“And I am so pleased you invited me to talk.” Emilia embraced Kate. “I thought you’d abandoned me.”
“Never.” Kate gestured for the woman to sit down. Then she sat across from her and poured her a cup of tea, adding a lump of sugar and a dollop of cream before handing it to her. “I would never abandon you, my dear sister.”Nor would I add laudanum to your cup, though honestly, it would serve you right.Kate pushed the thought away. Now was not the time to let her temper get the better of her, even if her ire was well deserved.
“Thank you.” Emilia smiled sweetly and sipped her tea.
“But I do have a few questions for you,” Kate said. “And I need you to answer me honestly.”
“Or course.”
“I believe it was Middlemarch who tried to turn you against me and Oliver.” She sipped her tea. “None of this is your fault. He is the guilty party. Where did you meet him?”
“After Theo’s death, I found Lord Knox’s letter, naming Mathew—Theo—as his heir, so I came to London in search of him in the hope that he would help the unprotected sister of his deceased heir. I stayed a few nights at an inn in London, and when I went down for dinner one evening, I met Middlemarch. He was drinking and gambling, and when he spotted me alone, he came to talk to me.” Emilia tilted her chin in what Kate knew was false modesty, especially given the woman’s true character. “He wanted to know why such a beautiful and respectable lady was dining alone. I knew he was a gentleman, so I allowed him to dine with me. I thought he might know Lord Knox, so I told him I was a relative of the earls. And that is when he invited me to Lady Ashworth’s ball.”
“But why didn’t you approach me when I saw you at the party? You denied being there. I thought I was going mad.” Again, Kate pushed away the anger boiling in her belly as she remembered the angst she’d endured at the wicked woman’s hand. Remembering that Oliver and the magistrate were listening helped. If she lost her temper, they’d never get the information they needed to make Emilia—Fanny—pay for her crimes.
“I was shocked. I didn’t expect to see you there. Middlemarch had mentioned that Lord Knox was recently married, but I had no idea it was you. I wasn’t ready to face you yet, so I turned and ran away.”
“I don’t believe you,” Kate said.Now.Now is the time. But tread carefully. It occurred to Kate that this woman was adept at scheming and weaving webs to ensnare her victims; now it was her turn.
She reminded herself that the Black Widow, ironically, was on her side, and always had been. Kate didn’t want to let her down. Certainly, she could weave a few traps of her own. But first, she needed to draw Fanny out into the light. “I wish you’d stop lying to me.”
Emilia’s eyes flashed with anger. “I’m not lying.”
Kate set her cup down.Be calm. Don’t allow her to escape. “I know that Theo wasn’t your brother, Emilia.” She kept her voice level and serene, even to her own ears. She wasn’t going to give anything away.
Emilia blanched. “What? That’s a lie. Where did you hear that?”
“From Theo,” Kate said, intentionally meeting the woman’s cold eyes with a stony gaze of her own.
“Liar!” Emilia said through gritted teeth.
Kate shrugged and waved her hand dismissively. “He told me everything before he died. He said that your real name isFanny Birch and that he met you in a brothel in Paris. He loved you once—or he thought he did. Until he met me, of course.” Kate found it easier to lie to Emilia—rather,Fanny—than she’d thought. She was glad to see the woman’s facade crumble, and she wondered if Fanny had enjoyed seeing her fall apart as well. It gave her strength to keep baiting her.
But Fanny only laughed. “You’re lying. Theo didn’t tell you any of that, even though every word of it is true.”
So she admits it and doesn’t deny it. Kate felt a flush of success. She raised a brow. “What do you mean?” Kate asked. “How do youknowhe didn’t tell me?”
“Because I have the letter he wrote you.”
“What letter?” Kate cocked her head.
“The one he never had a chance to send you. Theo wrote to you confessing everything you just told me.” She reached into her reticule and pulled out a crumpled envelope. “I found it, and that’s when I decided he needed to die.”
Kate reached for the letter, but Fanny held it back out of her grasp. “He wasn’t supposed to fall in love with you!” A flash of fury appeared in her icy blue eyes. “That wasn’t part of the plan!”
“What plan?” Kate asked.
“The plan to get your father’s money, you little idiot. It was perfect. I knew from the day I met you—a desperate, lonely young woman who thought she’d die an old maid serving her father—you would have fallen in love with the first man who showed you an ounce of attention.”
Kate flinched. It was true. She’d admitted it to herself already, but that didn’t mean Fanny’s verbal jab missed its mark. She drew herself up.Calm, Kate. Be calm and think of Mrs. Dove-Lyon. She’d never allow herself to crumble when she was working on a snare.
Perhaps that’s why she always wore her veil, Kate realized. If no one could see her face, she didn’t have to work at keeping herexpression emotionless. It was more difficult than she’d thought it would be.
“And my Theo, well, he was handsome and charming. I knew it wouldn’t take much for him to convince you to lie with him. Once you were with child, your father would have had no choice but to let you marry, and he’d have had to hand over a large dowry for the sake of his family’s reputation. You’d have been Mrs. Harrington in name only—that was the plan. We’d have your money and each other.” Fanny’s lips curled in a snarl. “But after a while, I saw his attitude toward you change. Suddenly, he talked about having a proper marriage with you and leavingmeout in the cold. He’d talk about your little family, and I knew he wanted me gone, so I devised a little plan of my own.”
Kate’s stomach turned. She thought of Middlemarch’s pride, even to his own detriment. He and this woman were birds of a feather. Like him, Fanny would preen herself under praise, and even boast of what she no doubt saw as her accomplishments no matter how evil they were. So Kate tipped her head as if she admired Fanny’s inventiveness. “You weren’t with him in the carriage when it crashed down the ravine, were you?”
Fanny shook her head, a smile appearing on her face. “No.”
