CHAPTER SIX

Lilliana Marceneaux

The team decided it would be best to have a female with them when speaking to the female ghosts. Most seemed very young and were definitely from eras in which women wouldn’t be left alone with men. Like Lilliana. Only nineteen when she was murdered, she was sent to a ball, unchaperoned, where she was supposed to meet her husband-to-be.

“I’m terribly sorry for your circumstances,” said Ghost. “Wasn’t it unusual for your parents to send you unchaperoned?”

“Very,” she nodded. “But my parents didn’t send me. It was my aunt and uncle. In fact, many of the young women thought that I was lesser than they were because of that. This was a long ride from New Orleans, where I lived with my aunt and uncle. My parents had died several years before. They didn’t have a lot of money but tried to provide for every opportunity for me.”

“And who was this beau you were supposed to meet?” smiled Grace.

“I had never met him before, but I had seen him from a distance and was in agreement that it could be a positive match. His name was Jonathon Tiestemone.”

“Italian?” frowned Grace.

“Yes. How did you know that?” smiled the young woman.

“His name is Italian,” she smiled. “How did your aunt and uncle meet him?”

“According to them, he saw me walking the streets in New Orleans with my aunt. I didn’t know it at the time, but he followed us for several blocks all the way to our home. A few days later, he asked my uncle for permission to marry me. He agreed but said that I would need to meet him first, spend some time with him, and agree upon it. He wasn’t going to force me.”

“I see. Well, you’re incredibly lovely,” smiled Grace. “I can see why he would want you to be his wife. When you arrived, did you meet him?”

“Oh, yes,” she smiled. “Almost immediately. I walked into the house, and he walked straight toward me. He was so elegant and gentlemanly. He bowed, asked for the next dance, and we never separated after that. It was all of New Orleans’ finest people. I felt like a princess.” Ghost smiled at the young, sheltered girl.

“Who else was there?” he asked.

“The Hampton family, all of them. They had nine unmarried daughters, all rather large and homely, I’m afraid. But they were very wealthy, which always brought out the young men. Then, the Duplessis daughters, Charlene and Frederika. The Comeaux daughters, Elizabeth, Victoria, and Cressa. I didn’t know many of the young men. A few, but many were younger than me and had no interest in me, nor I in them.”

“Why would they have no interest in you?” frowned Ghost.

“I had a very small dowry. What I had was what my uncle provided. I was thrilled with it and, frankly, would have been happy staying with them until I was an old maid, but they wanted me to marry and have a family of my own.”

“Were there any young women there that didn’t care for you? That perhaps had a grudge?” asked Grace.

“A grudge?” frowned the young girl.

“Yes. Sometimes, young women think that another young woman is attempting to steal their beau or show them up in the way they dress or something.”

“Oh,” she frowned. “I hadn’t thought much about that. But I can’t see why. I wasn’t wealthy like them. I wore a simple gown that my aunt made for me, my aunt’s pearls at my neck, her gloves. Nothing was of my own.”

“And what about the young man? What about Tiestemone?”

“I thought that we’d gotten along quite well. He asked to speak with me privately in the gardens. I was seated on a stone bench, and the next thing I knew, well, I was here.” Ghost scribbled some things on his notepad, the young woman staring at the couple. Grace smiled at her. “Do all men have beards and writings on their bodies like you?”

“Not all,” smirked Ghost. “I happen to like the beard, and so does my wife. It’s something I’ve grown used to. The writings are called tattoos. They represent different times in my life.”

“Do you forget easily?” she asked.

“No,” he laughed, shaking his head. “It’s just an expression of me. That’s all.”

“Do you not like the beard and tattoos?” asked Grace.

“I’m not certain that I do. Jonathon had a mustache, and it was very handsome. He was older than me. Nearly thirty.”

“Had he been married before?” asked Grace.

“No. Not that I knew of. But all the girls wanted to meet him and dance with him. They wanted to be his choice, but he only danced with me, only spoke to me.”

“I see,” nodded Grace. “He must have been very handsome.”

“It wasn’t just that, although he was the handsomest man at the ball. His family was unbelievably wealthy. His full title was Count Jonathon Ferdinand Christopher Tiestemone.”

“A count?”

“Yes. As I said, his family was incredibly wealthy and owned a number of ships that brought goods here to New Orleans and other places. He had just come from a trip to the West Indies.”

“The West Indies?” frowned Ghost, turning to look at Grace. “Lilliana? Did he trade slaves?”

“I don’t know,” she said, nodding. “I’d heard of men doing such things, but ladies don’t ask those questions. Would that be a bad thing?”

“In your time, it might have seemed normal. But the world has changed, and slave trade is no longer legal or seen as okay.”

“I see. But who would have killed me?” she asked.

“I’m not sure, honey. But we’re going to find out.”