Chapter 35 #2
‘And this one appears to be A,’ Lord Stanley said, squinting at the faded markings.
Charlotte stared at the vivid colour in alarm.
‘It is bright red... it is not blood, is it?’
He examined it carefully.
‘No. Some sort of unusual ink, I think.’
‘How strange.’
She turned the burnt parchment thoughtfully between her fingers, though the two symbols were all that remained legible.
‘Should we search for hidden passageways into this room?’
‘This is the guest wing, so I doubt we shall find any,’ he replied. ‘The rooms have already been checked—but there is no harm in looking again.’
After a further search, they were satisfied there were none.
Lady Susan was brought into the study shortly afterwards.
‘What is the meaning of this?’ she demanded haughtily.
‘Mrs Wilberforce tells us you retired to your chamber after leaving the morning room. Is that correct?’ Lord Stanley asked.
‘Yes. I felt tired and wished to rest.’
‘And then?’
‘I locked my door—as you yourself informed us there are murderers in this house—and lay down. I fell asleep almost immediately.’
Lord Stanley indicated the burnt letters upon the desk.
‘Have you seen these before?’
‘I have never seen them in my life.’
She maintained an air of cool indifference throughout.
Yet when he questioned how the letters had come to be inside her fireplace, she faltered.
‘I do not know, I tell you.’
‘Did you leave your room at any point?’
Lady Susan’s expression hardened.
‘Of course not. I was awakened only by the commotion in the hallway.’
‘You seemed remarkably composed when you saw the body,’ Charlotte observed, unable to entirely suppress the edge in her voice.
Lady Susan rubbed her temples.
‘I do not succumb to hysterics easily. I have seen corpses before.’
‘Is it not true you had a... close relationship with Lord Wolverton?’ Charlotte pressed.
Lady Susan flushed scarlet.
‘I may have... but that is none of your concern.’
Lord Stanley sighed heavily.
‘It is not looking favourable for you, my lady. You may as well confess and explain how else you were involved in this affair.’
But Lady Susan maintained her innocence.
Even so, the evidence against her was too damning to ignore, and she too was placed under arrest.
The following morning, Lord Stanley departed for Manchester alongside the suspects.
He carried the black book and burnt letter fragments as evidence, though Falcon’s identity remained a mystery. Stanley remained convinced the man was either Payne or Oswald and hoped one of them might finally confess once removed from the comforts of Alderley Park.
Before leaving, however, he stationed several Bow Street Runners at the estate for protection.
For the first time in weeks, Charlotte felt she might no longer need to watch constantly over her shoulder.
The remaining guests were finally permitted to leave, restoring the house to a degree of normalcy—much to the relief of Charlotte and Mrs Wilberforce.
Only Charlotte felt sorry to see the spinsters depart.
‘Not to worry, my dear,’ Miss Hill assured her. ‘We shall visit again as soon as we recover from our megrims.’
Charlotte gave them a puzzled look.
‘You have not complained of megrims before. I hope you are not falling ill?’
‘We are feeling a little fuddled,’ Miss Underwood admitted tiredly. ‘But I daresay it is merely all the excitement. Who would have imagined we were surrounded by so many villainous people?’
‘Still,’ Miss Hill declared brightly, ‘we must look to the silver lining. Our Miss Lucas managed to secure Lord Stanley amidst all the chaos.’
Charlotte did not have the heart to explain the engagement was merely for show.
After bidding them farewell, she retired upstairs that evening utterly exhausted.
‘When will Lord Stanley return?’ Sarah asked gently as she gathered Charlotte’s discarded dressing gown from the floor and began pressing it beside the fire.
‘Tomorrow perhaps. Or the day after,’ Charlotte replied, loosening her braid. ‘Is Tom asleep?’
‘Yes, poor lamb. He was jittery all day.’
‘I am sure he will settle now that it is only us again,’ Charlotte said, drawing a brush through her hair. ‘I am exceedingly glad to see them all gone. I kept expecting some fresh catastrophe to occur.’
Her maid smirked.
‘Well, brushing shoulders with your Lord Stanley must have been some comfort.’
‘Sarah!’ Charlotte gasped, flushing hot at the memory of his nearness.
Entirely unrepentant, the maid finished pressing the gown before turning out its pockets.
‘What is this?’
She produced a folded parchment.
Charlotte glanced at it distractedly.
‘Oh—that is the letter Matthew Stanley gave me before he died. I suppose I ought to have handed it to Lord Stanley as evidence.’
The parchment was passed over.
Charlotte unfolded it absently—then went still.
‘Sarah... did you iron my gown with the parchment inside the pocket?’
She shrugged.
‘Habit is not so easily overcome. I was your lady’s maid for years. I could not bear the thought of you looking crumpled.’
Charlotte let out a delighted squeal.
‘You are a genius!’
‘I have always thought so,’ came the prim reply.
Charlotte thrust the parchment excitedly towards her.
‘Miss Charlotte, waving it about like a flag is hardly helpful.’
Charlotte held it still.
Faint red ink now shimmered over the cream parchment.
‘It is the cipher for the black book. Look—all the symbols correspond to letters of the alphabet.’
Her eyes widened.
‘Do you know what this means?’