Violet’s insides raged, pushing and pulling at her until she felt ready to split into two. Dr. Vaughn gave them a nod in farewell, his concerned gaze still fixed on her as Isaac nudged him through the doorway.
“Stop!” she shouted.
*
Miss Templeton’s voice sliced through the air, giving Arthur a start as he stared at the lady, whose eyes were clamped shut. Placing one hand on her hip and rubbing her forehead with the other, she seemed stuck in place, unable to speak, though there were plenty of words bubbling beneath the silent surface.
“Miss Templeton?”
But before Arthur could inquire further, she started speaking, the sentences streaming out of her with all the rapidity and care of a waterfall. At first, all he could surmise was that it had something to do with his bag, though it took some time before Miss Templeton stammered her way into a semblance of coherency.
“Isaac switched your vials about, and I cannot say for certain which is which medicine,” she said in a rush. “I shouldn’t have left it alone, and I apologize for not watching over it better—”
“That isn’t—” But Arthur’s objection was ignored as she continued to talk.
“I didn’t want it to come to this. I never wanted it to be like this. I cannot bear the thought of anyone getting hurt—especially someone as wonderful as you. All this time, you’ve been so kind to me, and I am ashamed of what I’ve done…”
Arthur straightened and stared at her, though Miss Templeton continued to ramble, saying nothing and everything all at once in a way that only she could comprehend.
“You deserve better, and I’ve been so terrible,” she said, shaking her head, and once more he was ignored when he tried to interrupt. “You are so kind, and you do not deserve this. I only wanted to protect my family. That is all. I didn’t want you to suffer, but I didn’t know what else to do…”
With a frown, Arthur said, “But it was Isaac—”
Miss Templeton shook her head, her expression crumpling. “I have done everything I can to get you to leave Oakham. I tried spreading rumors, trying to make people lose confidence in you, but it didn’t work. So I told some of the ladies in town that you fancy them, knowing that either it would paint you as a bounder or their attentions would make you so uncomfortable that you’d leave of your own volition.”
It felt as though the world beneath his feet shifted, throwing Arthur off his balance, and he couldn’t recover. Setting his bag down on the workbench, he leaned against the wood and took a deep breath. Or tried to. His whole body was tied in knots, his thoughts spinning about until they were hopelessly tangled. Frozen in place, he stared at the lady, her words now entirely lost to him as she continued to ramble.
Miss Templeton had been trying to get rid of him?
And here he’d thought his greatest obstacle to happiness was Mr. Gadd.
Drawing near, the lady finally met his eyes for the first time that day, and they pleaded with him. “I am so sorry. You have been so good to me and my family, and we’ve repaid that kindness with betrayal, but I cannot allow this to continue any longer. I am so very sorry.”
There was no mistaking her meaning. No misinterpreting the truth standing before him. Everything Arthur had believed about the lady had been false. As he stared at her, his stomach churned, and what little strength he had seeped right into the floorboards. Brother and sister watched him, and Arthur felt as though the whole of Oakham were gaping, silently watching the fool that had settled amongst them. Gaze falling to the floor, he clenched his jaw, trying to stave off the pain as his heart crumpled.
Then without a word, he turned on his heel and strode away.
*
Drawing in a sharp breath, Violet winced as the door shut quietly behind Dr. Vaughn. He didn’t slam it or storm away. Not a single hard word escaped his lips. No, he simply slipped from her life.
A tremor took hold of her, leaching her strength from her legs, and she only just managed to drop onto a stool before gravity pulled her to the floor. Covering her face, she groaned at herself. Her heart throbbed, sending out spikes of pain that nestled into her head, piercing her with each pulse—but she deserved far worse.
Violet didn’t think there were punishments enough for what she’d done. All the excuses she’d clung to fled her grasp, leaving her empty and alone.
Chapter 28
Aworld of difference lay between wisdom and knowledge. For all that schools, tutors, and governesses did their utmost to instill the latter, the former was only gained with experience. A lifetime of education granted a person an understanding of facts and figures with rote memorization, but that was not the same as true comprehension.
“Conscience is a thousand witnesses.”
“There is no peace for the wicked.”
“Conscience is a horse that runs away with me.”
In Violet’s mind lay a dozen quotes and proverbs she’d learned concerning the price one paid for evildoing, yet she hadn’t truly understood their full meaning until now. For all that she’d readMacbethmany times before, never had Lady Macbeth’s final moments struck so powerfully; Violet felt a kinship with the woman who lamented that her hands would never be clean from the sins she’d committed, and the lady’s final words repeated in Violet’s thoughts: “What’s done cannot be undone.”
Hard-won wisdom, indeed.
