Chapter Five: Deep in Discussion

"Engaged?" asked Victor in a stunned voice, feeling his jaw drop. This was, quite frankly, the very last thing he had expected to hear from Emily. It seemed to him that the lovely corpse had already gained enough pain from marriage to ever want to go back. And yet here she was, sitting in a coffin with a grim little smile on her face, telling him that she was to be married…again.

"Yes," Emily said, her voice hardly above a whisper. "For about a month now."

Victor wondered whether he should be happy or concerned. For one matter, was the expression not "Third time's a charm?" And yet on the other hand, this person who Emily was to be wed could have forgotten this expression and be absolutely horrible, like Lord Barkis. He did not want to see somebody he cared deeply for (though only as a friend) hurt, not for the third time. Emily was a special sort of person…charming, good natured, pretty, polite…but her heart was easily broken, this he knew. Slowly he took her right hand in his, cold though it was, and stared at her ring. It was much more beautiful then the cheap thing Victor had given her. The stone was immensely huge and lustrous, its powerful light causing the entire room to shine. She must have fallen as deeply in love with this little treasure as she had the man who had given to her, Victor thought. It surely must have been worth a fortune.

"You like it, Victor darling?" asked Emily, smiling brightly. "I thought it was a little too much for the likes of me, but Etienne insisted—"

"Etienne?" Victor interrupted, "Is that your fiancée's name?"

She nodded, her eyes widening at the sound if the name. "Yes. We met just a few months after you left, actually. We stayed friends for quite awhile until finally Etienne got the nerve to propose. I had already fallen head over heels for him, so of course I said yes. The man is an absolute saint! And here we are today. The wedding is in a week."

Victor nodded soberly and kept his hand wrapped around hers. Emily was really in love with this man. Deeply, madly in love. If she could have been that interested in him, then he could not be have been terrible at all, he thought. At least not up front. He must have been kind; he knew Emily would not have it any other way. And he must have been charming if he could make her fall "head over heels" for him. Victor only hoped that he was just a persuasive con man like Barkis. Emily did not deserve that kind of pain, not again. And if Etienne was after all a fraud he would do something about it. He had to stop being such a coward in situations such as that.

"Well Emily, I'm extremely happy for you," replied Victor finally, grinning as she beamed at him. "Shall I meet Etienne, then?"

The little girl was staring up at her mother with wide eyes, playing absently with the black buttons on her dress. She was becoming fussy now and Victoria knew it; her daughter needed to be fed soon and then put down for another nap. The young woman sighed and ran a hand through her daughters soft, black hair. She loved Lily with her all of her heart, but breast-feeding was becoming such a hassle nowadays. Perhaps she should start feeding her with a bottle instead. Lily was around the proper age, after all. And it would be so much easier to warm up a bottle for her baby then have to excuse herself from the room and unbutton the top of her dress. Sighing again, Victoria held Lily to her breast and wondered if there were even any bottles in the house.

No, she thought suddenly, there probably aren't. Mother and Father have gotten rid of nearly everything from my childhood. I'll have to get some myself. It was then that she noticed a very downcast Hildegarde enter the room, twisting her hands in a strange sort of way. When she saw Victoria staring curiously at her, however, she ceased twisting her hands and put them behind her back. "Hello, dearie," she said kindly. "Can Hilda get anything for yeh?"

"No thank-you, Hildegarde," she replied, smiling. "Why ever do you look you so upset?"

"Oh Mrs. Victoria," sobbed the older woman, wiping away the tears from her face with her apron. "I don't wanna upset yeh, I don't. Yer husband havin' passed away and all…I just can't believe it, I can't."

Victoria removed Lily gently as she stopped eating. She was burped very quickly then yawned, obviously tried. Resting the child on her lap with care, Victoria gazed at Hildegarde with sadness in her eyes. Being a servant, she had not been able to attend Victor's funeral the day before, but Victoria knew she had well-liked her husband and was sad he was dead.

"Oh Hildegarde, you haven't upset me in the least! We're all very sad about Victor. You don't have to hide it from me." She smiled sadly and began to bounce Lily on her knee, a little trick she used to calm the baby and help her go to sleep. "I would be more hurt if you didn't cry for my husband, actually," she said thoughtfully. Then, "I love you, Hildegarde."

"Such a kind heart! I love yeh too. Yeh make an old lady feel good again, yeh do. Call fer me if yeh need anythin', dearie." The maid smiled through tears and left the room in silence, and Victoria did not try to stop her. By now Lily was fast asleep and snoring into her mother's gown, and she was quite a light sleeper. So, the young woman lifted her daughter into the next room and laid her in the crib, whispering her a good sleep as she tucked her in.

She was sure that as she left the room, though, she could hear the quiet mumbling of "Daddy…"

Victor Van Dort was sitting in the Ball and Socket, right across from Emily and her fiancée, Etienne. In the short time that they had known each other Victor could tell that Etienne was not a bad man. He was very handsome, but not in a normal way. He looked more like a fairy tale prince, the kind who rode a white horse and saved the princess. He had black hair that went to his broad shoulders, hazel brown eyes, and a great smile. The only thing that was not so princely was his dark blue skin and many scars. But, Victor thought, that was part of being dead. It mad a mess out of all of them. At least he was not a full skeleton. Yes, Etienne was a good man, nothing like Barkis at all. He would be a good husband to Emily and he was not going to run away. If anything one could say that he was a saint, really.

And yet for some reason Victor could not help but hate him...
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Sorry for the short chappy. I love you all and I really, truly appreciate the comments. In case you don't know what a "fortnight" is (from last chapter) it means two weeks. So Victor has been dead for two weeks.