"Lady Francessa! Oh my poor Lady Francessa!" A bevy of women wept bitterly in front of an opened casket as they tossed flowers into it.
The beloved Lady Francessa had passed away an hour ago, in her own home. She had been battling a fever for months, despite the best efforts of the healers to save her. Everyone knew it was only a matter of time before she succumbed to it.
(If even the esteemed Royal Physician Lord Frederick couldn't cure his oldest daughter, there was no hope left. Only magic could revive Lady Francessa, and soccerors were one in a million!)
If one listened carefully, they could hear the murmurings from the crowd of mourners that quickly gathered the moment the news broke.
It wasn't polite to speak ill of the dead, but Lady Francessa had such a pristine reputation in polite society that no one could help but lament her sudden passing.
"It's a pity she was taken from us so soon…"
"Only the good die young…"
"At least she'll be able to see her husband in the afterlife…"
"What will become of her young daughter?" Another voice asked, only to be shushed by angry whispers for bringing up such a difficult subject.
Young Lilian Lawrence was effectively an orphan, and with her being unable to inherit any property, she had to depend on the charity of her remaining family members.
She could only hope that Lord Frederick would take her in, or live a life as some servant somewhere!
The young daughter was bawling in front of the casket, her cheeks wet with tears. Her cherubic face was scrunched up as she continued to cry breathlessly. Onlookers could only watch helplessly, even the nanny could not persuade her to move.
Lilian Lawrence sat resolutely on the dirt and continued to cry for her mother.
"Mama…mama… Wake up…"
Most people would feel sorrow at such a sad sight.
Of course, there were always those that visited to gloat.
"Good riddance," a woman scoffed loudly to her companion as she approached the coffin, giving the crying child a look of pure disdain as she 'gently' nudged her over with her shoe, making sure to step on her tiny hand with the dirty soles of her shoes.
Lilian stumbled and fell, wailing louder. Nanny Oswald hastily came forward to comfort her.
"Lady Millers, must you be so unkind to a child?" Nanny Oswald scolded, shaking with rage.
She had seen many sorts of people in her old age, but she still can't believe that there could be someone as grotesque, as pathetic, as Lady Crescent Millers!
In life, she often made life difficult for Lady Francessa, after the late Lord Lawrence refused to marry her, even after the substantial dowry.
Now Lady Francessa was dead, and her body wasn't even cold, and she had already decided to bully her daughter!
"I can be unkind to whoever I please." Crescent Millers said, smirking as she leaned down to pinch young Lilian's cheek, hard enough to leave a mark on the baby-smooth skin. Nanny Oswald gasped in horror and tried to tug her away, but Lady Crescent held on firmly.
Everyone winced at Lady Lilian's wail of pain. It was loud enough to wake the dead.
But no one dared to go against her. Now with Lady Francessa gone, the new leader of the ton would no doubt be Lady Cresent Millers, for her father was the Duke of Pinrose, spanning miles of territory.
Only Nanny Oswald, with decades of looking after Lady Francessa when she was a child, and now looking after her child, had the bravery to call her out on her behaviour.
"You are a disgrace to your father and to the nobility!" Nanny Oswald cried out, after she had managed to free poor bawling Lilian from her clutches. "You'll never be Lady Lawrence!"
The crowd stared in terrified silence. Everyone knew that Lady Crescent hated to be compared to Lady Francessa, simply because she lost in every way, whether it was in looks, kindness, charity or morality.
The only thing she could brag about was the title of her father, and even then, it wasn't enough to get her the man she loved!
Crescent's face turned an ugly blotchy red at the reminder and she spat out.
"Oh, I don't want to be the simpering Lady Lawrence. Seeing that she's lying dead in the coffin, I find myself in a much better position. Who knows? In a year, no one will remember anything about her and her daughter!"
She finished her spiel by spitting straight at the coffin, and that glob of spit landed right on Lady Francessa's cheek.
Everyone gasped in unison at the sheer rudeness.
Lady Crescent laughed.
"What can Lady Francessa do now? Come back from the dead to smite her?"
As she gloated, she did not notice how the body behind her moved!