“How could you do such a thing?” Emilia asked.
Clarissa tilted her chin haughtily. “How could I do such a thing?” she repeated back. “You came into our lives and ruined everything. You are nothing to us.”
Emilia tried not to react to the harshness of their words, but it stung anyways. “But I gave you back your dowry.”
“Yes, you did,” Clarissa said. “But upon your death, we get everything back that was rightfully ours.”
“It is not rightfully yours. Father gave it to me,” Emilia declared.
A flush stained Clarissa’s cheeks and her nostrils flared with rage. “He is not your father; he is mine!” she exclaimed. “I was forced to put up with him and he betrayed me in the end.”
“He didn’t betray you,” Emilia attempted. “He did leave you some money.”
“A paltry ten thousand pounds,” Clarissa said. “But with you gone, I will be an heiress again and regain my place within high Society.”
Calvin took a step closer to Emilia and cocked his pistol. “Enough talking,” he ordered. “I need to return to the card room before anyone notices I am missing.”
“You won’t get away with this,” Emilia attempted.
Calvin’s lips twitched. “Who is going to stop me?”
Slow clapping echoed from the shadows of the trees. A familiar figure emerged.
Fredrick.
Emilia felt relief at the sight of him, but that was short-lived. What if Calvin shot Fredrick? Her heart pounded faster as a wave of fear surged through her at that thought.
Fredrick came to a stop next to Emilia. “That was excellent theatre, but it is over.”
Calvin turned his pistol towards Fredrick. “What are you doing here?”
Appearing completely unruffled by the weapon that was being pointed at him, Fredrick said, “I have come to retrieve Miss Sutherland for the waltz.”
“She is not going anywhere, and neither are you,” Calvin declared.
Fredrick looked at him curiously. “What is your plan exactly?” he asked. “Dare I point out that you have one bullet in that pistol?”
Calvin’s face grew hard. “You think you are so clever, don’t you?”
“More so than you,” Fredrick replied. “Did you ever anticipate all the ways that this could go terribly wrong, considering people would hear the shot echo through the gardens and would come to investigate?”
“That is why I was going to sneak back into the card room during the commotion, and none would be the wiser,” Calvin said.
Fredrick lifted his brow. “Your alibi was going to be a room full of drunken gentlemen?” he asked.
“Yes,” Calvin replied.
“I see, and what of Clarissa?” Fredrick asked. “People saw her leaving with Emilia following close behind. Wouldn’t they be suspicious of her?”
Calvin shifted his weight from one foot to the other. The ground beneath him was damp and gave way with a squelch as he moved. “I care little about what happens to her.”
Clarissa’s mouth dropped. “You would betray me- your sister?”
“Do not look so surprised,” Calvin responded. “You would do the same to me, given the chance.”
“I would not!” Clarissa’s voice was shrill and defensive. Her hands balled into fists at her sides. “We are family, and we are supposed to stick together.”
Calvin looked uninterested by Clarissa’s remark. “Save me the theatrics,” he said, speaking slowly, deliberately. “We both know that your heart is as cold as mine.”
