Chapter 11
Lizzy and I waited for him there. Rosalie sent me several messages last night asking for a reason as to why I left with Lizzy in the carriage.
After that, she wanted to learn the reason I wasn’t replying to her texts.
Once I took a moment to compose a suitable reply, I told her that I was trying to solve Moonrot with Lizzy, and that I needed her company until then.
I wished for Lizzy’s company long past that, but of course I didn’t include that information in my text message.
After stowing his luggage in the rear of the limo, we all got in. I’d driven to the airport, but I allowed Dan, who’d arrived with Uncle, to drive. I raised the wall between Dan and us, waiting until it was secured and layered with magic to ensure no sound reached him.
“It was kind of you to pick me up. Dan could have driven me on his own,” Uncle said.
“It’s no problem,” I responded as I searched the lines of my uncle’s aged face.
This was the face of a killer. But why? This man had held everything together when mine and Georgiana’s world was falling apart.
Even now, he just seemed like my uncle. He displayed no signs of guilt.
A part of me still hoped he had an explanation.
As the limo pulled away from the curb, Uncle scrutinized Lizzy. “And who might you be, my dear?”
“A friend of Darcy’s.”
“Oh, just a friend. He usually doesn’t bring pretty young ladies to meet me. Although”—he gazed questioningly at me—“I understand that you asked Rosalie to marry you last night. Is that true?”
I glanced at Lizzy but nodded. “It is.”
“I must say, I was hoping things would move quickly, but I wasn’t expecting things to move that quickly.”
Neither had I. But I’d done what was needed, and the last thing I wanted to do was dwell on a promise I had no way of backing out of. “Uncle, this is Lizzy Bennet. She’s my friend, and that’s all.”
A slow smile came across Lizzy’s lips, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “Yes, nothing more.”
I watched her, a kind of sickness inside me, wondering if she still hadn’t gotten over my going back on what I’d told her. Did she think me untrustworthy? I loathed the thought of potentially losing her trust concerning this.
Uncle glanced between us. “I see,” he drawled.
Lizzy turned to the small minibar. “Would you like a drink, Your Majesty?”
“You’re a guest. I should be the one offering you a drink. Or Darcy.” He lifted an expectant eyebrow at me.
I grabbed the sherry out of the safety rack, expecting the request. My uncle’s favorite. “We can all have a drink.”
“No, I’d like the port today.”
I froze. “Trying something new?”
“You might say so.”
I cast a worried glance at Lizzy. My uncle’s inclinations were easy to foresee in most respects, so I hadn’t contemplated that he’d pick a different option when Lizzy and I placed the truth serum in the sherry bottle. What were we going to do now?
I leaned forward and let the bottle of port fall to the floor, spilling out onto the rug of the limo.
Lizzy gasped, and Uncle shouted.
I hid my triumph under a guise of shame. “I’m sorry, Uncle.”
He relaxed into his seat, looking a bit annoyed, but said, “No worries, my boy.”
“I’ll get the interior of the limo cleaned as soon as we’re done with it today.” I moved back to the beverages. “Would you like something else?”
“Sure, I’ll take the iced wine.”
My heart sank. “Are you sure you wouldn’t like the sherry?”
Uncle gave me a quizzical look. “Why do you want me to drink the sherry?”
“I don’t. I just thought you liked it.”
“Fine.” He waved a dismissive hand. “I’ll take it.”
Relief bloomed in my chest, and I grabbed the bottle of sherry and poured a glass for my uncle.
He took it from me, held it up to his nose, and took a long whiff. I glanced uncertainly at Lizzy. I was pretty sure the truth serum had no scent once mixed in with a drink.
Lizzy fiddled with her purse, reaching in and pulling out a lotion with a flowery scent and spread it over her hands. Then again, maybe she hoped to hide whatever smell it might give off.
Uncle rolled down his window and poured out the drink. “On second thought, I’m not thirsty.”
“Your Majesty.” Lizzy seized my uncle’s hand in hers. “I want to express how much I have desired to meet you today.”
I gave Lizzy a strange glance, unsure of what she was doing. She wasn’t the kind to bathe attention on someone for their position in life.
My uncle extracted himself from her grip. “Yes, it is quite an experience to meet you, young lady.”
Lizzy gave me a meaningful look, and for a moment I had no idea what she was trying to convey, but then she said, “Darcy, was there something you hoped to ask your uncle?”
And I realized Lizzy must have put the truth potion on her hands and touched my uncle.
I wanted to kiss her. She was so clever.
“Yes, I did.”
Uncle frowned, and he shifted in his seat. “Oh? And what questions would those be?”
“You visited my parents the night of their deaths,” I said.
He regarded me, impressed. “You spoke with Mrs. Trent. Smart boy.” He nodded. “Yes, I visited your parents that night.”
“And you got upset with them about something.”
“I was upset with your parents. They always experimented with magic, and it was quite dangerous.”
“And what happened next?”
“Well, we had our disagreement, and I left. I don’t think my words had any impact on your parents.
In fact, I believe their experiment is what led to their death.
” His eyes grew round. “What is this? Someone has given me a truth serum.” He gave an annoyed glance at Lizzy.
“I suppose that was your doing, my dear.”
“We have evidence they died before the car crash,” I pushed, watching him closely.
“You’ve told me that before,” Uncle replied.
“The feed to the cameras was cut so we couldn’t see who came and went,” Lizzy said.
Uncle shifted uncomfortably. “This isn’t something we should talk about with someone so… unconnected to the royal family.”
I scowled. “Lizzy is—”
“Neither your sister nor your fiancée, in which case she has no bearing in any of this.”
“I invited her here. She’s been with me for the last few days trying to figure out what happened to my parents. Whatever you have to say, you can say in front of her,” I insisted.
Uncle sat there, staring between the two of us, but then shrugged and leaned back. “As you say. But you’re aware, Darcy, that your parents occasionally turned off the cameras when they had meetings over topics they wanted to keep more… off the books.”
“There is also a coroner’s report that stated my parents died approximately thirty minutes before the supposed car crash,” I said.
He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t understand. You’ve already told me this, Darcy. What? You think because I saw your parents that I killed them?”
If I weren’t almost certain he’d done it, he might have fooled me. “Clara Ashcombe from the council was killed a few nights ago. On the night that you were supposed to be flying to New York from our cabin in Wyoming.”
“Yes, I’d heard about that. What a tragedy.” He shook his head sadly.
“Clara Ashcombe met her end in the identical manner as Darcy’s parents. With thornlace poisoning,” Lizzy said.
Now, Uncle looked shocked, the blood draining from his face. “What makes you say that?”
“A three-hour difference also exists between what’s written in the family flight record and your arrival time in New York. Can you explain where you were?” I asked.
“Who told you that?”
He wasn’t answering my questions. It was time to ask the one he couldn’t dodge. “So you know nothing about my parents’ murder or the death of Clara Ashcombe?” I asked.
Uncle frowned at me. “Why are you asking this, son? Do you truly believe I helped to murder my own brother and his wife? And this random other lady?”
“I just need to be sure,” I said.
He nodded, as if expecting this all along. He leaned forward and sat for a long moment in silence. It was at that instant when I saw the grief and culpability I’d anticipated flood his countenance.
“I knew you’d find out the truth, eventually. I did indeed kill Clara Aschombe. I also killed Anne and Thomas Valemont.” He looked at me with utter sadness. “I’m the one who killed your parents.”