“Cole, have you considered the possibility that perhaps it isn’t anger that drives you, but perhaps misdirected grief? Have you had the chance to mourn your mother properly yet?”
“What? Are you asking if I wept for her the way that you did yours? Like I said, I’m not as weak as you, Tony. I haven’t shed a single tear for her since learning of her deception. Clearly, I am the only son here capable of fulfilling our father’s words that a man should never show vulnerability.”
Anthony shuddered. He remembered how even he felt the need to hide his tears from the people around him. However, he had mourned his own mother at least once in front of Colin and Kenneth.
So he pleaded with his deranged former friend once more, “Cole, please listen to me. Father was an exceptional man, but I now believe he was wrong about equating the display of emotion to vulnerability. We can find an answer to this situation that benefits both of us.”
But his pleas fell on deaf ears, “Like I said, Tony. Ihavefound the solution—poison. I knew that I needed your death to look as natural as possible. So I went into an apothecary and enlisted the help of one Isaac Tulk, a former cook on a pirate ship. His parents had taught him everything they knew about herbs, medicines, and various concoctions.”
“In fact, he even showed me his extensive collection of exotic foreign plants that he had brought back from his journeys abroad. But as exciting as they were, I couldn’t very well use a foreign plant to poison you. Again, that would be far too suspicious. I needed something commonplace and untraceable. And Mr. Tulk had just the thing—tobacco leaves.”
Anthony nodded his head.
“And I suppose he whipped up the poison and gradually began mixing it in with our food. Hence why you recommended him for the position of head chef.”
Colin looked like he was about to giddily laugh with glee. He was clearly finding sadistic enjoyment in all of this.
“Oh, simple Tony. It is very dangerous to jump to conclusions. Didn’t you know that the extract from tobacco leaves can kill a person even when it comes in contact with one’s skin? No?”
“Well, your kitchen boy Timothy learned that lesson the hard way when he handled a vile of the extract without any gloves as he was cleaning up in the kitchen. So Mr. Tulk put the lad out of his misery by pouring some wine down his throat, since apparently the boy was intolerant to it.”
So Fletcher was right after all. That was, indeed, a spot of wine on Timothy’s shirt. And to think that we suspected the stable boys had something to do with it.
Anthony felt himself grow hot with anger. He had never felt the need to gnash his teeth before, but Colin’s blatant disregard for the value of life was enough to make anyone’s blood boil.
“He was just a boy.”
“Yes, Tony hewasa boy. Now he is merely a drawback that has been successfully sorted out. Besides, as a kitchen worker, he certainly was familiar with the old adage that one must break some eggs in order to make an omelet.”
Anthony didn’t reply. He could see that Colin was now far beyond the point where words would have any meaningful impact. Instead, he allowed the madman to continue stroking his own ego out loud.
“This truly is a most ingenious plan, if I do say so myself! I would wait for your mother to pass before taking a seemingly impromptu holiday with Kenny at Mortcombe Estate. I would then proceed to make your elderly head chef sick by covering my ‘gift of gratitude’ for her in tobacco extract and then have Mr. Tulk take her place.”
“Shortly thereafter, he would administer non-lethal doses of the extract to unsuspecting household members in such a way that it would look like that a particularly formidable influenza had swept through the house. And oh! What’s this? Both His Grace, the Duke of Sherriden and little Lady Cecilia were casualties of the frightful disease? How tragic! They must have had weak constitutions, just like their mother.”
Anthony clenched his fists. He was now certain that the tremors in his hand weren’t from fear, but from rage. Still, he restrained himself.
I mustn’t show any vulnerability.
“Iwasgoing to have Mr. Tulk find a way to administer the fatal dose at night because I wanted you to have a peaceful death, old chap, for old time’s sake.” Colin sneered, “But I also needed to ensure that no important documents would get lost in the chaos sure to follow your death.”
“So I needed to keep you alive until Mr. Tulk had searched every inch of this house for any more correspondence and documents that would be safest inmyhands. And who knows what other secrets your mother kept for other members of polite society. I might find some wonderfully useful documents for blackmail. And if I twist enough arms, I could probably somehow be given the title of Duke myself.”
Anthony suddenly recalled that just hours before her death, his mother had handed him a key and promised to explain what it was for. However, because he had been busy with other necessary duties, he had put it somewhere and completely forgot about it. She then passed away just a few hours later.
“And I suppose the reason I am still alive is because Mr. Tulk has, indeed, searched this house over the course of the last few months and couldn’t find what you were looking for, correct?”
In a tone dripping with sarcasm, Colin replied, “Well done, Tony! That is indeed why we are all here today. So go on, then. Where are those magnificent documents and letters?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. Mother never told me about any of this. What makes you think I would know where she kept those stupid letters? For all we know, she could have chucked them into a fire years ago.”
Colin began to turn deep red with rage.
“Then I suggest you hurry up and use whatever youdoknow to get me those documents,” he hoarsely said whilst raising his pistol.
Anthony folded his arms.
“Now, now, let’s take a step back and look at the entire situation. You need me alive, and I would like to continue living. So why don’t we let Meredith go and let’s search for those documents together? She isn’t really part of this.”
