Chapter Thirty-four

Ned had taken charge and she had let him. Marguerite was not entirely sure how this had happened. She should not have allowed it—that much she knew. Delphine was her responsibility, not his.

But it was so much easier when he stepped in. If he asked Tony for any extra bottles of tonic, Tony just handed them over without demanding an explanation. When he asked the housekeeper, she immediately retrieved her bottles from the pantry and gave them to him. Even the doctor said nothing other than that he had no bottles at the chateau.

If she had asked, she would have had to say—what? What reason could she possibly have given for wanting the bottles? Would any excuse have been believable? But all Ned had to do was ask. Was it because he was an aristocrat? Or because he was a man? Or, perhaps, because he was Ned, and they all knew him well enough to trust him.

But Tante Héloise—Marguerite could not believe it.

When they reached Delphine’s room, the older woman had just stopped out into the corridor where Horace was waiting, as if on guard. She held up a hand. “Hush. I have just gotten her to sleep.”

Leaving Horace by the door, she led them into her own room before she questioned them. “What has happened? She was quite hysterical when I found her, and I could get no sense from her. She seemed to think the treasure had been stolen?”

“The treasure?” Marguerite was taken aback at first. “Ah, yes, of course. It was the treasure that Delphine would have been thinking about.”

“But is that not what you have been spending all your time seeking?” Tante Héloise sounded exasperated. “What else would upset the girl?”

Ned intervened then. “Yes, Madame, she would be upset about the treasure. When we found it, it proved to be a medieval reliquary, a wooden bust containing a relic of Saint Mael.” He smiled slightly. “It seems it was the treasure of the town of Morvan, not the family.”

“Ah!” Tante Héloise was taken aback at first. She had doubtless been making the same assumptions about the treasure as everyone else. Then she shook her head and gave a sad little laugh. “No gold, no jewels—she must have been distressed indeed. It is just as well that I gave her some laudanum. At least she will sleep for a while, and we can hope that she will be calmer when she awakens.”

“Unfortunately, her disappointment is not the real problem we face.” No one seeing Ned’s face could doubt his seriousness.

Tante Héloise shrugged dismissively. “Do not distress yourself. I know how to manage her. When she awakens, she may not even remember her disappointment. I will suggest a new way of dressing her hair, or a new trim for a gown, and she will cease to think about the treasure. It is very easy to distract that one.”

“I am afraid that will not be enough,” he said. “She has become dangerous.”

Tante Héloise made a dismissive noise, but before she could speak, Marguerite interrupted. “She has been poisoning Tony.”

The older woman turned in astonishment. “Poisoning…? That is impossible.”

“I wish it were.”

“The tonic he has been taking,” Ned said. “Poisonous seeds were added to it.”

“And you think Delphine did this? Impossible. How would she even know? She is just a child.”

Marguerite reached out to touch her aunt’s arm. “Tante Héloise, do you remember when her uncle came? She used to give him his tonic. The symptoms were the same.”

“But he died. No. No.” The old woman shook her head, but she had grown pale, terribly pale. “She could not do such a thing. You must be mistaken.”

“I wish I were, Madame,” Ned said, “but the chemist from the pharmacy in the village confirmed it.”

Tante Héloise seemed to shrink and age right before their eyes. Ned put an arm around her shoulders and seated her by the fireplace. Marguerite added some wood to the fire. They all waited for the flames to catch.

Tante Héloise broke the silence. “I do not understand how this could be possible. What would she know of poisons?”

“Corn cockle. It was corn cockle, agrostemme,” Marguerite said.

“Agrostemme?” Her aunt frowned. “There was a boy, a few years ago…the bread… It was in all the papers. But that was an accident.”

Ned shook his head. “In flour, it could be an accident. But not in the tonic. Madame, we must search her things to see if she has any more of the seeds.”

Tante Héloise was staring into the fire. “How could I not have realized?” Her voice was barely a whisper. “I knew there was something wrong. She could be selfish and vain, tiresome…but this?”

“Madame,” Ned broke in.

“Yes, yes.” She waved a hand without looking away from the flames. “Do what you will. What you must.”

The search was not even difficult. Horace remained by the door, not questioning their entrance—he never questioned anything—and Delphine herself was immobile in her drugged sleep. They had barely begun to search when Marguerite found the bottle tucked in the drawer that held the girl’s stockings.

She held it up and Ned took it from her. He pulled out the cork and poured a few of the seeds into the palm of his hand. They were unmistakable—twisted and covered with tiny prickles.

“She didn’t even try to hide them.” Disbelief, not fear of awakening Delphine, kept Marguerite’s voice down to a whisper.

Ned glanced over at the girl, lying so serenely on the pillows. “I don’t know if she truly realized she was doing something wrong.” He put the cork back in the bottle and went to the tall window, which opened onto a small balcony. It looked out on nothing but the sea and space. An odd place for a balcony, he thought, but useful for his purpose.

He stepped out, and with one smooth motion he threw the bottle far out to sea. Against the gray clouds it was just a dark patch, rising into the air, then descending to vanish silently into the waves.

It traveled a long distance through the air. So had the tonic bottles that he’d disposed of earlier.

He was much stronger than she had first thought, seeing him in the loose-fitting garments he seemed to prefer. So much of his appearance was deceptive. He was quiet and reserved, almost diffident, until something more was needed. Then he stepped forward to take charge, to take care of everything and everyone in need of care.

She could not believe how much she loved him. Would she ever be able to tell him? Would she dare?

They were on their way to the drawing room when she suddenly realized. “Ned! The seeds, the tonic—they were evidence. Now they are gone. How can I convince people that she cannot be allowed…that she has… The authorities will never believe me. Tony will think I am the one who is mad.”

“We are not going to involve any authorities and we are not going to tell Tony anything.” He turned her to face him and rested his forehead against hers. “Tony is safe now, but if we tell him she has been poisoning him, we can’t be sure how he will react. He may insist that she be locked up in an asylum. We need to take care of her ourselves. There is no need for authorities. If she poisoned her uncle…”

She tried to interrupt, but he put a finger on her lips. “If she poisoned him, there is no way to prove it any longer. We have only suspicion. And she has not poisoned Tony—he will be fine now. We will take care of her, and everyone will be safe. Even Delphine.”

He smiled, and she almost believed that he could make it all come true.