person. He’s most anxious to get his inheritance, and obviously, he’s finally managed to do it.”
It was a significant moment for Lucas. He’d resisted telling his identity to everyone, including his family. That he had to reveal himself now, to this toad, made his throat tighten with disgust. And if there was any reward for what he’d just done, it was the way Diana turned to him, her mouth parted in shock, and her eyes wide with sympathy. She knew what revealing himself this way had cost him. But she was the only one who seemed to understand.
Diana’s servants seemed to nod as if they had expected something like that. His men already knew. And the constable—the very person he’d meant to impress—seemed completely unaffected.
“All the more reason to suspect you are her lover and a partner in her crimes.”
Geoffrey must have offered the man a great deal of money. With a grimace of disgust, Lucas looked at Simpson. “I believe it’s time to summon her ladyship’s solicitor.” The butler nodded and turned to speak with a footman while Lucas turned to Diana. “Perhaps you should go upstairs and rest. At least until Elliott arrives. He should be here soon.”
Diana arched a brow at him. And though her blue eyes were filled with pain, she shook her head. “I will remain here and face my accuser, even in the guise of a constable more interested in courting favor than in finding the truth.”
It was well said, but it had little positive effect. The constable sputtered with outrage, and he was then cemented in his opposition. Lucas had to stop himself from punching the man. He couldn’t even step in front of Diana to block her from his attacks. She wouldn’t tolerate the insult to her authority, and it would do no good in any event. So he stood by her side and counted the seconds until help could arrive.
It came in the form of Elliott and his wife. Amber went straight to Diana, taking her hands and soothing her as only women can. Elliott checked that his sister was safe, then turned to him. Lucas responded without even needing the question.
“Someone placed arsenic in his lordship’s special tea.”
“Geoffrey, obviously,” Elliott said. “But how?”
“If you can keep Diana safe, I will investigate,” Lucas said. “Someone will tell the truth, and then the whole thing will unravel.”
Elliott nodded, his expression troubled. “So, the man takes one last go at Diana in Vauxhall, then poisons his father’s tea before making a big show of leaving.”
Ignoring the constable’s attempts to insert himself into the conversation, Lucas turned to Simpson, who was listening with a deep frown on his face. “Who could have done it?”
The butler shook his head. “Anyone, my lord. The tea wasn’t kept under lock and key. We all knew it was for Lord Dunnamore.”
Diana spoke up. “I drank the tea with him. Sometimes.” Then her eyes widened. “But it didn’t agree with my stomach—”
“And so you stopped,” Lucas finished for her.
Diana pressed a hand to her mouth in shock. “You think Geoffrey has been poisoning the tea all along?”
Elliott took her hand. “We will likely never know. But it is assured that he has been pushed into drastic action now. We must make sure you are safe.”
Lucas concurred. “The solicitor is on his way. Get the will read immediately. He’s less dangerous to her after he inherits. And it will give us time to investigate.”
“She’ll stay with Amber and me,” Elliott said firmly.
His wife concurred. “Come along. I’ll help you gather your things.”
Everyone seemed to be in agreement. Everyone, that is, except Diana. Looking at her, he saw determination coupled with an angry kind of resignation, but he couldn’t fathom why.
“Diana?”
She looked at him with a frustrated expression, and this time, he couldn’t stop himself from going to her side. He touched her shoulder and studied her face when she looked up at him. And then she gripped his fingers as if grounding herself with a touchstone.
“It won’t make it better,” she whispered.
“Why? Whyever not?”
She blinked away her tears. “Do you really think Oscar was that much of an idiot? That he didn’t see the way of things with Geoffrey? At least financially? From the moment Oscar became ill, I began to manage the household affairs. And then the full estate. The more unmanageable Geoffrey became, the more Oscar turned affairs over to me.”
Elliott nodded. “Then he had more sense than I thought.”
She shot her brother a frustrated look. Obviously, he