Dashwood smiled in a tolerant manner. “You know that was not the way of it. She attacked him without provocation or cause. And she will hang for it.”
“Nonsense.” Davien waved a hand, causing Dashwood’s eyes to narrow, but he turned his attention back to the leftenant. “If all you have for a witness testimony is Sir Francis, then I’m afraid you’re wasting all of our time. Cosette has been under my protection for some time now, and Dashwood laments that fact. I fear all we have here is a crime of jealous revenge. He’s merely trying to ruffle my feathers.”
“How dare you spew these barefaced lies!” Dashwood snarled, his confidence, along with his composure, starting to crumble.
Perfect. It would make the next part of Davien’s plan so much easier to carry out.
Davien rolled his eyes at the leftenant for effect. “How he does droll on, don’t you agree, gentleman?” A few of the soldiers chuckled, earning a dark glare from Dashwood. Davien merely inspected his fingernails, adopting a perfect air of calm. “Personally, I think if you should look to anyone’s doorstep for poor behavior, it might be Dashwood himself.”
“You vile bastard!” Sir Francis snarled, but when he would have taken a step toward Davien, the leftenant held out an arm.
“We apologize for taking up so much of your time, Your Grace. There has obviously been a terrible misunderstanding.”
Dashwood’s face turned an alarming, mottled shade of red. “You can not mean to allow—”
The leftenant turned to Dashwood. “We’re finished here,” he said with an air of authority. He turned and retreated down the steps, the other soldiers following suit.
Dashwood turned back to Davien, murderous intent sparking in his gaze. “You’ll regret this, Blackburn.”
Davien merely smiled, but he knew it didn’t reach his eyes. “Not as much as you will. I shall personally see to that.”
~ ~ ~
Cosette overheard the exchange, hardly daring to believe how easily Davien had managed to turn the tables on Dashwood. He’d caused suspicion to fall on him, while relieving her of the burden of being a suspect.
She had never met such an amazing man.
When Davien returned to the library, Charlotte gave a low whistle. “Gor, that was quite an impressive performance, Yer Grace. Ye might just have a future on th’ stage.”
He shook his head at her, before moving to kneel down in front of Cosette. “I managed to cast possible guilt on Dashwood, but I don’t know how long it will last. This fight may continue if he can convince more of the Brothers to testify against you.”
She nodded. “I understand.”
“Well I’m glad someone does,” Charlotte interceded sourly. “After that, I think it’s aboot time I know what is goin’ on around here.”
Cosette pursed her lips together and turned to Davien to see him wearing a similar, grim expression. “I trust her,” she whispered.
He ran a hand through his hair.
“I’m waitin’,” Charlotte said impatiently.
Blackburn finally blew out a breath. “Very well.” He looked at her. “But I would prepare yourself for a descent into hell.”
~ ~ ~
Three hours later, after Quinn had returned to his room to rest, for he already knew the truth surrounding Shadowlawn and its occupants, Cosette and Davien sat down with Charlotte in the library and relayed the entire sordid story. From the night she’d first met Blackburn, the only part of the story that Charlotte had been aware, to the present day, they left nothing out. Cosette told her about Davien’s curse, and the one tied to her locket and everything it had caused her to do. Davien was silent for the most part, but he filled in the blanks when needed.
When Cosette was finished, she had to admit that Charlotte had surprised her. She’d been waiting for more of a reaction. She thought her friend might have showed horror when she revealed that Blackburn was an aswang, and she was a murderer, but she stayed completely straight faced until the end of the recounting.
Now, the only question she posed was to Davien, “Did ye ever find anythin’ in th’ archives?”
Cosette couldn’t remain silent. “You’re not . . . upset by any of this?”
“Wot would that accomplish?”
Cosette laughed, almost hysterically. “Didn’t you listen to anything I said? I have hurt people.” She pressed a fist to her chest for emphasis.
“Aye. An’ sheep, I know.”
