“I’m not familiar with that plant. But there is a doctor in London who is familiar with exotic plants and their properties for medicine and poison. You might wish to consult with him.”
“Yes! Who is he? Do you have his direction?” Cecilia asked.
“Dr. Jonathan Lakewood. He would be helpful to you. He was one of the lecturers when forensic studies were introduced at the University of Edinburgh.”
Cecilia hoped her face did not betray her shock at Dr. Seeton’s mention of Dr. Lakewood and his lectures on poisons.
“Thank you for the information,” she said. “But I can’t keep you any longer. You are here to see Christopher. He is doing much better today. He got up to have breakfast with us, and then Miss Rangaswamy made him go back to bed. They are expecting you.”
“Yes. Do you mind if I discuss this further with Miss Rangaswamy?”
“No, not at all. I thought you would want to. My only request is you do not do so in front of Christopher.”
“No, certainly not! I understand. Thank you for your candor, Lady Branstoke,” Dr. Seeton said as he rose to leave.
“Better to hear from me than through rumors, which so often can take on lives of their own that have no bearing on truth.”
“Well said, my lady. Well said.”
18
“Owen did not like Dr. Lakewood,” Damon was saying, when Cecilia entered the library.
The gentlemen rose. “Oh, please, please, sit down,” Cecilia said as she walked over to the tea and coffee tray. She made a face. “Bobbing up and down when a lady enters a room or stands looks comical and counterproductive to your discussion. Continue Mr. Partridge.”
The gentlemen sat. James looked at her with his enigmatic, slight smile. She winked at him in return, and his smile broadened.
“As I was saying, Owen did not like Dr. Lakewood, and he never trusted Frederick Lakewood. He was suspicious why Frederick was assigned to work with him, and when he tried to talk to his superiors about the younger Lakewood, they brushed him aside,” Damon explained.
“But why did he not like Dr. Lakewood?” Soothcoor asked. He sipped his coffee. “I’ll grant in my limited acquaintance with the man, I’ve noted he is dismissive in his manner to those he considers beneath him, but Owen worked with many troublesome people in his life. What was different with Dr. Lakewood?” Soothcoor asked.
“Brother,” Charles said drily, “spend more time in his company and he becomes easy to dislike. I do not like him, either; however, Mama is enamored of him.”
Soothcoor raised a brow. “Enamored?”
“Yes, enamored. She thinks he is wonderfully intelligent and wickedly clever.”
Lewis’s eyes narrowed. “Do you think she would marry him?”
“What are you thinking, Mr. Martin?” James asked. Cecilia sat down next to him, her tea in hand.
“My belief is Dr. Lakewood’s interest in Kalihari is profit based. He met Mr. Sedgewick before he went to India, so I assume the doctor was familiar with the severity of his arthritic condition. In India, he saw him much improved. He brings the plant back to England to cultivate and quickly learns it requires a warmer condition than what is typical of England. He needs an orangery or a conservatory,” Lewis said.
“He renews his acquaintance with the Dowager Countess of Soothcoor at a horticultural meeting, learns she has the ideal location for his growing Kalihari, and requests permission to plant his specimens in her conservatory.”
“I don’t think his meeting up with her was accidental,” James said.
“You think he learned she had a conservatory and ingratiated himself to her?” Cecilia asked.
“Yes. And I would not be surprised if he has suggested a union between them. Once wed, he gets everything that is hers, which would include the estate with the conservatory and any other properties and money she may have.”
“My stepmother is not a stupid woman,” Soothcoor objected. “The only way he would have access to everything would be upon her death.”
Lewis and James stared at him.
An uncomfortable silence hung in the room.
“You think he would murder her?” Soothcoor finally asked, looking from one man to the other.
