Young Writers Society

Holding the little black book in my hands, I relaxed against a tree beside the creek. While Jessie had been sleeping, I had gone and gotten the book from where it had fallen on the floor when Rolf had been tackled.

Rolf and Benjamin’s bodies had been buried in the mist of the trees on the Lafayette property. Rolf stabbed and leaving Benjamin to get shot. Daniel who had heard the gun shot from somewhere in the house came into the room and got rid of the bodies.

I could not sleep that night nor did I want to. My guilty conscious of killing a man, and keeping secret of what I had seen in the secret room had led me to getting the book. I had gotten it, but had not had the courage to open it until now. For I was afraid of what I might find in the pages that this black book contained.

I looked down at the first page of the book. It was a journal by someone named Michael Lafayette. It had to have been Jessie’s father. I began to flip through the pages, hoping to find some clue as to why this book was so important. It was then that something had caught my eye. On the last piece of writing, I found something very interesting. The last few lines said:

Tonight, I plan to set the manor on fire in hope that it will kill my dear family and myself. I can only hope that Jessie will not come back in time to be killed. So Jessie if you find this in the mist of memories, I want you to do something for me. Go into the library and pull out the book called The Secret Room. When you do this, the wall will open up, when it does, go up the steps and go to the table. There you will find the information you need to find Susannah Leroux. Do what ever it takes to become her betroth again before it is too late. The Smith’s wanted us to make sure that you and her are together. The two of you belong together, and we both know that you have fallen in love with her just by looking at her pictures and getting to know her as we knew her. I wish you the best of luck, son. Tell her the truth before it is too late.

I closed the book, and looked at the sky. The sky was threatening, showing that it would soon storm. All the pieces of the puzzle were coming together…except what the truth was. I yearned for that information. I was tempted to wake Jessie and ask him what this is all about. That is when it started to rain.

At first I did nothing, but stayed under the tree. But when the rain started to fall harder, I began to walk across the grassy area to the glass door. That is where I found Daniel sitting, under the porch. “Hello, Mrs. Lafayette,” he said with a slight smile.

“Hello.”

With that said, I walked into the safety of the manor, carrying the black book with me. I went to the library, and pulled out the book that unlocked the wall. It swung open, and out fell Benjamin’s body. He was dead.

I let out a scream of fright, and dropped the book to the floor. I pushed the book that Michael wrote about back into the bookcase. Then, without looking back once, I ran down the hall to the bedroom. Before I even entered the room, I yelled, “Jessie! Jessie!”

Chapter Fourteen:

My husband who had been sleeping silently in our bed, sat up asking, “Susannah, what is it?” Paused. “Are you hurt?”

Instead of answering, I flung myself into his arms, and wept into his shirt. Jessie wrapped his arms around me comfortingly saying, “It is alright.”

“Oh, Jessie, I-I….”

Looking into his serious green eyes, I felt comfort and love. He really did care for me. Not for the reason that his father told him in a journal that he and I were meant to be, no it was because of who I was. He loved me for me…not for money or because he was raised knowing that it was his purpose.

“Jessie, I-I….”

I just could not tell him what I knew or what I had just seen. In fact, I did not want to. All I wanted at that precise moment was for him to tell me that he loved me and wanted me like he had only days before.

“Darling.” He asked, “What is it?”

“I just wanted to tell you that I do not care about what you did to me, and that it is alright if you want to do it again,” I said slowly, choosing my words carefully.

This came to him as a surprise. Jessie just sat there looking at me, stunned, asking, “Really? Are you serious?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Are you falling for me, Mrs. Lafayette?”

“I uh…do not exactly know,” I lied.

I do not know exactly why I lied to him at that moment. For, I knew without the shadow of a doubt that I did in fact love him. I was so much in love that I was hurting.

“Either way, you have just made me the happiest man alive,” he said with a smile. “Even though, I know that is not what is bothering you.”

He brought his face down to mine, and kissed me. He began to lye down, pulling me with him, down into the blankets that he had just been sleeping under, that were now in a big bundle.

After several minutes, Jessie suddenly rolled over on top of me saying, “Susannah, I want you so bad that it is slaughtering me.”

“I do not know what is stopping you,” I commented quietly.

“Well, the fact that I do not want to force you again like I did a few nights ago.”

“You are not. Jessie, I am giving in.”

He unexpectedly sat up, and walked away from the bed. He went to the window before he turned back around to face me. “Okay. What do you desire?”

“Nothing,” I informed him, wondering where he was going with this tête-à-tête.

“Then, why did you run in here scared half to death, then, turn around and am trying to tell me that you are giving in?” He was serious.

I left the bed, walked across the room to his side, stood on tiptoe, and kissed him. At first, my husband began to return my kiss, but then, pushed me away. “No, Susannah. Tell me the truth.”

“Tell you the truth…? You tell me the truth about the black book in the room behind the wall,” I demanded with a sneer. “When were you going to bring up the fact that you sought after me for years to tell me that you loved me?”

He was not prepared to hear this, for his face went pale, and his eyes grew wide with surprise. It were as though he stopped breathing for a moment, for he took in a deep breath. “Susannah, how do you know about that?”

I yelled, “I found the room one day while you were out, and found the book in the room. Then, earlier I found the book again and read the last journal entry to see of some clue as to why there was an entire room about me.”

“Susannah, it is not the time to tell you what you need to know,” Jessie stated, color coming back to his face. He suddenly raised his fist, and brought it down on my head. I let out a scream of fright before all faded to black.