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Chapter Thirty-One
“It was you?” The words escaped Hermione in a hurry. For a second, Cordelia still struggled, trying to force more of the liquid down Rose’s throat. “No!” Hermione jumped forward at the same time Antony did, each of them rounding the bed in different directions.
Antony reached Cordelia and tore the glass out of her hands, wrestling with it though the woman continued to fight, trying to take the glass back. Hermione went straight to Rose, encouraging her to spit out what was in her mouth in the chamber pot that still stood nearby.
“That is enough!” Antony roared. Hermione looked up to see him throw the glass across the room. It smashed in the fire grate nearby, so that the liquid splattered between shards of glass. Cordelia whimpered as she gazed after it, falling limp and no longer fighting Antony.
“Aunt, it was you?” Hermione asked, feeling such fear that she wrapped her arms around Rose, holding onto her. The Dowager Duchess clung to her too, just as tightly. “You tried to poison her?”
“Twice!?” Antony pointed out, gesturing down to the glass.
“She clearly wanted to make sure the job was done,” the doctor said, striding forward into the room before he moved to Rose’s side, trying to check her over as she held onto Hermione.
“Murderer,” Antony muttered. “Fergus! Send the butler for the constable!”
“Already going!” Fergus called from the corridor that he was sprinting down. Hermione turned her head to see her sister and her father standing in the open doorway, staring at Cordelia as if she had morphed into a monster before them, complete with devil horns.
“Why?” Antony said. Cordelia didn’t answer. She tried to walk past him and head to the exit, but Antony took hold of her arm, wrenched her back, and forced her to sit in a chair in the corner of the room. Cordelia whimpered at the harsh treatment, but no one cared, not after what had just happened.
“Aunt,” Hermione called to her across the room. “Why would you do this? Just for my father? So he can pay off his debts?”
“It is not so simple,” Cordelia said miserably, hanging her head as she wrung her hands in the skirt of her dress.
“Then explain it,” Antony demanded as he stood tall in front of her.
“Rufus can explain.” Hermione darted her head toward her father, fearing he was actually involved after all.
“No, I cannot!” Rufus said with hands that he waved madly in front of him. “I have nothing to do with this. I never said to poison anyone, Cordelia.”
“But… I had no choice. How else were we supposed to get away?” she asked wildly.
“Shh! Be quiet; do not say another word!” Rufus ordered, turning in a frantic circle.
“Get away?” Phoebe picked up on the key words regardless, looking between the two of them. “You were leaving? Why?”
“She’s mistaken, a mad woman,” Rufus said, waving an arm toward their aunt.
“How dare you?” Cordelia cried, trying to jump out of the chair, but Antony pressed her back down into the seat. “You call me mad? After everything we’ve been through together? After what I have done for you–”
“Shh!” Rufus urged again. Hermione settled her eyes on her aunt, hearing the words and seeing the way that Cordelia was looking at her father. She had never noticed that look before, suggesting something else was there. Something that Rufus was trying to keep hidden.
“You were plotting together,” Hermione summarized. “I thought us coming here was all father’s idea, but it wasn’t, was it? You thought of it together.” Both Rufus and Cordelia turned to look at her. Rufus just shrugged whilst Cordelia looked sharply away again.
“I have nothing to do withthis,” Rufus said pointedly, gesturing to Rose’s state in the bed. “That was Cordelia.”
“You’re going to let me go down for this alone? Now?” Cordelia cried.
“Yes, I bloody well am!” Rufus said quickly. “You did this part all on your own.”
“For us.”
“Us?” Hermione repeated in shock, looking between the two of them. “Good God. You were going to run away together. Toelope?”Rufus looked away as though he were going to stride to the door and make a run for it, but he came up against Phoebe who stood in the doorway, blocking off his exit.
“You are lovers?” Phoebe asked with disgust, pointing between the two of them. “Our mother’s sister? Good God, did mother ever know?”
“No! It happened after your mother’s death,” Rufus said hurriedly.
“We were going to take the money and elope together,” Cordelia made the confession, lifting her eyes to Hermione. “We had every intention of leaving the two of you behind.”
