Lady Charlotte’s jaw clenched. “At least I didn’t poison him.”
Harriet tossed her hands up in the air. “Fine. I will admit that I added a little arsenic to his tea every morning, but it doesn’t matter. I didn’t kill him. Lady Eugenie did.”
“Then why did you come to his apartment the morning of his murder?” Greydon asked.
With hesitation in her voice, Harriet replied, “He didn’t come home that night and I needed to speak to him about the divorce.”
Greydon nodded. “Was Lady Charlotte here when you arrived?”
Harriet glanced at Lady Charlotte before she replied, “She was not. Phineas was alone.”
“Interesting,” Greydon muttered. “My brother was not one to be discreet with his indiscretions. So it makes me wonder if you are telling the truth.”
“Why would I lie about such a thing?” Harriet asked.
Greydon gave her a pointed look. “You have been lying this entire time. Why should I believe anything you say?”
“My mind is just a little muddled with the facts, considering my husband just died,” Harriet said.
“You wanted your husband dead,” Greydon pressed. “You knew the only way to end the divorce proceedings was to kill him.”
Harriet’s face grew hard. “You are right, but I didn’t kill him.”
“I know,” Greydon said. “Lady Charlotte did.”
Lady Charlotte’s mouth dropped. “How could you even suggest such a thing?”
“I figured it out when I realized that no one saw Lady Charlotte leave the morning of the murder, leaving me to believe you were here when Harriet arrived and you heard them argue,” Greydon replied. “If I had to guess, I would say that Phineas said some rather hurtful things about you.”
Tears came into Lady Charlotte’s eyes. “Phineas told Harriet that he was done with me and that I meant nothing to him.”
“I believe that,” Greydon said. “It made you angry enough to kill him.”
Lady Charlotte shook her head vehemently. “No, I didn’t kill him. I loved him!”
“You waited until he got back into bed and then you shoved a knife into his heart,” Greydon said, his voice rising. “After you killed him, you washed off your hands in the water basin and cleaned yourself up.”
Greydon continued. “That is why your sister confessed to the murder because she knew you killed Phineas.”
Lady Charlotte’s face grew pale. “I… uh…” Her voice stopped and her panicked eyes started darting towards Harriet.
“But you didn’t act alone, did you?” Greydon turned his attention to Harriet. “You wanted Phineas dead… no, you needed him dead. So you convinced Lady Charlotte to kill your husband.”
“That is preposterous!” Harriet declared.
“You waited until Lady Charlotte shoved a dagger into his chest before you returned to your coach.”
“Why would I do such a thing?” Harriet asked, her breathing becoming labored.
“Because you needed to burn those divorce papers in the hearth,” Greydon replied. “You wanted to burn all the evidence of what Phineas intended to do.”
Harriet lifted her brow. “Your accusation is baseless and ludicrous. I had nothing to do with Phineas’ murder.”
“That is what you wanted everyone to believe,” he said. “You just wanted to play the part of the grieving widow, but that is far from true.”
Harriet huffed. “I had no choice in marrying Phineas and he made my life miserable. Why would I mourn his loss? I am glad that he is dead, but I did not kill him.”
“You may not have shoved the knife into his chest, but you are just as guilty as Lady Charlotte,” Greydon stated. “You manipulated her into doing your will.”
