‘William was never around. Always working. When I was struggling with Tom, the Captain was there for me.’
Her expression hardened.
‘Besides, I only married him because I thought it would please Father, but I regretted it very soon afterwards,’ she replied contemptuously. ‘So when the Captain asked me to undermine William’s work, I was only too happy to do so.’
‘What about Father? Was he not an Odd Fellow? Boulton implied he was.’
She scoffed. ‘Not truly. He was merely a lower associate. He believed it was only the smuggling of goods from France and the permitted use of the estate. Once I began hosting house parties here, the real work of the Odd Fellows occurred directly beneath his nose. He never suspected I had assumed control.’
‘But eventually he discovered the truth, didn’t he?’ Lord Stanley stated.
A thin smile crossed her lips in response.
‘He supported abolition, and the Odd Fellows warned him several times to stop. But the stubborn fool would not listen. So when the Captain needed him removed...’
Charlotte spoke softly.
‘You set the fire at the mansion.’
Mrs Wilberforce did not deny it.
The silence itself confirmed her guilt.
Lord Stanley gripped the arm of his chair so tightly his knuckles whitened.
‘You murdered him.’
‘And the passageways,’ Charlotte continued slowly. ‘You had them constructed after the fire.’
Again, Mrs Wilberforce did not deny it.
‘Oswald assisted me. The Odd Fellows intended to use Alderley as a base. Its location suited them perfectly—and it suited me as well,’ she replied.
Charlotte frowned slightly. ‘But what possible use would that have been to you, when Matthew Stanley stood to inherit everything?’
‘After Matthew had done his part, the Captain promised to dispose of him as well. Then Tom was meant to inherit. It had all been decided. Alderley would fall under my control.’
Lord Stanley’s mouth hardened.
‘You turned Matthew against me.’
‘It did not take much convincing.’ She shrugged an elegant shoulder.
‘Why do you hate me so much?’ he asked, his voice breaking slightly.
Charlotte’s chest ached for him.
Mrs Wilberforce’s composure shattered into fury.
‘Because you were always the favoured one! Even after disgracing Father and abandoning your religion, he still loved and respected you. Whereas I was merely furniture—meant to sit quietly and look decorative.’
A shocked breath escaped Lord Stanley, he turned away, unable to look upon her.
Silence settled heavily over the room. The fire crackled softly whilst wind rattled faintly against the windows.
Charlotte longed to reach for him—to comfort him somehow.
‘And the girls?’ Charlotte asked aghast. ‘How could you do such things to them?’
