Martha nodded. ‘I suspect it is the same with many of the species that grow there.’
‘So, people thought eyeballs were strange,’ said Frankie, ‘But what I really needed to do was to set them on fire. Who would have thought?’
‘I suppose the duke did make a contribution in the end,’ said Martha.
‘Shame we did him in,’ said Frankie. ‘He could have helped with theVitex.’
But as she skipped through the second half of the sentence, Thea noticed that Martha had tensed. She looked between Martha and Frankie, whose eyes now widened.
‘I thought you were going to tell her?’ she asked Martha. Thea’s gaze flicked to the countess.
‘I was,’ said Martha through slightly gritted teeth. ‘After the funeral.’
Frankie paused, and Thea’s gaze slipped back to her. ‘Well, I suppose now is after the funeral,’ she said quietly. ‘What is it you have to tell me?’
‘Well,’ said Martha, for once seemingly at a loss for words. Or actions. She stood stock still.
Frankie looked at her for what seemed like long seconds and then sighed. ‘We killed the duke,’ she said, managing to look both contrite and defiant at once. ‘Me and Lady Foxmore.’
‘I know,’ said Thea a little hopefully. ‘You told the constable. But by accident and it was only contributory…’
‘No,’ said Martha, seeming to have found her voice but not any movement. She still stared at the bed ahead of her, arms clasped around her. ‘Not by accident. We at least tried to kill him absolutely on purpose.’
Frankie nodded in confirmation.
‘How?’ asked Thea, when no other information was forthcoming.
‘With theAbrus,’ said Martha. ‘The seeds that were in the rain stick that I brought for the children. They’re extremely poisonous. Fine when they’re inside the stick for the children, obviously.’
Thea blinked, not knowing what to make of it. ‘How did you get them down him? Wasn’t he unconscious from the shovel and massive amounts of laudanum?’
Martha swallowed nervously, so Frankie went on. ‘Lady Foxmore made some pellets from the mushed-up seeds. Then I helped her turn him over and we poked one into him with a grafting knife.’
‘Where?’ asked Thea, not sure why that was her question.
‘In his arse,’ said Frankie, apparently a little pleased with herself. ‘Intramuscular. I knew how to miss the arteries because of our lectures with Doctor Hunter.’
Thea, eyes still wide, took a breath to speak and then let it out again. The silence stretched a little. ‘Did nobody notice?’ she asked, wondering how the doctors had missed it.
‘It is a form of poison difficult to detect,’ said Martha. ‘Only a small incision is required, then the pellet dissolves and the organs fail slowly. The insertion of the pellet would have causeda bruise, but he was already bruised from damaging himself while setting the fire.’ She shrugged. ‘Idiot,’ she added, as if she couldn’t stop herself.
‘Did you say tried?’ asked Frankie, looking to Martha.
‘Mmm,’ said Martha. ‘He woke up after it and he shouldn’t have. It might be that the seeds were old and not as potent. We may never know if it was that or the laudanum.’
‘How did you know about it?’ asked Thea. ‘TheAbrusand the pellets?’
‘I witnessed its use in the East Indies,’ she said. ‘They use it to kill cattle. But they administer it with bamboo skewers.’
‘You tried to kill my husband like a cow?’ asked Thea, attempting to keep her voice low, still disbelieving what she was hearing.
‘Like a bullock,’ corrected Martha. ‘Far more appropriate. They are less useful.’
‘Why?’ asked Thea.
‘Because they don’t produce milk,’ said Martha.
‘Not that.’ Thea closed her eyes for a second. This was a lot to take in. ‘Why did you kill George?’
