Page 51 of Sinfully Mine
“Mrs. Ebersole isn’t here. Sit.” Martin pointed back to the chair Hester had just vacated. “Nor Mary, if that is your next thought. Mary’s sister was involved in an accident with a cart just outside Horncastle. Nearly crushed beneath the wheels. Dobbins must have rushed off to lend help as well, as I didn’t see him about. A terrible tragedy for all concerned.” He blinked rapidly, wiping at his twitching eye with one hand.
Panic hummed along Hester’s arms.
“I thought we needed some privacy, and all your farmhands are so bloody helpful.” A hard, manic light shone from him, much like the one she’d briefly glimpsed in his office that day in Horncastle. “I expect Mary’s sister has at worst, a broken leg. She won’t be lame.” He tapped his chin. “At least I don’t think so.”
“I should join them,” she said.
Hindsight was often crystal clear. You wondered at all the signs that were right before you but refused to see. Madness, for one. Martin’s state of mind showed in every tic of his body. How had she never noticed?
He’s planned all of this.
“I don’t think so, Hester.” He gave her a patient look, left eye still jerking madly. “I love you to the point of distraction, Hester. Truly. But at times, Hester, I have to wonder at your stubborn stupidity. Blackbird Heath is a perfect example.” He wiggled a finger at her.
The use of her name, repeatedly, had her feeling as if she were nothing more than a dog Martin was trying to train. Or she was being chastised like an unruly child. “You are my solicitor. I don’t think you should address me in such a manner.”
“No wife of mine,” he continued, ignoring her completely. “Will be working like a common farmhand every day. I really can’t allow it.” Several beats passed. “Hester.”
Her throat tightened every time he said her name. Obviously, something was not right with her solicitor. “I’m—not marrying you.” The very idea was loathsome, given Martin had likely been the person behind the attempts on Drew’s life. And she thought he might be mad.
And Drew? He hadn’t been looking for an excuse to be rid of Hester. He honestly believed she had been trying to kill him.
“Darling Hester, yes, you are.” He gave her an adoring look. “I’ve proven myself worthy of you. I’ve gone to great lengths so that we can be together. And if you defy me after we’re wed,” the crazed look in his eyes returned. “I’ll be forced to sell Blackbird Heath. I won’t tolerate your disobedience, Hester.” Martin reached over and chucked her beneath the chin. “I simply won’t.”
She felt as if she were suffocating. “You shot at him. It was you.”
“I bungled that entire situation. Couldn’t get a clear shot. I lost my temper. But considering Sinclair’s brother is an earl, I’m glad I missed. But fate is on our side, Hester. Now we can be together.Finally. Sinclair was mucking things up.”
Martin didn’t want Blackbird Heath.
He wants me.
The air whooshed out of her lungs and Hester fell back in her chair, stunned by the depth of Martin’s madness. He’d been part of her existence for years, first as the son of her husband’s solicitor and then her friend. Never once had he given any indication that he harbored such feelings for her.
“I should like you to leave, Mr. Godwick.” Hester tried to put some distance between them, though given the circumstances she thought it unlikely to work. “Please. I think you—have been overwhelmed by Ellie’s death. I won’t turn you in to the constable. I promise. But you must seek the help of a physician. You aren’t well.”
Martin’s nostrils flared, eyes wild. “I’m better than I have ever been. If you don’t. Stop. Being. So. Difficult.” Each word fell on her like a slap. “You will force me to compel you to do so.Hester. Take Mrs. Ebersole, for instance. Sour woman. Face like a rotted mushroom. The world won’t miss her. Is that what you want,Hester?”
Her entire body jolted each time he said her name.
“Is it, Hester? Do you need me to show you what will happen if you continue to be coy?”
Coy? She was terrified. “Please,” Hester whispered. “Please don’t harm Mrs. Ebersole.” Fear and panic bubbled up her throat was so thick; she was sure to choke on it. He knew how much she loved Blackbird Heath and the people that resided here. They were her family. Her eyes darted about searching for anything she could use as a weapon, but nothing was in reach.
“I don’t,” he ran his hand through the short waves of his hair, pulling at the ends. “Understand why you are so reluctant. You have been encouraging my affection for years, Hester, and now you’ve caught it.”
Dear God.
Her mind raced over every interaction with Martin, each sentence or look. The most she’d done was take his arm at Joshua’s funeral.
“Do you want everyone at Blackbird Heath to be struck by a terrible stomach ailment?” he giggled, the sound echoing unpleasantly over Hester’s arms. “The same ailment that killed my poor…” his features grew mournful. “Ellie.”
“What—” Horror filled her at the implication of his words. She might be ill. “You killed Ellie.”
“Well, how else could we be together? She was in the way.” He rolled his eyes. “Oh, don’t look at me like that, Hester. You snap the necks of your chickens all the time. I merely put some glass in her food. Just a little here and there. Mainly in the tiny cakes she insisted upon having with her tea. You practically begged me to do so, pretending so much shyness when I confessed my feelings.”
Hester sobbed, holding on to the chair as she stood. Martin had murdered his wife. “You need help. Your mind is distressed. I’ll just summon the physician, shall I?”
“Stop saying that.” He moved quicker than Hester expected, fingers circling around her wrist. He bent her hand back and forth while Hester struggled to get away from him.
