James ran into the large kitchen and scullery combined.
Mr. Price was helping the staff plate food for the people in the bar.
“Sir James!”
James grabbed him by the shoulder. “Where’s the honey?”
“Honey, sir?”
“The honey Baron Stackpoole left for his son! It’s what is making people sick!”
“The honey! But?—”
“Where is it!” James demanded, shaking him.
“On the tea tray Marly just took up to Mr. Stackpoole.”
“Take me to Stackpoole’s room, now.”
“But, sir?—”
James shook him. “Now!” he repeated.
The man nodded and led him out of the kitchen toward the stairs.
“Faster. We have to stop him from adding that to his tisane. It’s what is keeping him sick and what is making others sick who he lets have some of his honey.”
“My wife!”
“If she had any of his honey, then that is what has made her sick, too.”
Mr. Price ran faster up the stairs. He pointed to Mr. Stackpoole’s door. James rushed into the room.
“Oh, hello, Sir James,” Mr. Stackpoole said cheerily as he stirred his tisane. James removed the cup from Mr. Stackpoole’s hands.
“Did you just put the honey in the cup or is it in the pot as well?”
“What? Oh, just the cup.—Why did you take my cup away?”
“This is not regular honey. This is Mad Honey.”
“What? No, it can’t be, my father wouldn’t do that to me.”
“He would if he didn’t want you to meet Mr. Montgomery. He tried to give it to Mr. Montgomery first, but sweets are not allowed at Camden House, so if he couldn’t prevent a meeting by making Mr. Montgomery sick, he would make you sick instead.”
Mr. Stackpoole blinked. “And all the other people who got sick they had some of my honey.”
“Yes. Has any been removed from this jar and put into another jar?” James asked as he poured the contents of the cup into the slops pot.
“No—Yes! I gave some to Mrs. Price yesterday since it goes so well with her tisane.”
James removed the honey jar from the tray. “You should get better now,” he said as he left the room.
“Wait—” Mr. Stackpoole called after him. James didn’t stop. He had to get the rest of the honey from Mrs. Price.
He came down the stairs to encounter Mr. Price coming from their rooms on the ground floor; he held a jar in his hand.
“Is that the honey Stackpoole gave your wife?”
