Chapter Eleven: Nuptial Doom
The death of Lillian left quite the impact on Master Gracey. He shut himself away most of the time, and over the next few years, became a bit of a recluse while the last few members of his family passed away. His handsome features soon faded, his hair turning grey, and his boyish looks replaced by those of a grieving middle-aged man. His servants often caught him wandering the hallways, even the graveyard at night. Master Gracey started learning to play the pipe organ in the ballroom, often woeful and somber melodies. Some even claimed that they could see skull-faced wraiths floating out of the organ’s pipes, representing his grief and misery. Madame Leota tried to help Master Gracey, hoping to conjure ghosts from his past, unaware of the portal she would soon open from regions beyond.
But, then, he heard news that an old friend of his, George Hightower, a businessman and brother to Henry Hightower, had mysteriously died. Together, they had traded many artifacts and trinkets, Gracey being quite fond of Hightower despite his rather arrogant personality. Master Gracey learnt that Hightower had a widow, a young, beautiful, flirtatious yet delicate woman named Constance. He quickly took a shine to her and over the next few months, they formed a romance. When there was talk of a marriage proposal, Master Gracey opened the doors to his mansion and once again became the talk of the town, accompanied by his new bride-to-be, who clung to his arm like her life depended on it.
However, Madame Leota was suspicious of Constance. The spirits she talked too warned her that Gracey’s new fiancé was not to be trusted. She was, as they called her, a “spider”. A black widow. Knowing some of Constance’s belongings had been placed in the attic, Leota snuck up there in the dead of night and found one of Constance’s suitcases. Inside, she found evidence that proved the fragile bride was not what she appeared to be. Her real name was Constance Hatchaway, and had been a widow five times over, inheriting the fortunes of her late husbands after they died of mysterious circumstances.
Constance Hatchaway was born in 1915 to a working class family in Atlanta. From a young age, she was abused by her social climbing mother, who wanted to take her impoverished family out of the gutter. Constance became obsessed with her looks and became determined to wed a rich suitor. Luckily for her, she thought she had found the perfect match: Ambrose Harper, an older man who ran what he called a successful business. While not the most attractive, Ambrose was charismatic enough to woo Constance. On their wedding day, Constance discovered the truth: Ambrose was not rich, and was in fact a door-to-door hatbox salesmen. In a blind rage, Constance grabbed an axe and took off her husband’s head, shoving it into one of his hatboxes, and sent his body upriver to an unknown fate.
Undeterred, and determined to make herself rich, Constance developed a perfect persona, acting as an innocent, naïve, sweet-natured woman looking for love, would pose as the perfect virgin bride to a rich suitor, get married, and then quietly kill him in a staged tragic accident. Her next husband was Francis Banks, a Boston-based banker, who died trapped in a vault, and his will rewritten to leave all of his private inheritance to Constance’s family; then the Marquis of Doome, a European diplomat, who looked like he had committed suicide via shotgun; and Reginald Caine, a Texan railroad baron, who perished when run down by a runaway train in Rainbow Ridge.
Her final husband before meeting Master Gracey, was George Hightower. To Constance’s anger, she discovered Hightower was aware of her wife’s schemes and made sure she would never be able to get her grubby hands on his money. Constance looked like she was running out of options, until she gained wind of the recently widowed Master Gracey.
On Master Gracey’s wedding day, Madame Leota attempted to convince him of Constance’s treachery, but he ignored her, unwilling to be robbed of his happiness. He subsequently banned her from the wedding. Master Gracey and Constance got married, acting like a smitten, lovey dovey couple. However, there was a sense of gloom during the proceedings, with few guests showing up, and Gracey admittedly felt a little lonely since all of his family were gone. But, with Constance perhaps he could start a new one.
The happy couple proceeded to play a game of hide and seek, acting like young lovers. Constance was “it” and snuck up to the attic to hide, plotting on how to pull off another unfortunate accident. However, she didn’t expect to find Madame Leota waiting for her. Leota confronted Constance about her past and plan to murder Master Gracey. Constance feigned ignorance, acting like a scared fragile flower. However, when Leota showed her evidence of her past, Constance dropped her demeanour and produced an axe, unbothered by having to kill two people.
The black widow bride attacked Leota with the axe, but the fortune teller grabbed a jar of red paint at Constance, temporarily blinding her and staining her white wedding dress. Stumbling around, Constance swung the axe wildly and her vision was blurred. In the shadows of the attic, she saw a familiar specter, one who had followed her since she had first drawn blood. A dark, grinning figure dressed in black, holding a bloody hatbox. His laughter ringing in her ears. Constance screamed hysterically, swinging the axe at her tormentor, whom Madame Leota may have had a role in summoning (if he was real or not). The psychotic bride stumbled over her own feet, fell backwards over a trunk, and took a fateful plunge out of the attic’s window, crashing onto the ground, killed by both the fall and her own axe finding its way into her chest.
Master Gracey fell into mourning once again, blaming Madame Leota for his new wife’s death and had her confined to her quarters. Constance’s funeral was quite the showcase, with Constance’s body placed in a pearl white hearse, pulled by twin horses, and would tour the mansion’s grounds before being laid to waste in the Gracey family tomb. Master Gracey intended on delivering a speech to the mourners about his intention to devote his life to his late wife by wearing her wedding band.
However, something spooked the horses and they galloped away, taking the hearse and Constance with them. Master Gracey was thrown to the ground, his wife’s wedding ring stomped into the concrete by the horses and hearse. Despite attempts to remove the ring, it was no use, and remains where trapped in the concrete of the mansion’s courtyard to this day. The authorities searched for the hearse, eventually finding it, but Constance’s body had vanished without a trace.
The death of Lillian left quite the impact on Master Gracey. He shut himself away most of the time, and over the next few years, became a bit of a recluse while the last few members of his family passed away. His handsome features soon faded, his hair turning grey, and his boyish looks replaced by those of a grieving middle-aged man. His servants often caught him wandering the hallways, even the graveyard at night. Master Gracey started learning to play the pipe organ in the ballroom, often woeful and somber melodies. Some even claimed that they could see skull-faced wraiths floating out of the organ’s pipes, representing his grief and misery. Madame Leota tried to help Master Gracey, hoping to conjure ghosts from his past, unaware of the portal she would soon open from regions beyond.
But, then, he heard news that an old friend of his, George Hightower, a businessman and brother to Henry Hightower, had mysteriously died. Together, they had traded many artifacts and trinkets, Gracey being quite fond of Hightower despite his rather arrogant personality. Master Gracey learnt that Hightower had a widow, a young, beautiful, flirtatious yet delicate woman named Constance. He quickly took a shine to her and over the next few months, they formed a romance. When there was talk of a marriage proposal, Master Gracey opened the doors to his mansion and once again became the talk of the town, accompanied by his new bride-to-be, who clung to his arm like her life depended on it.
However, Madame Leota was suspicious of Constance. The spirits she talked too warned her that Gracey’s new fiancé was not to be trusted. She was, as they called her, a “spider”. A black widow. Knowing some of Constance’s belongings had been placed in the attic, Leota snuck up there in the dead of night and found one of Constance’s suitcases. Inside, she found evidence that proved the fragile bride was not what she appeared to be. Her real name was Constance Hatchaway, and had been a widow five times over, inheriting the fortunes of her late husbands after they died of mysterious circumstances.
Constance Hatchaway was born in 1915 to a working class family in Atlanta. From a young age, she was abused by her social climbing mother, who wanted to take her impoverished family out of the gutter. Constance became obsessed with her looks and became determined to wed a rich suitor. Luckily for her, she thought she had found the perfect match: Ambrose Harper, an older man who ran what he called a successful business. While not the most attractive, Ambrose was charismatic enough to woo Constance. On their wedding day, Constance discovered the truth: Ambrose was not rich, and was in fact a door-to-door hatbox salesmen. In a blind rage, Constance grabbed an axe and took off her husband’s head, shoving it into one of his hatboxes, and sent his body upriver to an unknown fate.
Undeterred, and determined to make herself rich, Constance developed a perfect persona, acting as an innocent, naïve, sweet-natured woman looking for love, would pose as the perfect virgin bride to a rich suitor, get married, and then quietly kill him in a staged tragic accident. Her next husband was Francis Banks, a Boston-based banker, who died trapped in a vault, and his will rewritten to leave all of his private inheritance to Constance’s family; then the Marquis of Doome, a European diplomat, who looked like he had committed suicide via shotgun; and Reginald Caine, a Texan railroad baron, who perished when run down by a runaway train in Rainbow Ridge.
Her final husband before meeting Master Gracey, was George Hightower. To Constance’s anger, she discovered Hightower was aware of her wife’s schemes and made sure she would never be able to get her grubby hands on his money. Constance looked like she was running out of options, until she gained wind of the recently widowed Master Gracey.
On Master Gracey’s wedding day, Madame Leota attempted to convince him of Constance’s treachery, but he ignored her, unwilling to be robbed of his happiness. He subsequently banned her from the wedding. Master Gracey and Constance got married, acting like a smitten, lovey dovey couple. However, there was a sense of gloom during the proceedings, with few guests showing up, and Gracey admittedly felt a little lonely since all of his family were gone. But, with Constance perhaps he could start a new one.
The happy couple proceeded to play a game of hide and seek, acting like young lovers. Constance was “it” and snuck up to the attic to hide, plotting on how to pull off another unfortunate accident. However, she didn’t expect to find Madame Leota waiting for her. Leota confronted Constance about her past and plan to murder Master Gracey. Constance feigned ignorance, acting like a scared fragile flower. However, when Leota showed her evidence of her past, Constance dropped her demeanour and produced an axe, unbothered by having to kill two people.
The black widow bride attacked Leota with the axe, but the fortune teller grabbed a jar of red paint at Constance, temporarily blinding her and staining her white wedding dress. Stumbling around, Constance swung the axe wildly and her vision was blurred. In the shadows of the attic, she saw a familiar specter, one who had followed her since she had first drawn blood. A dark, grinning figure dressed in black, holding a bloody hatbox. His laughter ringing in her ears. Constance screamed hysterically, swinging the axe at her tormentor, whom Madame Leota may have had a role in summoning (if he was real or not). The psychotic bride stumbled over her own feet, fell backwards over a trunk, and took a fateful plunge out of the attic’s window, crashing onto the ground, killed by both the fall and her own axe finding its way into her chest.
Master Gracey fell into mourning once again, blaming Madame Leota for his new wife’s death and had her confined to her quarters. Constance’s funeral was quite the showcase, with Constance’s body placed in a pearl white hearse, pulled by twin horses, and would tour the mansion’s grounds before being laid to waste in the Gracey family tomb. Master Gracey intended on delivering a speech to the mourners about his intention to devote his life to his late wife by wearing her wedding band.
However, something spooked the horses and they galloped away, taking the hearse and Constance with them. Master Gracey was thrown to the ground, his wife’s wedding ring stomped into the concrete by the horses and hearse. Despite attempts to remove the ring, it was no use, and remains where trapped in the concrete of the mansion’s courtyard to this day. The authorities searched for the hearse, eventually finding it, but Constance’s body had vanished without a trace.
