Jacqueline & Other Stories
By Sandra Maggs
()
About this ebook
Not all stories have happy endings and those within this book are the same. A jumble of different styles and types of tales. Some happy, some sad, and some just downright ludicrous. Within the pages hide an historical serial killer, a dystopian society, a murderous musical instrument and many more. The grin of a skeleton might greet you on one page and the sadness of a secret loss on another. Far-fetched and surreal, they conjure up laughs and some even make you think, but all have the same goal, and that is to entertain the reader.
Sandra Maggs
I was born in a library and raised on literature. From a young age I wrote my own stories and read them to anyone who would listen. After years of hard work and determination, I'm finally dabbling in the world of Indie Publishing and I love it! My favourite genre is fantasy, but I'll give anything a shot.
Read more from Sandra Maggs
Scavenger Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRAVENous Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHettie Hackwood's Magical Miracle Potion Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mystery of the Cracked Wall Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mystery of the Cornerstone Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mystery of the Vanishing Lake Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mystery of Wicklow Hall Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStepping Sideways Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mystery of the Stone Arches Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Musician's Betrayal Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Landowner's Secret Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Bee Line Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mystery of the Clock Tower Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Mystery of Kissing Gate Woods Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Jacqueline & Other Stories
Related ebooks
Her Secret Weapon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Confusion of Bears: Another Geezer Western Mystery Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHis For The Holidays Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Man She Can't Forget Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Highland Tryst: Touchstone, #3 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Chaperon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRedeeming Lord Ryder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twin Seduction Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Twisted Rose: A Home Office Lord's Novel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNo Other Love Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5A. E. W. Mason: The Complete Works Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Princess And The P.I. Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsFrom Ruin To Riches Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHouse of Stars: The Shaka Reed Series Book Two Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDarcy And The Single Dad Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsEnigma Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHealing Dr. Fortune Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mad Countess: Gothic Brides, #1 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Real Thing and Other Tales – Book II Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCarrying the Gentleman's Secret Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMidnight Kisses Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA. E. W. Mason – The Complete Collection Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCold Summer Wind: Book Two of the Hot Winter Sun Series Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsDamsel In Distress? Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsUndercover Memories Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBound to the Night Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSecond Chance For Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLearning to Love Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsNavajo Justice Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Fantasy For You
Sarah J. Maas: Series Reading Order - with Summaries & Checklist Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Empire of the Vampire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lord Of The Rings: One Volume Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Priory of the Orange Tree Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This Is How You Lose the Time War Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fellowship Of The Ring: Being the First Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Tower I: The Gunslinger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nettle & Bone Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fairy Tale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wizard's First Rule Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Warrior of the Light: A Manual Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sabriel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tress of the Emerald Sea: Secret Projects, #1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black Sun Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Phantom Tollbooth Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Silmarillion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mistborn: Secret History Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Piranesi Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Assassin and the Empire: A Throne of Glass Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Ocean at the End of the Lane: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The City of Dreaming Books Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Picture of Dorian Gray (The Original 1890 Uncensored Edition + The Expanded and Revised 1891 Edition) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Two Towers: Being the Second Part of The Lord of the Rings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Eyes of the Dragon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lovecraft Country: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Assassin and the Pirate Lord: A Throne of Glass Novella Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Jacqueline & Other Stories
0 ratings0 reviews
Book preview
Jacqueline & Other Stories - Sandra Maggs
Jacqueline
&
Other Stories
Copywrite 2018 Sandra Maggs
Published by Sandra Maggs
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your enjoyment only, then please return to Smashwords.com or your favourite retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Table of Contents
Introduction
Jacqueline
The Cemetery Plot
The Pastures of Jordan
The Violin
Underneath the Radar
Arthur Tide
Splendid?
Whisper
The Hanged Man
Ursula Flynne’s Terrible Sin
When the Water Runs Blue
Roses Forever
About the Author
Contact
Other Books by Sandra Maggs
Introduction
Within these pages you may find a story that may satisfy your appetite. When I first put the collection together, I didn’t have a particular genre in mind, so it’s a mishmash of sorts. I love fantasy so it’s quite possible there are some stories in here that border on the realm of make believe, and others that you might find yourself believing.
From a dark place to a ridiculous hunt for the illusive beaverick, there’s sure to be something that will curb your curiosity. Perhaps you seek eternal youth, or you’re wondering how to keep a lover faithful. There may be those of you who just want to immerse yourself in the unreal and others who are seeking some sort of advice. Whatever the quest, the answer may lie within.
Along the way you’ll encounter many characters. Some have secrets to share with you and some have secrets they don’t want to share. But beware dear reader. I have a warning for you. Whatever you do, and this is very important, don’t eat any of Ursula’s biscuits!
Happy reading,
Sandra Maggs
Jacqueline
In life, there is opportunity to love, but with love comes responsibilities. Jacqueline Leville had the perfect life. In love with her husband Frederick, a reputable medical practitioner, she would do anything to maintain her perfect life, but in the autumn of 1888, their marriage ran into problems.
West London was bathed in an opulent, charismatic dusk as summer was coming to an end. The wealthy streets were far less crowded. People hurried a little more, eager to get home as the evenings began to cool and the season turned the leaves from green to brown, which fell in the traditional manner to carpet the drab sidewalks. Street sweepers continuously removed the debris from the pedestrian paths. It was the right of the rich.
Jacqueline patronized the windows of their drawing room and studied each of the carriages that passed along the avenue, eager for one to stop and deliver her husband home from his practice. As each clip-clop of horses’ hooves reached her ears, she peered into the street looking up from her delicate needlework. A floral sampler lay in her lap, the fine stitches lined up perfectly like soldiers with their arms crossed in the front. It was the ideal craft to fill in the long boring afternoons which were becoming frequent with time.
Frederick had been working late at the practice rooms in Harley Street more often and Jacqueline was left to fill the evenings with her own activities. When a partnership was offered to the young doctor, it was certainly a dream come true for the couple. Opportunities like this one didn’t come along very often, so he wisely accepted. Sadly, Jacqueline hadn’t realised the hours would stretch so late into the evening and she was beginning to regret her husband’s decision. Lonely hours were tedious. A child could fill the void, there was plenty of room in their spacious home, but working long days was taking its toll on Frederick and he was far too tired to join in the amorous activities they normally enjoyed.
Jacqueline’s sister Connie had not yet married and provided some company, but the single woman’s social life thrived. The younger sister’s bubbling spirit ensured her popularity, and evenings at soirees with handsome bachelors were regularly on offer. Many afternoons were spent shopping for fancy clothing to wear out to her numerous social events, and sipping tea with friends who liked to gossip about the goings on in the social scene they frequented. During a rare afternoon visit, Connie served up a slice of gossip to Jacqueline that seemed unlikely, but still quite possible.
On that very evening one week prior, Connie had attended a party. When she left the event, the carriage that had delivered her safely home from the evening’s entertainment had travelled through Whitechapel and Connie had spotted a man who resembled Frederick Leville cavorting with some women of ill repute outside a public house. At first, Connie wasn’t sure whether she should tell her sister, but Jacqueline had noticed a difference in her and forced the information from the girl. The truth was revealed and after extracting every tiny crumb from Connie, she started to wonder if this were the reason her husband was out so late.
Are you certain it was him?
Frederick, the man she had promised to obey, the man she had given herself to, was he fraternising with the lowest of the low? It didn’t seem quite right. He told me he was working.
Well, I’m almost certain it was Frederick, but it was late, and I did drink a lot of champagne. The party was fabulous,
Connie told her.
Jacqueline listened as her sister revealed the festive gossip from the night. But she didn’t care about Lord Whatshisname or Lady Thingamabob, it was the news about her husband she was interested in.
When left alone, her thoughts turned to Frederick. Surely, a well-respected Harley Street doctor wouldn’t be seen in a cesspool such as that. Clearly, her sister had been mistaken. But if he had been there, then why? A thousand reasons swirled through her head like a whirlwind, but not one of them feasible. If Frederick were questioned, would he deny it? There was only one way to find out for sure, she would have to visit the scene and investigate for herself. Arranging a carriage, the journey began, the journey towards the truth. Jacqueline needed to gather the information herself. If her husband had been there once, then he might return. Perhaps she could find the women he had been talking to and question them about the incident her sister had witnessed. The thought made her shudder. The East London area wasn’t nearly as attractive as West London and thinking she may have to leave the carriage and speak to people put her on edge. Society’s doomed wandered the streets looking for the faintest hope of a better future. Drabness and the smell of cooked offal drifted into the carriage and almost made her heave. A faint spike of courage jolted inside her and she remembered why she was taking the trip to begin with.
As the carriage approached the public house on the road Connie had described, she looked for a group of women who might be able to help her. When she spotted the women, her heart sank. Jaqueline saw him. Her beloved husband laughed with the rats that nosed around in the filthy east end of the majestic city. The offensive women of the night. She watched as he walked off with one of them, arm in arm. How could he do that her? Seething with anger, Jaqueline returned to her home. Confronting him in public would only embarrass them both and it might mean the end of her marriage. A more discrete conversation was necessary on this occasion.
Heartbroken, as the evening drew to a closed, Jacqueline once again retired alone. Unable to sleep, she waited for him thinking about what she had seen and decided there was only one definite solution to the problem that had developed.
Frederick kept several medical journals at home and as she read until she could no longer concentrate, she assembled the information that would help return him to their bed and hopefully keep him there. All sorts of instruments were listed, and she found recipes to brew remedies and potions that would quickly place their drinker into a deep sleep. Jaqueline had always been a quick study and as she read the medical text, the scheme evolved.
Fredrick slipped into bed in the early hours of the morning, she could smell the lewdness of Whitechapel. The cheap drink and stale cigar smoke had accompanied him home. Jacqueline lay quietly, mapping the plan in her mind, the plan that would stop her husband from straying. Her love for him far outweighed anything else and although he had been unfaithful, she was willing to forgive him. But for now, the knowledge of the situation would remain unsaid and Jacqueline would take matters into her own hands.
Throughout the day she worked away at her strategy and when evening approached, and Frederick arrived home at the expected hour, she prepared a nightcap for her husband with warm brandy and a few drops of a special concoction she had read of in one of his many medical textbooks. Her feelings towards him grew into despair and Jacqueline felt the heartache inside. It bubbled and boiled away and she found it difficult to contain her feelings. But nothing would take her love away. As Frederick slept, Jacqueline slipped out into the evening to clear her head.
Sluggishness appeared to render Frederick unworthy for work when morning arrived. He conceded it must be a cold of some sort which had confined him to his bed. Jacqueline doted on her husband persuading him to stay warm and comfortable and waited on him to help him regain his strength, knowing fully well she was responsible for his false ailment. When he felt as though he was over the imaginary illness, he returned to his practice. Jacqueline waited up for him, but he did not appear for dinner and as the clock ticked on and struck midnight, she went to bed alone.
Once again it was apparent the use of the sleeping draught was needed. After the evening meal on the following day, Jacqueline slipped it into her husband’s nightcap and after drinking the tonic, stumbling into bed, he plunged into a deep sleep. Night turned to day and Frederick slept well into the morning, a result of the strong drug he had taken without consent.
Frederick, it’s almost noon. Are you going to wake up at all today?
Jacqueline nudged her husband gently.
Opening his eyes, he gazed at the pretty face of