Page 25 of A Wallflower Never Forgets
“If you can give me ten minutes to show the men something important, I’ll be happy to escort you back over the path to look for it,” Jonathan said, tucking her red woolen hat further into his pocket.
“Thank you,” she replied with a smile. “I’ll be waiting.”
Jonathan wasted no time showing the missive to his friends. “This note confirms what we already suspected. We need to plan what to do next. If he killed Diana, and it does appear that way, he’s become even more dangerous. I suspect that they were lovers…or even partners.”
“Perhaps she was X,” Rochester suggested. “I wouldn’t have put it past her.”
“She was certainly some sort of contact…I don’t know if she was the contact,” Jonathan said. “If it hadn’t been for that bottle of wine, I wouldn’t have put Talbot and Diana together.”
“You could be right,” Worsley said. “I am familiar with several cases connected to him where he used arsenic to kill a foe.”
“Yes. Exactly. I avoided sharing his bottle of wine when he offered it to me until I saw him drink from it just before we arrested him in Paris,” Jonathan said.
“It was an unusually colorful label on the bottle. Sometimes, it’s the small, seemingly insignificant details that trip them up,” Rochester said.
“Unless he wanted us to know,” Jonathan said. “I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“Whatever his reasoning, the man is a fiend and needs to be stopped,” Worsley said. I will speak to Maggie and let her know I’ll be assisting you. I cannot in good conscience let you go on your own. That’s a recipe for disaster.”
“I’ll speak with Grandmama,” Rochester added. “She’ll understand?—”
“No,” Jonathan interrupted. “The women will need someone here to watch over them. Worsley and I will go. Besides, this is my case, and I need to end this.” Jonathan was anxious to leave, but he had to speak with Melanie before they left. He would not have time for their walk or their talk, and most importantly, that kiss he promised her.
Rochester nodded grimly. “Very well, I’ll stay and keep watch here. But be careful, Talbot is as slippery as an eel.”
They discussed what they had planned, and then, as they began to make their way back to the drawing room, they heard a woman’s scream.
Jonathan’s heart leaped to his throat as they rushed into the drawing room just as Angela burst in from another door. Her face was pale, and her eyes were frantic as she cradled an unconscious Shep in her arms. “Help! Melanie has been abducted!” Her voice shook with urgency, her eyes wide with fear.
“Tell us everything that happened,” Jonathan said calmly but urgently, not wanting to upset the girl any more than she already was.
Angela was trembling, but she quickly told them everything. She’d suggested to Melanie that they look for a few more of the large pinecones, and she had been standing a few yards away when a masked stranger suddenly attacked Melanie. Shep, brave as ever, had bolted after the mysterious man, managing to tear a piece of the man’s clothing in his desperate attempt to stop him. He’d also bitten through the dark wool pants, his teeth sinking into the man’s leg. The assailant had howled in pain, picked Shep up, and hurled him against the cold, unforgiving stone wall of the house, leaving the little dog limp and in distress. Then he pressed a cloth to Melanie’s face, and she fainted straight away. He hauled her over his shoulder and turned to run for the woods.
The color drained from Jonathan’s face, and his heart pounded with fear. “Where exactly were you?”
“Out back—behind the kitchen,” wailed Angela, trembling as she cuddled Shep.
“Oh, dear God! You’ve got to find my darling granddaughter,” Grandmama cried out, her voice filled with desperation. She and several of the older guests were laden with vibrant, satin ribbons. Their eyes were wide with shock.
“This is all my fault,” Angela lamented, her eyes glistening with tears.
“No, it’s not your fault, Angela,” Rochester said in an uncharacteristically gentle voice as he took the unconscious dog in his arms. He seemed as though he’d wanted to say more just as Maggie moved forward to wrap her arm around her sister-in-law’s shoulders.
“Do you remember anything else?” Worsley asked, taking his sister’s hand in his. Anything the assailant may have said?”
Her eyes widened. “He-he told her he had been waiting a long time to have her.”
“It’s Talbot. It must be,” Jonathan ground out.
“I’ve sent for Doctor Jones,” Rupert said, rushing into the parlor.
Jonathan turned to Rupert, his expression serious and focused. “Also, can you round up as many footmen as possible? We need to search the grounds thoroughly.
Without wasting a moment, the servant nodded and rushed from the room, moving with speed seldom seen from him, even in his younger days. Jonathan noted how it contrasted sharply with the household staff’s measured pace. He turned to the dowager countess, who stood tall despite the tears streaming down her cheeks. His gaze steady, he spoke with compassion and resolve, “I promise…we will find her.”
And he would make Talbot pay.
Chapter Eleven
