Chapter 20 #2
He jolted to his feet, itching to move, yet settled for raking his fingers over his scalp as he gazed down at Charity’s bedroom door. “I just wish I knew what was going on in there.”
“I can tell you.” Clara’s voice sharpened dramatically. “Dr. Branch is doing everything in his power to counteract the damage inflicted by Juliet Finch. You never should have trusted her. None of us should have. To think it was her all along.”
“What do you mean?” He wheeled about.
She merely blinked. “Well, surely this proves Juliet was the one who’s been tormenting your sister.”
So. His suspicions had been correct. His sister had shared her woes with Clara. And here he and Juliet had been so careful not to expose too much information, for Charity’s sake. A bitter laugh ripped out of him. “To what end?”
“Oh, Henry, there are wicked people in this world, those who will do anything to secure what they want. And make no mistake about it, Juliet wanted you. I saw it in her eyes. So, what better way to win you over than to appear as a redeemer of the one you love most—your sister. Think about it. Someone begins tormenting your sister. Then Juliet shows up in your life at just the right time, conveniently skilled. That’s quite a coincidence, don’t you think? ”
“That is ridiculous!” He fisted his hands so tightly that his arms shook.
Despite his vitriol, Clara showed no offense.
“Do not be so humble, Henry. Your name is well known. You are a man of wealth and position, and a handsome one at that. Juliet may have sought you out because of those things, orchestrated this entire scheme to secure a very comfortable life for herself.”
He shook his head, trying to make sense of her logic. “Are you implying Juliet poisoned my sister—and is responsible for all the other torments before that—simply to win me over? That is insane!”
“Not to win you over, Henry, but to make herself a place by your side. She’s a lovely woman, and beguiling.
With enough proximity, what man could resist such charms?
” She rose, landing a light touch on his shoulder.
“I know this is hard for you, but think about it. The letters, the personal items moved or broken, the feeling your sister had of someone watching her? And then, just when Charity was to leave and end her place in your home, Juliet used her skill in medicinals to keep Charity here. To make herself essential to you. Because a sick sister needs a companion—and a distraught brother? Well, he needs someone to lean on. You see now, don’t you?
Why could it not have been Juliet? She had every opportunity, especially when you invited her into your home. ”
He wrenched from her touch as if burned. Had he truly allowed the very one he’d sought to vanquish live beneath his roof? Sup at his own table next to his sister?
Still … Juliet’s sentiments and actions did not add up. She never had explained the green ribbon his sister had tripped over. Her knowledge of the manor grounds was as intimate as his own. And—God forgive him—she had certainly welcomed his kiss, despite the slap that followed.
These truths went down like wormwood. But no. He could not accept it. These things might sanction what Clara said, but the confirmation was too abhorrent to even consider.
For if Clara spoke truth, not only would he be a fool, but Juliet would be a monster.
He scrubbed his jaw with his knuckles, over and over, the rasp of whiskers harsh against his skin—an annoyance he relished, for to take on the anguish of accepting Juliet as the villain would drive him to his knees.
And yet … a small voice in the back of his mind refused to be silenced.
If she were playing a part—if all of this had been some elaborate game—why the poaching? If she were responsible for the torment from the beginning, why choose such a dangerous method of bringing herself to his attention? Why risk arrest? Exposure? She couldn’t have known he’d spare her.
Blast it, he couldn’t think straight. Not while Charity’s life hung in the balance. Not while guilt and dread pulled him in opposite directions.
Later. He would sort it out later. When he had his wits about him.
If it wasn’t already too late.
The quiet swoosh of a door against carpet cut the silence. Henry spun about the moment Dr. Branch stepped into the corridor, then took off at a good clip to meet the man but a few strides from his sister’s room. “How does she fare?”
The doctor’s brow condensed into an ominous line.
“I am sorry to say that Miss Russell has yet to regain consciousness. If she’d not already been weakened by her previous illness, she may have rallied by now.
The laudanum and ether she ingested has reduced her breathing to a hazardous degree, and I am afraid I have done everything in my power to neutralize the effects of such a dose.
As such, she will require a constant vigil tonight.
Shallow or not, if she continues to breathe until morning, then I think we will have turned a corner, and she should improve dramatically. ”
“If she continues to breathe?” The walls closed in on him, the world turning black at the edges. No. No! This could not be happening.
God, please!
“Of course she will recover.” Clara’s voice sailed resolute, a lifeline in this sea of horror. “Your sister is strong.”
“Mmm.” Dr. Branch removed his spectacles, rubbing the glass with his handkerchief for a good while before tucking away the cloth.
“She is resilient, no doubt.” He reset the glasses on the bridge of his nose, hooking the ear pieces securely.
“But,” he said with a sigh, “to be perfectly honest, I fear Miss Russell’s vital functions have been significantly impaired.
I have done my best with friction, bleeding out the impurities, and continued administrations of smelling salts, but you must understand, Mr. Russell, that there is no antidote. ”
Henry shoved his hands into his pockets to keep from shaking the man. “Can you truly do nothing more for her?”
The doctor wagged his head. “It has been a delicate battle, one which I have fought with all my resources, but your sister is in God’s hands now.”