They were sitting in the window of a coffee parlour in the up-market district of the city of Reliance, Bianca paused for breath and took a sip from the bone china cup. She gently replaced it upon the saucer and then returned, full speed, into her recount of the morning’s gossip to her friend, Kiera. “And then she said that it is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a wife. Sure a rich bachelor wants a wife, but I’ll tell you this for free: a married man in possession of a large fortune must be in want of a mistress.”
“So you still think that Richard is having an affair?”
“I do. Anyway, have you heard that the town house of Phrellovane Way is lived in again?”
“The House of Joy?”
“Fire burning, candles lit. They’ve got the milkman leaving bottles too.”
“Sam and Simone aren’t back, are they?”
“I don’t think they would. Not after… you know…”
The bell to the coffee parlour chimed and a third young lady rushed in. She sat down at the table with Bianca and Kiera, panting. She untied and removed her bonnet and placed it in her lap. Bianca called the waiter over. “A glass of water for our guest, please,” and then to the new arrival, “What on earth’s the fuss, Emily?”
“It’s about the town house on Phrellovane Way.”
“How funny! We were just -”
“A princess lives there!”
__________
Dear Diary,
We have arrived in the city of Reliance, the sub-capital of Kingdom Faithful. Morab arranged for us a carriage and we hastily left Rypt. A few days later we arrived at the town house. It hasn’t been lived in for ages. Everything was dusty and there were cobwebs everywhere. Morab told me to clean everything up whilst he went into the city to make arrangements. He came back in the middle of the night, drunk. Arrangements? Sharon and I had a great deal to say about that. But, only between ourselves, of course.
Whilst I was cleaning though, I discovered lots of things about the house and its previous owner. It turns out that Sam used to live here. And I think he was married. There are portraits and photographs of him and this woman all around the house. I spent most of that afternoon crying for Sam. And with the revelations all around the house, I keep on wondering what happened to his wife. Is she dead too? Did she die and that’s why Sam joined the Keepers? I want to go out and ask questions… But Morab has forbidden me. If the city people see me with this Crown on, then I’ll cause a big stir in society. Somebody saw me this morning - I popped out to bring in the milk bottles and there was a woman, dressed in all her finery, staring in astonishment at me. I think I’ll keep that occurrence from Morab.
I want to find out more about the house. And about Sam. He’s such an enigma. And not solely Sam. Both Morab and Tergen are very curious characters too. I need to understand them. What is it that drives them to find and protect these Crowns?
Enough for now. I had best start to clean the dining room. Morab wants to turn it into his study, which means I will probably have to organize his bookshelves. Sam has a lot of books. Had a lot of books. I wonder why he had to leave them all behind. Did he think that he would return? Did he leave in a hurry? So many questions. I doubt I’ll ever find the answers. I’ll have to store his stuff in one of the disused upstairs rooms. There’s a room on the middle floor that’s locked. I so want to see what’s in there! House of Mysteries!!
Until next time, Diary.
__________
“Do you think we should leave our calling cards and pay a visit?”
“That’s hardly the correct manner, Kiera. We have to leave an invitation to the next ball and introduce ourselves then,” Bianca scolded.
“Do you think she is aware of the history of the house?” Emily speculated.
“Who knows. No one’s lived in the house for years.”
“But it wasn’t announced as being for sale, which suggests that the princess knows Sam and that she has his consent to stay there,” Emily continued.
“Do you think that she could be that girl?” asked Kiera
“But didn’t she… you know… die?”
“I heard that she was murdered by Sam and Simone.”
“Yes, but murder was never confirmed, was it?” Emily protested. “That’s just vicious rumours.”
“Enough with all this mystery!” Bianca exclaimed. “All we know is that Sam and Simone lived in the house with their daughter who vanished one night. Then they left. Rumour speculated that they had killed their own daughter. This princess probably has nothing to do with Sam, Simone or the missing daughter. What was her name again?”
The ladies thought for a minute, struggling to recall the name.
“Didn’t it begin with ‘g’?” Emily suggested. “Gina?”
“No. It began with ‘j’ and her name was -”
__________
“Jen!” Morab called up the stairs. “Get down here now! You call this kitchen clean? This morning’s breakfast things are still sitting on the side!”
Jen entered the kitchen. “It was established in the minutes of the last Keepers of the Crowns meeting that I would not be expected to clean up after you.”
“And you expect me to do it? I’m having to do Sam’s work on top of my own since he went and got himself killed!”
Jen bit her tongue at Morab’s harsh comment against Sam and said, “I’ll do Sam’s work for you.”
“You? Pah! Women are good for only one thing!”
“Cleaning? How dare you!”
“Make that two things,” Morab sneered. Jen’s retort ran stale in her mouth.
There was a heavy silence filled with fear and tension between the pair. “What’s the other thing?” she finally asked, staring straight into Morab’s dark, glinting eyes. There was a further silence. The pair held eye contact: Morab’s powerful, domineering, Jen’s frightened and quivering.
Suddenly, Morab lunged at her. Simultaneously, Jen turned and fled, running out of the kitchen and into the musty, cluttered lounge. She knocked boxes over on her way past in a desperate attempt to prevent Morab from catching her. She dashed into the hallway and threw herself against the front door. She rattled the door handle, but Morab had previously locked it. She banged her fists against the door, but her attempts were futile. She turned around, petrified and hopeless. Morab was standing there, sturdy and strong, the staircase behind him leading into dark oblivion. The stained glass window above the front door showed a red rose that cast a dangerous, scarlet light across his face. He was menacing, his heavy breathing like that of an enraged bull. Jen turned back to the door and began screaming as Morab advanced.
And then his strong hand was over her mouth and she was silent despite her attempts. And with his other hand, he grabbed her hair and began to pull her up the staircase. And Jen could not fight back for her hands were holding the Crown to her head, to prevent it from falling off and causing imminent death.
__________
“No. It began with ‘j’ and her name was Joy. Because she brought such joy to their lives. I remember Simone telling my mother once. That’s why it’s been called the House of Joy.”
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