‘Quick—leave the dagger in him. Put the pin in his hand,’ Boulton hissed.
Horror swept through Charlotte.
They intended to frame Lord Stanley.
‘Search his pockets. He may have the book upon him.’
‘Not here. We shall search his room later. Unlock the door.’
Hamilton moved to comply, looking perfectly calm and unruffled—as though arranging some trivial household inconvenience.
How can he appear so unaffected?Charlotte felt sick.
Then came the faint scrape of metal against stone—the hidden passageway closing once more.
Silence fell.
They were gone.
Charlotte did not move at first.
Then, trembling, she emerged slowly from the alcove. Every step sounded impossibly loud to her ears. She crept towards the fireplace and saw Wolverton sprawled across the Persian rug, blood pooling beneath him. Lord Stanley’s Ottoman dagger protruded from his back.
Charlotte fought down a surge of panic.
She had to find Lord Stanley. Now.
She locked the library door behind her and hurried down the corridor.
At the card room, she stopped a footman. ‘Fetch Lord Stanley immediately.’
Through the doorway, she saw him receive the message. He looked up—and met her ashen face.
One glance sufficed.
He rose at once and crossed swiftly towards her.
‘What is it?’ he asked sharply.
Charlotte seized his wrist and drew him after her.
‘You look as though you have seen a ghost,’ he murmured beneath his breath.
She said nothing. The sight within the library would speak for itself.
At the door, her hands shook so violently she fumbled the key. ‘Brace yourself, my lord.’
‘You know,’ he murmured dryly beside her, ‘it is quite remarkable how I always find you in the midst of something entirely bizarre. Allow me.’
He took the key gently from her and unlocked the door before closing it behind them with a decisive click.
Inside, she pointed towards the fireplace, where the body lay partly obscured behind two large armchairs.
As Lord Stanley stepped closer, the colour drained visibly from his face. ‘Good God! What happened?’ he demanded. He crouched beside the corpse, careful not to step in the blood. ‘Is that my dagger?’
Charlotte willed herself to speak. ‘Hamilton and Boulton mean to frame you. They placed your diamond pin in Wolverton’s hand.’
Lord Stanley glanced down at his lapel and saw at once that it was missing.
