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A rainy dawn arrived without further incident, bringing the besieged little cheer.
“I wonder how many of our neighbors will dare show their faces this day?” he asked, handing Jacqueline a cup of tea. “We have no cream,” he apologized as she took it.
“I’m quite content without it,” she said, shooting him a wry look.
He chuckled. “Yes, I don’t suppose anyone here wants cream in their cup now. Did you speak with Mr. Farnsworth?”
“Yes. He told me the young man he hired last week failed to return after making his morning deliveries—of which he apparently completed only half. His horse and wagon are missing as well. When I told him of the girls falling ill and why, he grew terribly upset. He offered to testify on our behalf should we catch the culprit.”
“I doubt we’ll be so lucky. The poisoner is long gone.”
“What do we do now?” she asked. “We dare not
attempt to flee—she is doubtless waiting for us to do so.”
“Indeed. By now she knows I’ve returned. Having lost her quarry once in St. James, she won’t risk losing it again. She has us both in her sights, but she won’t risk so bold an attack as last night.”
Jacqueline’s face hardened. “You think she will try to poison us again? Surely she must know I won’t allow any foreign food or drink to enter this school until the threat is over. If she means to starve us, she will have a long wait. We have enough food to last an entire winter.”
“Yes, but without coal, you have no fire to cook it,” he reminded her.
The color bled from her cheeks, but her chin stayed high. “I will burn every stick of furniture, every last book, if I must—”
“You won’t need to,” he assured her. “Having drawn attention to us once, she won’t do so again, but she’ll still want us eliminated. I imagine her next move will be a quiet one. She knows I’m here and that I brought some of my people with me—she won’t risk us speaking to anyone outside. You can wager there are eyes in every street watching this school and a gun aimed at every door.”
“Then we are at an impasse. How do we—”
“Headmistress?” It was Dulcie. She extended her hand, which held a chunk of brick wrapped in parchment tied on with a red silk ribbon. “I went upstairs to gather a few things for the children, and this came through one of the windows.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“I told everyone to stay out of the outside rooms!” Jacqueline snapped, snatching the parcel from her hand with shaking fingers. “You might have been killed!”
Dulcie’s chin shook as she nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I won’t disobey again.”
“See that you don’t,” she admonished more gently. Reaching out, she tucked a strand of hair back around the girl’s ear. “I don’t want to lose you or any of the others. Remind them again for me?” She watched as the girl nodded and, dismissed, went to do her bidding.
“Come,” Jacqueline said, going out into the hallway. Away from curious eyes, she untied the red ribbon, shuddering as she remembered the macabre token that had accompanied the last missive. Unwrapping the parcel, she tossed aside the chunk of brick and smoothed out the paper. The ink was blurred from the damp, but still legible.
You have played a fine game, but now it is my turn. Dress in your finest. A carriage will come at two o’ clock for you, Lord Huxton, Sally, Fanny, and Abigail. You know what will happen if anyone fails to board, comes armed, attempts to flee, or tries to send for help. The choice is yours.
B.
“She’s angry over last night’s failure,” murmured Will, who was reading over her shoulder. “Enough that she wants to witness our end in person.”
Closing her eyes didn’t stop tears escaping. “We cannot fight them off indefinitely.”
“Fighting them off serves no purpose now,” he said surprising her. “I fully intend to get into that carriage.”
She stared at him in bewilderment. “You want to go to her?”
“I’m playing the cards dealt me,” he said, his eyes hard. “But make no mistake, the deck is stacked in my favor. Before coming here, I let my people know the situation and gave them orders to execute should I fail to return. Boucher may have men watching us, but I’ve got people watching, as well.”
“But if we are followed—”
“We won’t be. Boucher is as slippery as an eel and has many holes in which to hide, but given her recent difficulties she’ll doubtless be in the one where she feels safest—and thanks to one of her men we persuaded to talk, we know where it is.”
“And if you are wrong?”
