Chapter 39
He stopped abruptly and caught Charlotte lightly by the elbow, forcing her to halt beside him.
‘I think you need to explain, Charlotte.’
He looked stunned; the colour had drained from his face.
‘I... I am sorry to tell you this, my lord, but Mrs Wilberforce confessed everything...’ she faltered. ‘Just before she drugged me and had me locked in that cage.’
Lord Stanley bowed his head, his face contorting with anger.
‘That is impossible. You must be mistaken,’ he said, releasing her arm as though she burned him.
Charlotte flinched, but she needed him to believe her, no matter how painful the truth might be.
‘I am not mistaken,’ she said more firmly. ‘She and the Captain were behind all of this. The Captain is Falcon.’
Then she recounted everything that had happened.
The more she revealed, the stonier Lord Stanley’s expression became. Disbelief warred visibly with pain. When she finally finished, he stared at her in silence.
‘I do not doubt you are telling me the truth,’ he said at last, his voice strained, ‘but I can scarcely believe she is capable of such things. I need to see it with my own eyes.’
‘I can prove it to you. She intends to poison you. If you conceal the fact that I have been found, I am certain she will attempt it.’
He looked towards the mansion thoughtfully.
Then, after a long pause, he said quietly, ‘Come. Let us get you back inside so you may rest a little.’
He took her hand and strode towards the house.
‘Then we shall have a conversation with my sister.’
Mrs Wilberforce was not yet awake, as dawn had only just begun to break. Charlotte slipped quietly to her room, washed, and hastily changed into dry clothes. Though her stomach churned, she forced herself to swallow a little tea and bread before meeting Lord Stanley in the morning room.
She showed him the terrace doors leading directly towards the lake, near where the hidden tunnel entrance lay concealed. This, they deduced, was how the Captain had smuggled the girls out of the house unnoticed.
Together they formed a plan.
Charlotte concealed herself behind a tall folding screen at the far end of the room, from where she possessed a partial view of the morning room whilst remaining hidden.
From behind it, she heard every word.
Lord Stanley paced slowly before the fireplace whilst they waited.
Before long, Mrs Wilberforce entered as she always did, followed by a maid carrying a tea tray.
‘Ah, brother,’ she said cheerfully. ‘I was just informed that you returned rather late last night. How was your journey? Uneventful, I hope.’
She seated herself gracefully upon the chaise longue.
‘Tolerable, I suppose,’ came his clipped reply.
‘And how did that unpleasant business in Manchester go? All resolved satisfactorily, I trust?’
Her smile never wavered.
‘Quite satisfactorily. And how were matters here? I hope there was no trouble.’ As he spoke, he drifted towards the terrace doors, clasping his hands behind his back.
‘Oh no, everything was perfectly calm. Though I do have some unfortunate news, I fear.’
She arranged her features into an expression of suitable regret.
Charlotte thought her an excellent actress.
‘Pray tell me what has so disturbed you, dear sister,’ Lord Stanley replied dryly.
‘Ah... well... I am sorry to say I warned you against the match, did I not? But you were quite determined. After all, she is a governess. Fickle creatures, if you ask me.’
‘Minerva,’ he interrupted sharply, ‘do get on with it.’
Slightly startled by his abruptness, Mrs Wilberforce hesitated before continuing.
‘Miss Lucas has eloped with the Captain. She said she could not bear telling you in person, but she felt compelled to follow her heart. She did leave a letter, however. It is upon my writing desk.’
How convincing, Charlotte thought grimly.
‘Oh, I see,’ was his only reply.
He walked slowly to the desk and unfolded the letter. He scanned it in silence.
‘I am sorry, brother,’ Mrs Wilberforce continued smoothly, oblivious to the anger tightening his features. ‘But you must not let this deter you from marriage altogether. You would do better to try again next Season.’
‘I confess I find this somewhat difficult to believe...’
His voice carried a dangerous edge now.
‘Would you care for tea?’ she asked sweetly. ‘I always find tea soothing in moments of heartbreak.’
Oh, she is good, Charlotte marvelled.
‘Thank you,’ he replied evenly.
Mrs Wilberforce busied herself pouring tea with exaggerated delicacy.
‘Sugar?’
Charlotte saw her slip something from a small vial into the cup. From Lord Stanley’s angle, it was hidden from view—or so Mrs Wilberforce believed.
‘One spoon, please,’ he said calmly, continuing to read the forged letter and giving her every opportunity to complete her task.
‘There you are, dear brother.’
Lord Stanley took the seat beside her and accepted the cup. Then, precisely as Charlotte expected, he lifted it to his lips and merely pretended to drink.
Mrs Wilberforce smiled saccharinely.
‘It is unfortunate. I never liked her. She is not worth your sorrow. Forget her.’
‘I believe you may be right. She deceived me,’ he replied smoothly, playing his part to perfection.
Then he rose again and wandered towards the window, carefully emptying the tea into a nearby flowerpot whilst concealed from her view.
When he returned the empty cup to the table, Mrs Wilberforce’s smile widened faintly.
Now the true performance begins.
Lord Stanley sank heavily into his chair and pressed a hand to his head.
‘I suddenly feel rather light-headed, Minerva.’
‘Oh dear, brother... perhaps the shock of the news has overcome you.’
Her tone remained disturbingly pleasant.
He rose unsteadily before collapsing convincingly to the floor.
‘Oh dear,’ she said coolly, making no attempt to assist him. ‘You seem to have stumbled.’
‘Help me...’ he murmured weakly, reaching towards her.
‘Help you?’ she repeated softly, venom curling beneath every syllable. ‘I do not think so, brother.’
Her true self surfaced at last.
Charlotte’s chest tightened painfully as she watched.
Some foolish part of her had still hoped Mrs Wilberforce might hesitate.
But there was no mercy in her expression.
Only triumph.
‘I have dreamt of this moment for a very long time,’ she whispered.
She crossed the room and knelt beside him.
‘You deserve every ounce of suffering that is coming to you.’
‘Why...?’ he whispered.
Charlotte flinched. There was genuine pain in his voice, though Mrs Wilberforce mistook it for the supposed effects of the poison.
She laughed softly, and the sound sent a chill through the room.
How could she be so utterly cruel?
Then she crossed to the fireplace and opened the hidden passageway. The grinding sound of metal echoed through the room.
‘You shall not escape this...’ he gasped.
‘People are far stupider than you give them credit for, brother. I shall hide your body here until the Captain’s men dispose of you later. Then I shall pen a letter in your hand. To the world, you will simply have disappeared... as you once did when you fled to the Ottoman Empire.’
She pulled the mantel fully open.
‘Especially after your betrayal by your precious governess. People believe what they wish to believe.’
Lord Stanley rose at once with the full strength of a man entirely unharmed.
‘Such a pity you shall not have your way this time, sister.’ His voice rang through the room. ‘Charlotte—come out.’
Charlotte stepped slowly from behind the screen.
Mrs Wilberforce's eyes widened, and the colour drained entirely from her face.
Fear flickered unmistakably across her features. As her gaze darted wildly between them.
Lord Stanley seized his sister firmly by the elbow and guided her into the nearest chair.
‘You are going to tell me everything,’ he said, pain and fury sharpening every word. ‘No more lies. There is no escape for you now.’
Charlotte sat opposite them beside Lord Stanley.
‘How long have you been involved with the Odd Fellows?’
Mrs Wilberforce said nothing, though shock lingered visibly across her face.
As Lord Stanley continued to question her without success, Charlotte spoke instead.
‘The day we interviewed the suspects, you were spying upon us. I saw you enter the morning room with Lady Susan and the spinsters. You wished to listen to the interrogations, so you put sleeping draughts in their tea. Lady Susan, upon feeling the effects, returned to her chamber and collapsed there. The spinsters never had the opportunity. They fell asleep where they sat. Did they not?’
Mrs Wilberforce smirked faintly.
Charlotte followed the thread of her deductions.
‘You possess the key to the passages, do you not?’
Her eyes fell immediately upon Mrs Wilberforce’s sewing basket resting beside her chair.
Without hesitation, Charlotte searched through it and triumphantly withdrew a ring of household keys—ones she recognised at once from the day Mrs Wilberforce had given her the thimble. Amongst them hung the unmistakable wrought-iron one.
‘This gave you access to the secret passages.’
Lord Stanley stared at it in disbelief. The key had been beneath their very noses the entire time.
‘You followed Bainbridge after he discovered the letters,’ he said slowly, his voice barely above a whisper. ‘You took them from him—and then pushed him down the stairs.’
Charlotte continued steadily.
‘Then you used one of these keys to enter Lady Susan’s room and burnt the letters. You knew she would be insensible. Afterwards, you returned quietly to the morning room whilst the unconscious spinsters noticed nothing.’
Mrs Wilberforce eyes narrowed sharply.
‘How did you know?’
‘Because I misunderstood what I saw at the time,’ Charlotte replied. ‘Lady Susan appeared strangely calm after Bainbridge’s death, but in truth she was dazed. Then, before leaving, the spinsters complained of megrims. I recognised the same lingering effects after waking in the cage.’
‘I did what was necessary,’ Mrs Wilberforce snapped.
Lord Stanley attempted a gentler approach.
‘You shall face imprisonment, Minerva. But if you cooperate, I will ensure Tom is properly cared for—and that you may see him, should he wish it.’
For one fleeting instant, something flickered across her face.
Pain. Or guilt.
Then it vanished.
She sighed heavily.
‘I was introduced to the Odd Fellows through Frederick Bainbridge during one of his house parties. It was there I met the Captain. We fell in love.’
‘What about Wilberforce?’ Lord Stanley asked quietly. ‘Your marriage?’
She laughed bitterly.
‘William was never around. Always working. When I was struggling with Tom, the Captain was there for me.’
Her expression hardened.
‘Besides, I only married him because I thought it would please Father, but I regretted it very soon afterwards,’ she replied contemptuously. ‘So when the Captain asked me to undermine William’s work, I was only too happy to do so.’
‘What about Father? Was he not an Odd Fellow? Boulton implied he was.’
She scoffed. ‘Not truly. He was merely a lower associate. He believed it was only the smuggling of goods from France and the permitted use of the estate. Once I began hosting house parties here, the real work of the Odd Fellows occurred directly beneath his nose. He never suspected I had assumed control.’
‘But eventually he discovered the truth, didn’t he?’ Lord Stanley stated.
A thin smile crossed her lips in response.
‘He supported abolition, and the Odd Fellows warned him several times to stop. But the stubborn fool would not listen. So when the Captain needed him removed...’
Charlotte spoke softly.
‘You set the fire at the mansion.’
Mrs Wilberforce did not deny it.
The silence itself confirmed her guilt.
Lord Stanley gripped the arm of his chair so tightly his knuckles whitened.
‘You murdered him.’
‘And the passageways,’ Charlotte continued slowly. ‘You had them constructed after the fire.’
Again, Mrs Wilberforce did not deny it.
‘Oswald assisted me. The Odd Fellows intended to use Alderley as a base. Its location suited them perfectly—and it suited me as well,’ she replied.
Charlotte frowned slightly. ‘But what possible use would that have been to you, when Matthew Stanley stood to inherit everything?’
‘After Matthew had done his part, the Captain promised to dispose of him as well. Then Tom was meant to inherit. It had all been decided. Alderley would fall under my control.’
Lord Stanley’s mouth hardened.
‘You turned Matthew against me.’
‘It did not take much convincing.’ She shrugged an elegant shoulder.
‘Why do you hate me so much?’ he asked, his voice breaking slightly.
Charlotte’s chest ached for him.
Mrs Wilberforce’s composure shattered into fury.
‘Because you were always the favoured one! Even after disgracing Father and abandoning your religion, he still loved and respected you. Whereas I was merely furniture—meant to sit quietly and look decorative.’
A shocked breath escaped Lord Stanley, he turned away, unable to look upon her.
Silence settled heavily over the room. The fire crackled softly whilst wind rattled faintly against the windows.
Charlotte longed to reach for him—to comfort him somehow.
‘And the girls?’ Charlotte asked aghast. ‘How could you do such things to them?’
Mrs Wilberforce lifted one corner of her mouth, but her cold gaze remained utterly impenetrable.
‘Most were already one step from the gutter. I merely ensured they ended somewhere preferable to the workhouse.’
Charlotte clenched her fists in anger.
‘How ironic. You despised being dismissed and dehumanised, yet thought nothing of doing the same to others.’ Lord Stanley replied coolly.
Mrs Wilberforce remained unmoved.
‘Why should I care for anyone else when nobody ever cared for me? It is a dog-eat-dog world, brother. You take what you can. I wanted Alderley Park—and I would have had it, were it not for you and your governess.’
Charlotte looked at her with quiet pity.
‘The Captain does not love you, you know. He is merely using you.’
Mrs Wilberforce’s expression twisted sharply.
‘You know nothing about our relationship,’ she snapped. ‘We understand one another perfectly.’
Determined to end the awful conversation, Charlotte asked one final question.
‘What do you know about the codes?’
Mrs Wilberforce smiled scornfully.
‘Ah yes, the codes. Unfortunately for you, I was never entrusted with them. My Captain alone possesses that knowledge—and by now I imagine he is already halfway to France.’