“Marianne Dashwood… we were sneaking out to go hot tubbing with some guys at some estates around town.” Lydia said. “We don’t… always have permission, so we usually don’t tell people. If someone asks, we say we spent the morning at home.”
Marge clicked a pen and wrote down the information.
“The only ones at the store were Kitty and my mom, who brewed potions in the morning. My sister Kitty has been having difficulty brewing of late. A love potion gone wrong—”
“Turns into a potion of possession.” The woman’s eyes narrowed. “But Lydia wasn’t away the entire day.”
“No,she returned to the shop briefly, meeting with Isabella, who asked her to deliver a drought of wolfsbane to a local werewolf.”
Marge regarded Lydia carefully. “Who’s the local werewolf?”
My heart pounded. And I directed my gaze to Lydia. Her gaze shifted into the crowd where Frank stood nearby, watching. Duchess was with him, curling around his leg. “I never met him. I dropped it off and left. There was no name and I never witnessed who retrieved it.”
Relief flowed through my veins. I owed Lydia big time.
“And when Isabella gave you the potion?” Marge asked.
“She gave it to me and I put it in my bag,” Lydia said.
“Did you ever leave your bag unattended?” I pressed.
Lydia pursed her lips. “Don’t I need a lawyer or something?”
“She told me that she left it behind the counter when she went to the bathroom,” I said quickly.
Anger sparked in Lydia’s eyes. After everything, she was still trying to protect Mom. And I sought to protect Lydia.
Marge turned to Kitty. “Where were you when Lydia was at the shop?”
“I-I was at the library doing schoolwork. I didn’t see Lydia until later that night,” she said, her face pale and eyes wide in horror.
The older woman scribbled on her notepad, then faced me. “Why was Isabella making wolfsbane in the first place?”
I shrugged. “Maybe she was being a helpful person.”
“Isabella’s parents stated that she’d long been in love with a Charles Bingley. They also cited Lydia Bennet as a good friend of hers.” She looked at me. “And when you mentioned the financial straits of your family, it gave me the last piece of motivation that I needed. After all, a marriage of your oldest sister to a high-born fae could really improve your family’s fortunes, couldn’t they?”
“Financial straits?” Lydia said, surprised. “What is she talking about, Mary?”
I was the one who’d given everything away. I gave Marge the missing piece she needed to link it all to our family. Both guilt and relief battled inside me at once.
“Okay, we will need to take you all to the station and get your statements.” Marge turned to one officer standing nearby. “Arrest the mom.”
“No!” Lydia stated. “I refuse to give my statement.”
Marge tapped her pen on her pad in annoyance. “We may have to deliver a subpoena.”
“After I get a lawyer,” Lydia said. I could already see the wheels working in her head. I wasn’t a lawyer, but I wondered if she had enough grounds to plead the fifth since anything she shared could possibly incriminate herself as well. Brewing wolfsbane was technically illegal.
“Fine, but Kitty and Mary, if you want to get your sister off, then you better come with me,” Marge said.
I grabbed Kitty’s arm and tugged her forward. “Come on.”
“I don’t understand,” Kitty whispered, pale-faced and shocked. “How can it have been Mom?”
“She used your potion. The one you’ve been struggling with for weeks now. I’m sorry.”
“We’ll have to transport you in separate cars,” a police officer said.
