‘That is my seat, you know,’ Frederick said, entering the room. He closed the door behind him.
‘Why were you watching us?’ she asked, her voice hard.
Seeing that Bisma had no intention of getting up from his chair, Frederick pulled out the chair across the desk from her, taking off his coat and setting it on the back of the chair before sitting down. He crossed his legs languidly, as if he had all the time in the world.
‘I wondered when you might put two and two together and come see me,’ he said, and it was unnerving how similar the cadence of his speech was to Xander’s.
All of it was unnerving, really: the green of his eyes, the fall of his hair. This was her beloved’s uncle, and though on the surface, they may have resembled each other, he was missing all the heart that made Xander, well,Xander.
‘Put what together?’ Bisma asked, grinding her teeth. She was horribly confused.
‘It might be simpler if I showed you,’ Frederick said. He stood with ease; he didn’t seem alarmed to have Bisma in his room, questioning him. The man was just as confident, just as secure—even as he pulled something out from one of the desk drawers and set it upon the table.
It was one of the vials she saw earlier.
‘Wouldn’t open it, if I were you,’ he said, sitting back down, and suddenly she understood. It was the poison.
She itched to inspect it, and he noticed as much. ‘Alright, go on,’ Frederick said, his voice amiable. ‘I suppose it doesn’t matter whether or not you get infected now that you’ve found a cure.’
‘You’re the one who’s been poisoning us? Why?’ she demanded. ‘What have I ever done to you?’
‘Xander always talks about how intelligent you are.’ Frederick glanced at the grandfather clock, then smiled, leaning back in his chair. ‘Why don’t I give you a moment to figure it out, dear?’
Her mind was racing—Bisma’s original theory was that this was all about Leilani. Xander had said Leilani was like an aunt to him, that she and Eleanora were best friends … What if Frederick had loved her?
He and Eleanora could be united in seeking revenge—the poison had clearly been made by Eleanora. The bottles were made of special Castletown glass, which only the Apothecary used. Even so, one thing still didn’t make sense.
‘Why poison Xander?’
Frederick nodded. ‘Ah, yes, a small hitch in the plan,’ he said. ‘He wasn’t meant to be poisoned. That was meant for you.’
She furrowed her brows. But then she recalled meeting Frederick at the festival, how he had kissed the back of her hand and squeezed her palm. He had been wearing gloves.
‘The poison was meant for me,’ she said, blinking. She understood how the poison worked then. ‘The poison is transferable.’
‘Yes,’ he affirmed. ‘Transferred through a touch or a kiss, maybe.’
Bisma felt as if she’d been kicked in the stomach. That was how her sisters were poisoned, even when they hadn’t left theEnchanted Forest, when they hadn’t even left the treehouse, becauseshewas the one bringing it straight to them.
‘You didn’t account for the risk of me transferring it to Xander?’ she asked. ‘Even though we were at the festival together?’
‘I am not so callous with my beloved nephew’s life,’ Frederick said, for the first time seeming offended by her words. ‘I gave you a more potent dose that night, which should have affected you immediately, but I should have accounted for my nephew’s charms on the most romantic night of the year. Again, a slight hitch in the plan, but it’s no matter.’
‘What plan?’ she demanded. She was still so confused; she had so many questions.
‘I’ll answer all your questions, dear, so do take your time,’ he said. She didn’t understand that, either.
‘Why are you answering my questions?’
He shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Well, the jig is clearly up so I might as well feed your curiosity,’ he replied.
Her thoughts were all jumbled. She didn’t know where to begin.
‘You said the poison is transferable,’ she said.
‘Yes. It was easy enough to have someone brush by you in town, transferring the poison to you,’ Frederick explained. ‘Then you would take the poison home and transfer it to one of your sisters. You lot are always so affectionate. And before you ask, “Well, Frederick, why not just poison the girls directly when they came to town?” I’ll tell you that, too. I needed the girls to be poisoned at home for it to really be effective.’
‘You and Eleanora were in this together,’ she said, a fact more than a question. ‘Only she could design such an intricate poison.’
