Page 69 of A Baron's Disguised Lady
Am I damned to live alone? A sad and lonely spinster all my days? What does he see in these other women? What do theyhave that I don’t have? I can’t imagine why he would prefer them to me—any of them. But still, they come, a litany of names, each as silly and frivolous as the last. I hate them. I hate them all. I hate any woman who drives a wedge between us. Let them all be damned.
They were the words of a woman obsessed, and now, to his utter horror, he read words that made his blood run cold.
I have to tell you what I did. You’ll understand. I put it in her tea when she wasn’t looking. It was just enough to make her ill, on the night she was due to go to the theater with him. I couldn’t bear it, Gwendolene. I couldn’t bear to think of the two of them together. Without him. I’m nothing. I can’t bear it…
Archie readit twice over, wanting to be absolutely certain of what Wilhelmina was implying.
He remembered the circumstances to which she was referring well. He had invited Lady Barbara Hemsworth to the theater. It was to be a production ofHamlet.An irony given the fact of Claudius preparing a poison for the protagonist, though drank by Gertrude.
“She complained of terrible stomach pains. Doctor Airdale attended her. I remember it well,”Archie voiced his memories out loud, horrified at the revelation Wilhelmina was making.
He had always known her to be attracted to him, but he had not realized the extent of her obsession, nor the fact of his sister’s involvement, either. He did not know why Gwendolene had not confided the truth in him, and it seemed she had deliberately concealed the facts of Wilhelmina’s obsession. But what did it mean? Archie could only speculate, but the mention of poison made him shudder, as now he thought back to the dental powder.
But why would Wilhelmina poison Gwendolene? What would she gain from it? She’s the only woman who wasn’t a threat for my affections,he thought to himself, even as it seemed Wilhelmina’s jealousy knew no bounds.
Perhaps shehadkilled Gwendolene; driven to it by what she perceived to be Archie’s sister’s lack of resolve, when it came to helping her achieve her goal of securing a match between them.
Jealousy, that’s what it boils down to. She was willing to poison Barbara to prevent the two of us going to the theater together. And now…
Archie realized, with sudden horror, who would be next.
He did not know where Lavinia was now. She had gone to see Penelope at the lodge at the end of the east drive. But that had been several hours ago, and there had been no sign of her return. His heart was beating fast, and shoving the bundle of letters intohis pocket, Archie hurried out of Gwendolene’s bedroom and down the stairs to the hallway.
“Have you seen Lavinia?” he exclaimed, bursting through the drawing room door to find his mother and Octavia sitting and talking by the hearth.
They both looked up at him in surprise.
“She’s not back from visiting Penelope, yet. I should think they’ve got talking to one another, we certainly know about that, don’t we, Octavia?” Horatia said, and Lavinia’s mother smiled.
“Oh, we certainly do,” she replied.
“Mother… this is very important. Did Gwendolene ever mention Wilhelmina to you? Were they friends?” he asked, and his mother looked at him in surprise.
“Well… they knew one another, if that’s what you mean. But they weren’t friends, particularly. I don’t remember Wilhelmina coming to visit. If she did, I was unaware of it. But why? What’s happened?” she asked, but Archie was already hurrying out of the room.
He had to find Lavinia, and quickly, for if Wilhelmina found her first, there was no doubt in his mind what she would do.
Chapter 25
“There’s seven young wives met together of late in a tavern not far from the Bell-Savage Gate. Where they called for the best of Canary with speed, and in pleasant discourse, they began to proceed. Quoth the Waterman’s Wife ‘I must drink and then run. For a woman’s work, sisters, you know is ne’er done,”Lavinia sang, smiling to herself as she hummed the tune.
She knew it was not very ladylike to sing like this, and her mother would certainly not have approved. But in her previous life, along with the other servants, Lavinia was always singing songs and making jokes.
It was how they got through the day, and it pleased her to remember the lyrics of old songs, humming the tunes to pass the time as she walked along the drive toward Sarum Lacy House. She was still thinking about Penelope’s question, and about what she had learned as a result of her visit to the lodge at the end of the east drive.
Not a great deal, really,she thought to herself, as the song came to an end.
Lavinia had not known what to expect from her encounter with Penelope, but there was no doubting the sad and sorry state Gwendolene’s once closest friend now found herself in. She blamed herself, somehow, for Gwendolene’s death, and the guilt she felt was palpable. It made Lavinia herself think of her ownrelationships. How easily life could be snatched away without proper reconciliation. A cross word, a falling out, and then…
“It’s too awful to think about,”Lavinia murmured to herself, shaking her head at the thought of what Penelope was suffering.
But of one thing, Lavinia was certain. Penelope was not Gwendolene’s murderer. She had motive, of sorts, but as for carrying out the act…
She’s not capable of it.
Lavinia picked up the words of the song again, and hummed as she walked along.
It was a beautiful day, the sunlight shining through the canopy above, casting a dappled shade over the drive. There was a sweet scent in the air with the life of the woodland all around her, and it made Lavinia happy to walk there, lost in her thoughts. She had found happiness at Sarum Lacy House. A happiness she had not expected, and the thought of leaving was not something she was looking forward to.
