Page 117 of The Heir
All they had to do was pay him the amount he asked.
“That’s why they wanted his papers burned,” Victoria breathed. “Whoever ‘they’ are.”
“That’s just it,” said Jane. “There could be dozens of people who wished those papers destroyed and Dr. Maton dead. How are we to even begin to find out? Anyone from Kensington to Gravesend might have killed him.”
“No,” said Victoria. “Not anyone.”
“Why not?”
“Because he was walking on the green. Because that was where he died. He was between your house and the palace.”
“That might just be coincidence.”
“But it might not.”
“But even then, there are so many possibilities,” insisted Jane. She started ticking off possibilities on her fingertips. “Princess Sophia, the Duke of Sussex, if he thought it might save Princess Sophia. And then there’s Father—”
“This is going to sound odd coming from me, but I don’t believe it was your father.”
Jane stared at her. Victoria felt herself smiling. “I know. But when I was falling sick, I accused him of having poisoned Dr. Maton.”And of trying to poison me.“What he said . . . He said he knew about the blackmail scheme. He said that one of Dr. Maton’s victims might have turned to poison, but it was not him.”
“And you believe that?” asked Jane.
“Oddly enough, I do,” said Victoria. “But that does leave your brother as a possibility, I’m afraid.”
“And your mother,” said Jane.
Victoria bowed her head.Do I believe that?Victoria found she did not know, but it was fair that Jane should say it.
“There’s Dr. Maton’s own family, as well,” said Victoria. “His oldest son, at least.”
Jane frowned. “Why them?”
“To save themselves.” Victoria remembered Gerald Maton and all the anger in his demeanor when he spoke of his father. “Debts can be repaid, but what happens to the family if their father’s scheming destroys their reputations? And a doctor would know how to handle poison.”
Jane nodded. “Mr. Rea already said he would not trust any of the sons, because of their father.” She rubbed her eyes. “But that’s not even a full list. It could be any of a hundred people in the palace. For all we know, Lady Flora has some dreadful secret. Or Lady Charlotte. Or someone whose name we don’t even know.”
“It would have to be someone Dr. Maton would sit with,” said Victoria slowly. “Someone with whom he might share a drink or something to eat.” She paused. “Someone who he could reasonably expect to be able to call on in the middle of the day. Someone he trusted and yet had a secret he could make use of.”
She waited for Jane to argue, but she did not. Victoria closed her eyes.
Think, she ordered herself. He walked during the day. Otherwise the groundskeepers would not have seen him. He walked regularly. So, whoever he was visiting, he expected them to be there during the day....
If it’s not all a coincidence. If it wasn’t really his heart. If . . . if . . . if . . .Victoria ground her teeth together. Frustration rose in her, and she suddenly wanted to break something.
Break something.The words repeated themselves inside her.Break something.
Victoria’s eyes flew open.
“Jane,” she said. “Tell me again how Susan was dismissed.”
Confusion filled Jane’s eyes. “My mother said she broke the best tea set . . .” Her words trailed off. “You can’t suspect Susan!”
“Not Susan,” said Victoria.
Jane blanched.“Mother?”
“She had a secret she very much wanted to keep. She was home during midday, which was when Dr. Maton was out walking. She would be expected to serve tea to any guest. And as hostess, she would be the one to fix his cup.”
