Forsaking Hope (Fair Cyprians of London 2)

Felix nodded. “You seemed very concerned about Hope’s well-being. I remember being a little surprised when you dismounted and rushed towards us, crying out to know if she were hurt.”

Annabelle nodded. “Of course. We might not have been bosom friends, but Mama was on friendly terms with Hope’s mama, or should I say stepmama, so we were together a bit.”

“I hadn’t known Mrs Merriweather was not her real mother. Hope must have been distraught when her father died so suddenly, just after she’d left for Germany.”

Annabelle gave a somewhat frustrated sigh. “And now she’s to marry the nephew of Mama’s friend in Leipzig. She has been away a long time, Felix, and she’s not once written to ask after any of us.” She paused, adding firmly, “Hope’s never coming back to England.”

Felix nodded slowly. “Never coming back to England,” he repeated softly, frowning as he asked, “I believe you farewelled her at the station on the day she left. Was she sad to leave? She’d promised to say goodbye to me but she didn’t.”

He saw her guarded look. “There wasn’t time. You remember the snowfall we’d had the night before. Mr Merriweather couldn’t get his carriage out from his stable, so he sent a message round and Wilfred and I picked Hope up on the road. But that’s a long time ago. Hope’s gone to another country now and you are marrying me. Please let’s not talk about her. I’ve waited so long to be reassured that your heart belongs only to me. Perhaps you loved Hope once, but she didn’t return your feelings otherwise she’d have waited. Or come home. Or sent you a message.”

But Felix’s thoughts were stuck in the past. Though no words of commitment had been spoken, he’d have staked his life on the fact Hope wanted to meet him at the church before she left for Germany.

“Did Hope ask you to stop at the church when she got into the carriage?”

Annabelle’s expression was combative as she shook her head. “She was just worried she’d miss her train.”

Felix couldn’t bear the subterfuge. He gripped Annabelle’s gloved forearm and put his head close to hers, hoping the gesture would be interpreted as loving by onlookers. Really, he’d never felt more angry and hunted in his life. “Tell me what happened inside the carriage, Annabelle,” he muttered. “Something happened. Did she get on that train? Did you see her get on that train?”

Annabelle swivelled her gaze as she instinctively moved away from Felix’s uncomfortable interrogation. “What an odd question. Well, of course she got on that train. Wilfred took her there. He told me so.”

“He told you so? Then you didn’t see her actually board.”

“I was dropped off at my friend’s house in the village,” Annabelle said defensively. “But Wilfred was going directly to the station. Yes.”

“So, if Hope was full of enthusiasm for her new adventure as you say, what aspect was she particularly excited about? Charlotte tells me she didn’t want to go.”

“Really, Felix, is this necessary when we are just betrothed? It’s hardly nice to talk about Hope Merriweather to the girl you’re going to marry.”

“No, but I need to be reassured that Miss Merriweather said nothing about me before she left.” Felix called on all the creative logic at his fingertips, knowing that his response was lame. Nevertheless, he needed something from Annabelle. Something to start working with to put the pieces of the puzzle together. “Please, Annabelle. Think. That’ll help me put the past behind me, once and for all.”

Annabelle gave a huffy sigh. “She was sleeping. She didn’t say a word.”

“Sleeping?”

Felix’s shocked tones took Annabelle by surprise. Colour stole into her cheeks, and she looked like she was giving herself a mental shake as she replied, cagily, “She’d had something to drink which I think might have made her sleep. By accident, though.”

“By accident? What do you mean?” Alarm was weaving through Felix now at a rapid pace.

Annabelle frowned as she apparently tried to recall. She seemed uncomfortable in the face of Felix’s intense stare and tossed her head, giving a false little trill for the benefit of the others in the room, though her expression was concerned. “Hope had been waiting at the end of the driveway in the cold for us to arrive, for of course we couldn’t venture to the house in the carriage with the fallen tree blocking the way. After Wilfred helped her into the carriage, I offered her what I thought was the flask containing warm honey and lemon that Mama had sent with us.”

“What do you mean ‘you thought’.” Felix didn’t care how menacing he sounded even if the consequence was that Annabelle looked frightened.

In a softer voice, the girl replied, “I accidentally offered her the wrong flask. It was Mama’s, and Hope drank long and deep much more than she should have—and suddenly she was sleeping.”

“Good Lord, Annabelle! What are you saying?”

Annabelle looked distressed. “Oh, Felix, if you must know, Hope was a complete fool for drinking so much from Mama’s flask, though I tried to pull it away from her after I realised it was the flask into which I’d added the contents of the laudanum vial I’d purchased earlier from the apothecary. One should only take a couple of d

rops in liquid at a time.”

“I know,” said Felix, heavily. “So you’re telling me you drugged Hope.”

“I didn’t drug her,” Annabelle bristled. “Not intentionally, and of course it was hardly going to kill her. Mama takes laudanum all the time. Papa worries, but Mama says she only takes a few drops and her mood is so much sweeter when she does.”

“So you just left Hope sleeping?” Felix asked.

“Well, we’d arrived at my friend Jenny’s house, and Jenny was waving to me from the window. Wilfred said he’d ensure Hope was awake to get on the train and that’s how we parted.” Annabelle shot Felix a suspicious glance. “Of course Wilfred would have waited until Hope was well enough to get onto the train. My brother is a gentleman.”