Chapter 3

Jane continued to eat her meals with the woman. She learned her name- well, it was inaccurate to call it a name, it wasn't Suzy or Jenny or really anything even remotely close- soon enough. She was The Wayward Mistress, heir to the massive Wayward fortune. As she said this, she made a large sweeping gesture with her arm and cane. She nearly hit Unworthy in the face as she was bringing out their meals. Unworthy then quickly put down their food and dashed off. She was quite obviously frightened of the mistress. Jane could only assume it was because she simply looked scary. She was incredibly wrong.

Believe it or not, Jane did things beside eating. The Waywards had a pool, a plethora of land and forest, a stable, and a beautiful garden. She was allowed anywhere, with the exception of three rooms- the Mistress's room, the Servant's Dormitories, and a room located on the very edge of the West Wing. When she could, Unworthy would tag along. She worked most of the time, though, so this wasn't often. The Mistress gave her horse riding lessons twice a week. Needless to say, she kept herself rather entertained.

Sometime in early July, Jane decided it was about time she explored the house. She stumbled on a room with doors made of oak, not redwood, like the rest of the house. Of course, she just thought the door was pretty, and had no idea of the difference. She knew that this was none of the forbidden rooms: they would have a plaque telling of the room's secrecy. She slowly pushed the door open. She heard a small sniffle and froze. She stayed that way until deciding to lean in and whisper, "anybody in here?" When there was no answer, she proceeded. As soon as the door was open, her eyes met blank, pupil-less, dead ones. She didn't scream. Oddly enough, the jumpy girl found no need to. In front of her, draped in chains, about a foot off the ground, was a ghost. A ghost, she thought. An actual ghost is here in front of me. It wasn't an internal cry for help, or even a question. It was an observation. The sky is blue, grass is green, and there was a ghost residing in the Wayward Manor.