“Deadly dull.” He frowned. “No one here offers any challenge in billiards, and Perrin’s library is dreadfully lacking in anything interesting to read.”
Lady Mary leaned forward and inhaled deeply as a bowl of consommé was laid before her. “The library is full of histories and treatises on philosophy and natural sciences.”
Katherine’s father snorted. “As I said, nothing interesting. Every library should have at least one mind-rotting novel ortwo.” He turned to his own soup, and his complaints appeared soon forgotten, his focus only on his meal. “It’s a good thing you brought some of your own books with you, Katherine.”
“I’m so glad Cook Clem is feeling better.” Miss Walker was seated at the foot of the table. Whether she had been placed there or decided to take that spot opposite the place of the master of the house for herself, Katherine didn’t know. As Perrin’s intended, well, almost intended, the space across from Perrin should have fallen to her, she thought. As Katherine hadn’t been eager to marry the earl in any event, she was happy to let that transgression go uncontested.
“Indeed.” Lady Havenstone scooped up another spoonful of the soup. “It seems his is the only cooking that doesn’t upset my stomach. I have a delicate digestion, you know.”
Katherine’s father snorted, but kept his attention on his own dish.
Lady Mary leaned back from her empty bowl. “Now that we are all together, I feel I must bring up the matter of Lord Perrin’s death.”
Lord Havenstone blotted his lips with his napkin. “Must we now? Perhaps after dinner would be more appropriate.”
There were some grumbles of agreement to that statement.
“No time like the present.” Lady Mary rested her hands in her lap. “Perrin didn’t die from the knife to his chest.”
Katherine put down her spoon, no longer hungry. She knew. Katherine didn’t know how Lady Mary knew, but Katherine’s secret was out. She darted a glance at Mr. Taylor, but his face didn’t show the concern she knew hers did.
Lady Mary gazed around the table. “He was poisoned.”
Katherine gripped the edge of the table. “I didn’t intend…. Wait. What?” She felt Mr. Evans’s gaze fall on her, but she kept hers focused on Lady Mary. “What do you mean he was poisoned? How do you know?”
“I suspected he hadn’t been stabbed when I noticed the distinct lack of blood from the wound. Then a maid found the mouse. It was because of the spilled wine, that atrocious wormwood concoction Perrin liked.” Lady Mary sniffed. “A mouse died from drinking it. We tested it on another. Same result.”
A spoon clattered against china, and everyone looked down the table at Miss Walker. She pressed her hand to her throat. “Poisoned? That’s horrible. Is our food safe?”
Several people pushed their bowls away.
Lord Havenstone cocked his head. “The wine had a very strong flavor. Most poisons wouldn’t be detected in it. Smart.”
Katherine stared at the base of a candlestick in the middle of the table. Poison. He’d died from poison, not falling down the stairs.
She hadn’t killed him. She darted a look at Mr. Taylor. He hadn’t needed to desecrate Perrin’s body in an attempt to protect her.
And she didn’t have to marry to protect her secret.
She clutched her hands together under the table, a fine tremor running through her body.
Mr. Taylor tapped his fingers on the table. “Surely there is no way to know for certain that he was poisoned. He could have been killed in other ways.”
Katherine’s stomach turned to lead. Lady Mary was giving them a reprieve, one the secretary seemed intent to ignore. There could be only one reason. Mr. Taylor wanted to trap her in marriage just as surely as her father and Lord Perrin had intended.
“I’m certain the magistrate will confirm it.” Lady Mary nodded to the footman who took her bowl. “I’ve had the butler place the bottle of wormwood wine somewhere secure.”
Lord Havenstone raised his wineglass, paused, then put it back down. “I’m trying to remember last night. How did Perrin act before we found his body? Was he sweating? Slurring his words? There would be symptoms.”
“You seem to know a fair amount about poisons,” Mr. Evans said. Katherine couldn’t help but notice he was the only one who didn’t seem surprised by Lady Mary’s revelation. “Are poisons a particular hobby of yours?”
Havenstone chuckled. “Hardly, but as someone who owns a few mining operations, it behooves me to be familiar with noxious substances.”
“What poisons come from mines?” Lady Mary asked.
“Arsenic, primarily. As well as being mined for itself for use in paint and agriculture, it’s also a consequence of tin and copper distillation.” He scratched his jaw. “But really, many ores can be toxic if ingested in large enough amounts.”
Miss Walker stared at the plate of chicken a footman placed before her. She prodded the meat with her fork. “Poisons are unfortunately all around us. A good garden can have foxglove, belladonna, and hemlock for medicinal uses. Even yew trees have been used to treat certain maladies. If one isn’t careful, many plants can kill you, as well.”
