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“I sent a wire to the constabulary station in Isleworth this morning, inquiring into the convalescent home your uncle mentioned.”

A mix of dread and anticipation buzzed around Leo’s stomach. She felt curiously ill with the feeling every time she thought of placing her aunt at Chesterton Hall.

“I’m sure I’ll hear something in the next day or two,” Jasper went on. “I’m sorry it’s come to this. I imagine it won’t be easy to send Flora there, even if its reputation stands up to scrutiny.”

Leo looked out at the street, at a loss for words. It wouldn’t be easy, but her aunt needed more care—more than Claude and Mrs. Zhao were able to provide.

“Will Claude go with her?” Jasper asked after a moment.

Leo had been purposefully avoiding that same question. She hadn’t wanted to consider it yet.

She rested her head against Jasper’s shoulder. “I believe he will.”

In her heart, she knew her uncle would never live separately from his wife. He loved Flora too much to leave her somewhere far away, alone. Leo was more than able to live independently and did not need Claude the same way she once had. However, that didn’t mean she was ready for him to move away.

Jasper, seeming to understand her forlorn thoughts, raised their joined hands and kissed her gloved fingers. “You won’t be alone here, Leo.”

She knew as much; nonetheless, it was comforting to hear Jasper declare it.

When they arrived in Mayfair, they were both taken aback to be greeted pleasantly by Augusta Lawlor. Hastings showed them into the front parlor, and at once, Leo thought she knew why Augusta had experienced a change of heart.

The woman sat regally in her chair by the fire, no longer tearful or wrapped in blankets. Her eyes were clear, her chin held high, and a healthy coloring had flushed out her previously ghostly pale skin. She had evidently started to heal from the drugging haze of laudanum and the continual dosing with arsenic.

“Inspector, Miss Spencer. Do have a seat. Tea, Hastings.”

As Leo took to the sofa, the same spot in which she’d sat the other day, she remarked, “You’re looking well, Mrs. Lawlor.”

Following a sigh, Augusta replied, “That is gracious of you, but I must apologize for my behavior the last time you both were here. I was unforgivably rude.”

“There is no need,” Leo assured her. “You’d been through quite an ordeal.”

It was not so strange that Augusta had not been willing to consider her husband had acted maliciously against her. Now, however, Leo suspected a change of heart in her.

“These last few days, I’ve started to feel more like myself again. Better than I have in months.” Augusta held her hands clasped together, her brow furrowed in dejection. “I see now that you were correct. Both of you were. I believe Sebastian was intentionally making me ill.”

Jasper remained standing by the hearth. “I’m sorry to bring you more distressing news, Mrs. Lawlor, but it appears you were not his only victim. Another woman, Victoria Herrington, was married two years ago to the man you knew as Sebastian Lawlor. He was Rupert Herrington then. You and Mrs. Herrington were similar in many ways, most specifically in that you were both heiresses, without any remaining family.”

The older woman closed her eyes, as if against a blow, but maintained her composure. “What happened to her?”

“She fell ill, as you did. Unfortunately, the illness claimed her life,” Jasper revealed.

The only fissure in Augusta’s poise was a trembling of her hand as she gripped the arm of her chair.

“He inherited everything and disappeared shortly afterward,” Jasper concluded. “The difference between you and Mrs. Herrington is obvious, in that you are still alive. But also different is the fact that she died of prolonged arsenic poisoning rather than an attempted laudanum overdose.”

“And her husband claimed her fortune, while Mr. Lawlor took only the contents of the safe and a fraction of your wealth from the bank,” Leo added. “It seems he rushed to see his plan through and fled, even knowing he would not receive the full financial benefit of your death.”

Augusta’s emotional trembling had ceased. She frowned. “He had been acting strange for a few weeks. He said some issue at the shop, a late shipment, was making him tense, but I did wonder if it was something more than that.”

“Had he received any visitors here during that time?” Jasper asked. “Anyone you didn’t recognize?”

She shook her head. “Only Mr. Gray. As I was ill, we weren’t receiving any visitors.”

Leo crossed a glance with Jasper. He nodded.

“Mrs. Lawlor,” she began, “we’ve discovered Mr. Gray is not who he claimed to be. He and your husband were partners in this scheme. We have not found him or discovered his true name, but is there anything at all you can remember from that last time Mr. Gray visited here?”

Augusta’s rigid posture slipped. “That should not surprise me so. He was, after all, the only person from Sebastian’s life that I ever met.” She sat back in her chair. “I heard them arguing. They were in Sebastian’s room, which attaches to my own. I didn’t hear them clearly, but Sebastian was quite upset. It was his voice that was raised, not the doctor’s. Afterward, Sebastian claimed he was just angry that the doctor could do nothing for my illness.” With an arch of her brow, she added, “Of course, now I know that was a lie.”