Lord Stanley sank heavily into his chair and pressed a hand to his head.
‘I suddenly feel rather light-headed, Minerva.’
‘Oh dear, brother... perhaps the shock of the news has overcome you.’
Her tone remained disturbingly pleasant.
He rose unsteadily before collapsing convincingly to the floor.
‘Oh dear,’ she said coolly, making no attempt to assist him. ‘You seem to have stumbled.’
‘Help me...’ he murmured weakly, reaching towards her.
‘Help you?’ she repeated softly, venom curling beneath every syllable. ‘I do not think so, brother.’
Her true self surfaced at last.
Charlotte’s chest tightened painfully as she watched.
Some foolish part of her had still hoped Mrs Wilberforce might hesitate.
But there was no mercy in her expression.
Only triumph.
‘I have dreamt of this moment for a very long time,’ she whispered.
She crossed the room and knelt beside him.
‘You deserve every ounce of suffering that is coming to you.’
‘Why...?’ he whispered.
Charlotte flinched. There was genuine pain in his voice, though Mrs Wilberforce mistook it for the supposed effects of the poison.
She laughed softly, and the sound sent a chill through the room.
How could she be so utterly cruel?
Then she crossed to the fireplace and opened the hidden passageway. The grinding sound of metal echoed through the room.
‘You shall not escape this...’ he gasped.
‘People are far stupider than you give them credit for, brother. I shall hide your body here until the Captain’s mendispose of you later. Then I shall pen a letter in your hand. To the world, you will simply have disappeared... as you once did when you fled to the Ottoman Empire.’
She pulled the mantel fully open.
‘Especially after your betrayal by your precious governess. People believe what they wish to believe.’
Lord Stanley rose at once with the full strength of a man entirely unharmed.
‘Such a pity you shall not have your way this time, sister.’ His voice rang through the room. ‘Charlotte—come out.’
Charlotte stepped slowly from behind the screen.
Mrs Wilberforce's eyes widened, and the colour drained entirely from her face.
Fear flickered unmistakably across her features. As her gaze darted wildly between them.
