Chapter 21 #2
She pushed her heat into his cold body and willed his eyes to open. ‘Don’t you leave me. I just found you. Don’t you dare die on me.’
Hot tears streamed down her face. She pressed a kiss to his mouth, willing him to respond. When he didn’t, she buried her head in his chest, pounding his solid muscle with her fists.
‘You come back to me. Right now. You come back!’ This man had become her world. She refused to let the fates take him. He was hers, and she was his. They were destined for each other. ‘I love you, Thomas Grey.’
His chest shifted beneath her. The resounding thud of his heart vibrated through her body as if it were her own as his lungs filled with air.
‘Yes, that’s it. Breathe.’
‘Always so bossy.’ His rough voice was the most beautiful sound Clio had ever heard. ‘But how could I refuse the command of such a powerful witch?’
She pulled back, wiping the tears from her cheek with the back of her hand. She must look a mess, but she didn’t care. Thomas was alive.
His mouth curled in a wry smile as he tried to sit up. ‘I had much different plans for us this evening.’
She leaned forward, her hand flattening on his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart. A heart she knew was now inextricably linked with her own. She just needed to convince him of this truth. ‘Bloody ghosts. Always ruining plans.’
He buried his hand in her tangled mass of hair and pulled her to him. ‘Are you well?’
She couldn’t stop the burst of laughter. ‘It is I who should be asking you that.’
‘You are with me. How could I be anything else?’
She pressed her lips against his, not caring that the viscountess and Anna saw.
After fortifying Thomas with one of Clio’s tonics and a healthy splash of whisky, fetching tea for Violet and a slice of seed cake for Anna, and settling the girl in bed with a special cup of hot chocolate Clio had infused with a dash of calming lavender oil and a little something extra, it was time to hear what really happened the night Viscount Beachley died.
Violet refused to leave her daughter’s side, so they waited until Anna fell asleep, aided by Clio’s magic. Sir Robin perched on the headboard, faithfully watching over the girl as Violet stroked her wispy, blonde hair with a shaky hand.
‘I never believed in ghost stories. Or anything I couldn’t see. There’s enough evil in the world without needing to invent new forms of it.’ A tear streaked down Violet’s cheek.
‘Will you tell us what happened?’ Thomas’ deep voice was a gentle rumble, soothing Clio’s frayed nerves.
Violet looked from the tea to Clio. ‘I killed him.’
Clio forced her face to remain neutral. Judgement would only silence Violet. Besides, she needed all the facts before she concluded guilt or innocence. ‘All right. Can you walk us through that evening?’
‘Are you not appalled? Disgusted? At least shocked?’ Violet’s lip trembled as her thumb rubbed rapidly up and down the delicate handle of her teacup.
‘Of all the astounding things that have occurred tonight, surely this revelation is the most banal of the lot. You have not hurled accusations at me yet for what you have seen me do. I would like to extend the same courtesy to you and better understand the why of it all.’ Clio was all too aware that she had revealed her powers to yet another person not of her kin or coven.
Given the circumstances, it would be difficult for the viscountess to make claims against Clio, but Clio still appreciated Violet’s seeming willingness to accept Clio’s powers.
‘So, if I don’t accuse you of being a witch, you won’t accuse me of being a murderess… even though that is exactly what we are?’
Clio nodded. ‘Exactly.’
Violet waited, as though testing Clio’s resolve. When Clio remained silent, Violet seemed to reach a decision. She sipped her tea. ‘All right. I shall tell you, though I don’t expect mercy.’
‘We all need a little mercy.’ Thomas spoke quietly.
Violet turned her gaze to him, then back to Clio. ‘You are the strangest investigators I’ve ever met.’
‘Strange bastard!’ Sir Robin interjected helpfully.
‘All three of you.’ Violet eyed Sir Robin before settling into her tale. ‘I knew when I married Arthur that he needed my dowry far more than my affections.’
Clio reached out to squeeze Violet’s cold fingers. It wasn’t just witches who needed protection from bad marriages. It was all women.
Violet cleared her throat and continued.
‘When I became pregnant, I focused on our daughter and let him do as he pleased. Which, unbeknownst to me, was to continue gambling all our money away. I knew he was using Mrs Coggins to pawn the silver, paintings, anything he thought might hold value, but I had no idea how dire our situation truly was, or perhaps I just chose to remain ignorant because that was easier. I took to hiding my personal jewellery to try and keep it out of Mrs Coggins’ grubby fingers. ’
An image of the golden locket Sir Robin found flashed in Clio’s mind.
‘Then Anna became ill. When the specialist I hired told me he suspected arsenic poisoning, I didn’t believe him. Who would want to poison our sweet Anna?’
‘Surely not her father?’ Thomas’ emerald eyes widened in disbelief. ‘How could a father even think of doing that to his child?’
Clio fell a little further in love with him. Something she predicted would continue to happen for the remainder of their days together.
Violet narrowed her gaze, her voice growing hard as the tea cooled.
‘I thought the same. I suspected Mrs Coggins, in some effort to destroy our marriage, was going after Anna, but even that seemed incomprehensible. Then our solicitor stopped by when Arthur was out carousing at his club. He left papers for me to give to Arthur. I thought they might be letters of debt, but it was something else entirely. Life-insurance policies for myself and Anna. I was confounded. Anna was ill, but surely, he didn’t believe she would die. ’
‘He was going to cash in on the insurance policy?’ Nausea, similar to when she had one of her visions, swirled in Clio’s belly.
Violet caught Clio’s gaze and held it. ‘Berty came to collect on his debts, and I realised how deeply ruined we were. Arthur’s motives became clear.
He’d always cared more about his title and his comforts than his wife and child.
Anna was a girl, after all. She couldn’t carry on his name, so what use did she have other than to burden him with the need of a dowry?
Killing us both was an easy solution. He could claim the insurance policies and stave off Berty, then remarry another poor, rich debutante who might be more easily cowed by Mrs Coggins. She was happy to help him in the task.’
Bile rose in Clio’s throat. ‘That is monstrous.’
‘He was a monster.’
‘So, you used his own weapon against him?’ A hint of respect seeped through Thomas’ careful question.
‘I knew I needed to work quickly. He had to be stopped before Anna suffered any more harm. I thought cyanide would be faster than arsenic, though I wasn’t sure about the dose. There was a large amount of it in the larder to rid us of rats, so I took some, knowing it wouldn’t be missed.
‘I told Arthur I wanted to apologise properly for fighting with him about Anna. That I was ready to accept her illness might not be curable. When Mrs Coggins brought the tea, I sent her away, telling her I would pour so we could have privacy. The way she looked at me.’ A small smile curled the corners of Violet’s mouth.
‘I thought she’d kill me right then. But she nodded her head and walked away.
I dosed his tea. I thought it would take a few hours, that he might die in his sleep, but the effects were almost immediate.
And when he realised what I had done, he came after me.
’ She unbuttoned the high neck of her gown and pulled the material aside to show an angry scar.
‘Dear goddess. He stabbed you?’
Violet rebuttoned her gown with shaky fingers.
‘He tried. The cyanide stopped him before he completely succeeded. I ran, too terrified to think, knowing if they found us like that, my conviction would be certain. I was going to return for Anna, but the cut became infected. I found a doctor near the docks, though I doubt he ever went to medical school. He sewed me up as best he could, and I paid him for his service and his silence. I spent the next few weeks in a rented room, sure I would die of fever. I thought God was punishing me for my crimes.’
Thomas shook his head. ‘Protecting your daughter and yourself from a man intent on killing you is hardly a crime.’
Violet laughed, but there was no joy in the sound. ‘I doubt the House of Lords will agree with your reasoning, sir.’
‘They won’t ever hear this tale,’ Clio said, looking at Thomas for confirmation.
When he nodded, she continued with a daring plan.
‘We will go to Mrs Coggins and tell her what we know. Either she admits to “accidentally” poisoning Viscount Beachley’s tea and thieving from the family, or we make the case that she was poisoning Anna, then killed Viscount Beachley outright when he discovered her crimes. ’
Violet shook her head. ‘She’ll never do it.’
Clio smiled. ‘She will if she wishes to avoid the hangman’s noose.’
‘But I killed Arthur. I deserve to pay for my crime.’
Thomas shook his head. ‘In war, soldiers fight for many reasons. To claim more territory. To protect what is theirs. To find glory on the battlefield. But there is no cause more honourable than fighting to protect your child. You were in a battle, Lady Beachley. And you fought with courage and valour. How would it be justice to see you hang for protecting Anna?’
Violet opened her mouth, then closed it again. Tears glistened in her eyes as she inhaled a shaky breath.
Holy Hecate. I shall fall forever if he keeps saying such lovely things.