“I thought we were at one time.”
“You’ve not heard from her since she left town?”
“No. I wrote, but I never received a reply. I suppose her brother is keeping her locked up in their castle in Northumberland.”
Having met the duke, I could believe he lived in a castle and not a manor house. “Is it truly a fortress?”
“According to Margaret, it’s a massive stone castle overlooking the North Sea. The outer wall is medieval with ramparts and arrow slits and turrets.” Lady Julia smiled at a memory. “She used to joke about it, saying how much she hated growing up among savages and all the while imagining Vikings coming ashore to rescue her from the tower.”
“It sounds like you were great friends.”
“We were. Or I thought we were. We had the same dream of marrying for love, but it’s so hard for a woman with money. Neither of us could tell who was interested in us, and who was after our money. And Margaret had the extra problem of her brother. I’m glad mine isn’t like that.”
I felt an instant urge to defend the duke, but stopped myself. Lady Julia had known him much longer than I had. Perhaps, God forbid, her analysis of his character was correct.
“What is Lady Margaret’s problem with her brother?”
“He has her imprisoned in that castle in Northumberland, doesn’t he?” she snapped out.
“Why would her brother keep her locked up in a place she hates?”
Lady Julia’s expression turned distant and she drew slightly away from where I sat across from her as if distancing herself from me. “I’m sure I don’t know.”
I decided to take a risk. “I know it has to do with the sudden death of Miss Victoria Dutton-Cox. Lady Margaret hated her, didn’t she?”
“Yes.”
I waited, and when nothing else was forthcoming, I tried again. “Lady Margaret saw her the day she died. Were you there as well?”
“Yes. Well, not when she died. I’d already left.”
“Could you give me a clearer picture of what happened?”
“Surely it doesn’t matter now.”
“I’m afraid a man’s life may depend on it.”
Her eyes widened. “Who?”
“Nicholas Drake.”
“There’s a name I’ve not heard in a while. I spent last season studying at Oxford—well, at the ladies’ college Lady Margaret Hall—reading history and economics. I didn’t attend society events. I only saw Mr. Drake at balls the season before that. I know Victoria and Margaret spent a great deal of time in his company, but I avoided him.”
My own eyes widened in surprise. I’d thought Lady Julia might be one of his blackmail victims. “Why?”
“He was too smooth. Too friendly. Too quick off the mark. Does that make sense?”
“I believe it makes a great deal of sense. He wasn’t blackmailing you, was he?”
Amused disbelief flashed across her face. “No. My interest in books and banking is well-known. There are no secret lovers or torrid affairs in my past. I’m far too dull to be blackmailed. And now you want me to tell you what happened the day Victoria died, to save Drake’s life?”
“I think it will help a great deal.”
She took a sip of tea and set the cup and saucer down on the side table. “When I arrived at Blackford House that day, Victoria was already there. They each had a small teapot in front of them with their cup and saucer, and Margaret rang for a third one for me.”
“Did you find that odd? Two teapots?”
“Yes, and then a third one seemed stranger still. Margaret said since it was such a blustery day out, everyone would want tea, and she hated stale tea. The pot gets cold and the tea bitter before the last cup is poured, so she was trying something new. Actually, she stole the idea from the tea shops and admitted as much. Fresh-brewed tea for each guest.”
“How was Victoria that day?”
“Complaining of a heaviness in her lungs. Winter air bothered her, poor thing.”
“Why did she go out and brave the weather to visit Margaret? You just said they hated each other.”
“I don’t know. There was a tension in the air, but they made every effort to cover it up when I arrived.”
“Did all three of you fix your tea the same way?”
“Margaret never put milk in hers, while Victoria and I both did. We all took sugar, Victoria most of all. Margaret said something rude and Victoria added even more. I don’t know how she stood it so sweet, but she drank her tea.”
Julia smiled. “Margaret mentioned once she wanted to add sugar to Victoria’s tea in secret, to see if Victoria could stand it after all the sugar she put in.” The smile vanished. “Now we’ll never know.”
“How long did Victoria stay?”
“About a half hour after I arrived, she said she felt very tired, that her heart was pounding, and could she lie down. Margaret insisted we take her home and have her doctor called. I agreed. I thought she looked very red, and her skin was clammy.”
“Did she complain about how the tea tasted?”
“No.”
“You’re certain about that?” If Victoria’s tea was poisoned, it should have tasted bitter or metallic. Wrong, somehow.
“Yes, I’m certain. I was asked that later by both Lord Dutton-Cox and the Duke of Blackford. I told them both what I’m telling you. She said nothing about her tea tasting strange in any way.”
I nodded. Victoria mustn’t have been poisoned with her tea. “Were you served anything else to eat or drink?”
“Nothing, which was strange, but may have been why there was such an atmosphere in the room. Margaret was always on Victoria about her weight. I guess it was to pay her back for being on Margaret about her clothes, her manners, her interests, and the men she favored.”
Was there anything the two didn’t fight over? “What happened next?”
“Victoria said she felt so weak, she’d have to be carried. Margaret called her a silly fool and went to help her up. In the process, the tea tray went over. I was standing next to it and grabbed one of the pots, but the rest went over with a crash and splashed us all.”
“Was she really that weak?”
“I don’t know. Margaret said not to worry about the tea but to help her with Victoria. I did, of course, so I was standing close by when Victoria again said she’d have to lie down. Margaret said, in the duke’s house before the wedding? Did she want to start a scandal by throwing herself at the duke and forcing him to marry her? Her brother would surely balk at marriage then. Victoria grumbled and demanded we give her a hand.”
“Could she walk?”
“She could. All three of us tromped through broken china, with crunching sounds at every step. It would have been embarrassing, but no one noticed because Victoria had enough energy to stomp around and carry on dramatically. I think she hoped Margaret would back down and invite her to stay. Margaret rolled her eyes and made obvious she thought Victoria was trying to have her own way. Victoria was the type to always insist on having things her way.”
Julia didn’t sound like she thought Victoria’s illness was too serious at that moment. “And then?”
“We all climbed into the Blackford coach and rode around to the Dutton-Cox house. By the time we arrived, Victoria was feeling nauseous and the footmen had to help her upstairs to bed. Margaret, Victoria’s sister Elizabeth, and I went with her. Her mother called the doctor and sent word to the club for her father.”