Jasper’s commute finally came to a halt at the gates of the ancient Dumont Mansion, the home of a family …show more content…
He had heard the crying all throughout the night, and was determined to find it’s source. His plans were cut short, however, with the mournful news of Lady Dumont’s death the night before. Jasper likened the sounds of crying to the sounds of mourning, but when he asked when the body was found, and Lord Dumont answered five o’clock am, Jaspers head rung with curiosity. “Who was the child wailing at night, and how was he the only one to hear it?” was the most vivid question in Jasper’s mind. Jasper’s daily tasks eventually doubled as he began working under the new Lady Dumont, Lord Dumont’s wife.
The sounds at night did not end after the death of old Lady dumont, but seemed to grow louder as her funeral approach. Life had become increasingly hard for Jasper, who had not slept even the tiniest bit since he began hearing noises at night. His life became a slight bit easier when the house hired him a fellow houseboy, William.
William was no more than two years old than Jasper, and had dark hair and eyes that seemed too vivid for his pale skin. Jasper and William became friends immediately, and would tak of things only the two would be able to understand. William was a decent friend to Jasper, and Jasper envied him a bit, because William was rarely called to fulfill any of his houseboy …show more content…
This was the case until a certain picture caught his eye, and he could not help but ask who the handsome young boy in the painting was. At first, the maids refused to tell Jasper, but eventually, after being sworn to secrecy, Jasper was told that the portrait was of William Dumont, Lord Dumont’s half brother, Lady Dumont’s first illegitimate son. The story went as follows, “The first Lord Dumont was a cruel man with an agenda for everyone, including his own family. He had given all of his daughters away to be married off to some aristocrats and nobles, and was furious when he found out that his third daughter had run away with a different man than he had planned for her. In a rage, Lord Dumont sent his men after her and the pursuit resulted in the deaths of the young lady Dumont, her husband, and her child— who supposedly died the closest to the house.”
The story sent chills down Jasper’s spine, and a terrible dark feeling washed over him the more he stared at the portrait of the unfortunate child. The rest of the evening was spent huddled around the Dumont’s large fireplace telling stories. The room was still chilly despite the furnace, and Jasper wondered how anyone would survive the cold in the other parts of the house. When Jasper realized he hadn’t seen William, his friend, since the beginning of the evening. He began to ask everyone whether they had seen