Page 75 of A Baron's Disguised Lady
“I won’t let you go,” Archie said, his gaze fixed with Lavinia’s, who clung to him for dear life.
“Let her go, Archie. Then we can be together. The two of us… we can be together,” Wilhelmina moaned, but Archie shook his head.
“I love you,” he whispered, still with his eyes fixed on Lavinia.
“You love me… oh, see, he loves me,” Wilhelmina cried out, but Archie shook his head, and now, with a second remarkable effort, he hauled Lavinia out onto the bank, the two of them panting breathlessly as Wilhelmina gazed down at them.
“I love you, Archie,” she said, as Archie staggered to his feet.
“I don’t love you, Wilhelmina. How could I love the woman who murdered my sister?” he cried.
Lavinia’s eyes grew wide with horror. She had suspected it, she had known it, even, but to hear Archie speak the words…
“No… she died, Archie, she died of a fever. I couldn’t hurt anyone. Don’t you believe me?” Wilhelmina stammered.
But Archie now reached into his pocket and pulled out a bundle of letters, holding them up to Wilhelmina, who stared at them in surprise.
“These, Wilhelmina. These prove what happened between you and Gwendolene. I know everything you did. All the women you prevented me from speaking to, from seeing, from… courting. At every turn, you were there.
A threat here… an opportunity thwarted there. You even poisoned Barbara Hemsworth, not to kill her, but to prevent her from being with me… and then you poisoned Gwendolene, too, didn’t you?” Archie said, stepping back as Wilhelmina made a grab for the letters.
But Archie was too quick for her, and she stumbled, falling to the ground. Dangerously close to the riverbank. Lavinia could easily have pushed her in—the thought crossed her mind. But it was not for her to administer the justice Wilhelmina so deserved.
“I… I didn’t… no, she brought it on herself. They all did. Don’t you see? She wanted to prevent us from being together. She didn’t see the feelings we have for one another. She couldn’t understand. No one could understand what we have, Archie,” she said, but Archie shook his head.
“Wilhelmina, it is you who don’t understand. I never loved you. And if I didn’t before, I certainly don’t now. You’re nothing to me,” he said, and Wilhelmina let out an anguished cry.
“No… you don’t mean it. I love you, Archie. I love you more than any of those women. More than your own sister ever did. She wanted to prevent you from finding happiness. I stopped her. I did it for you, Archie,” she said, but Archie only looked at her in disgust.
“You’re nothing to me, Wilhelmina. I don’t love you. I couldn’t ever love you. And now, when I look at you, I only see a creature I despise. The woman who murdered my sister. That’s what you are, and I intend to see you receive the justice you deserve,” he said.
Tears rolled down Wilhelmina’s cheeks, and now she pointed a finger angrily at Lavinia, who was standing behind Archie, fearful of what Wilhelmina would do next. There was a madness in her eyes; the same madness Lavinia had seen in the moments before Wilhelmina had pushed her down the bank toward the river.
“I… she’s bewitched you,” she stammered, but Lavinia shook her head.
“I feel sorry for you, Wilhelmina. You think I’ve bewitched Archie? No, you’re wrong. I haven’t done anything but… fall in love with him,” she said.
Perhaps it was not the right time to say such a thing, to admit the feelings in her heart. But there was no reason to hold back. She loved him, and what had passed between her and Wilhelmina, and the look that had passed between her and Archie, had only served to make her realize just how much she had come to love him.
It did not matter whether he loved her too. It was how she felt, and as Wilhelmina snarled at her, Archie put a protective arm around Lavinia.
“And I’ve fallen in love with Lavinia,” he replied.
It was as though a bullet had pierced Wilhelmina’s heart. She gasped, falling to the ground, tears rolling down her cheeks as she sobbed uncontrollably, wailing so loud the sound echoed beneath the bridge, louder than the rushing of the water. Archie gave Lavinia a gentle squeeze, shaking his head as he turned to face her.
“I’m so sorry, Archie, for what she’s done. Where did you find the letters?” Lavinia asked.
“They were in Gwendolene’s bedroom. I found them at the back of a drawer. They prove everything, though I suppose the method remains a mystery. Wilhelmina killed Gwendolene in cold blood. It was mindless. She was jealous, there was no other reason but that,” he said, glancing over at Wilhelmina, as Lavinia shook her head.
“She wanted to keep us apart, Archie,” Wilhelmina exclaimed.
“I can’t listen to this,” Archie said, scowling at Wilhelmina who was now sobbing.
It was an appalling tragedy. The result of a woman’s obsession, and her desire to destroy any happiness Archie might have come to know. Had Wilhelmina succeeded that day, another senseless death would have occurred, and Lavinia shuddered to think how close she had come to being Wilhelmina’s next victim.
“I met her on the drive, but she must’ve been waiting for me. She kept asking me questions. It was entirely innocent at first. But little by little… well, I came to realize what was happening. I guessed she’d done something terrible, but I wondered if she’d had an accomplice,” Lavinia said.
Archie was about to reply, but Wilhelmina now looked up at them angrily, her tone changing from self-pity to anger.
