The Cursed Countess (The Daring Drake Sisters 1)

“Raynerson, what is this about?”

Jack turned to see the duke standing in the threshold with a frown. “I’m sorry, Your Grace, but I didn’t know where else to turn. It’s Tessa, excuse me, Lady Stanhope.”

“What about her? Is she ill?” The duke slowly entered the room and took a seat.

“No, a constable arrested her this morning at her home.”

The duke rose to his feet rather quickly for a man of his age. “What the bloody hell happened?”

“A Mr. Downing, sir. The man who came to see her after your daughter-in-law’s death. He said he found arsenic in Lady Stanhope’s home and that proves she’d poisoned her husbands and possibly Lady Langport.”

The duke’s face drew pallid. “That is mad. She would never have killed those men. What reason would she have for doing it?”

Jack tilted his head. “Money and position, of course, Your Grace.”

“We must get down there and help her.” He walked to the corridor and shouted. “Get my carriage ready. I am going out.”

“Yes, Your Grace,” a disembodied voice replied.

The duke glanced back at him, “Are you not coming, Raynerson?”

“No, Your Grace. I must go speak with her mother. Besides, I have nothing to add.” And he was the last person she would want to see there.

CHAPTER 20

“Where are we going?” Tessa finally asked after several minutes in the carriage with Mr. Downing. She had never felt so betrayed in all her life. Not even when she discovered what her father had done to give her a Season she didn’t want. She felt a pang of sympathy for him. He’d done nothing but try to please a woman who was never satisfied with anything.

The man across from her frowned slightly as he pulled out his pocket watch. “The magistrate first and then likely Newgate.”

Newgate. A wave of dizziness overcame her causing her to reach for something but only finding air.

“Are you all right?” he asked.

“Would you be all right if you were being brought up against a magistrate for something you didn’t do?”

“Probably not,” he said with a shrug.

“I do have money,” she started, unsure how to proceed. Surely the man couldn’t make much as a constable. She had plenty of money.

“Countess, please don’t try to bribe me.” He turned his head away from her and glanced out the window.

“Who opened the investigation, Mr. Downing?”

“I heard it was Lord Stanhope.”

“Greedy bastard,” she mumbled. All he’d ever wanted was money. He inherited the estates, over thirty thousand pounds and it wasn’t enough for him.

Her mind buzzed with dreadful thoughts of what would happen to her in prison. She’d read horrific stories of how inmates were treated, especially women who were routinely raped by guards. She would never survive this and all over money. If she had only given Stanhope’s son money, then this would never have happened. She could have been thriftier and given less to help her father repay the debt he owed. Now she was about to end up in prison just as he had.

She looked out the window and realized they had driven passed this street at least twice already. Downing glanced down at his watch again.

“Is there no place to pull over?” she inquired.

“No.”

“Oh.” Not that lack of a spot usually stopped drivers from unloading their charges in the middle of the street. Now that she thought about it, they had been in the carriage for an excessively long amount of time. They drove around the block once more and Tessa was sure she’d seen at least two open spots. Unwilling to say anything that would get her in prison swifter, she kept quiet but watchful. A full thirty minutes later, the carriage pulled over and let them out. Mr. Downing led her into the office of the magistrate but once there, they learned there was a two-hour recess for luncheon.

Mr. Downing sat her down and they proceeded to wait the two hours until luncheon had finished. Something about all this seemed a little odd. It was almost as if Mr. Downing had deliberately procrastinated their arrival until he knew the justice would be at luncheon. But that made no sense. She would think he would be in a hurry to drop off his charge, state the evidence against her, and then leave to find more innocent women to imprison.