THE WOMAN IN THE BLACK CLOAK

THE WOMAN IN THE BLACK CLOAK


Michael’s POV

I touched the pillow next to me and was greeted by an emptiness. I opened my eyes and scanned the dark room. Then I flicked the lamp switch on the bedside stand. Red light flooded the room but Madison’s side of the bed was empty.

I turned to the wall clock and noticed it was past 4 am.
I took my head into my hands and wondered why she had taken off without notifying me that morning.

I was deeply convinced that Madison snuck out to deliver supplies to the outcasts.

Before we went to bed last night, I heard her conversing with one of her handmaidens. She wanted to know whether they had collected non-perishables. I didn’t know she’d leave this morning. We had barely rested from the trip.

I sighed and fell back on the bed.

Perhaps by the time I wake up much later, she’ll be back and then we’re going to have a conversation on how to approach her parents with the outcast situation.  

I closed my eyes and slept for over two hours and by the time my eyes opened, it was 7 am. I turned to Madison’s side of the bed and it was still empty. I quickly got out of bed.

She should be back by now. As far as I know, she steps out very early and returns before the sun rises.

Perhaps she had returned and was around the house taking a stroll or maybe she was with her mother.

I went to the bathroom, cleaned up, and was getting dressed when a knock landed on the door.

“There you, are,” I said and put my shirt very quickly, and then went to get the door.

I opened the door and saw Madison’s handmaiden Tasha, standing outside. She lowered her head. “Good morning, Mr. Harrison.  Lord and Lady Worthington would like you and Lady Eleanor to join them for breakfast,”

What does she mean by I and Madison should join the Worthingtons for breakfast? Does this mean that Madison was not at the table?

My eyes widened in horror as I watched the maiden disappear. I breathed a sigh and stepped out of the room.

Where had Madison gone? She should be back by now.

I traced my way to the dining room and saw the Worthingtons already seated next to each other. The table was packed and the only thing missing was Madison and me.

“Good morning,” I greeted them with an anxious smile plastered on my face. I sat.

“Good morning,” Lord Worthington responded.

“Where is Madison?” Demanded her mother.

I turned around as if she were right behind me. I cleared my throat loudly and then reached for a glass of water. “She went for a morning stroll,”

“A stroll,”

I finished drinking the water to calm my nerves and then faced the Worthingtons. “She does that every morning in my residence back in Newyork. She has this habit of waking up and then walking around the neighborhood,”

“And since when did she leave? She should have waited to have breakfast first,” said her mother.

“She prefers to walk before having breakfast,” I replied.

“She should have taken any of her handmaidens with her or maybe, Eliot her personal guard,” Her father said.

I cleared my throat. “You two have nothing to worry about. I’m sure she had not strayed far,”

But of course, they should be worried because even I was worried sick. Madison should be back by now. She’s so late and how is she going to come back driving that carriage when everyone is now fully awake,”

“You know Madison loves nature. Perhaps she must have stopped to admire the flowers,” I added.

“Of course,” Lord Worthington said.

“Her breakfast will be delivered to the chamber once she returns and please, Michael, it’ll be nice if she takes someone with her on such walks. We must be extra careful,” her mother cried out.

I sighed. “Of course, I’ll have a conversation with her about that once she returns,”

“Let’s eat. I’m starving!” Lord Worthington said.

While we were eating, I couldn’t stop racking my brain. What really happened?

Had she missed her way?

Did the outcast suddenly become violent and then decide to kidnap her in exchange for a ransom?

I shouldn’t think of the worst.

I sighed. Maybe she was admiring the flowers. I ate a few berries and a croissant very quickly and then wiped my mouth with a napkin then I stood up.

“You’re done?”

I stared at the plate in front of me. I had barely touched my meal.

“I think I’m full. I’ll go get Madison,” I said and dashed out before the Worthingtons could mumble.

I stepped out of the house and met several guards lined up at the entrance. “Which one of you is Eliot?”

One of them immediately came forward.

“Come with me,” I said and started walking toward the gate. When we got far away from the rest of the guards, I turned to him. “Get a carriage, I need you to take me to the mountains,”

“Which mountains?” Eliot asked.

“The one at the outskirts of the city,”

His eyes widened.

I sighed. “I need to get to the outcast settlement and it’s really important so we need to get there fast,”

Eliot immediately bowed. “Pardon me, Sir. But I’m sorry I can’t take you there. Those lands are out of bounds,”

“Look at me,”

He lifted his head.

“Now, listen to me. You’ll get a carriage at once and take me there. Except you want to disobey the Worthingtons,”

He turned to the house and darted his gaze back to me. “Of course not. I’ll be back in a minute,”

I palmed my forehead. I regret lying to Eliot but that was the only way he could get me to the outcasts’ settlement really fast. If the order came from the Worthingtons then there was no way he could object.

I heard a horse neighing behind me and I quickly turned around. Eliot had already mounted the horse and the door to the carriage was open. I got in and shut the door.

Eliot began to wheel the carriage toward the gate. He drove past the gate and then farther past the city. I kept scanning the surroundings, trying to catch a glimpse of Madison but saw no one.

The carriage suddenly came to a halt.

I quickly stepped out. “What’s the matter, Eliot?”

“I think there’s something there,” Eliot pointed ahead.

I narrowed my gaze and saw a carriage. The horse wielding it was circling a field. I looked closely and saw someone lying face down. The person was covered with a black cloak. Then I realized that the horse wasn’t circling the field. It was circling the person.

“Madison!”