Fairest of Them All (Marriage by Fairytale Book 4)

by Ruth Ann Nordin

  He came across another maid on his way to the drawing room and instructed her to tell the others to join him as well. This maid hadn’t dropped anything when she saw him, but he did catch the apprehension in her expression.

  If he didn’t know better, he’d swear he was the ghost in this place. But, he supposed given how long it’d been since they’d seen him, he might as well be. A part of him was coming back to life. From this moment forward, he was taking control of his life. Never again was he going to cower in the corner like a coward.

  Within five minutes, all of the servants except for the butler, coachman, and footman were assembled in the room.

  “Where’s Lady Tabitha?” he asked them. Everyone looked too scared to respond, so he directed his gaze to the maid he’d seen in the den. “Did you see her as you gathered everyone together?”

  Pale, the maid shook her head. “You only told me to get the servants.”

  He thought over what he’d told her and realized she was right. “Forgive me. You are correct.” He turned to everyone. “Does anyone know if Lady Tabitha left with my wife earlier today?”

  “She was in the dining room this evening,” a maid answered.

  At least they knew Tabitha was somewhere in the townhouse. His mother could have come up to her, but that didn’t seem likely since his mother had never bothered Tabitha before. Even before she faked her death, his mother hadn’t shown much interest in Tabitha. Still, he wasn’t going to be assured that Tabitha was safe until he found her.

  He directed his attention to the group. “I don’t have time to explain everything, so I’ll make it brief. My mother isn’t dead. We’ve all been led to believe she is. That means the curse isn’t real, and it also means she’s not a spirit. You have no reason to be afraid of her. I’ve verified she’s alive myself. I believe she’s still in this townhouse, but she’s hiding somewhere. Check under beds, in armoires, behind furniture… Be careful to search everything in the rooms. Pair up if you want, but you must help me search for her. Also, if any of you come across Lady Tabitha, stay with her.”

  The cook cleared his throat, so he looked over at him.

  “Pardon me if I’m speaking out of turn, Your Grace,” the cook began, “but is Lady Tabitha in danger?”

  “No. I’m sure she’s safe,” Evander replied. “I just need to speak with her. I’ll explain more to everyone later, but right now, we have to get find my mother.”

  The group stared at him for a long moment.

  “Let’s get to it,” he said.

  All at once, it was like a spell broke. They hurried to look for her.

  He couldn’t blame them for being shocked. But they would have to work through it all later, just like he would. Right now, they had to find his mother and stop her from doing any more harm.

  He hurried out of the drawing room in order to find Tabitha. Tabitha hadn’t left with Viola. She had stayed here. She’d been here at dinner.

  He went up the stairs and searched the bedchambers since the servants were currently checking the lower levels of the townhouse. He knocked on each door before opening it, and while he was in each room, he searched it. He couldn’t find Tabitha anywhere, and the longer it was taking to find her, the more his gut tightened in dread.

  His mother wouldn’t do something to her in order to punish him, would she? Up to now, his mother had only been after his wives. Was she becoming so determined to separate him from the rest of the world that she was planning to take Tabitha away from him, too? Was this his punishment for coming to London and leaving her behind at the estate? He hadn’t mentioned his plans to come to London with his mother when she appeared to him as a ghost. No doubt she’d felt betrayed by that, just as she’d felt betrayed when he and Rachel had planned to only take Tabitha with them to London.

  He grew more anxious as he finished searching through the bedchambers. By the time he verified no one was in any of those rooms, he was beginning to imagine the many ways he might find Tabitha’s dead body.

  Two maids came running up the stairs.

  He closed the distance to them. “Did you find my mother or Lady Tabitha?”

  “No, Your Grace,” one of the maids answered, out of breath. “We haven’t seen either one, and all of us have searched through every room.”

  That only left one room. The attic.

  “All right,” he replied. “If you happen to see either one, let me know.”

  He spun on his heel and headed for the attic. He marched up the stairs. When he reached the top step, he saw that Tabitha was sitting in the chair at the desk where his uneaten meal was still waiting for him.

  He breathed an audible sigh of relief. “Thank God. I thought my mother did something to you.”

  “So Viola told you,” Tabitha said, a bitter edge in her voice. “Your mother never died.”

  “Yes, she told me, but I didn’t want to believe it.”

  Tabitha stood up and walked over to him. “But you just said you thought your mother had done something to me. Did you mean her ghost?”

  “No. I now realize she was only pretending to be a ghost. I should have realized it before. I just didn’t want to see it. It was too terrible.”

  “Yes, it is terrible. She killed my mother, and she killed my step-mothers.”

  “I know. I thought it was the curse. I never would have put your mother or your step-mothers in any danger. If I knew what my mother was capable of, I would never have put them in harm’s way.”

  After a moment, her face relaxed. “Your mother fooled us both.”

  “She fooled everyone. All of the servants believed everything, too.” What made his mother so dangerous was the fact that she was so good at hiding her activities. She used fear, grief, and guilt to manipulate people in ways he could hardly even begin to understand. “We need to put her in prison.” He shut the door of the attic then went over to the armoire that was against the wall and opened it. To his dismay, she wasn’t in there.

  “Prison? She needs to hang for what she did. I want her dead.”

  He glanced over at her. “If the law decides to hang her, then that will happen. But it’s not up to us to kill her.”

  “Why not? She killed my mother and stepmothers.”

  He thought over how to answer her then said, “Because it’ll take us down a path we can’t come back from. One thing I loved most about your mother was her ability to forgive people. You don’t know the details of what your father did to her, and I can’t share that with you because I promised her I would keep her secrets. Just know she chose not to return harm for harm. We don’t want to become my mother. We’re not murderers. I do think we need to bring my mother to justice. She must not be allowed to do any more damage. I’m going to find her, and when I do, I’m going to make sure she’s taken to a judge. He can best decide what to do to her.”

  “I suppose you’re right. It just makes me mad that she’s gotten away with everything she’s done.”

  “She’s not going to get away with it anymore. She’s going to reap what she’s sown. I give you my word.”

  As she nodded, she wiped a tear from her eye.

  “I know this isn’t easy for you,” he whispered. “None of it’s been easy for you. If I could go back and change it, I would.”

  “And what could you have done differently? Not marry my mother? It was because of you, she was happy. Your mother ruined that, not you.”

  “I should have left for London as soon as I married her. We could have all lived here and left my mother at the country estate.”

  She shook her head and crossed her arms. “She would have found a way to come into our lives.”

  Unfortunately, she was probably right. “Well, she’s not going to be a part of our lives anymore. As soon as I find her, this is all over.” He went to one of the corners and held the candle up so he could see behind the objects he’d stored in here.

  “She’s not up here.”

  He turned from the corner. “You checked the e
ntire room?”

  “Yes. I’ve checked everywhere in here. I figured if she would be anywhere, it would be in here to see you.”

  Though he didn’t wish to upset Tabitha by letting her know he wasn’t fully convinced his mother wasn’t somewhere in this room, he went to the bed and peered under it.

  Tabitha sighed. “She’s not there. I told you that I already looked for her.”

  “But I can’t figure where else she could possibly be. The servants and I have checked this entire townhouse, and she isn’t in any other room. She has to be somewhere. If she can’t disappear, then we should be able to see her.”

  “Unless she’s not in this townhouse.”

  Evander knew that had always been a possibility, but her goal had been to be close to him. She’d left the mirror in this attic to let him know she was here. She must have planned to come by to see him.

  While she was sneaking around, she might have seen Viola. Perhaps she had been up in this room last night when Viola was here. She could have hidden in a few places. Or she might have seen Viola going through the townhouse and followed her. She might have looked for an opportunity to kill Viola but hadn’t been able to find it. Or his mother could have been hiding in that small room. It was impossible to know what had happened. But if his mother knew about Viola, she wouldn’t be happy he’d taken another wife.

  “Are you sure she didn’t slip out of this room after you came in here?” Evander asked Tabitha. “At any time, did you turn your back to the door?”

  Tabitha grunted in exasperation. “Do you honestly think I’d risk letting her go when I wanted to let her know how much I hate her for what she did?”

  “If she’s not in this attic, then she’s not in this townhouse,” Evander said.

  “Maybe she realized you found out about her and left before anyone could stop her. If it were me, that’s what I would do.”

  And where would someone who didn’t want to be found go? There was nowhere for her to go. They were in the middle of London. It wasn’t like she could hide in the stables, the gardener’s shed, or in the family cemetery.

  She might go to Viola’s family’s townhouse.

  A sick feeling came over him. Perhaps she didn’t even know they were looking for her. Maybe she had seen Viola leave and had followed the carriage to see where she was going. If she’d been willing to follow Ursula while she was riding a horse during the day, it wasn’t unreasonable to assume she’d gotten exceptionally good at being discreet. She obviously hadn’t kept all of her activities confined to the night. At the right time, servants would be too busy to know what was going on right under their noses.

  “I have to make sure your step-mother is all right,” Evander finally said.

  Tabitha’s eyes grew wide. “You think your mother went to kill her?”

  “I don’t know. She could have left and found somewhere to hide until we gave up searching for her, but I have to check on Viola.”

  “But it’s late. She’ll be asleep by now.”

  Which would make it easier for his mother to do something to her. He bolted for the door and ran down the steps.

  “I’m coming with you,” Tabitha called out as she followed him.

  “No, you’re not. You’re staying here where it’s safe.” Now that the charade was up, it was hard to know if his mother would take everyone away from him that he cared about, and he wasn’t about to let something happen to his step-daughter.

  “You can’t stop me. I’m coming with you whether you want me to or not. Viola’s my step-mother, and I have as much a right to help her as you do.”

  He reached the hallway where the bedchambers were and turned to face her. “You’re all I have left of your mother. During all those years, you’re the only thing that kept me sane. I need you to stay here where I know you’re safe. I want you to stay with the servants.”

  “I’ll only stay here if you guarantee me that you’ll bring Viola back here alive.”

  She had to know he couldn’t guarantee something like that, but she probably needed to hear it anyway.

  “I’ll bring her back alive and well,” he said.

  She seemed to feel better at the promise, so he led her down to the drawing room and instructed the servants to keep her safe.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Viola had trouble sleeping. She’d gotten so used to being with Evander this time of night that it was hard to be in her old bed. She had settled for keeping a couple of candles lit in the room while she read a book. In the past, reading helped to ease her into sleep when it eluded her. She’d sink into the story, and before long, her eyelids would grow so heavy that she couldn’t keep them open anymore.

  On this night, it wasn’t working. All she could think about was Evander and Tabitha. Her heart especially went out to Tabitha. The poor girl had gone through so much in her young life. Viola worried she had been wrong to burden her with the possibility that Evander’s mother had robbed her of her own mother and the other two step-mothers she’d had. It hadn’t been easy for Evander to hear Viola’s theory, either, but since he was older and more mature, he could handle the ramifications better than she could.

  Leaving the book open, Viola set her head down on the pillow and curled up on her side, her back to the door of her bedchamber. She closed her eyes. Maybe she should hire a detective to investigate the matter. She didn’t know if that was a wise thing to do or not. She should go home tomorrow after breakfast and speak with Evander about it. She could go to the attic with the butler. She didn’t think Evander’s mother would do anything to her during the day, but those hallways upstairs were vacant most of the time. It was better to be safe than sorry.

  She brought her hand to her abdomen. She was months away from feeling the baby move in her womb, but it gave her comfort to know the baby was growing inside of her. A part of Evander was with her even if she couldn’t be with him tonight.

  She let her mind wander to the future. She imagined a future where Evander didn’t feel the need to hide in a dark room and where Tabitha would marry a suitor worthy of her. She imagined what it might be like to be living in the spirit of hope instead of being trapped in the state of fear. She’d had her share of sorrow with losing her parents and then Oliver, but there was always that underlying sense of hope within her own family through it all. There hadn’t been the heavy despair that had plagued Evander and Tabitha for much too long. If they could deal with his mother, then they might be able to finally conquer all of that. Then Evander and Tabitha could be happy.

  Viola found herself drifting off to sleep as she imagined what such a future might look like. Just as she was ready to give herself completely over to sleep, she heard something behind her.

  Her eyes flew open, and she saw a mature lady with graying blond hair standing by her bed. She froze. She wanted to move, but at the moment, her body wasn’t cooperating. Then the lady descended on her. The shock finally wore off, and Viola tried to get out of the bed. The lady pinned her down. Viola started to scream when the lady stuffed a rag into her mouth.

  Evander’s mother. It had to be Evander’s mother! There was no one else it could be.

  Viola made an attempt to push her away, but his mother shifted so that she was more securely on top of her. For an older lady, his mother sure was strong!

  Viola tried to spit the rag out, but the lady took a nearby pillow and pressed it on top of Viola’s face. This was it. She was going to die like all of Evander’s other wives. This was probably how his mother had killed his second wife. She’d snuck into her bedchamber and suffocated her with a pillow. Then, when she was done, she stabbed his poor wife with knitting needles so everyone thought the curse had killed her.

  What method would his mother use to explain the curse this time? She’d obviously thought this through. She had followed her all the way to her townhouse and waited for her to fall asleep before making her move. Viola had underestimated just how brilliant the lady was. It was no wonder she’d avoided detecti
on for so many years.

  Viola tried to wiggle out from under his mother, but the lady pressed her knee into Viola’s gut, an action which made Viola release the air she’d been holding. Viola renewed her efforts to push his mother off of her, but all she was really doing was flailing her arms around as if she was trying to get a hold of the wind. She managed to grab the lady’s clothes a few times, but it wasn’t enough to shove her away.

  As her efforts began to weaken, Viola heard someone yelling, followed by the release of pressure from on top of her. Viola threw the pillow off of her head and dug the rag out of her mouth.

  Too weak to sit up, she rolled to her side and coughed.

  “Viola! Oh, my dear! How awful!” Her aunt gathered her into her arms and patted her back. “Breathe, Viola. Don’t give up.”

  All Viola could do was continue coughing in response.

  “Where did that lady come from?” Joanna asked, clinging to Pamela. “Was she in this townhouse all day? Did she follow you, Viola?”

  If Viola wasn’t so relieved she’d been saved, she would have thrown back a sarcastic retort to that question. Of course, Evander’s mother had followed her. How else had she been able to sneak into her bedchamber so late at night?

  Her family’s footman ran into the bedchamber and hurried around the bed. Finally having enough energy to move, Viola sat up and turned her gaze to the three people hovering over the lady’s body. Evander’s mother was breathing, but there was blood seeping underneath her head. Viola glanced at the nightstand by her bed. Blood was on the edge of it.

  “Your husband got her off of you just in time,” Maud whispered as if she could read Viola’s mind. “Her head hit the nightstand.”

  Viola’s gaze went back to the three people. She recognized Evander’s butler and her family’s footman, but she didn’t recognize the third person until he spoke.

  “How could you do this?” Evander asked his mother.