Chapter 36
Sarah watched her mistress pacing the bedchamber with growing bewilderment.
‘Lord Stanley took the black book with him. We must send a messenger to bring it back. I shall ask Mrs Wilberforce to dispatch an express first thing in the morning.’
Charlotte twirled on the spot.
‘We may finally discover what is hidden inside that dreadful book. I am certain it contains a list of all their accomplices...’
‘You mean to say we may finally uncover every member of the Odd Fellows?’ Sarah asked excitedly.
It was well past one o’clock before they finally fell asleep, too excited and brimming with theories regarding the black book to settle any sooner.
At eight the following morning, Tom wandered into the room to find Charlotte slumped awkwardly across the bed whilst Sarah snored softly upon the couch. Curious, he peered at the parchment clutched loosely in Charlotte’s hand.
Charlotte awoke with a stiff neck and a gasp as Tom tugged it free.
‘What is this, Miss Lucas?’ he asked brightly. ‘Are we learning a new language today?’
She rubbed her neck with a groan.
‘Not exactly, Master Tom. Come—we must get dressed and have breakfast. I need to speak to your mama as soon as she wakes.’
Groggy and sore, Charlotte struggled upright. Her head throbbed from lack of sleep, and deep creases marked one cheek where she had fallen asleep against the coverlet. It took an embarrassing amount of warm water and vigorous scrubbing before they faded.
By the time she reached the morning room, Mrs Wilberforce had already finished breakfast and was taking tea beside the terrace doors in the morning room.
Charlotte was on tenterhooks to share her discovery.
She wasted no time producing the coded parchment.
‘We must send an express immediately, Mrs Wilberforce. Lord Stanley must bring the black book back at once.’
Mrs Wilberforce, though surprised, complied immediately.
‘Why, yes—of course. I shall see to it at once.’
Relieved she understood the urgency, Charlotte watched as she called for a maid.
When the girl arrived, she instructed, ‘Send for the express rider at once. We have an urgent message.’
As they waited, Mrs Wilberforce offered Charlotte tea, and only then did she realise how parched she was. She drank gratefully and soon found herself nibbling biscuits as well.
‘Now that this horrid business is finally over and we have the house to ourselves again, I feel quite refreshed,’ Mrs Wilberforce chattered pleasantly.
‘Especially sitting here. The terrace views are lovely in the morning light. I think I shall tend to the hothouse today. My poor blooms must be dreadfully neglected.’
‘How nice,’ Charlotte replied politely, glancing towards the sparkling lake beyond the windows. ‘What do you grow there?’
‘Oh, nothing especially exotic. Roses, foxglove, chrysanthemums, and various herbs. I once attempted a lemon tree and failed miserably.’
Her laugh tinkled brightly.
‘I used to make rose oil in my youth. It remains my favourite scent.’
Mrs Wilberforce rambled on cheerfully.
‘And of course, I use the herbs to prepare most of the remedies for minor ailments.’
She reached over to affectionately ruffle Tom’s hair, causing him to slosh cordial down his waistcoat.
‘Oh dear. Off you go, sweetums. Find Sarah, change your clothes, and then run outside and play.’
Tom needed no encouragement. He raced from the room at once, no doubt eager for his beloved treehouse.
Charlotte winced inwardly.
Sarah was almost certainly still asleep.
‘I had no idea you were so interested in making remedies,’ Charlotte remarked, genuinely intrigued.
Then something stirred suddenly in her memory.
Foxglove.
Wolverton had mentioned it.
One of the ingredients used in the poison.
Charlotte rose abruptly.
No... it cannot be—
A violent wave of dizziness swept through her. She caught herself against the chair before sinking heavily back down.
‘Forgive me,’ she murmured weakly, pressing trembling fingers to her temple. ‘I was awake rather late...’
‘Think nothing of it, Miss Walker,’ Mrs Wilberforce replied sweetly.
But there was now something oddly watchful in her expression.
Panic flickered sharply through Charlotte. ‘How do you know my real surname...?’
A small pause followed.
‘Oh dear,’ said Mrs Wilberforce with a smile far too calm. ‘How careless of me.’
Charlotte’s blood ran cold. Her vision swam. Her limbs grew impossibly heavy.
‘What... what did you...’
Realisation struck too late.
‘You poisoned me.’
‘Amongst my many talents,’ Mrs Wilberforce said lightly, ‘I am remarkably skilled at imitating handwriting and forging signatures.’
Charlotte tried to rise, but her body would no longer obey her.
‘Do not distress yourself. I shall pen a passionate and regretful letter to Henry explaining that you no longer wish to see him, nor involve yourself with his strange religion. That you have chosen the Captain after all—and decided to elope with him.’
‘No...’ Charlotte fell to the floor.
Mrs Wilberforce.
The poisoner.
An Odd Fellow.
Charlotte willed her limbs to move, but every muscle felt weighted with stone. She clawed weakly towards the doorway.
Too far.
‘Sarah...’
The cry barely escaped as a whisper.
‘Oh, not to worry,’ Mrs Wilberforce continued pleasantly. ‘I shall send your maid along with you. A lady must have her maid, after all.’
Then she calmly took the cipher parchment from Charlotte’s loosened fingers and dropped it into the fire.
The flames consumed it instantly.
‘A pity about old Bainbridge,’ she continued conversationally. ‘Once he discovered the cipher hidden inside the jewellery box, I had very little choice but to push him down the stairs. I could hardly allow him to expose me.’
Charlotte felt a wave of pure terror crash over her. Was this the end?
Mrs Wilberforce crossed towards the terrace doors and opened one of them.
The Captain stepped inside.
Hope surged through her.
‘Captain... help...’
Her cheek pressed helplessly against the floorboards, her head now too heavy to lift.
But he merely looked down at her with a strange smile.
‘You will find,’ Mrs Wilberforce said coolly, looming above Charlotte’s collapsing form, ‘that Henry shall not be here to save you this time.’
Then she turned and kissed the Captain passionately.
The room dissolved into shadow.
And darkness claimed her.