The Apothecary's Poison (Glass and Steele #3)(61)

"I wish I could eat my words," Matt said softly. "I'm sorry, India."

"For what?"

"For making you doubt yourself."

I kept my mouth shut and stared out the window for the remainder of the journey. Not because I didn't appreciate his apology, but because I didn't want to think about our little spat over Barratt anymore. I didn't want to argue with Matt over anything, least of all Oscar Barratt.



Matt used his watch before dinner but did not retire for a rest. Cyclops was the first to arrive home, followed by Duke, then Willie. Miss Glass ate in her rooms so we were able to talk in the dining room after Matt dismissed the servants. We told the others about our eventful day, stopping frequently as Willie interjected with cuss words, exclamations or declarations that she should have been there with her Colt.

"I admit," I told her, "your presence and your gun would have been welcome when Coyle's man was here. I might have even allowed you to shoot off his little toe, if it meant he would tell us who employed him and why."

"It would have been my pleasure, India," she said, saluting me with her knife.

"That's precisely why we're lucky you weren't here," Duke grumbled.

"You learned that he worked for Lord Coyle on your own," Matt said to me. "Congratulations, India, by the way. I'm very impressed."

"She could have been caught!" Duke protested. "You want her to follow everyone who threatens you when you're not here?"

"India's capable of deciding for herself if it's safe enough to do so."

I narrowed my eyes. Matt's praise was highly suspicious. He must still feel guilty over the argument we'd had earlier.

"Tell us what you three discovered today," I said, eager to change the topic. "Cyclops, you first. You went to Pitt's, didn't you?"

Cyclops had been busy piling his plate with enough sliced meats, boiled potatoes, and vegetables to feed all of us, but stopped when I asked my question. "Pitt's shop wasn't busy," he said. "Only a handful of customers came and went."

"Anyone you recognized?" Matt asked. "Or might recognize again if you saw them?

He shook his head. "They weren't distinctive."

I glanced at Matt. Was he going to tell Cyclops that Brockwell had used the same term to describe him?

"None wore particularly fine clothing," Cyclops went on. "All entered the shop alone, all came out carrying a small package. It was odd, though. None of them looked ill."

"Perhaps they were purchasing the medicine for an ill family member," I said.

Cyclops shrugged his shoulders then tucked into his meal. "I'll go back tomorrow."

"You should lay low for a while," Matt said. "Brockwell spotted you there."

"Damn it," Cyclops muttered with a particularly severe stab of his fork into a potato.

"I've got news," Duke announced.

"So do I," Willie cut in.

"Ladies first."

"No." She plucked her wine glass off the table and swirled the contents until a drop fell over the rim and splashed onto the tablecloth. "Mine's the biggest news, so I'll go last. Go on, Duke. You tell 'em your little story."

"It ain't a little story, I'll have you know. I followed Clark to Abercrombie's shop today and saw 'em arguing."

"Go on," Matt said when Duke paused to shoot a smug look at Willie. "What did they argue about?"

"I didn't hear every word, but I definitely heard them say Hale, and also India's name, and magic. The argument was one-sided. Clark did all the shouting and Abercrombie mostly tried to calm him down."

My gaze connected with Matt's. "Anything else?" I asked.

Duke shook his head and concentrated on his food.

"That weren't much." Willie pushed her plate away and shot a smug look at Duke. "Listen to this. Dr. Ritter sold Hale's medicines today. You know, the ones he kept in his office."

"Sold them!" I said. "To whom?"

"I don't know. I didn't see it happen. One of the nurses told me about it later."

"It would've been more helpful if you followed the buyer," Duke muttered.

Willie rolled her eyes but he didn't see, too intent was he on his beans.

"It must be Coyle," I said. "He got wind of Hale's magic, perhaps after his discussion with Barratt, and bought the medicines to add to his collection."

Matt nodded. "I think so too. Good work, Willie."

"That ain't everything," she said. "Dr. Wiley exploded like a firecracker at the widow of one of his patients. Right in front of other patients, too."

"The widow?" Matt echoed. "So the patient died."

"According to my new nurse friend, the patient had been Hale's before he died. Wiley disagreed with Hale's diagnosis and changed the treatment. Well, the patient up and died this morning. The widow was no weeping violet, though. No, sir. She marched up to Wiley when he was doing his rounds and shouted at him. I could hear her clear at the other end of the ward, calling Wiley a bad doctor and wishing Hale was still there because her husband had been getting better under his care. By then, I reached that ward, and just in time, too. That's when Wiley snapped. He ranted and raved about how poor a doctor Hale had been, and that it was only luck her husband hadn't died under Hale's care, not good doctoring. He went on and on about Hale's mistakes and how some patients just up and die for no good reason, but maybe because they ain't got the will to live no more. That's when he accused her of being a bad wife and said her husband died to escape her."