Home / Fantasy / Serenity House: Ella's Journey / Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

All Chapters of Serenity House: Ella's Journey: Chapter 1 - Chapter 10

90 Chapters

Chapter 1

PART ONE: Ella, the SlayerSomerset, England. Summer, 1919.I dream of a time when there was only one type of death.Mother died when I was ten years old. We buried her and packed away her clothing. Father and I mourned the empty space in our souls and at our table. Back then death only had one meaning: your life snuffed out, never to rekindle.After the Great War, we learned of a new type of death in the form of returned soldiers with fragmented minds. Doctors call it shell shock. Unable to grasp the horrors they saw or the deprivations they suffered, their chests rise and fall, but they have blank eyes?the windows to their souls have shattered, leaving thousands of shards that cannot be pieced together again. They follow the routine of their pre-war lives, but there is no spark within them.Then there are those who hover even closer to death?like father. Doctors removed the shrapnel in his head, but it left him with an irrecoverable brain injury. He sits in his chair by the wind
last updateLast Updated : 2022-06-22
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Chapter 2

It was a hard ride to check the rest of the fence. Not because of terrain or interruptions, but because slaying a vermin always left me twitchy. I found it hard to sit still in the saddle. It seemed as though the maggots eating their dead flesh had burrowed into me and were squirming under my skin. With each step the mare took, my adrenaline levels fizzed higher. Strange really, I held perfectly calm while doing the deed. It was only afterwards that it slammed into my body. I needed to steal a few moments of peace to practice with my sword. The slow rhythm of a tai chi form would settle my mind and allow the adrenaline to dissipate.We finished our route, checking not just our fences, but also those of our closest neighbours. Our flock of sheep grazed peacefully, unaware of the vermin that had tested the fences under the cover of darkness. Lambs frolicked and grew and would soon be sold to the butcher. I had no idea why the vermin rarely disturbed the livestock, but at least I didn't
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Chapter 3

The horse's shoes rang out on the cobbles and the horses in the barn called out in greeting. Blasted horses! So much for sneaking back so no one knew I was late. Alice rushed from the back door and was at my side as I dismounted."Where have you been? You were gone so long I was getting worried." She grabbed me by the arm and hauled me closer. My collar was pulled back and my neck inspected, then she pushed up my sleeves to check my arms. Inspection over, she sighed and let me go. "She's in a right state that her scones are late and is most insistent that you must serve them. She made me take the tray back to the kitchen and come find you."I held in the sigh. Of course, she'd want me to curtsey and serve her tea; there was less sport in lording her superior position over Alice. "Sorry, I found a vermin that had tried to crawl under the wire last night, and it was trapped. I had to dispatch it and needed time alone after." Probably best not to mention that I nearly gave the new Duk
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Chapter 4

Another day dawned and our routine stayed the same, locked in an endless cycle of work. Alice and I donned our grey dresses and white aprons, and then proceeded to get them dirty sweeping out the fire grates. Except as I worked, something about the day felt different. Perhaps the summer breeze seemed a little warmer as I stood outside and watched the sun climb over the horizon. A glorious watercolour of reds, pinks, and oranges splashed across the sky and brought a moment of peace into my soul. The very air seemed sweeter this morning. Or perhaps the encounter with a handsome soldier who rode the countryside in search of his duchess lightened my mood.Upstairs, I crept across the room on the balls of my feet as soft snoring came from the lump under the pink satin coverlet. Grabbing the heavy damask curtain, I snapped it across to flood the bedroom with sunlight. Once this had been my room, but when father went off to war, Elizabeth relocated me to Alice's room tucked up under the roof
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Chapter 5

The next day, I stood in the kitchen and watched a remarkable sight. Alice wheedled, which should have been an entirely unattractive state for a woman. Except with her large eyes with their unusual amber ring and the soft ruffling of chocolate curls around her face, she came across as adorable. An adorable wheedler?that should be an oxymoron. She could probably stop vermin in their tracks with that look, and I briefly wondered about testing the theory out. Being staked out on the fence line would serve her right for wheedling."Please." Another bat of the eyes lashes. Well played, Alice. "It's my day off, and it should darn well be yours too. I'll not leave you to mope around the house for them to prey upon."It would be nice to escape for a few hours, to forget about the daily worries even if it were to play third wheel to Alice's plans. She saw me wavering."You simply have to come as chaperone, or I cannot meet Frank."That drew a laugh. "It's 1919. Some women now have the vote and
last updateLast Updated : 2022-06-22
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Chapter 6: Seth, Duke of Leithfield

Serenity House"More dispatches, your grace," Frank Mercer said from behind. He had crept up unheard as only he could do. His stealth made him a brilliant advance scout and excellent at practical jokes. I just wished the dispatches were a joke.Your grace. I still expected it to refer to father. Someone greying and with years of experience to tackle all that the role demanded. "On the desk, please."My gaze stayed on the view across the front lawn. Or what used to be the front lawn, and now looked more like the plains of Africa. "You could graze sheep out there.""We are. You just can't see them." Humour laced his words.Another task to add to the never-ending list. As a boy, I remembered lawns so short and lush I once thought they were another type of expensive carpet. Now the grass grew rough and long. The turf created a potential battle ground; standing hay could hide the enemy creeping up on your position. Or the turned, sneaking up on the house. We were so exposed, and I had
last updateLast Updated : 2022-06-22
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Chapter 7: Ella, when duty calls

The shrill cry of the telephone made me jump. It pierced the silence like an ice pick through the skull. I waited, listening for Stewart's feet as he answered the contraption. The message would then be relayed to Lady Elizabeth. While the device allowed us to communicate more easily over distances, a call so rarely brought kind words. The high-pitched bell was more often the warning alarm of incoming bad news.I picked two more potatoes from the bucket and handed one to Alice. Might as well carry on working while we all waited to hear who called. The kitchen door pushed open, and I looked up from the task in my hands.Stewart pulled a spotted handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his forehead. His tired gaze fixed on me. "Reverend Mason needs you. She? he jerked his thumb upward, at the ceiling, "has given her permission for you to go.""Right." I set the half peeled potato and little knife down on the table. The small blade would be useless for the task ahead. I grabbed a handful of
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Chapter 8

The mail slot rattled, and the dull thud announced the post hitting the floor."I'll get it!" I yelled from the front parlour, where I was straightening everything before she descended, giving all the surfaces a final flick over with the feather duster. I plumped up a cushion and glared at a pink chintz pillow, daring it to list to one side. With the morning sun flooding the room it really was a lovely place to sit, except for all the staring, judgemental eyes of the ornamental cats. I hid one mean looking Siamese behind a large vase and stepped out to the hall.I scooped up the mail and flicked through the letters, bills mostly by the looks, and a letter for Charlotte from Hubert. He seemed to correspond with her on a regular basis, and I wondered how she managed to meet a man when she rarely left the house. Then I came across the heavy card addressed to Lady Elizabeth Jeffrey in a bold hand. The back bore the ducal seal of the Duke of Leithfield."Oh, crumbs," I whispered, and hur
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Chapter 9

I often wondered if in the absence of Louise and Elizabeth, whether Charlotte and I might have become friends. The last time I was punished, I thought I saw sadness in her eyes, whereas the other two laughed as the switch fell. When we were alone she treated me as an equal, but her persona changed around her mother and sister. Only when the beating was over and they had left the room, would she offer to paint my back red with Mercurochrome and help the shirt over my shoulders before she ran off to find Alice.A sigh escaped my chest. She will always be influenced by her mother, just as I am. Like marionettes, we are meant to dance to different tunes."What are you sighing about over there?" Alice asked from across the table. Or it looked more like a shimmering ocean, as the delicate fabric we stitched spilled over the distance between us.I shook my head, scattering thoughts of what could have been. "Nothing." Well, slightly more than nothing. There was the little fact that today wa
last updateLast Updated : 2022-06-22
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Chapter 10

Stewart drove the motorcar along the graceful sweep of the driveway. Tonight was a private affair; there was only a small number of people expected, and our motor sat alone at the front portico."Do keep out of the way, Eleanor," Elizabeth said under her breath as the butler opened the side door and offered his hand. Louise pushed Charlotte out of the way to go next.As they disappeared up the wide steps, I saluted. "Yes, ma'am." I waved my hand into the dark. "Around the back my good man, before any respectable person claps eyes on me."Stewart chuckled. "Yes, ma'am."In the rear yard of the sprawling Serenity House, nine other motors were all lined up. Chauffeurs gathered in the dim light of the stables and smoked cigarettes, rolled dice, and chatted.I slung the shotgun over my back and joined the edges of the group. I didn't want to dampen the men's conversation, and I still longed for time to myself. Frank broke away from the game and walked toward me. He wore an uneven smi
last updateLast Updated : 2022-06-22
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