Page 40 of Intrigue and Inheritance (Crime and Consequences #3)
“I saw his face,” Anne continued as though Elizabeth hadn’t spoken.
“The pain he was in. Someone did that to him. Someone here, among our guests.” She looked up suddenly, her eyes sharp with a clarity that contrasted starkly with her previous vacancy.
“Someone who did not wish me to encourage his suit.”
The implication was clear, and Elizabeth felt a chill at the direction of Anne’s thoughts. “We cannot know that,” she said gently. “There could be many explanations.”
“Can there?” Anne challenged, a spark of anger breaking through her shock. “He had no enemies. Everyone found him amusing, harmless. Except those who saw him as an obstacle.”
Kitty and Georgiana exchanged uneasy glances, clearly disturbed by this turn in the conversation.
Elizabeth was saved from having to respond by another knock at the door.
This time it was Darcy who entered, accompanied by a middle- aged gentleman with a serious expression and the unmistakable bearing of a medical professional.
“Elizabeth,” Darcy said, his voice carefully controlled, “this is Dr. Hoylake, the coroner. He wishes to speak with you all, but particularly Miss de Bourgh, as she was closest to Lord Joseph before he collapsed.”
Dr. Hoylake bowed slightly. “Ladies, I apologize for intruding upon your grief. I shall be as brief as possible.”
Elizabeth nodded, gesturing for him to continue. “We understand the necessity, doctor.”
The coroner’s gaze moved to Anne, his expression softening with professional sympathy. “Miss de Bourgh, I understand you were conversing with Lord Joseph immediately before he became ill. Did you notice anything unusual about his behaviour or appearance?”
Anne straightened in her chair, her grief momentarily set aside as she answered with careful precision. “No. He was perfectly himself, discussing poetry and gardens. He seemed in excellent spirits.”
“And his tea?” the coroner inquired. “Did you observe him drinking it?”
“Yes,” Anne confirmed. “He had set it aside during his recitation earlier, then retrieved it afterward. He drank it while we were talking.”
“Did he consume anything else? Any food or other beverage?”
Anne shook her head. “Only the tea, as far as I observed.”
Dr. Phillips nodded, making a brief note in a small notebook he carried. “Thank you. That is consistent with my preliminary findings.”
“Your findings?” Elizabeth prompted when he did not immediately elaborate.
The coroner glanced at Darcy, who nodded slightly, permission to proceed. “Based on the symptoms described by multiple witnesses and my examination of the deceased, I believe Lord Joseph died as a result of poisoning. Specifically, arsenic poisoning.”
Despite the suspicion that had been growing in her mind, the clinical confirmation sent a shock through Elizabeth. Kitty gasped audibly, while Georgiana pressed her hand to her mouth.
“Arsenic,” Anne repeated, the word falling from her lips like a stone.
“Yes.” Dr. Phillips’s tone was grave but matter-of-fact. “The characteristic symptoms were all present: the sudden onset of burning pain in the stomach, violent vomiting, convulsions, and the peculiar froth at the mouth. The post-mortem appearances further confirm my suspicion.”
“Someone put arsenic in his tea,” Anne said, her voice hollow.
The coroner nodded solemnly. “That appears to be the most likely vector, given the timing of his symptoms. Mr. Hargreaves has ordered all the refreshments from this afternoon to be secured for testing; Mr. Darcy was able to identify the cup Lord Joseph drank from.”
Elizabeth felt a chill sweep through her at the confirmation of what they had all suspected. This had not been a tragic natural occurrence but a deliberate, calculated act. Someone among their guests, perhaps still present in their home, had murdered Lord Joseph with cold premeditation.
“Why arsenic?” Georgiana asked suddenly, her voice quavering. “If someone wished him ill, why choose that particular method?”
Dr. Hoylake considered the question with professional detachment.
“Arsenic is unfortunately both widely available and difficult to detect in food or drink. It is commonly used for killing rats and other vermin, found in many households. Its symptoms can sometimes be mistaken for cholera or other natural ailments, though the rapidity and violence of Lord Joseph’s decline points clearly to a substantial dose. ”
“Will you be able to determine precisely when it was administered?” Elizabeth asked, thinking of the crowded drawing room, the servants circulating with refreshments. The opportunities for someone to tamper with Lord Joseph’s tea had been numerous.
“That will be for Mr. Hargreaves to investigate,” the coroner replied. “My role is to establish the cause of death.”
Anne stood suddenly, her movement so abrupt that they all turned to look at her. Her face had set into an expression of surprising determination, grief temporarily displaced by something harder and more focused.
“Then someone murdered him,” she said, the words ringing with quiet conviction. “Someone deliberately ended his life while he sat in this house, speaking of poetry and gardens.”
“Anne,” Elizabeth began, concerned by the intensity building in her usually docile cousin.
“I want to know who,” Anne continued, ignoring the interruption. “I want to know who took him from me, just when...” Her voice finally broke, the composure she had maintained crumbling as the full reality of her loss crashed over her again. “Just when I had found him.”
Elizabeth moved quickly to her side as Anne’s knees buckled, supporting her weight as she guided her back to the armchair. The younger woman’s body shook with silent sobs, her face buried in her hands.
“We shall find the truth,” Darcy promised. “Whoever has done this will be brought to justice. You have my word, Anne.”
Elizabeth met her husband’s gaze over Anne’s bowed head, reading in his expression both determination and concern.
The afternoon that had begun with music and poetry had ended in death and suspicion, transforming their home into a scene of investigation and their social circle into a pool of potential murderers.
As the coroner withdrew to continue his examination, Elizabeth found herself wondering which of their supposedly genteel guests had come to their musicale carrying arsenic and murder in their heart.