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CHAPTER 11
With a long sigh, Jack walked back into the salon where his grandmother sat sipping her tea. This investigation was becoming a bloody mess. Instead of reaching for his tea, he reached for the bottle of brandy and poured a large snifter.
“Is there a reason you have neglected to offer me some brandy?”
“Grandmamma, you are drinking tea.”
She laughed. “So I am, but I believe a little brandy in it might warm me up on such a cool day.”
The old woman was incorrigible. He knew she would not relent so he added a dash to her tea.
“Did the countess leave already?”
Jack took the seat across from her and stared over at the older woman. “Why were you so rude to her, Grandmamma?”
She had the decency to glance away from him and down into her teacup. “Because I know the kind of woman she is whether she had anything to do with those men’s deaths or not.”
He closed his eyes and shook his head. “You can’t possibly know anything about her.”
“Of course I do. I was her fifty years ago. I came from nothing and was determined to marry a man who could take me out of my lowly position. Your grandfather offered me a position as his mistress, did you know that?”
Jack’s eyes opened in shock. “He did what?”
“Yes, a mistress. But I would have no part of that, so I rejected his offer but made certain I was everywhere I knew he would be. I wanted him to see exactly what he was missing. And two months later, he proposed marriage.”
He didn’t know if he should laugh or go wash to get that image out of his head. “Talking with you is always an enlightening experience, ma’am. But it doesn’t explain why you were so rude to her. If you and she are so much alike, I would think you would get along famously.”
Her lips moved upwards. “Oh, we shall, just not yet.”
His grandmother was the most exasperating woman he had ever known. “I suppose you now know why I had wished to call upon you?”
“I knew it before I saw the girl. No one else in Society is currently suspected of poisoning anyone.” She placed her teacup down with a frown. “But how would she have done it? Oleander is possibility but hard to come by in town. Arsenic is always a fine choice because of the rat problem.”
“She has cats. But there was a smell of garlic in the coroner’s report.” Jack shifted uncomfortably in his seat. While his grandmother and Neville were the only two people who knew he worked for Fairchild, the idea of discussing poisoning a person with his grandmother was a tad unseemly, even for him.
“You would need to discover if her husbands had stomach issues right before their deaths. A deadly dose of arsenic would lead to severe bowel disruption before the victim passed. Oleander is a much faster toxin. The first two of her husbands passed after being with their mistresses so Oleander is probably not a possibility.”
“How do you know so much about poisons, Grandmamma?”
She leveled him an innocent smile. “I doubt you would like the answer to that question, dear boy. Let us just say it is a hobby.”
She was right. He truly did not want to know. “I will see what I can find out from the coroner’s investigations.”
She picked up her teacup with a chuckle. “Good luck. It sounded as if she didn’t wish to see you again. That girl might just lead you on a merry chase.”
“A chase?” Jacked gulped down the rest of his brandy before pouring himself another. “That girl is a suspect in killing her husband...quite possibly all three of her husbands.”
The dowager shook her head. “Highly unlikely. You need to expand your list of suspects, dear boy.”
“Why is it so unlikely? Women don’t kill men?” he asked acerbically.
“Of course they do, and usually with poison,” she said with a laugh. “There were many times I wished to kill your grandfather, much as I loved him. I suppose it’s a good thing I didn’t as the only thing I have left of him is you, Neville and the girls.” She released a tired sigh. “Love is never easy, Jack. But with the right person, it is quite lovely.”
“I am not in love with Lady Stanhope. Besides, you know I’m in no position to marry.”
She waved a hand at him in dismissal. “You just haven’t found the right woman. Sit down, we still have much to discuss about this investigation. Have you seen her gardens or greenhouse?”
Jack returned to his seat and sipped his drink. “I have not seen her garden and I don’t believe she has a greenhouse.”
