Page 31 of The Lady and the Lion (Victorian Outcasts #9)

twenty-eight

P oisoned. Samuel’s brain was stuck on that word.

Silence dropped in the sitting room for a charged moment.

“Poisoned?” Vivienne clamped a hand over her mouth.

Dobkins gasped and sat back in her chair.

Samuel’s first thought was to throttle Dr. Tucker, whoever the man was. His hope had been vindicated. Vivienne wasn’t sick and dying.

Captain Jackson selected an empty vial from his bag and compared it to the one Vivienne had given him. He repeated the process until he found a vial identical to the one with the purple liquid. “Dobkins, please take this to Mrs. Foster and ask her to fill it with blueberry juice.”

Dobkins took the vial. “Is it poison?”

“It’s belladonna, mainly, but I think Dr. Tucker gives Lady Vivienne other drugs.”

Vivienne didn’t flinch. “Isn’t belladonna frequently used in medicine?”

“In small doses, yes, but this potion isn’t meant to make you feel better.” The captain pocketed the full vial. “I’ll examine it and let you know what I find, but I don’t have any doubts.”

Vivienne leant back onto the sofa. “You don’t think Dr. Tucker made a mistake, do you?”

“Mistake, my arse. Pardon me.” The captain gestured at her. “Do you have itchy red spots similar to nettle rashes?”

“On my back.”

“You have all the signs of poisoning. I would bet Dr. Tucker asks you to take another potion, a yellow one, and to replace it with the purple one for a week or two every month.”

Her eyes widened. “Yes!”

“What’s the second potion for?” Samuel asked.

“To make sure Lady Vivienne doesn’t die.” The captain rubbed his face. “Dr. Tucker is certainly a fraud, but he knows how to use potions and poisons.”

She gasped. “Did he keep me sick all these years on purpose?”

“I’m sure at first, after the ice-skating incident, you were truly sick,” Captain Jackson said.

“People who contract a severe bout of pneumonia do suffer from permanent damage to their lungs. But you aren’t one of them.

I don’t believe your lungs are damaged, or that you didn’t recover from the pneumonia.

Once you stop taking Dr. Tucker’s potions, all the symptoms will disappear. ”

Vivienne blinked a few times. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

Dobkins returned with the vial of juice and sat next to Vivienne. “Is Lady Vivienne going to be fine?”

In a flask, Captain Jackson combined a powder with a liquid he took out from his bag.

“I’m optimistic. From now on, until the wedding, you’ll drink only the blueberry juice in the vial I give you.

Do not take anything else Dr. Tucker gives you.

” He handed her a glass with the mixture.

“This is an extract from a fruit that grows in North America. A good antidote for poisons similar to belladonna.”

Vivienne’s hand trembled, spilling a few drops of the drink. Samuel held her hand and helped her sip. Anger burned his chest and the back of his throat. She’d suffered for no reason.

She drank with small sips, shaking.

He knelt next to her and caressed her cheek. “You aren’t dying,” he signed softly.

The good news soothed his anger but not his desire for justice.

Tears slid down her face, and he hugged her. The moment his arms were around her, she sobbed on his shoulder.

Dobkins cried as well, hiding her face in a handkerchief.

Captain Jackson rubbed the back of his neck. “It’s shocking. But look at the bright side. You don’t have any fatal disease.”

She cried harder. Samuel brushed his lips against her temple, regretting the fact he couldn’t whisper any words of comfort while she buried her face into his chest. When her crying stopped, she wiped her face.

“I can’t believe I’ve suffered for years for no reason.” Her voice sounded strong.

“Lady Vivienne,” Captain Jackson said, “when you return home later?—”

“Rubbish.” Samuel leapt to his feet, his blood seething. “She’ll stay here. She can’t return home.”

“Lady Vivienne will be your wife soon. A night in her house won’t change anything.”

“She can’t stay here,” Dobkins warned.

He signed furiously. “The doctor will kill her.”

“Why would Dr. Tucker want to poison me?” she asked, her eyes red.

“I don’t know,” Captain Jackson said. “One reason is money. The longer you’re sick, the more money he pockets. You surely aren’t his only patient.”

“And my mother…” She lowered her voice. “Do you think she knows?”

“No,” from what you have said, she has her own health issues.” The captain hesitated. “I think your mother has her own problems, and that Dr. Tucker took advantage of her.”

Samuel wasn’t convinced. “You don’t believe the countess has her responsibility?”

The captain made a gesture halfway between a shrug and a shake of his head. “I think the tragedy of losing a daughter compromised her judgement, and now taking care of Vivienne is everything that keeps her alive. If Vivienne heals and leaves the house, what will she do with her life?”

A sob shook Vivienne. She pressed a handkerchief to her mouth. “In a way, she wishes I were sick all the time.”

Captain Jackson opened and closed his mouth before talking. “I don’t know. It’s more complicated than that. I can’t believe your mother really wants you to suffer. Ask me about the maladies of the body, not of the mind.”

“I don’t care,” Samuel signed. “Whatever Lady Huntington’s reason for wanting Vivienne sick, I don’t trust her.”

Dobkins sniffled. “Her Ladyship suffered enormously when Lady Adele died. It’s easy to believe her mind was damaged.”

“I don’t doubt that.” Samuel moved his fingers slowly. “But Vivienne can’t pay for the consequences of her mother’s sorrow. Hell, Vivienne’s life is at risk.”

“I’m not going to let her die because the countess is overcome by grief.”

Dobkins twisted her handkerchief. “You’re right.”

Vivienne drew in a deep breath. “I’m not sick.”

“Well, you are, in a way.” The captain patted her hand. “It’ll take a while for your body to get rid of the poison, but after that, you’ll be perfectly fine.”

She started crying again. “I can’t believe it. All this time…”

“You should stay here,” Samuel insisted.

“She can’t,” Dobkins insisted. “We can protect her for two days,”

Captain Jackson spoke, “If we want to stop Dr. Tucker and understand if there’s more to the story, it would be better if Vivienne behaved normally.

She’ll pretend to take her potions without raising any suspicion, and I’ll gather evidence of Dr. Tucker’s misconduct. We’ll bring the bastard to justice.”

Samuel held Vivienne again. She rested her head on his shoulder and sighed. The anger flaring in his chest was a primordial force he had never experienced, not even when Murdock had abused him.

He’d finally found someone he hated more than Murdock.