Now let's get back to The Betrayal by R.L.Stine!
Chapter 19
It turns out that not everyone is dead. Which is really good news after the last two chapters. Though bad news for Mary is that Rebecca and Benjamin's funerals are held two days later. I can't feel any pity for Benjamin as he deserved much more than what he got.
Some suspicious news is that the graves are put in a spot where Jeremy had been working. I'm sure that it's just coincidence that he had been clearing the area where two Fiers were buried.
At the moment the graves were opened and Mary looks at the mourners. She notices that people had come from all around more for curiosity than actually caring about the people who had died. The Fier family is rich so I'm sure some distrust of the rich is there.
Mary, possibly being disturbed by the mourner's reactions, looks at her family. Concentrating on them makes her unable to hear the minister. Everyone she knows has changed drastically for the worse with two family members having died.
Edward has not taken his father and wife's deaths well. I'm not surprised that the first two deaths were so personal to him. Benjamin had played a key role in getting William's wife and daughter killed. So going after him and his son's wife would be high on his list of things to do. Plus Edward did betray Susannah on a very personal level.
Edward didn't believe Mary at first but eventually realized the truth. Afterwards he went to see the deaths for himself. Since that time he has not talked much and lives like a zombie. There isn't enough feeling in him to be a father to Ezra. Ezra realized something was not right and was told that Rebecca was dead. The duty of telling the little boy the truth fell to Constance.
Because Ezra is just a boy, he asked if he could join his mother in heaven. I mean...if heaven existed then death wouldn't mean anything at all. Of course he would want to join his mother in paradise. Shortly after the truth was revealed to him, he was just as unreachable as his father.
Ezra is an innocent bystander in this whole affair. He didn't want to be a Fier and he's just a little boy. Now his mother and grandfather are dead which means the hatred will just burn brighter.
Matthew seems to be in control. He seems to be formulating a plan even as the world shatters around him. Mary remarks that he had a much different reaction to the deaths than anyone else in the family. Instead of being overcome by grief, Matthew was scared. At one point he gripped the amulet around his neck before leaving the room.
Later that night Mary observed Matthew holding the amulet repeating "Dominatio per malum" as if the phrase were a prayer. But we all know that it's a cursed prayer. Why side with evil when you will be destroyed by it?
Mary can't understand what Matthew is saying as she isn't fluent in Latin.
The following day Matthew appears even more frightened. Mary wants to talk with him but he always manages to avoid her. This meant she was forced to comfort her mother.
As Rebecca's and Benjamin's coffins are lowered into the ground, Mary sees that Jeremy is just beyond the villagers. She smiles as he is wearing a hat. Which is utterly hilarious to her for some reason. I am wondering if the hat being shown so heavily is an indication that he isn't who he says he is. She is also happy as it's been two whole days since he's been in her eyesight. Instead of meeting her gaze, Jeremy looks to the ground.
After the funeral, nearly everyone leaves. Constance, Matthew, and Ezra leave together. Edward stays to look at the graves. Mary decides to follow Jeremy and yells after him so he won't leave her behind. She manages to catch up with him and immediately flings herself in his arms. She is thirsty for him and drags him behind the toolhouse to kiss him deeply.
It seems Jeremy isn't thirsty for Mary today. He pushes her away which is a shocking turn of events for the young woman. Instead of questioning why he pushed her away or thinking of his mental state at all, she lets out all her worries onto him. After a short time she finally thinks to question him.
Jeremy tells Mary that he has something to tell her. Is it that he's actually William Goode in disguise or someone William hired to play a part?
Mary starts to question him but Jeremy tells her to let him talk as it's hard to do so. I bet that isn't the only thing that's hard. Nudge. Nudge. Wink. Wink. On a more serious note Jeremy says he knows who murdered both Rebecca and Benjamin.The chapter ends with Mary asking Jeremy who killed her relatives.
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