an open bottle of wine that had been left on the sideboard next to her. She recalled the state Catherine had pretended to be in just before she had escorted her to the carriage, and then knew what she would do. She then closed her eyes for a moment, and silently beseeched all the souls desiring vengeance within Dredthorne Hall to come to her.
Be with me now, please. Help me to defeat her, and save my love.
The air around her grew chilly as Jennet picked up the bottle and tipped it toward herself, dribbling the wine down her front. She drank from it, just enough to scent her breath, and gripped the bottle in her fist. Rumpling her hair so that it appeared badly disordered, she staggered and collided with the door between the rooms before she burst into the kitchens.
“Catherine, is that you?” she called out in a slurred voice, and stumbled a little as she gave her a foolish grin. “You came back, and changed your costume. How original.” She looked down at herself. “Oh, so did I.” She frowned and swayed on her feet. “When did that happen?”
Catherine quickly stepped in front of Greystone to block him from her view. “I could not leave you here without a carriage to take you home, my dear.”
“You are the very best of friends.” Jennet needed to get closer, but she was not sure she had convinced the other woman. She took a drink from the bottle, and let her gaze wander around the room. “I thought I heard Liam swearing in here. Or perhaps it was someone else. I cannot recall.”
“Jennet, get the hell out of here,” Greystone grated.
“No, it was him.” She crooked her finger at Catherine, bending forward to say in an overloud whisper, “I remember now. He took my gown and made me wear his shirt. And between that, he ruined me again. Not like the first time. I am very, very ruined.”
“Surely not,” the other woman said, looking bored, and still keeping her distance.
“I assure you. Ruined forever.” She held up her hand and smacked her own cheek with the back of it. “Ouch. I am so ruined I must go to a convent and become a nun. Only I am not Catholic.” She peered at her former friend. “Does that matter?”
Catherine made an exasperated sound. “Generally speaking, yes.”
“Pity.” She managed to produce a small belch. “Oops. I hope I will not be sick.” She turned around and looked all around her before regarding Catherine again. “Will you help me up to the retiring room? I cannot recall where it is. Or the door. What did you do with the door?”
“Of course.” The other woman came to put her shoulder under Jennet’s arm to support her. “Come, let me–”
Jennet used the wine bottle like a club to knock the blade from her hand, and then reversed the swing, striking Catherine with it squarely on the chin. The other woman flew back into the work table before she pitched forward in front of Greystone and landed on her face with a painful-sounding thud.
“It seems that I am the better actress,” Jennet said as the other woman tried to rise, and kicked her in the head. She held the wine bottle ready to deal her another blow, but Catherine collapsed and stopped moving. “I cannot believe this. All this time you have pretended to be my friend while you have been spying for the French? You evil, conniving, deceitful, hateful, guttersnipe of a traitor.”
“Have you taken leave of your senses?” Greystone demanded as she picked up the bloody blade and hurried over to him.
“Would you blame me if I had, after all I have endured?” she demanded as she went around to saw through the rope binding him. When he tried pulling at his bonds she said, “Hold still. In my present mood I may pick up where Miss Tindall left off, and do far more damage to your person.”
He eyed Catherine. “Indeed.”
As soon as she had freed him Greystone jolted out of the chair and yanked her into his arms, holding her so tightly her ribs creaked. “You are mad. Utterly, completely, entirely mad.”
“In regard to you, yes, I am.” She pulled back and glanced down. “I did not kill her, which I think is a pity. She must be taken to the magistrate along with that book you left in my stays.” She glared at him. “You do remember that, just before you throttled me