"Just this once, I suppose it is a special occasion," Sibella said nervously. Monty froze. He could not seem to move or speak. He watched, trapped in horror, as his lover delicately closed her lips around a forkful of the poisoned trifle.
"Adalbert! Put that down at once!" Lady Eugenia shouted at her husband. She crossed the length of the dining table to him, attempting to take the gun from his hands, but he fought back valiantly. As they struggled, Monty watched Sibella, mortified. She coughed once, and tears sprung to his eyes. She coughed again, her hand flying to her chest. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she collapsed sideways, falling out of her chair.
Monty's trance broke as he saw her hit the floor. Instantly, he was kneeling by her, clutching her to him, trying to hold her tightly enough that she would stop convulsing. She gasped for breath, her hands grasping at his jacket.
"Sibella? Sibella, no!" he cried, feeling her begin to sink further into his arms.
"M-Monty," she whispered, shaking fingers caressing his cheek. But her hand fell away from his face, landing next to his knee. Her head dropped backward, and her body slowly became limp in Monty's arms. He gave a heart-wrenching cry as her chest stopped rising and falling. Holding her tight, he screamed and screamed.
Two days later, the news was plastered all over the London newspapers. Montague D'Ysquith Navarro, successor to Lord Adalbert D'Ysquith, had given up his position as future ninth Earl of Highhurst to follow Sibella Holland to the grave with a bullet through the head.
