summoned out of thin air. Jen's bun unfurled, letting loose flowing waves as she activated her own power.
They charged, immediately halted by Lucian's extended hand.
No, Jen heard him say.
There had been no need for an attack.
"You are not... " the doll said for the first time, propping herself up on her elbows as she stared down at Lucian's bewildered form, "you are not Papa..."
Jen and Allen stopped in their tracks.
"Papa?"
Jen would never forget the words that came out of the lord's mouth that day.
"Bloody hell."
... ... ...
It appeared that Jen had no need for cursing the lord after all. She always knew that Lucian's spur-of-the-moment decisions would come back to bite him in the arse.
The lord paced around his study, grumbling quietly while all his staff, mostly his maidservants, gathered around the doll. Even Katherine, who spent most of her days isolated from the rest of them, went in to inspect the automaton. There were mixed impressions towards the doll, and those who did not take too kindly towards the matter were Lucian's companions when he made his purchase.
Funnily enough, the one most displeased with the situation was Lucian himself.
"She is so adorable!"
Jen couldn't deny that, yes, the doll was quite charming. She had the sparkly wonder in her eyes that was common of children. When she smiled, those eyes would crinkle with mirth, and a small dimple would engrave her left cheek.
Still, many things were off about the doll's awakening. The fact that she seemed more human than doll being one of them.
Jen observed Allen and Katherine who were witnesses to Lucian's purchase. Their stance looked rigid with caution and perhaps, an inkling of fear. The housekeeper found that quite odd.
Allen and Katherine were among Lucian's servants with the highest affinity to the arcane. With Allen being of the same kind as Lucian, and Katherine being a skilled alchemist, they were bound to notice the dark energy that steamed out from the girl's body.
It was quite ironic, Jen thought, for upon closer inspection, the doll was anything but evil. The housekeeper knew there was a difference between a being with evil intent and an object containing dark energy. If anything, the housekeeper esteemed the doll more of a vessel than a device with malicious intent.
It did not mean they should be less cautious though.
Jen came closer, bending down until she was at eye level with the doll. "Are ye a human, lass?" she asked.
The doll tilted her head in confusion. "How will I know if I am human?"
"She obviously is," said Lucian. His arms were crossed over his chest and his foot tapped repeatedly against the floor in irritation. "I do not stand for this. I have no desire taking care of children!"
Nicole, one of the house maids, knelt beside the doll, gently maneuvering her left arm in curiosity.
"Her skin feels soft like a human's," she remarked, then pressed her long nails into her skin. "Does that hurt?"
The doll shook her head. "No."
"You've got some weight in your joints, dearie," the maid said in awe, "limbs are impressively posable, and I could barely hear the gears underneath."
"Do you run on dark magic?" Katherine asked, towering over the doll like she was interrogating some crook.
The doll shook her head again. "No."
Jen would have to agree. The energy that came off the doll did resemble a warlock's magic at first—a force that came from the conjurations of a gifted mortal. Banshees like Jen could identify whether energies were malicious or not, and if anything, hers were more defensive than it was antagonistic. It was as if the energy within the doll was wary of its atmosphere.
"What do you run on then?" Katherine asked. Girl had a scientist's curiosity, if Jen said so herself.
"I don't know," the doll turned to Katherine with a blank look. "What do you run on?"
Jen chuckled. The question caught the dairy maid off guard.
The housekeeper watched their lord rub his temples from the corner of her eye. She had waited for the day Lucian would suffer the consequences of his haste, though she had been expecting far more dramatic consequences than the sudden responsibility of taking care of a child. Needless to say, Jen took opportunity to rub salt on the lord's wound.
"Ye've been swindled, my lord," she said cheekily, patting Lucian's shoulder. "Best of luck to being a new da' and all."
"Lord looks too young to be a father despite his age," Nicole remarked. The maid's spritely demeanor was a stark contrast to the lord's current mood. "Why not have her pose as Lady Mircea, our lord's long lost sister?"
The rest of the maids giggled and agreed enthusiastically.
Lucian was not so pleased. "Ms. Vincent, I do not find this amusing."
Nicole winked at the lord. Impressive girl. She was among those who had the spine to tease the moronic lord.
"It would be logical for the lord to proclaim her as his sister," Katherine agreed. "It would be problematic for the lord to be the subject of rumors for keeping a child."
"Let alone we cannot disclose her true nature," said Anika, one of the lord's earlier house maids.
The doll stood abruptly, catching all of them off guard. Ever so slowly, the doll bowed in a stylish curtsy. "I am in your care."
But as the doll conversed with the maids, the housekeeper found the underlying calmness of the energy inside the doll taking over the darkness. The air felt less frazzled than when the doll first entered the lord's study. As a housekeeper, she had to determine whether or not the doll was a danger to their lord and his staff, and right then she concluded that she was relatively safe.
"No," Lucian spat, running a hand over his face. "I'm taking you back to your father."
Jen swore she saw Allen visibly relax.
The doll blinked slowly, like a cat. "I do not understand."
"You do not have to." Lucian groaned, stomping towards the doll and pulling her by the elbow. The lord practically dragged her out of her seat, not bothering to assist her as she stumbled on her skirts and struggled to follow him. The nerve of the man!
"My lord! That is not how you treat a lady!" Jen berated him.
The rest of the staff pressed their hands to their ears in pain. Good heavens, sometimes she forgot she was a banshee.
"Mrs. Ashfield!" Lucian exclaimed. The man seriously had the gall to be appalled now did he?
"'Tis a yelling well deserved, my lord," Jen smiled, furiously pulling the doll—child away from Lucian.
She knelt before her and patted the arm Lucian had gripped. The girl was biting her lip, and Jen saw tears at the corner of her eyes. The poor lass was in pain.
"Are ye alright, child?" She murmured. "Did the scary old lord hurt ye?"
The girl blinked, as if realizing she was not supposed to cry. Smart girl. "No," she replied, shaking her head slowly.
Jen patted the girl's head, appreciating the softness of her locks. "Well aren't ye the little cutie pie?"
Lucian stared her down with a disgusted expression. "Why not keep her then," and after a pause grumbled, "old hag."
Ah, the lord did not just say that, did he?
"My lord," said Allen, clearing his throat. "Although I support the notion of returning the doll to the shop, please be reminded that Lady Godwin shall be visiting us at 3' o clock this afternoon. We barely have two hours to prepare."
Lucian groaned, planting hands on his hips as he stared hard at the floor. "Fine! Tomorrow then. Just make sure that the child is out of my way when she comes."
Jen stood, gently pulling the child behind her. "I shall take full responsibility, my lord."
Lucian waved her off in response, leaving her and the rest of his staff in the study.
The housekeeper turned to the lasses and lads, hands on her hips.
"Now what are ye all standing there for? Get back to work!"
The staff bowed in response, "Yes, Mrs. Ashfield."
One by one, maids and footmen left the room, leaving her and Allen with the doll. Allen was quick to express his sentiments.
"Mrs. Ashfield," he said. "I would not stand so close to the doll if I were you."
Jen huffed. "Child," she stated. "She is a child."
"A contraption, Mrs. Ashfield," said Allen as he threw a wary glance at the child cowering behind Jen. "You and I both know it has the potential to be dangerous."
"She will be if not nurtured properly, Mr. Matthews," she replied. "Who are we to question whether darkness is good or bad. Are we not all evil creatures in the eyes of mortals, vampire?"
Mr. Matthews opened his mouth, then closed it. How was he to retort? He was a creature of the night all the same.
"I'll be watching you," he threatened the child before leaving the room and taking his leave.
Unbelievable. Jen shook her head.
She turned to the child and knelt. "Sorry about that sweeting. The people are just being cautious is all, with ye being a newcomer and all that. But don't ye worry. Yer Mama Jennie shall be taking good care of ye."
The girl stared up at her with blank eyes. Jen frowned. Not too long ago she seemed like a human child, but now with Jen alone she seemed more of a doll.
Jen quietly cast magic upon herself for caution.
"I..." the doll—child trailed off. "Thank you."
Jen smiled. "Yer welcome, child."
"Celeste."
"Hm?"
"Celeste," the child repeated. "My name is Celeste."
... ... ...
March 13, 1888
Dear Mrs. Ashfield,
Nice to hear from you again. As requested, here it is.
A spell for putting restless souls to sleep:
"Sandman bless the restless eye,
A flutter, a wink, a calm sigh,
Sprinkle dust on weary high,
Before the coming eventide."
Make sure the person drinks the milk of a cow as pale as moon beforehand for this to work. However, if you say she is not human, I am unsure whether or not this spell would work.
I've received word from Mr. Matthews that you are taking care of some kind of automaton possessing dark energy. That concerns me. I know that you miss your Danielle, Mrs. Ashfield, but a doll can never replace your daughter. Please keep your guard up as always.
And what has the lord signed himself up for? Truly your lord is of the irresponsible lot!
May Kleena bless you in all your endeavors, Mrs. Ashfield.
Sincerely,
Ms. Lorelei Engle