“I haven’t finished; I have barely started. Your brother agreed to seek a divorce and marry Jessamine. He went out. Ten minutes later, Hawley came in with Jessamine and said she had consented to be his wife.”
“Oh my God.”
“Wynn said he would need time to think before giving permission, and called Bram back to advise him of developments. That went down poorly. Wynn then told them he would need to consider which of the two was the more fit to wed his ward, and they both went out in some discord.” He knocked back half his sherry in a gulp. “And twenty minutes later, Mrs. Bram descended and asked for a private conversation with Wynn.”
“Oh myGod.”
“Wynn said he needed to rest before dinner, and will see her at nine tomorrow. I assume she knows where the bodies are buried and intends to destroy both of their characters to Wynn. Tonight should be special.”
“If that is what she intends,” Zeb said. “She might just have wanted the motor: I spoke to her today and I think she agreed to come with me. Or maybe it’s both and she wants to fire a parting shot before we leave. Burn it all down and sow the ground with salt. I don’t suppose I’d blame her.”
“Perhaps not. But Bram and Hawley both really believed the prize was within their grasp this afternoon and they were both very seriously disappointed. If they think Mrs. Bram intends to scupper them tomorrow, they won’t take it well.”
“No. Ugh. Does Elise know what’s going on? Because if she just wanted to talk about leaving—”
Gideon took a swift step away from him. “I hope the mist will have cleared tomorrow, yes. I understand it can linger for several days, but I expect the severity to decrease.”
“We shall see,” Wynn remarked from the doorway. He had Jessamine on his arm, in a pretty cream frock, wearing her long hair down. She still looked very young to Zeb, but then, he had no sisters and had never mixed with young ladies, so what did he know. “I would expect at least another day of mist, perhaps two, and I shall not have the motor taken out before I am quite sure it is safe. I dare say I am a very cautious man, but I should not care to be responsible for something happening to my staff or my family.” He beamed benevolently. Zeb thought of Rachel,and the silent agony of the walls upstairs, and took a deep, preparatory breath.
The scream was high and dreadful, a shriek of pure fear that cut off with a sickening crunch and thud. Zeb sprinted out to the hall, just behind Gideon, and saw a crumpled form at the bottom of the stone staircase. Her satin gown pooled ivory around her splayed legs. Blood pooled deep red around her head.
“Christ,” Zeb said. “Elise!” He ran forward and dropped to a knee, reaching for her, but didn’t touch: not with the angle of her neck and her wide, sightless eyes. “Oh God, I think she’s dead. Gideon, she’sdead!”
There was no reply. He looked up and saw that Gideon was gazing at the top of the stairs. Zeb glanced that way, saw nothing. “Gideon?”
“Oh, dear,” Wynn said behind him. “Oh dear, oh dear me. Lady Ravendark herself.”
Zeb had never hated anyone more than in that moment. “She’s dead, you shit,” he said thickly. “Someone fetch Bram. And send for a doctor, I suppose. The authorities.”
“Police,” Gideon said, the single word bitten out. “We need to summon the police.”
“Elise!” It was a shriek. Jessamine pushed past Zeb and fell to her knees at Elise’s head. “Oh, Elise, no, no!” She curved forward over the body.
“What the devil?” Bram was standing at the top of the stairs. As Zeb stared up, he saw Hawley arrive on the landing, behind Bram. They both looked down with expressions of almostcomical horror, then Bram said, “Elise?” and began to descend.
Jessamine rose. Her expression was ghastly, her hands bloody, and blood stained her cream dress at the knees. It looked obscene. “Dead!” she said wildly. “She’s dead! Oh, she’s dead!”
Bram was at the bottom of the stairs now, standing over his wife’s crumpled form, mouth slack. Zeb said, “Wynn, take Jessamine away.”
Wynn didn’t move. Zeb looked round and saw he had his hand clutched to his heart. Gideon took Jessamine by the arm and said, “Let us give Mr. Bram room.”
“He hated her!” Jessamine shrieked. “She hated him! And now she’s dead!”
Zeb shot a look at Gideon, who pulled Jessamine so hard she stumbled sideways, still wailing. He looked like he was thinking about administering a slap, and Zeb wished he would. He said, “Bram?” and was ignored.
Hawley had come down now. He and Bram stood over the body of the woman they had both loved, at least in their ways, at some point, probably. They had wanted her and fought over her and hated her. She had perhaps loved them both once, certainly humiliated them both, and unquestionably stood in the way of either of them getting his hands on a hundred and fifty thousand pounds.
Bram looked stunned. Hawley’s face was twisted in a way that suggested he might weep, or laugh.
“There’s been an accident,” Zeb said redundantly. Nobody replied.
And the proper thing now would be for Zeb to comfort hisbrother, so suddenly and violently made a widower, but he looked at dead Elise and thought of Rachel, and he couldn’t choke out a word.
Eighteen
Jessamine was removed in hysterics. Wynn indicated that he was in a state of shock and tottered away on Gideon’s arm. Hawley stood by the body for several moments without speaking, then went out for a smoke. Bram announced, “See that she is decently disposed,” and walked away.
That left Zeb to supervise the footman and chauffeur carrying Elise’s body with its horribly lolling neck into an anteroom in the east wing. He saw her properly disposed and covered by a blanket, then he went to his room, washed his hands till they felt raw, although he had not touched her, and sat alone on the floor, knees to his chest, running the rosary through his fingers.
