The dread that had settled in her bones spread throughout her body, making her fingers tingle with the force of it. Francis knew of her apartments! She and Thomas were in danger here. She must see Grace immediately.
* * *
“She was poisoned, Your Grace,”the doctor said gravely, confirming Jasper’s suspicion. “And this was found on her person.”
Jasper gave a sharp nod, his gut churning with guilt, and accepted the bit of parchment. “Thank you, Doctor.”
“I can prepare her body for transport. Might I have the help of three of your footmen?”
“Of course,” Jasper said, gesturing to the footman who was lingering in the doorway. The man bowed and disappeared into the corridor.
The doctor knelt to his task, and Jasper joined Miss Grace Huntsbury by the hearth. She leaned her back against the wall, her grey-green eyes dark with concern.
He sniffed carefully at the parchment—no laurel water—before opening it.
Exposethyself to feel what wretches feel,
That thou may’st shake the superflux to them
And show the heavens moreJust.
Fuck.
“It is as we suspected,” Jasper confirmed, offering the parchment to the woman.
Her lips tightened, dimpling her gently rounded cheeks as she accepted the proffered note. “I imagine he reserved the laurel water for Lady Cartwright.” She hummed. “We must inform Heather and Maria. This is their assignment, after all.”
“Of course.” Jasper nodded. “I’ve sent a missive to the baron, and I’ve spoken with the neighbouring staff. Harris mentioned an inquiry, but I daresay that will take time, and it will come to naught, for we already know the perpetrator.”
Miss Huntsbury sighed. “Indeed. It would seem that Mr. Sinclair is no longer content with minor threats and near misses; the man is in earnest.”
“I should say so,” Jasper confirmed, his gut knotting with remorse once more. “Mayhap this wouldn’t have happened to Lady Cartwright if Maria had remained a short while longer, or if I’d been awake.”
“I’ll have Maria’s report later.” The woman gave him a sad smile and shook her head, her brown curls wobbling with the motion. “You oughtn’t blame yourself, Your Grace. These acts are the design of someone driven only by greed and revenge, with no regard for the lives of anyone but himself.”
The tension in his neck eased slightly, but his heart remained troubled. “Thank you.”
* * *
Maria’s earsechoed with the thud of her pulse, the pounding of horses’ hooves, and the rattle of the hack’s wheels along the cobblestoned streets of London. Nausea tossed her stomach and, though she hated to admit it,fearstiffened her spine and caused the hair upon her nape to stand on end.
She’d raced down her apartments’ stairs in time to reach Thomas and warn him of the danger, but with their home no longer safe, where would he go? He’d assured her that he would be well, and she ought to put her faith in that.
They hit a rut, and Maria jostled against the tattered squabs. The hack carried the odour of unwashed bodies and, undoubtedly, the contents of the parcel, which she had resealed and brought with her. She ought to have buried the poor thing, but it was possible there was another message within the carcass. And she simply didn’t have the stomach to search on her own. Indeed, the moment she’d finished tying the last knot on the parcel, she packed her frock into a travelling satchel and carried both items out the door.
Even now, it is possible that Francis is following me, her thoughts whispered. He’d left the parcel at her door. Surely there ought to be a way for her to ascertain if the man was in pursuit.
“Whoa!” the driver hollered.
Someone cursed and horses whinnied as the hack jolted sideways.
With a gasp, Maria dropped her satchel to the floor with the parcel and braced herself against the hack’s wall, her entire body wracked with trembling.
Crunch!Crack!As though a great battle had been waged and lost, the hack slumped at a perilously sharp angle, tossing her to one side with a hardthwump.
Pain radiated through her temple, but she only gave it a passing notice as ice chilled her veins.
Francis.
