Medicine and Manners #2 (20 page)

“I'm sorry,” Nancy said. “I tried to keep her calm and away from all of this.”

“It's all right, Nancy,” Alexandra said.

At the same time, Snow spoke. “She is no child, Mrs. Fontaine. However, I don't doubt that she is distraught, since she just confessed to murder.” He turned back to Judith. “And I also believe that you are the person who chased Dr. Gladstone and Nancy as well. Dressed as a man.”

“Yes, I dressed as a Templar and a man, disguising myself as my own enemy. Amusing! But empowering—such freedom not to be encumbered by skirts! And yes, I went after Dr. Gladstone and Nancy both. I had to. They stood in my way. I had to frighten the doctor, and I had to drug Nancy, but I wouldn't kill them. They are women. They are the ones I fight for.”

“The ones you killed for,” Snow said.

Mrs. Fontaine grew more agitated at Snow's words. “The poor girl has just lost her father. She—”

“She killed her father,” Alexandra said, “and you insist on trying to protect her. Why?”

“Because of her family! The Paynes are one of the old-line families, just like my husband's, the Fontaines. They are French names—Paen and Fontaine. My maiden name was Payne, spelled differently when the family was in France long ago. They and others are fathers of the Templars.” Mrs. Fontaine's voice grew more agitated. “Our French ancestors established the Temple of the Ninth Daughter on sacred ground that once belonged to the Templars, and where they buried part of their treasure. Don't forget the Templars wanted to change all of Europe and move it away from the tyranny of rogue churchmen and the tyranny of feudalism.”

“Mrs. Fontaine, please…” Snow began.

“She taught me so much,” Judith said. “She made me determined to carry out their ideals.” Judith laughed, a cruel sound. “I only wish I'd known about that treasure legend. I could have used that to deflect all of you.”

Mrs. Fontaine shook her head. “I wanted you to understand,” she said, speaking to Judith. “I never meant for you to…You never knew how much I loved you. Your father, my kinsman, he did all he could for you. Especially after your mother died. You had to live your life without her love. I wanted to give you all the love I had. I don't understand what happened. The murders, posing as a Templar and terrorizing the village. I never meant for you to lose your senses and…”

“Don't condemn me!” Judith cried. “Can't you see? I did it for you as much as for me. I did it for all of womankind. For the ideal of equality. That's one of the Freemasons' tenets, isn't it? One of the ideals that fired the Reformation. That was because of Freemasonry, but then a noble group became hypocrites who forgot their mission.”

“Freemasonry is a system of morality,” Snow said. He had already taken out his manacles again, and he soon had them attached to Judith's wrists.

“I am at peace with my own morals,” she cried as he led her toward the door. “It is the deepest morality when one fights for one's own rights.”

Mrs. Fontaine stood at her door and watched Judith and the constable until they disappeared from sight. “A tragedy,” she said in a voice that was almost a whisper. “Such a tragedy to see one of the old-line descendants fall so far.”

“It is a tragedy when anyone becomes so delusional,” Alexandra said. “It matters not from what family they descend.”

“Another tragedy is that some of this might have been curtailed if Constable Snow hadn't been so derelict in his duties,” Nancy said.

Mrs. Fontaine's eyes flamed as she turned toward Nancy. “Don't dare blame poor Robert for any of this!”

Nancy was taken aback at her sudden show of anger. “I only meant to say that because he disappeared for his own selfish personal reasons—”

“You have no idea, Nancy,” Mrs. Fontaine said, with another show of anger. “His reasons are far from selfish. Each time he has been called away to London it's because of his sister. The poor woman has…” Mrs. Fontaine's voice trailed off, and she turned away, covering her face with her hands. “Oh, no, I didn't mean to say that. He wouldn't…”

“I never knew Constable Snow had a sister in London,” Nancy said.

“He never wanted people to know that she…” Mrs. Fontaine paused again, tears filling her eyes.

“You don't have to say anything more,” Alexandra said.

“No, you must know the truth. It's not right for people to malign him. He goes to London to help his sister, an invalid who had a child out of wedlock. Some man took advantage of the poor girl when she was no more than Charlotte Malcolm's age. Robert sees after her and her son. The boy must be at least seven years old now, and in need of educating. Robert…Well, you mustn't blame him when he's called away. He only wants to protect both of them.”

“I'm sorry,” Nancy said. “I didn't know…”

Mrs. Fontaine, looking weary, sat down in her chair and was immediately joined by three of her cats. “There is much people don't know about their own neighbors in this village,” she said. “Newton-upon-Sea is full of secrets.”

Zack stood at a distance from Nicholas as he sat sipping brandy in Alexandra's parlor. The big dog's eyes followed his every move, but he did not take his usual cautionary stance.

“At least he's not snarling,” Nicholas said to Alexandra, in a chair next to him, the sling crutch propped on the arm of the chair. Nancy was a few feet away, arranging plates on a cart.

“He's beginning to trust you, at least a little.” Alexandra motioned for Zack to lie down. The dog obeyed, but still without redirecting his eyes.

“Speaking of trust, it was obviously wrong for us not to trust Constable Snow,” Nicholas said. “You were right about one thing, Nancy, old girl,” Nicholas said. “It really
was
a woman that drew the constable away. As a matter of fact, I finally received a telegram from Captain Mitchell at Scotland Yard confirming that he regularly sees after his sister.”

Nancy's eyes widened. “What else did the captain say?”

Nicholas set his glass aside and glanced at Alexandra and then at Nancy. “Mrs. Fontaine was right about his visiting London often to see about his sister and her son, but this time it seems his visit was more urgent than usual. The child was about to be taken away to gaol for stealing money from a woman who employed him at a dame school.”

“I've heard of those schools,” Nancy said. “People put children to work in exchange for teaching them to read, and usually the teacher can hardly read herself.”

Nicholas nodded. “Seems he had a job weaving straw for hats. Snow convinced the police the boy took money to buy food for his mother.”

“And that saved the child?” Alexandra shook her head. “Usually an innocent motive makes no difference.”

“Apparently, Snow was quite persuasive. Either that or someone owed him a favor. I've offered to pay for the boy's education at a public school.”

Nancy shook her head. “Never would have guessed the truth.”

“Just one of the many secrets of Newton-upon-Sea Mrs. Fontaine mentioned,” Nicholas said. “How do you suppose she knows so much?”

“She's lived here all of her life, and that's quite a long time,” Alexandra said.

Nicholas took a sip of his brandy. “Quite so, but that doesn't explain how she knew Judith was a killer.”

“There's more to Mrs. Fontaine than longevity,” Alexandra said. “She's remarkably intelligent. She put all the clues together just as we did.”

“Intelligent, indeed,” Nicholas said, “and fiercely protective of those she cares about—Constable Snow as well as Judith. Like you, Nancy, I never would have guessed the old boy's true reason for being away, but I must say, contrary to what you originally believed, it was hard for me to imagine him with a woman.”

“I should say it would have been equally hard to imagine Judith murdering anyone,” Alexandra added.

“Mmm,” Nicholas said, nodding. “Not to mention poisoning Zack. Who would have thought she could do that?”

“She didn't poison him,” Alexandra said. “He did that to himself.”

“Oh, come, now, you know as well as I that Nancy made up that preposterous story about his eating rhododendrons in your garden just to get Mrs. Fontaine talking.”

“That was clever of you,” Alexandra said, turning to Nancy.

“Thank you, Miss Alex,” Nancy said with a smile. “Zack's poisoning came from tulip bulbs,” she added. “He dug them up in Mrs. Fontaine's garden on his own.”

“And how did you determine that?” Nicholas asked.

“Miss Alex told me,” Nancy said.

“I saw him digging in her garden,” Alexandra said. “I was embarrassed, of course, but it never occurred to me at first what exactly he'd dug up. Not until I remembered that was the area where she always had tulips growing.”

“Fortunate they didn't kill him,” Nicholas said.

“They're not as lethal to pets as, say, rhododendrons,” Alexandra said. “I found that interesting fact in one of my father's books. Reading that text and digging into the pathology of poison in dogs is what got me thinking about poison in all those human victims, so I did even more research in those medical texts, just as I told you. And you're right, I am fortunate. What would I have done if Zack had not been well enough to help rescue me when I was in the ravine?”

“Yes, you're as lucky as Zack. And so is Nancy,” he added. “If Judith poisoned you, Nancy, as she did all those men, you're incredibly lucky you didn't die as they did.”

“Judith never meant for Nancy or me to die,” Alexandra said. “She wanted to frighten us, yes, but I have concluded that Nancy was merely given a rather strong dose of codeine. Not enough to be lethal, but enough to leave her addled for a while. Nancy and I came to that conclusion by discussing her symptoms.”

“Remarkable women, you two.”

“You're too kind,” Alexandra said, trying not be embarrassed. “And speaking of remarkable, I must say, you deserve that accolade as much as anyone. It is truly wonderful how you and the boys persevered in trying to find me as well as how you rescued me. How can I ever thank you?”

“Well, my dear,” Nicholas said, “speaking for myself, I can only say you've already given me a most remarkable and cherished thank-you when you were in Dr. Abercrombie's surgery.”

“I'm afraid I don't remember,” Alexandra said.

“Oh, but you must remember. You called me darling.”

Alexandra felt her face grow warm. “I called you…? Surely I didn't say—”

“Your exact words were
Yes, my darling.
”

Alexandra blushed even deeper and stammered a few incomprehensible words before she finally managed to ask the question she detested when it was asked of her.

“Are you quite sure?”

At the same time, Zack raised himself from his favorite position in front of the hearth and took a step toward Nicholas, a menacing growl rumbling from his throat.

For Tim and Kristen

My thanks to my editor, Dana Isaacson, for his hard work and patience.

Symptoms of Death

An Improper Death

Half a Mind to Murder

Medium Dead

For Dead Men Only

PHOTO: LAUREN ASHLEY CREATIVE GROUP, INC.

Award-winning novelist
P
AULA
P
AUL
was born on her grandparents' cotton farm near Shallowater, Texas, and graduated from a country high school near Maple, Texas. She earned a B.A. in journalism and has worked as a reporter for newspapers in both Texas and New Mexico. She's been the recipient of state and national awards for her work as a journalist as well as a novelist. Her previous novels featuring Dr. Alexandra Gladstone include
Medium Dead
and
Symptoms of Death.
She is also the author of the “Mystery by Design” series, which she wrote as Paula Carter. She lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

paulapaul.net

@paulapaul4