“I have already broken my fast, thank you,” she said faintly as Matthew escorted her over to the couch and helped her to sit in the middle.Johanna was there a moment later, seating herself on one side, leaving the other open for Rose to take her place.Johanna’s mother glanced at her daughter as Johanna took her hand, as if she was unsure of what was happening.
Matthew had given a great deal of thought about how not to frighten the poor woman.After all, she was his wife’s mother.He certainly did not want her frightened of him.
“Thank you for agreeing to assist me with the investigation,” he said, taking his seat at the table.He glanced up to see Rose mouthing the word ‘investigation’ as her brow furrowed, and she glanced at her aunt, who was now holding both her daughter and her niece’s hands in her lap.The three women had managed to hold together an entire family and estate while the man who was supposed to have taken care of them stole their funds.
“I… yes.”The countess glanced at Johanna, who smiled encouragingly at her, then positively beamed at Matthew.
Warmth filled his chest, and he sat up a little straighter.
“I hope you do not mind me taking notes.I do not want to forget anything important.”
“Of course.”Appearing confused but much less frightened, the countess straightened in her seat.“I did not mean harm to anyone, ever.I thought I was helping.All I have ever wanted to do is help.That’s why I learned about herbs and healing.”
Rose pressed her lips together, obviously wanting to ask questions but keeping them to herself for the moment.
“You were taken advantage of.You could not have known.”At that moment, Matthew knew his statement to be utterly true.The woman in front of him would not have harmed anyone, not for any amount of money.Not even to save her family.“And you are not the only one.We know the Duke of Clarence’s steward was involved in the plot to murder our fathers, but we are convinced he did not know the full breadth of the conspiracy or how many of them would be killed.”
He explained it that way for Rose’s benefit, and her eyes went wider and wider with every word until her lips popped open in shock.By the time he finished, her head swiveled around to try to pin Johanna with a look, but the countess was between them, and Johanna was looking at him.
Obviously, Rose was less than pleased about being kept in the dark, but she was going to have to hold it together for the moment for the countess’ sake.She fumed silently, forced to hold her tongue by the circumstances that her cousin had arranged.
Matthew made a mental note that his wife was perhaps more diabolical than he had realized.
“I did not know.I promise,” the countess replied, tears filling her blue eyes.“I thought perhaps the duchess needed something to help her sleep.Or even the steward himself.He did not seem well.”
Matthew made a note.He wondered if Gregory had noticed anything about his steward seeming unwell in the weeks before his father’s death.If he had, he had not mentioned it before.It was worth asking.
Johanna
If she had not fallen in love with her husband before, seeing how gentle he was with her mother would have done it.She could not even be worried about Rose’s reaction to everything Johanna had been keeping from her because she was so overcome with absolute adoration and relief.It felt like being rescued all over again.
He was very serious, taking notes as he went through everything with her mother that Johanna had.Everything she had already told him.Johanna wished there was more for him than she had been able to give.It did not seem very helpful.
“So, the steward collected five potions from you, then sent a man to collect the rest of the order a few days later?”Matthew asked, repeating what her mother had said.She nodded.
“Yes, five more potions.”
Which was more than he could have needed for eight dukes.Had more been prepared in case more dukes arrived?Had there been other targets at the lodge that had managed to escape the dukes’ fate?Or had the murderers just wanted to be prepared?Johanna felt sick to her stomach at the ruthlessness of it all.
Perhaps, she reasoned, the steward had wanted a few for himself, to help him sleep at night, either before or after.He must have known some of what was going to happen, from what Matthew said.
“The steward, what did he look like?”Matthew asked, which made Johanna blink.That was not a question she’d asked her mother.She’d assumed when her mother said that the man who bought the potions from her was the Duke of Clarence’s steward, that he was.Especially after she’d found out that Clarence’s steward had been involved in the plot.
It had never occurred to her to double-check what the man looked like.
Matthew nodded as he wrote down the description her mother gave.
“And the man who came for the rest of the order?Did he give you his name?What did he look like?”
“No name,” her mother said, squeezing Johanna’s hand as she sighed and looked down into her lap.The shame she clearly felt, even though it was not her fault, broke Johanna’s heart.“I barely remember him.I only saw him for a very brief moment.He had dark hair and a beard, and I only remember that because of his scar.”
“His scar?”Matthew’s head came up.
Johanna’s mother nodded, releasing Rose’s hand so she could use her own to draw a line across her face, from beside her nose down to her chin.
“Right through his beard.Looked ill-healed, and I remember thinking it likely should have been stitched and was not.”She shook her head, reaching for Rose’s hand again.“I only noticed because it was so striking.I could have done a better job of it, and I remember wishing I’d seen him when he’d first gotten it.”
“Was he very thin or more broad-shouldered?”There was something in her husband’s voice, the tiniest change, that had Johanna’s focus sharpening.