‘My lord,’ she said carefully, ‘she is an accomplice of the Odd Fellows.’
Chapter 39
He stopped abruptly and caught Charlotte lightly by the elbow, forcing her to halt beside him.
‘I think you need to explain, Charlotte.’
He looked stunned; the colour had drained from his face.
‘I... I am sorry to tell you this, my lord, but Mrs Wilberforce confessed everything...’ she faltered. ‘Just before she drugged me and had me locked in that cage.’
Lord Stanley bowed his head, his face contorting with anger.
‘That is impossible. You must be mistaken,’ he said, releasing her arm as though she burned him.
Charlotte flinched, but she needed him to believe her, no matter how painful the truth might be.
‘I am not mistaken,’ she said more firmly. ‘She and the Captain were behind all of this. The Captain is Falcon.’
Then she recounted everything that had happened.
The more she revealed, the stonier Lord Stanley’s expression became. Disbelief warred visibly with pain. When she finally finished, he stared at her in silence.
‘I do not doubt you are telling me the truth,’ he said at last, his voice strained, ‘but I can scarcely believe she is capable of such things. I need to see it with my own eyes.’
‘I can prove it to you. She intends to poison you. If you conceal the fact that I have been found, I am certain she will attempt it.’
He looked towards the mansion thoughtfully.
Then, after a long pause, he said quietly, ‘Come. Let us get you back inside so you may rest a little.’
He took her hand and strode towards the house.
‘Then we shall have a conversation with my sister.’
Mrs Wilberforce was not yet awake, as dawn had only just begun to break. Charlotte slipped quietly to her room, washed, and hastily changed into dry clothes. Though her stomach churned, she forced herself to swallow a little tea and bread before meeting Lord Stanley in the morning room.
She showed him the terrace doors leading directly towards the lake, near where the hidden tunnel entrance lay concealed. This, they deduced, was how the Captain had smuggled the girls out of the house unnoticed.
Together they formed a plan.
Charlotte concealed herself behind a tall folding screen at the far end of the room, from where she possessed a partial view of the morning room whilst remaining hidden.
From behind it, she heard every word.
Lord Stanley paced slowly before the fireplace whilst they waited.
Before long, Mrs Wilberforce entered as she always did, followed by a maid carrying a tea tray.
‘Ah, brother,’ she said cheerfully. ‘I was just informed that you returned rather late last night. How was your journey? Uneventful, I hope.’
She seated herself gracefully upon the chaise longue.
‘Tolerable, I suppose,’ came his clipped reply.
‘And how did that unpleasant business in Manchester go? All resolved satisfactorily, I trust?’
Her smile never wavered.
