“I never needed you to believe me.” But he clutched the vial tightly, hoping against hope that it was what she claimed it was.
The hour was growing late, and as soon as the constables had her out of the house, Edward ran to his horse and mounted. He wanted nothing more than to get back home and to Lydia’s side as quickly as he could. He had to know whether or not she was all right. And as he took to the road, he felt as if he was leaving the shock and horror of what he had discovered behind him.
It couldn’t hurt him that badly—not as long as he kept moving.
Eventually, he would have to stop, of course, and the pain would catch up with him. But for now, he simply rode as fast as he could, anxious to get home and to be at Lydia’s side once more, and desperate to believe that Margaret had had a single moment of decency and that the vial in his pocket truly contained an antidote to her poison.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-NINE
“Lydia. Lydia? Can you hear me?”
The fog surrounding Lydia was thick and oppressive. The voice seemed to penetrate it from a great distance—she knew someone was calling to her, and she wanted to respond because she cared for the person who was speaking, but they were so far away. It would be so much easier to simply keep her eyes closed and drift off again, not to worry about whoever wanted her attention. They could wait until she felt a bit stronger…
“Are you sure she’s going to be all right?” the voice asked anxiously.
“Now that we’ve gotten the antidote down her throat, she should be, Your Grace. Though I must say, it was very lucky, indeed, that you were able to acquire it. I’ve seen this toxin used before, and most people don’t survive it. And you say the culprit was your stepmother? The Dowager Duchess?”
“I can’t quite believe it either,” the first voice said. “But she confessed to the crimes. Are yousureLydia will be all right? Shouldn’t she be awake by now?”
“She’s been through an ordeal, Your Grace. It may take time for her to feel strong enough—ah, but look, her eyes are opening now!”
Lydia looked around. She couldn’t quite make out what was going on at first. Everything was blurry. Then, a familiar face swam into view.
“Edward?” she murmured.
She hadn’t realized how tense his expression was until his face relaxed.
“Lydia. You’re awake. How are you feeling?”
“Exhausted.”
“I’ll bet you are. I’m going to let the physician examine you.”
She clutched at his hand. “Don’t go.”
It felt as if, if she were to release him, she might not get him back. She was suddenly frightened of that possibility.
“I won’t go far,” Edward promised. “Just over to the chair. You’ll be able to see me the whole time.”
She nodded, ashamed of her own weakness. She ought to be able to tolerate him stepping away from her for a moment.
“You’re all right,” he said quietly. “You’re fine. You’re going to be well. And it makes sense that you would be upset, Lydia. You’ve been very sick. You were near death when I got back with the antidote.”
“The antidote?”
“Yes… you were poisoned, Lydia.”
“But I couldn’t have been poisoned.”
“It was Margaret.” His voice tightened, and she could see the anger on his face, though she knew he was trying to hide it from her. “She put poison in your tea.”
“There has to be some mistake. Margaret wouldn’t do that.” Lydia struggled to sit up.
“Now, really,” the physician said. “You must lie still, Your Grace. You’re still very weak.”
“Lie down, Lydia,” Edward said quietly. “Please.”
She couldn’t bear to argue with him, so she did as she had been asked. “But, Edward, Margaret wouldn’t have done that. You’ve made a mistake.”
