Page 79 of Grave Expectations
Seth sat on the edge of the bed with a heavy sigh. "Damn, damn and hell."
I felt a little sorry for him at hearing the confirmation of Lady Harcourt's guilt, but not too much. He'd had blinkers on where she was concerned, and it was past time they came off. "You saidyouapproachedher," I prompted Mrs. Drinkwater. "Do you mean to say that the abduction wasn't her idea?"
"It was mine. I wanted my husband back…" She touched her nose and her eyes misted. "I wanted Reggie back, and I knew she was familiar with the occult. I asked her to assist me."
"Asked?" Seth snapped. "Or blackmailed."
She looked down at the rug.
I sat on the bed beside Seth, tired and a little overwhelmed. "Mrs. Drinkwater, perhaps if you tell us everything from the beginning. Leave nothing out. We need to get to the bottom of this. I need to know who I can and can't trust."
"I wouldn't trust Julia," she spat. "That woman would sell her own mother if it meant she could bury her past."
I placed my hand over Seth's when he bristled. Thankfully he got the message and kept quiet.
"I admit that I enlisted Julia in my scheme," she said. "I knew her from our time together at The Al, but we'd lost touch. She wanted nothing to do with any of us after her marriage to Lord Harcourt." She sighed. "I suppose it's understandable, but honestly, it was the way she went about it. She was such a hoity-toity miss, always putting on airs, even when she was simple Miss Templeton, the schoolmaster's daughter."
Her mouth twisted into a sneer as she spoke, reminding me very much of Miss Redding. Both women disliked Lady Harcourt intensely.
"You threatened to go to the newspapers if she didn't help you," Seth said.
"I did write a letter to her implying such a thing, yes, but I would never have carried it out."
"That is irrelevant!"
She lifted her chin. "I beg to differ. One cannot be accused of something that one didn't do. Besides, she deserved to be a little shaken and reminded of her past. Someone like that shouldn't be allowed to lord it over the rest of us. She's just as common as we are."
"How did you know about her connection to me and my necromancy?" I asked before Seth could get into an argument with her.
"I didn't. Not specifically, anyway. I knew she had an interest in magic, you see, because she approached us years ago and asked Reggie questions about his work. She must have read about his research in one of the science journals and suspected he was using magic. When she knocked on our door, I was so surprised to see her, as was she to see me." She smiled, but it was bitter, cold. "You ought to have seen her face. It went as white as a sheet. I thought she was there to see me, but she told me she wanted to ask Reggie some questions. She asked him about his skill, made some notes, then went on her way again without so much as an explanation as to why she needed to know.
"So when I decided I wanted to see Reggie again, after his death, I thought of her and her interest in magic. If anyone could speak with spirits, or know someone who could, it would be her. She denied it at first and claimed she couldn't help. I was so angry! I went home and, after thinking about it some more, wrote the letter telling her to meet me or I'd tell everyone about her past at The Al. So you see, if she ever wanted to kill me to silence me, it would have been then."
She was right. Lady Harcourt wouldn't kill her. She wasn't a murderess. "So she agreed to help after that?"
She nodded. "I only wanted to speak to Reggie's spirit to find out if he knew who had killed him, but she suggested something better. She told me all about you and what you can do."
Lady Harcourt hadn't needed to do that. She could have simply told Mrs. Drinkwater that I could speak with spirits. She didn't need to mention the full extent of my necromancy at all. I glanced at Seth.
He looked away and dragged his hand through his hair. Behind us, Gus swore under his breath.
"Who formed the plan to kidnap her?" Seth asked.
"I did, after Julia said Miss Holloway wouldn't agree to raise anyone. She was a little reluctant about the idea, but gave in once I renewed my threats. It was her suggestion that I apply for the position of housekeeper to gain your trust and access to the house and your person." She fixed her unsympathetic gaze on me. "As I said at the time, I'm sorry for the abduction, but it was necessary. I missed Reggie terribly, and he needed to exact his revenge or his spirit could never rest."
"You don't know that," I said. "What you did…I'm still rather speechless about the whole thing."
"I'm not." Gus marched up to Merry Drinkwater and leaned down so that his face was level with hers. She gave a little squeak, leaned back, and screwed up her nose. "You're a mean-spirited, selfish, connivin', cowardly bitch, and I hope Death makes you pay for what you did when he gets here."
Mrs. Drinkwater flinched. She leaned so far back in the chair she was in danger of tipping over.
"Gus," I said quietly.
"What?" he growled.
"You forgot hypocritical." Everyone looked at me. "She told me that our living arrangements here were amoral," I elaborated, "when she herself had been a dancer at The Al, of all places."
Her face flushed. "I just danced. Nothing more. Not like Julia."
