by Laura Landon
“You don’t think I have? Do you think it’s been easy for Benjamin to stand up to the comments he’s heard about his older brother? There’s been no name for what’s been wrong with me. Nothing anyone understood. Insanity has been mentioned more than once. But he’s had to ignore the comments because there was no other answer to give anyone.” He paused. “And what about my father?”
Gideon rose from the bench. “Do you know how difficult it’s been for him to answer questions about his heir? Everyone knows there’s something wrong with me. My absence is proof of that. There have been no marriageable debutantes clamoring to be my wife, even if she will someday become a duchess.” He turned on her. “And what about Winnie and Anne? Do you think they will have an easy time when it comes to finding matches? All anyone in Society knows is that the Marquess of Sheffield suffers from some malady so horrible that he cannot be allowed in polite society. Even if they don’t know I’ve been locked away in an asylum, they know I haven’t been allowed to come to Town.”
Eve rushed to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Then you will go to London and prove to them how wrong they are about you.”
He laughed.
“Don’t you laugh at me, Gideon. It may seem difficult now, perhaps even impossible, but you’ve survived worse. And you will have your family with you.”
“Oh, yes.” He threw his head back on his shoulders and laughed even harder. “I’m sure my stepmother will be happy to stand at my side and defend me.”
Eve pulled back. How could he make light of something so tragic? “I see no humor in your statement.”
He smiled. “Then you’ll find no humor in what I’m going to say next.”
Her breath caught as she waited for Gideon to say what he intended.
“My stepmother has asked me to invite you and your father to a celebration dinner tomorrow evening.”
“No!”
“Eve.” He gently grasped her upper arms. The way he elongated her name made it sound as a warning.
“No,” she answered, pulling away from him. “You can’t expect me to sit at the same table with her. Not now. Not after discovering what she did to your mother. And to you.”
His features turned hard. “Do you think it will be easy for me?”
“Of course not. I’d think it would be impossible! How can you even consider attending?”
An angry look filled his gaze. “Do you think this is the only time I will ever have to associate with her? Do you think that after tomorrow night I’ll be able to avoid her?” He hesitated. “She will still be a member of my family. If I don’t want to destroy the lives of everyone I love, I’ll have to learn to tolerate her.”
She shook her head. “Eating at her table will not be safe. Eating food her cook―Clyve Woodman’s mother!—prepared won’t be safe. You know what she’s capable of doing.”
“I’ll be eating the same food as everyone else. Everything will be served from the same tureens, the same platters. If that is the case, she can hardly poison me without poisoning her whole family.”
Eve squeezed her eyes shut as she tried to control her temper. How would she ever manage to sit through an evening without scratching Her Grace’s eyes out? How would she be able to hold her tongue and not shout to the entire world what she’d done? How could she greet the woman and keep the horrid contempt from her face?
“For me, Eve,” he whispered, pulling her to him and holding her close. “Promise me you’ll give me this one night.”
“Then you must promise me something.”
“Anything,” he said, tapping the tip of her nose with his finger.
“After tomorrow night, you will confront your stepmother. You’ll tell her you know what she’s done, and that you have proof. That if anything happens to you, your father will get the evidence you have.”
He smiled. But his smile was sad. “I promise.”
CHAPTER 24
Eve sat at the large table in the Townsend formal dining room and stared at the food in front of her—and the food in front of Gideon. Surely the duchess wouldn’t do anything tonight of all nights. And yet, when would she have a better opportunity?
The gathering was small. This was an informal dinner to celebrate Gideon’s cure from the seizures that had plagued him since he was eight years old. And to commemorate this occasion there were no other guests invited. Only her father and herself.
The Duke and Duchess of Townsend sat at either end of the table. Eve sat on one side of the table, with Lord Benjamin to her right and Lady Anne to her left. Her father sat across from her with Gideon to his right and Lady Winnifred to his left. It gave her a perfect view of the food placed in front of him. A perfect opportunity to notice anything out of the ordinary.
Eve avoided looking at Gideon’s stepmother. She knew if Her Grace looked at her overly long she’d see the anger and hatred and bitterness it was impossible for her to hide. That would make Her Grace suspicious, and Eve had promised Gideon that she wouldn’t do anything to spoil this evening for his father and brother and sisters.
But Eve found it impossible to avoid looking at her occasionally. She wanted to know what kind of woman would torture and kill her best friend, then kill Dr. Milton, and finally torture and attempt to kill Gideon. She needed to know how the desire to attain the status of Duchess of Townsend could be so intense that a person would resort to cold blooded murder.
Eve was certain that if she looked hard enough, she’d see something in her mannerisms or in the expression on her face to indicate what had driven her to do the heartless things she’d done. The opposite seemed true.
The Duchess of Townsend was a beautiful woman. She was youthful in appearance, with wheat-colored hair that didn’t have a sprinkle of gray in it. Her skin still had the bloom of youth, although she had to be nearing her fiftieth year.
If Eve hadn’t read the journal that described what Ernesta had done, it would be impossible for her to believe there was a wicked bone in her body. The only feature that betrayed Her Grace’s façade of kindness and grace was the careful passiveness of her icy blue eyes.
More than once, Eve caught her when she looked at her family. There was a warmth when she focused on Lord Benjamin and the Ladies Anne and Winnifred that was absent when she looked at Gideon.
Eve knew Gideon would tell her she imagined the look, but it was there. Perhaps she saw it only because she was looking for something that showed the dark side of Her Grace’s personality. Eve couldn’t wait to ask her father if he’d noticed it, too.
Actually, she couldn’t wait for this whole night to be over. The food served so far had been delicious, or at least she assumed it was, considering the amount Gideon and Benjamin and the others ate. Eve found she had little appetite. How could she eat when it took all her effort to watch the servants serve the food? She knew this would be the perfect opportunity for Her Grace to finish what she’d started years ago with Gideon’s mother.
The first course was a soup. It was dished from a tureen placed on the side board and Eve felt comfortable with Gideon eating that. And the meat, vegetables and potatoes that came next were served from platters servants brought around the table. It would be impossible to poison one serving of meat and make sure Gideon took that piece. But there were several dishes yet to be served.
She lifted her gaze often and caught him staring at her. She knew each look was meant to reassure her that everything would be all right. But a gnawing in her stomach told her he couldn’t know that. Every pounding beat of her heart told her this night could be a disaster.
She picked up her fork and slid the roast duck from one side of her plate to the other.
“Tell me, Miss Cornwell,” the duchess said between bites of meat and creamed asparagus. “Whatever made you think that Lord Sheffield’s seizures were not a physical imbalance, but had been caused by something he might have eaten?”
All eyes focused on her. The most intense gaze came from Gideon.
Eve placed
her fork on her plate and considered how to answer. “Actually, it was through the process of elimination. His lordship’s seizures seemed different from other seizures I’d observed in other patients. It made me think that perhaps there might be an unusual cause to his illness.”
“And we can’t thank you enough for taking such an interest,” His Grace said. “Words cannot express how grateful we are.”
“No,” Her Grace added.
The expression on the duchess’s face was filled with so much sincerity that for a moment Eve thought perhaps Gideon’s mother had been mistaken when she’d written in her journal that she suspected her friend. What if Her Grace wasn’t responsible for what had happened? What if—
Everyone’s attention was drawn to a comment Lord Benjamin made, and Eve turned her attention to Gideon’s brother. But in the fraction of a second before her gaze left the duchess’s face, she saw it. A murderous glare in Her Grace’s eyes. A bitterness filled with such contempt that it was unmistakable—and directed at Gideon.
Eve’s blood turned to ice as it flowed through her veins and she gripped her fingers together in her lap. She’d never seen a look so loathsome, never seen hatred so open and exposed.
Eve looked at Gideon, hoping to get his attention, but everyone was still concentrating on Lord Benjamin. Then, they turned to Lady Anne, who added something to her brother’s comment.
“Don’t you think so, Miss Cornwell?”
Eve lifted her head. “I…I’m sorry. What did you say?”
Anne smiled at her. “I asked if you found my brother an agreeable patient?”
Eve felt her cheeks warm as her gaze found Gideon’s. He smiled with raised eyebrows.
“Look everyone,” Lord Benjamin said. “Do you see the threatening look he’s giving her? She’ll never answer your question honestly now, Anne.”
“Of course she will,” Gideon said, feigning insult. “Miss Cornwell is incapable of being dishonest, Ben. I doubt anyone could force her to say something she didn’t believe.”
Eve caught the warmth in Gideon’s gaze. She knew he was making an effort to put her at ease, but nothing would do that. Except a swift and uneventful end to this evening. She held his gaze and smiled, then turned her attention to Gideon’s siblings. “I know you will find this difficult to believe, but other than a few moments when my demands pushed your brother to the limit of his patience, Lord Sheffield was an ideal patient. Wasn’t he Papa?”
“That’s not fair,” Lord Benjamin interjected. “She’s enlisting the aid of her father.”
Everyone laughed.
“Of course she’s enlisting my aid. That’s what fathers are for. Aren’t we, Your Grace?”
The Duke of Townsend laughed, then nodded. “You’re absolutely right, Dr. Cornwell. And we fathers like nothing better than when our children turn to us for help and advice.”
“You expect us to believe Gideon never lost his temper, Miss Cornwell?” Lady Winnifred said in a teasing manner.
“Well, perhaps once he did,” Eve answered hesitantly. “That might have been the time he demanded I leave and never return.”
“I never—” Gideon stopped. “Well, perhaps I did once. But I’m sure I never meant it.”
And so it continued as the servants cleared the table after each course. A heavy weight settled on Eve’s chest as she listened to the back and forth banter between brothers and sisters. No wonder Gideon didn’t want his siblings to know what their mother had done. He had a wonderful family. A close-knit family who loved each other. If the truth came out, all that would be destroyed.
But if the truth remained hidden, Gideon would eventually die. Eve was as sure of this as she was of anything. His stepmother had already killed two people and had attempted to kill him. She wanted him out of the picture, and she wouldn’t stop until he was no longer alive to prevent Lord Benjamin from becoming the next Duke of Townsend.
The meal was finally over as the servants filled cups with coffee or tea and set them before each person. The last dish to be served was a special dessert to celebrate Gideon’s recovery. Eve breathed a sigh of relief. The meal was almost over. And yet…
Four servants entered the dining room carrying two plates apiece. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and for a moment, Eve thought how foolish she’d been to suspect the duchess would use this occasion to make an attempt on Gideon’s life.
The china was beautiful. A delicate cream plate with a gold leaf design. Eve didn’t doubt the gold was real. And the cake that sat in the center of each plate was a masterpiece.
Cook had prepared a five-tiered chocolate cake, three of the tiers a dark chocolate, and two layers a rich cream pudding. The cake was frosted with fluffy chocolate, and each piece was garnished with a thick caramel sauce that cascaded over the sides of the towering dessert. Atop each piece was a little sprig of mint.
There was the murmur of impressive oohs and ahs as the servants placed a plate in front of each of them.
“Cook has outdone herself,” His Grace said to his wife when a beaming maid set his plate in front of him.
“It’s in celebration. I ordered something special for Lord Sheffield’s recovery.”
Eve’s heart skipped a beat. She wasn’t sure what it was. Perhaps the warning came because of Her Grace’s boast that she’d ordered it, and the cake was something special. Perhaps the admission that Cook had prepared something special for Gideon. Perhaps the realization that if Her Grace was going to attempt anything, this would be her last opportunity. This was the last course.
Eve’s skin broke out in a cold sweat. Her palms turned damp and she wiped them on the napkin in her lap. Her hands trembled so violently the fork she held in her hands slipped to the table.
That’s when she noticed it. The plates. The gold-leaf design on all of their plates—except Gideon’s. His plate was silver. The leaf design wasn’t gold, but silver. So there’d be no mistake. So Gideon would get the right piece of cake. The poisoned piece of cake.
She watched him lift his fork. Watched him cut a generous wedge of the cake and lift it to his mouth. His mouth opened and—
Eve stood so quickly, her chair tipped over backwards. She leaned across the table and tried to reach the fork in Gideon’s hand.
“No!”
CHAPTER 25
Gideon’s hand froze midway to his mouth.
Eve knew her panic-filled voice had stopped him from taking a bite of cake. The look in his eyes told her he understood her meaning. His look told her he didn’t know how she knew, but that he trusted her enough to believe her.
He slowly lowered his fork to his plate.
“Is something wrong, Miss Cornwell?” the Duke of Townsend asked.
Her loud cry had startled everyone in the room. Anne and Winnie had squeaked in fright when she’d yelled her warning and they all stopped before taking a bite of their cake.
Gideon’s father and sisters stared at her as if she belonged at Shadowdown with the residents who were confined there. Lord Benjamin looked surprised, but he didn’t look at her as if she’d lost her mind. He only stared at her with confusion on his face. And Her Grace glared at her as if Eve’s interruption was the ultimate gaffe in rudeness.
Only her father looked at her as if he understood why she’d yelled out the warning. He placed his fork down beside his plate and removed his napkin from his lap. He sat forward in his chair and gave her a slight nod. This was his silent way of offering her his support.
Eve slowly sat back down on the chair a footman had righted and placed behind her.
“Gideon?” his father directed at his son. “What’s the meaning of this?”
Gideon kept his gaze locked with hers. He held her attention as if his connection to her was all that kept him grounded to reality.
“Tell them, Gideon,” she whispered.
He didn’t move for several long seconds. His expression remained unresponsive, his dark eyes blank. Eve felt as helpless as if she were sinking in a pit
of quicksand. She knew what he was conveying with his detached look, knew what he was silently demanding she do. But she couldn’t.
Her gaze dropped to the piece of cake in front of him. His gaze followed hers, then lifted. Their eyes met, and held. Eve read the message in his stony calmness. He was giving her no choice. He was leaving no room for compromise, or for defiance.
He had no intention of speaking. If Gideon’s father was to find out how and why his first wife had died, she would be the one to tell him.
She would be the one who destroyed everything Gideon wanted to protect. And he would hate her forever.
She allowed her eyes to take in the rugged features that gave him an indomitable appearance, a look of invincibility. She took in the sharp intelligence in his gaze, the proud lift to his chin, his high cheekbones and the chiseled cut of his jaw. Every facet of his demeanor exuded an inherent strength that made him the person she loved. The man she would give her life to save.
Her eyes misted. “I’m sorry,” she whispered.
His eyes closed, and in that second, she knew she’d lost him. Her decision to expose his stepmother was going to destroy the love she’d only dreamed of finding. And for one moment—just one infinitesimal moment—the courage she had abandoned her. Her desperation to keep Gideon from hating her was greater than her desire to keep him safe.
Until she turned her head to where Gideon’s stepmother presided at the end of the table.
Her eyes narrowed. She glared at Eve with a look so vile and filled with loathing it stole her breath. Her malicious glare dared Eve to expose her. Her contemptuous stare challenged Eve to reveal anything that might threaten her. Her murderous glare turned Eve’s blood to ice.
The Duchess of Townsend looked from Eve to the untouched piece of cake in front of Gideon. A hate-filled expression froze on her face. Eve didn’t doubt that if Her Grace had the knife she’d used to kill Dr. Milton close at hand, she’d plunge it into Eve’s heart.
