Page 108 of A Whisper at Midnight

“Hasn’t it just,” Mrs. Blank said with a shake of her head before departing.

Beryl stared at Tilda and Hadrian. “Was Gillian poisoning me? I can’t believe it.”

“We can’t jump to conclusions just yet,” Tilda said. “Though it is suspicious that you were ill when she was bringing you biscuits.”

“I’ve been eating them since Saturday.” Panic flashed in Beryl’s eyes. “Am I going to be ill? Am I going to … die?” She slumped back against the coach, and Hadrian feared she may faint as she had when Teague had said she was a suspect in Louis’s murder.

“I think you’d already be ill if those biscuits were poisoned,” Tilda said. “How quickly after Epiphany did you feel poorly?”

“Within a few days, I believe.” Beryl put her hand to her forehead. “Why would Gillian poison me? We’re friends,” she croaked and seemed to be holding back tears. Shaking her head, she swallowed. “It doesn’t make sense that she would. It’s more likely her flour was bad. There is bad flour. I’ve read about how they put things in it to cheat people, and it makes them sick.”

Poor Beryl looked very upset. Her eyes were wild, and she was still pale.

“We’ll investigate that,” Tilda said soothingly. “For now, please keep this to yourself until we learn more.”

“Let us just ask Gillian,” Beryl said. “I’m sure there’s a reasonable explanation.” She fell silent, her mouth drawn into a frown.

“I’m sure you’re right,” Tilda replied. “Please let Hadrian and me determine what that is. You’ve been through enough.”

“What about Louis?” Beryl blurted. “Was Gillian poisoning him too? Why would she do that?”

Hadrian worried that Beryl was working herself into an agitated state. “Let’s not worry about it now,” he said gently, hoping to calm her.

“She thought Louis was awful,” Beryl went on. “She was so eager to help me with the divorce. Would she have poisoned him to protect me?”

Tilda gave her a reassuring smile. “We’ll look into that too.”

“I need to know.” Beryl blinked at him, then looked to Tilda. “We can just go next door and speak to Gillian. Now.”

Hadrian and Tilda exchanged another look. “You can’t do that, Beryl,” Hadrian said, perhaps a trifle too sternly. “Promise me you’ll let Tilda and me handle this. We don’t know anything for certain.” Except they did. He was more certain than ever that Mrs. Styles-Rowdon had poisoned Louis and perhaps even Beryl.

Tilda rose. “Beryl, I think you should rest.”

Beryl shook her head. “I don’t know if I can.”

Hadrian also stood. He moved to offer his hand to Beryl. “Come. You’ll feel better after you have a respite. Let Tilda work her investigative magic, and when you’re refreshed, we may have all the answers for you.” He smiled at her with encouragement.

Putting her hand in his, Beryl rose. “All right. But I want to know as soon as you’ve learned something.”

Tilda nodded. “Absolutely.”

Beryl left the parlor, and Tilda walked out after her into the entrance hall.

Hadrian followed, and together they watched as Beryl went into the staircase hall and up the stairs.

Turning to Hadrian, Tilda’s eyes were wider than normal. “We need to find out if Louis ever received any biscuits from Mrs. Styles-Rowdon.”

“Whom should we ask?”

“Whomever we can find.” Tilda started toward the back of the house.

Hadrian accompanied her. “Are you going downstairs?”

“That seems the best place to start.” Tilda moved into the sitting room where the door to the servants’ stairs was located. But they didn’t need to go any farther, for Clara was just coming from the stairwell.

She stopped short upon seeing Tilda and Hadrian. “My lord, Miss Wren.”

“Good afternoon, Clara.” Tilda sounded quite stimulated. That was precisely how Hadrian felt. “Do you know if Mr. Chambers ever received biscuits from Mrs. Styles-Rowdon?”