Victor turned to Marcus. “Come with me.” He then led Marcus around the side of the manor and pointed to the spot where Victor had stood over four years ago and listened outside of a window as Thompson belittled Charlotte.
“I am going inside. If you need to come in, the door is right there and it leads to the library, but I think it is safer for you out here.”
Marcus frowned.
“Trust me. Maria is up to no good.”
As Marcus walked away to stand where Victor had asked, he returned to the front of the house and entered without waiting for the door to be answered. He crossed the entry to the library and listened. His wife and Maria were inside, and Victor didn’t bother to knock, but strode right in.
“You knew Thompson had died before I did.” He needed confirmation of his suspicions.
Maria blinked at him. “Yes, I was here. I came to ask for financial assistance since I am your sister. He denied my request, so I slipped ground up oleander into his brandy.”
If she wasn’t even going to deny his suspicions, then Maria likely intended to kill Charlotte, or him, or both. At least Marcus would stand as a witness.
“Where the blazes did you get oleander?”
“I have a friend in Bath who has a conservatory of all manner of plants, bushes and trees that they have collected from around the world. One such bush in the collection is the oleander. I clipped a few leaves just in case I needed them in the future.”
“The doctor thought that my father’s heart gave out.”
“It did, after he drank the oleander,” Maria confirmed. “He even complained that his brandy tasted bitter, then blamed it on an inferior distributor. However, as he did not believe in anything going to waste, he drank every drop in his glass.”
“You murdered Charlotte’s father?” Victor demanded. His sister had slipped into madness.
“Yes,” she answered. “I was then going to bring about Charlotte’s demise so that you would be free of her, your bloody obligations and all that wealth would come to us.”
A chill raced down his spine at her cold, calculated and planned murders to get what she wanted.
Victor moved closer to Charlotte to protect her. He had to get between his wife and his sister.
“But, after reading his Last Will and Testament, which Charlotte graciously left on the desk, I fear her death will not benefit us as much as I had hoped.” Maria lifted a legal-appearing document from the desk. “Nobody would receive anything until Charlotte delivers that child she now carries.” She smiled. “Thank goodness I overheard you tell Marcus last night that you and Charlotte are expecting a happy event because that is the answer to all of my problems.”
“What answer?” Victor was almost afraid to hear what his sister had planned.
“You need to go,” Maria answered. “Then, when the child is born, Marcus will be the natural choice as guardian for your son or daughter, plus he will have full control over your child’s inheritance and Charlotte’s. Thompson has left so much that we will never need to beg from him like the way we have had to grovel for every shilling you allowed us to have.”
Maria had never groveled a day in her life. Further, she received from him far more than she ever deserved, as did their mother.
She may think she had won, but even if he did die, Maria would never be able to touch his child’s inheritance. As soon as Victor had learned Charlotte was expecting, he had drawn up papers naming Melcombe as the guardian since a woman could not have that privilege. He trusted Melcombe to see to the care of both Charlotte and the child more than anyone in his family.
However, Victor did not offer that information or Maria would go after Melcombe next.
“You assume Marcus will go along with your plans.”
“Of course he will. As the new Viscount Blackmar, he will have no other choice. He will also be one of the richest gentlemen in England. He will have no reason to hold back funds from his sister and mother, nor is he as cruel as you.”
Panic rose as Maria withdrew a dueling pistol from the large bag she carried. He could only pray that his sister was a poor shot because then he could end this as she would not have time to reload and fire a second time before he had the pistol taken away from her.
“It became clear after I read the Will what I must do.”
Maria leveled the pistol on him, her finger on the trigger. Maria was determined and aimed for his heart.
“Goodbye, Victor. I promise to mourn you deeply as I explain to the authorities how your wife shot you to get out of a horrific marriage and keep the wealth for herself.”
“No,” Charlotte screamed as Victor watched his sister’s finger depress the trigger. Before he could duck out of the way, which had been his intention, Charlotte was in front of him and was struck by the ball meant for him. He absorbed her weight against his body as he and Maria both screamed.
“It was supposed to be you,” Maria cried as Victor cradled Charlotte and sank to the floor. Crimson spread across her chest, soaking into the periwinkle wool that she had loved so much.
