Prologue Part 10
The entire bedroom was at a standstill after Isabella's howling scream. Nobody moved for a good minute, it was as if the room was frozen in time. Isabella was the first to move as she dropped her head and began sobbing in pain and shame. One of the servants then ordered, "Go get some bandages!", and about three servants all rushed out the room at once.
The remaining servants could only stand there and look on. They all wore horrified expressions and some even covered their mouths. Almost instantly the other three servants came back with a roll of bandages and hesitantly wrapped them around Isabella's head. She did not try to fight them, she just sat with her head dropped and allowed them to finish. Once they were done, they lit the chandelier in the room and all sat there at every corner of the room. Some sat on the stools while others sat on the floor, but they all had their eyes fixed on Isabella, monitoring her every move.
She moved her head to the side and moved her arm a bit towards Matteo, but he immediately flinched away from her. Seeing this, she brought her hand back to her lap and just sat like that for the rest of the night. She did not sleep, and neither did anyone else in that room. They all sat in absolute silence for hours until morning finally came.
Slowly, a few of the servants got up and left the room to prepare for their daily duties. A few of them remained to keep watch in case anything else happened. They all gathered around Isabella's bed and gently carried her off. "I'm cold." She said as she stepped onto the ground. One of the servants wrapped her in a blanket and they walked slowly to the living room of the house.
She sat down on the living room sofa and a servant placed a hot cup of tea in front of her. "Here you go, my lady." Isabella stared at the tea for a moment then noticed something…. The steam dancing on top of the cup. Isabella shuddered then slowly let out another scream that got louder and louder by the second. She kicked her feet around everywhere and accidentally spilled some of the tea onto her leg, causing her to shriek in pain.
The servants immediately huddled around her and addressed the newly formed burn mark on her leg. But before they could do anything, Thomas entered the living room. "What is going on in here so early in the morning?!" But once his eyes registered what was going on, his eyes widened and he rushed closer to the scene. "What happened to you?" Isabella didn't reply so one of the servants did, "Well, my lord…. Last night, Lady Isabella had a bit of a… problem."
"What happened last night?" He asked coldly. The servants looked amongst themselves, trying to see if anyone was willing to answer his question. "Answer me!" He demanded. "I…I don't know, my lord. When we got to her bedroom, we found her screaming and scratching at her face. And just now when we tried to give her some tea, she started screaming again and spilled the cup onto her leg. We do not know why that happened or anything else, I promise you!"
Thomas turned his gaze towards his wife, "Isabella, what is the meaning of this, explain yourself." Isabella's mouth trembled with her body as she tried to get the words out. Her face turned towards the ground and she mumbled something under her breath. "I cannot hear you", He said sternly. She mumbled again, this time a bit louder "...." "I still cannot hear you!" Thomas said, his frustration mounting. Isabella paused then finally managed to let the words out softly, "I-It was… t-that ghost. I-I saw it again. It kept on calling me. I couldn't see it, I couldn't see anything… but it kept on calling me," Then she whispered, "Isabella…. Isabella." She brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them.
"You are still raving about that damn ghost?!" Thomas had reached the peak of his annoyance. "How many times do I have to tell you that ghosts do not exist! This is all just some figment of your imagination!" Isabella snapped back, "It was not a dream! It was real, it was -" "Shut up!" Thomas cut in before she could finish. "I am leaving now, and when I return you had better have stopped your foolishness." He turned around and left.
The servants finished helping Isabella, gave her a change of clothes and left to begin their duties. They all walked together to the servant's quarters where they went to brush their teeth, take baths or showers, and change into new clothes. They met up with a few of the other servants who were not present with them earlier.
"What happened? Why does Lady Isabella keep on screaming?" One of them asked. Charlotte answered her, "You do not want to know." The rest of them looked amongst each other with excited looks. "Okay, well now we have to know so spill the tea. What is happening in this house?" Charlotte sighed then explained to them, "Well, to be blunt, Lady Isabella is losing her mind. Two nights ago she claimed to see a ghost in Matteo's room." The servants couldn't hide the mocking smirks that formed on their faces. "A ghost? You mean to tell me lady Isabella is losing her mind… because she saw a ghost?"
One of them let out a laugh and the other ones followed, but they quickly pulled it back in. "And that's not the worst part," Charlotte continued, a smirk forming on her face as well, "Last night she really lost it. She was scratching and clawing at her face. She scratched her skin off and there was blood all over her. We had to hold her back and splash her with water just so she would calm down." The servants stopped laughing and covered their mouths in shock. "You're lying." "I'm not lying. If you don't believe me then go and look at her face, it's covered in bandages."
"Oh my goodness, that must have been horrifying. What about Matteo?" They all asked. Charlotte continued, "Oh, the poor child was scared to death! He was screaming and crying, I have no doubt that he is traumatized now." They each exchanged looks of pity. "Oh no, poor child. I cannot imagine what that must have been like." "Ugh, it was annoying!,"
Charlotte moaned, "I had to stay up all night making sure that woman didn't lose any more of her sanity! Now I'm tired and sleepy and I have to go right back to work! And I'm probably going to have to do the same tonight as well!"
A few of the servants chuckled, "It sure sucks to be you, doesn't it?" "Tell me about it!" Then, another servant who was also in the room, Fabiola, burst into a mocking laughter and said, "I told you guys that that woman was pathetic! I mean of all things, a ghost?! And now she's losing her mind, ripping off her own face and traumatizing her poor garden rat 'son'? How much more pathetic does she have to become for you all to finally understand? This is why I say General Thomas deserves better." Then she finished off by saying, "Honestly, I need to go and see her 'new face'."
The servants had no reply for what she just said. Some only sighed or nodded in agreement while others expressed looks of pity or just laughed along with Fabiola. After their little meeting, they all dispersed from the servant's quarters.
***
A little while later, Roselle entered the gates of the Dumont Mansion in her carriage. She was greeted by a servant and got escorted to the living room. "Where is the Duchess?" She asked the servant. The servant replied, "She is in her bedroom, Duchess Roselle." "Thank you." Roselle made her way up the stairs and to the door of Isabella's bedroom.
She found the door wide open and servants standing at the door like bodyguards. She entered through the door as the servants made way for her and stopped in her tracks once she laid eyes on her best friend. She dropped her bags on the floor and rushed to her side. "Oh. My. Goodness! Bella, what happened to you?" She didn't answer and instead looked away.
"Were you assaulted by somebody? Bella, speak to me!" She sat down next to her. Isabella hesitated before answering, "I….scratched myself." Roselle was taken aback as she asked, "Why would you do that?!" Isabella answered hesitantly, "B-because…. I saw it again." "Saw what?!" Roselle asked back, secretly hoping that the answer to her question wasn't what she thought it was.
"It was… the ghost." Roselle sighed and got up from her seat, "I cannot believe this." Isabella immediately grabbed her hand, "No, please! Please believe me Roselle! I'm not lying to you, I swear I'm not! I heard it last night, It was calling my name over and over! Please Rosey…. Believe me. I need you to believe me. I'm not lying to you. I would never lie to you, Rosey. Please." Tears came down her face and her voice broke.
Roselle pulled her hand back, "No! This has gone too far! Just look at what you did to yourself, Have you gone mad, Bella?!" Isabella reached out to her once again, "No! I swear… I am telling you the truth! Why do you not believe me?" Roselle brought her hand to her forehead, "Because! There. Are. No. Such. Things. As. Ghosts, Isabela!" "But I saw it! Matteo saw it too!"
"Don't you dare try and bring Matteo into your nonsense! He already has enough trouble having to look at your face! Don't you have any shame?! Are you not disgusted by your behavior?! You are a Duchess, Isabella! You have a reputation to uphold and standards to live up to! How are people to respond if they see you in this state?! You better get yourself together because I am not going to entertain your delusions!"
Then she turned around and left, leaving Isabella a crying mess in her own room. As she was exiting the room, Matteo entered, "Hello, Auntie Roselle!" Roselle forced a smile on her face, "Hello, Matteo. What is that in your hand?" Matteo showed what was in his hand, "It's a rose, for mama." Roselle kneeled to get a closer look at the rose. "Really? That is such a beautiful rose, Matteo. Your mother has been sick recently so I'm sure this will help her feel better"
"Mama is scared of the ghost," Matteo explained, "so I'm trying to cheer her up with her favorite flowers." Roselle patted his head, "That's so nice of you! But remember, ghosts do not exist, okay?" Matteo was about to answer but Roselle left. He then turned his attention back to his mother. For some reason, his body didn't want to move. His heart started beating faster and memories of last night played in his mind. No! Mama just had a bad dream, she did that by accident, now move! He instructed his body.
His body listened and moved closer to Isabella. "Oh, hello Matteo." Isabella greeted first. Matteo hesitated at the sight of her face and all the memories they brought, but he still managed to force his smile. "Hello mama. I brought you this flower." He gave it to her in her hand. "Oh! Thank you, Matteo. You are such a gentleman." Matteo sat down next to her. "So…. How are you doing?" He asked nervously. Isabella smiled warmly through her bandages, "I'm doing fine, thanks." Then they sat in awkward silence.
"I'm sorry…. About yesterday." Isabella said. Matteo looked at her, "It's okay, you were just having a bad dream. It was an accident, so I forgive you." The tears once again flooded from Isabella's eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Matteo wrapped his small arms around her, "It's okay, I said I forgive you." Isabella wrapped her arms around him, "But…I've been a bad mother to you." Matteo broke their embrace and placed both his hands on her cheeks. Then he looked her in the eyes, wiped her tears away and said, "You're not a bad mom, silly. You're just scared. But please remember, you have me. Whenever you're scared or sad, just come to me and I'll give you another flower, okay?"
Then he took the rose and put it in her hair. He grabbed a mirror and said, "Look! What do you think?" Isabella looked into the mirror then said, "It looks beautiful."