A Dreadful Splendor (100)

There was a resounding creak from above. I recognized the groan of the hinges from the wine cellar door.

I almost fainted with relief. “Down here!” I yelled as loudly as I could, but my voice was swallowed up by the crashing of the waves.

The light of a small lantern swiftly made its way down the steps.

“But someone found me before I could go through with it,” Audra said. “The one person I could trust. The only one who had my interest at heart this whole time, who never gave up on me.”

She touched the side of her hair as if fixing a curl, except it was matted and stiff with dried blood. “I’d been watching him for days. He was the only one who truly mourned me. He was sitting in the library with the family estate papers strewn about the table. I can still remember the expression on his face when I slipped out from behind the grandfather clock!”

The footsteps grew louder on the stone steps and then stopped. They lifted the lantern. I looked up at the kind face. “You,” I whispered.





Chapter Fifty-Eight




Mr. Lockhart frowned down at me. “Miss Timmons? What are you doing here? You were supposed to escape to the stables!”

I could only raise my bound wrists as an answer, temporarily stunned at his presence in the dungeon. And how did he know about the horse?

His eyes grew large, reflecting the lantern’s light as he took in my handcuffs. His voice cracked as he spoke. “How old are those? Thirty, forty, fifty years?” He finally looked at Audra. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” he reprimanded. “Is there even a key?”

Audra reached up and tried to twirl a strand of crusted hair around her finger. “She followed me. I had to make sure she didn’t run off and ruin our secret.”

I shivered in silence, observing their dynamic.

Mr. Lockhart put a hand on the wall to steady himself. “After all the careful preparation I’ve done . . .” His sentence fell away as he noticed the water mark on the rock wall I was chained against. He must have come to the same conclusion I had; I wouldn’t survive high tide. The water level had already reached the middle of my chest.

“You can hardly be mad at me,” Audra replied, her voice rising. “If you had just used two herbal bundles on the fire instead of one, she wouldn’t have seen me slip behind the clock.”

I thought of the thick smoke in the library. “That was you?” I asked Mr. Lockhart.

His expression caved. It took him a moment before he could answer. “Auntie Lil has a soft place in her heart for me. Please believe me, Miss Timmons: I wish you no harm. We all must make difficult choices for those we love. Lady Audra and I have been planning this for months.”

Audra nodded in eager agreement. She searched his face while smiling widely, as if imploring him to match the expression. “And the séance went splendidly! Especially the constable’s reaction. He was blubbering on the floor and crying the last I saw of him.” She slipped out of the water and joined him on the bottom step. The tide still covered their feet.

Mr. Lockhart blinked back a tear. He sniffed, then held up a finger to her. “We must not take pleasure in the pain of others. That is not our motive, remember?”

Audra jutted out her chin. “You said you cared for me as if I was your own daughter. You promised to help me get my revenge. You promised I could keep Somerset.” Her words came out faster with each rushed breath. “You promised me the voices would stop! You promised me! You promised me!” She raised the cane, but he was faster and held her hands in his.

“Audra,” he said firmly. His voice cut through her hysterical echoes. “Close your eyes and take a breath. Five, four, three, two, one. And again.”

I watched as Audra took another long inhale and exhale.

“Good,” he praised. He then put his dinner jacket over her shoulders. I took in Mr. Lockhart’s stooped posture and furrowed brow. Surely, someone saw him hobble down to the wine cellar. Constable Rigby was more bloodhound than human, and while I’d always cursed his cunning, I wished with all my might he’d find me this time. But I was determined to be found alive and with the real villains behind the murders, so that Mr. Pemberton would not be convicted. I had to keep them with me.

One thing was certain. Audra was mad. Perhaps I could use that to my advantage.

“What is your motive, then?” I asked. “Whether intended or not, pain has been caused.”

He sighed heavily, like he wanted nothing more than to wake from this weary dream. “When I learned of William’s actions the night before the wedding, I knew I had to come up with a plan to make sure he’d never hurt her again. Audra had destroyed the only proof of his claim to Somerset. He was already unstable; his dark descent was only a matter of time. I feared if Audra resurfaced, he’d do something even more desperate.”

I thought that seemed unlikely. I said, “There must be another reason to warrant this elaborate plan.”

Audra stiffened. “It wasn’t as if Barnaby was worth coming back from the dead for. That was clear.” Then her voice took on a grim quality. “But I wanted more than Somerset—I wanted revenge. They would not forget me so easily this time.”

Mr. Lockhart winced. He reeked of regret and weakness.

I sensed an advantage, but only if I kept them talking.