Chapter Six

Both of their complexions turned several shades paler. “Victor,” whispered Victoria. “What does it mean?”

Victor rose from the couch. “I don’t know,” he replied, “but I have a feeling we’ll soon find out.” Victoria stood up and followed Victor towards the stairs. Victor had reached the third step before their absence was noticed.

“Victor,” called Nell. “Where are you off to?” She eyed him suspiciously.

Victor frowned. Somehow, he had a feeling that even though he and Victoria were married, they would always be treated as children. “I have something important to show Victoria up in my room.”

Nell grew a frown to match Victor’s. “Aren’t you going to offer Victoria a drink?”

“I’m not thirsty, really,” said Victoria. She tapped Victor’s shoulder gently and said, “Go on.”

Victor smiled and continued climbing up the stairs to his room with Victoria close behind. They finally reached his quarters after a few more stairs. Victor and Victoria entered the room and sat on the bed. “Open it,” Victoria whispered. She had no idea what might be in the envelope, but she knew the sooner it was opened, the sooner they would know. With a trembling hand, Victor turned over the envelope and slipped his finger in a gap where it had been sealed with wax. The stamped insignia was a decaying rose in an open book. Victor broke the seal with care and lifted up the flap. He pulled out a graying piece of parchment and began reading aloud.

“Dear Victor,” he said with Victoria holding on to his arm and reading over his shoulder. “Greetings from the Land of the Dead! We hope you’ve been doing well since our—pardon the pun—departure from your home. Now that our pleasantries are done, we have something to inquire of you; are you and Victoria free on Wednesday night? Reply by writing your answer below the end of the letter. Your friends, Elder Gutknecht and Emily. PS: Congratulations on your marriage.” Victor looked up from the letter and glanced at Victoria. She wore the same puzzled face that he did.

“Victor,” she asked, “who are those people?” Victoria had hoped to learn more about the skeletons and corpses that had attended her husband’s near marriage to the corpse woman while on their honeymoon, but the need to know had arisen after he read the letter.

“Well, Elder Gutknecht is the expert on laws and spells in the Land of the Dead. The Land of the Dead is where everyone goes when they die. And Emily…well, she’s the corpse I nearly married. She’s a good friend now, but I love you.”

Victoria nodded. She understood his friendship with Emily After all, she had let Victor come back to her. “So…what are you going to say?” She wouldn’t mind if he said yes, just as long as she would be with him.

“I suppose I’ll say that we are free, although I don’t know how writing on the paper will help…” Victor pulled a quill from an inkwell and tapped the end of it on his chin thoughtfully. “Is that okay with you?”

“Well, sure, I don’t mind. I wonder why they asked.” She laughed as Victor nearly poked himself in the eye with the quill.
Victor dropped the quill as Victoria began laughing. He blushed a bit but smiled all the same. She’s so understanding, he thought. He bent over and picked it up. With a flourish, he wrote in a blank part of the letter, Victoria and I are free, aside from being somewhere north of here on our honeymoon. Why? From Victor. Instantly, the letter turned a pale shade of blue, and more writing appeared below his. However, this part looked rushed, as if written in a hurry. It also seemed as if someone else had written it.

Victor studied it, and then read, “That’s fabulous! We can’t wait to see you. You’ll just have to wait to see what will happen. Emily. PS: Tell Victoria I said hello.” Victor placed the letter back on his desk and looked at Victoria. This will prove to be interesting, he thought. Who knows what they have in store for us tomorrow.
“Well then. I suppose that explains a little of what’s going on,” said Victoria, trying to be positive. Unfortunately now that the mystery of the magic envelope had been solved, she and Victor were left with idle time until their departure. Although, Victoria mused, I’ll probably need to return home for my things eventually.

“Yes, I suppose so,” Victor replied, aware of the same Victoria was thinking. “Oh!” he exclaimed, remembering his previous task. “I have something for you. Why don’t you wait here and I’ll fetch it.” Victoria nodded in response. “Wait a moment and I’ll be right back.” Victor left the room and headed downstairs Luckily, he wasn’t seen or heard by his parents, who were having a heated discussion in the kitchen.

“But Nell,” echoed his father’s voice through the short hallway between the sitting room and the kitchen, “they’re married. He can do what he wants; he’s not a child, you know.” Victor paused, his hand halfway to his picture and the frame. I wonder what my dear mother said to provoke my father to stick up for me, Victor wondered idly. Usually, Victor’s father didn’t rebel against his mother’s ideas. Trying not to be nosy, he took the frame and opened the back. Being careful not to further wrinkle the picture, Victor dropped it into the frame and reattached the back. He turned it over, and Victoria’s smiling face greeted him. He smiled back at the picture and returned to his room.

Victoria sat smiling on the bed, just where she had been before. “What have you brought me?” she asked thoughtfully.

Victor took the framed picture from behind his back and handed it to her. “I finished it this morning,” he explained. Victoria took it as he sat on the bed.

“You’re so thoughtful, Victor,” she said. She put the picture down on the bed and hugged Victor. After she let go, she asked, “What are we going to do now? It’s only—” she looked at the clock above the bed. “—10:45, and I don’t think I’ll be very welcome at home quite yet.”

Victor answered a little shakily. “Well…perhaps we could go walk around the shops in town a bit. Would you like to do that?”

Victoria smiled and rose from the bed. “That sounds like a wonderful idea. Although I’m not sure what I’ll do for a coat…” Her shoulders drooped, and Victor’s coat slid down her arms. She caught it with her hands and offered it to Victor.

Victor shook his head and nudged the jacket toward Victoria. “You can use it for now. I have others.” He too rose from the bed. He walked over to a closet and pulled out a jacket similar to the one Victoria was wearing. “See?” he said. He put it on and smiled. Victoria turned to face him. “Of course,” she said. She looked around the room and asked, “Haven’t you packed yet?”

Victor hit his forehead with his hand. “No, I haven’t. I knew I was forgetting something…” Victor returned to his closet with renewed haste. He randomly threw pants and shirts from their hangers across the room and onto the bed. Victoria stifled a giggle as her husband continued on. She began folding the clothes on the bed almost as fast as Victor threw them.

Finally satisfied, Victor turned around to find that unknown to him, Victoria had begun folding the clothes. However, in his hurried frenzy, he had managed to throw a white dress shirt on her. They both burst out laughing as Victoria removed the shirt from her head. When they could laugh no more, Victor apologized. “I’m terribly sorry. It’s just that my mother instructed me to pack before she left this morning, and if I don’t do it now, I don’t think I’ll ever get around to it.” He smiled as she folded the last shirt and laid it atop the others.

“It’s fine,” she said. “I’m more than happy to help. Do you have a suitcase or something of that nature to put them in?”

“Why yes, yes I do,” Victor replied. He opened his closet once more and pulled out a sole suitcase from a shelf. Carefully, he pulled it down to arm level and heaved it over to an empty spot on the bed. With less vigor than before, Victor began putting the clothes into the open suitcase.

Noticing his lack of enthusiasm, Victoria said, “Here, let me help you.” She crossed the room and started to help Victor pack. Each of them began filling up one side of the suitcase, somewhat wary of each other’s hands. Finally, Victor put the last pair of slacks in the suitcase and pulled down the lid. “Now, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Victoria said with a laugh.

“No, I suppose not,” Victor responded. He ruffled his hair and smiled. “Now how about that walk?”

“Let’s go!” said Victoria, her voice drenched in her eagerness to leave. If we hang around much longer, I fear my parents will find me. Her parents—the mere notion of them coming brought realization that she wasn’t ready to face them yet. Rather, she wasn’t ready to face her mother’s ignorance and stupidity yet.

Shaking her distressed thoughts, Victoria took Victor’s outstretched hand. They entered the hallway, and upon reaching the stairs, Victor walked ahead, allowing his arm to drag behind him so Victoria wouldn’t have to let go. They reached the foot of the stairs and met Victor’s mother.

“Are you going out?” she asked without any prelude or pleasantries.
“Yes,” Victor answered. “Why do you ask?” Victoria squeezed his hand a little harder as a result of her nerves.

“Well, it’s just that you’ll be leaving at one o’clock sharp, and Victoria still needs to fetch her things, so plan accordingly.” She turned to face Victoria, eyeing her coat. “You’re not going out in that, are you? Here take one of my coats.” Nell rushed in the direction of the hall closet.

“No, really,” Victoria called, “this is fine for this outing.” She turned to Victor, a plea in her eye.

“Quickly, let’s go,” he said. Victor was surprised by his bravery before he recalled what Victoria had said earlier. If love makes you do crazy things, he thought, let the craziness ensue. He took her hand and they sped out the door. “We’ll be back in an hour or so,” Victor called. He closed the door behind him while Victoria looked up at the sky. A light snow had begun to fall. She smiled, and Victor took her hand in his.

“So,” she said as they began to walk down a sidewalk leading to the town square. “What are we going to do on our honeymoon? It’s a rather long time to be…erm, alone.” Smooth, she thought. You’ve gotten shy again. Her hand twitched involuntarily in Victor’s.

“Well, I’ve been thinking about that myself,” he confessed. He felt the twitch of her hand again and realized that they were both nervous. “I’m sure there’ll be something there to keep us occupied.”

Victoria was relieved that her husband managed to keep the conversation going. “Yes, I suppose you’re right. There’s also the chance your friends have something planned for us. What are they like?”

“Well,” Victor said, “there’s Emily; she’s fairly nice. Sometimes she can be depressed, but just as fast, she’s back on her feet. There’s also Bonejangles. He’s a skeleton that sings at a pub called The Ball and Socket. Oh, and my old dog is there. His name was Scraps. He’s a skeleton now, but he’s as friendly as could be.”

They turned a corner and found themselves amidst a bustle of activity. There were carriages everywhere, and many business owners had already opened their shops. Most notable to Victor was the fact that his father’s fish store was closed. That was nice of him, to take off of work to see me off, Victor thought. Then it occurred to him that one day, he might be running the store himself. However he shook away these thoughts. Another worry for another day, he thought.

Next to him Victoria let out a small gasp as a carriage nearly knocked her off her feet. It stopped a few feet ahead, and a young man of about sixteen years stepped out. He called as he approached, “What are you doing so close to the road? I’m on important business and likewise don’t have time to inspect every peasant that takes it upon themselves to interrupt my affairs by nearly getting themselves run over.” He pulled out a pocket watch and briefly looked at it before shoving it back into his pocket.

“Oh! I’m…sorry.” Victoria’s shyness returned and once more took her in its tight grasp.

“You should be,” said the boy. “Today is my brother’s funeral.” Ironically, the young man collapsed into a heap on the ground and began sobbing hysterically.

Confused as they were, Victor and Victoria walked over to the man. “Sir,” said Victor, “if you are on your way there now, I might suggest getting up.” In response, the boy only howled louder. Soon, a man emerged from the carriage. He was well built although, his face betrayed traces of age defining wrinkles. He wore a jet-black suit, which gave him the appearance of a shadow among the fresh fallen snow.

“I’m sorry,” said the second man. “It’s a very emotional day for us. You see, I had two sons before my wife fled our home. She was afraid of the soldiers that were invading our country. Their forces were…well, not very kind to the women. My eldest son ran after her, only to find out that she’d been killed.” The man picked up the boy and put him back in the carriage. He returned and continued the tragic tale. “My son cursed his mother’s stupidity. He blamed her paranoia for her death. He ran away, supposedly to a town near here where he stayed for three years or so. He then found a girl here he fancied.” The man wiped his eyes with a handkerchief. “Then he-he—” The man wiped his wet face. “He killed her,” he whispered quietly.

Victoria’s grip tightened on her husband’s hand. The man obviously meant to continue, for he said, “Then he apparently disappeared for a while. He came back last week, found another girl, and obviously intended to do it again. Although what happened next is uncertain, we definitely know he died. Someone found his corpse in the church.”

Victor and Victoria were as pale as death. Victor ventured, “I know what happened to him. I—we were there.”

The man looked up in surprise. “But how? The officers said—”

Victor interrupted, eager to get far away from this man and his remaining son. “He married the girl. They were going to leave, but the dead came up here for another wedding between a man and a corpse. Your son was surprised to see the corpse was the woman he killed. He tried to kill the man, for the man was originally to marry the girl that your son did. He would have succeeded too, if not for the poison he mistook for wine.” Victoria began sobbing quietly at just how close he had come, and Victor took her in his arm’s embrace. He continued in a whispered hush. “I was the other man. Victoria—” He inclined his head to the shoulder where her head lay. “—was the girl, and your son?” Victor said.

“Lord Barkis Bittern,” the man whispered before running back into the carriage. The carriage sped off, leaving Victor and Victoria crying on the corner. However, another carriage soon replaced where the previous one had been. The door was opened, revealing Mr. and Mrs. Everglot inside.