Chapter Twenty-One: The Tea Party Part Two

"A cup of tea is an excuse to share great thoughts with great minds." ~Cristina Re

September 5th, 1879

London, England, United Kingdom, Europe

"I want you to kill my husband," Albina said, and Marie couldn't help but gasp.

Kill Matthew? That was out of the question.

But when Marie told Albina as such, she merely glowered and frowned.

"Out of the question for what reason? I already know you killed Lord Christie. So it shouldn't be hard for you to do it again."

The color drained from Marie's face, and her hands began to tremble.

"How do you know that?" She whispered, and Albina scoffed,

"It wasn't that hard to figure out. You were last seen with Lady Christie by Lord Christie's office, and then he was found dead that night. I'm surprised no one else has confronted you about it yet." Marie was shaking at this point.

She was shaking with fear.

How had things gone so wrong? Their plan was supposed to have been foolproof. They had had everything planned down to the letter. How had she figured it out so quickly? Marie's eyes began to drift towards the window where she knew Albert and William were entertaining the ladies of the tea party—what she wouldn't give right now to get out of this situation and make small talk instead of being threatened.

"So? Will you do it?" Albina asked, and Marie shook her head.

"I had my own reasons for killing Lord Christie. I won't kill someone else for no reason." She said firmly, and Albina threw her head back and laughed,

"I don't think you're in such a position to be refusing me. Especially when I could release all this information to the public and ruin you." She sneered, and Marie swallowed. Her mouth felt bone dry; her hands were clammy.

"Why do you want to kill him?" She managed through her fear. Albina clapped her hands in delight,

"I knew you would come around! It's simple, really. Now that Lord Christie is dead, Matthew gets the inheritance as his heir. His mother wouldn't get a penny. And if Matthew were to die, I would get that inheritance. I want it. I want the estate, the money. I want it all." She said with a sinister smile, a shiver running down Marie's spine.

All of this for greed.

Marie still couldn't fathom the fact that Albina wanted Matthew dead. He was such a kind man.

Should she warn him somehow?

Divorce or killing Albina seemed to be Marie's only options.

Divorce would ruin Ablina's reputation, especially so soon after her marriage to Matthew in the first place.

But death? Marie wasn't sure she could kill another person the same way Albert had killed Lord Christie.

Perhaps poison then?

No, that would be too suspicious. Especially so soon after her marriage.

So she just had to hope that warning Matthew would change Albina's mind.

After their little 'chat,' Albina left Marie, and Marie promptly locked herself in her bedroom to fret over how she was to warn Matthew that his new wife wanted to murder him. Albina would likely expose all her poisoning endeavors if she didn't, and she would either be executed or thrown in prison.

Neither had much appeal.

There was a knock on her door hours after the tea party was over. Marie raised her head from where it was being cradled in her hands and stood from her desk. She wiped her eyes and went to the door, taking a moment to compose herself before turning the handle.

Louis stood on the other side of the door, looking mildly disheveled from the tea party, but otherwise as composed as ever.

"Hello Louis, what can I do for you?" Marie said, and Louis gestured down the hall towards the kitchen.

"I was wondering if you would like to join me in preparing supper? Are you alright, Marie? You look quite pale." He said, and Marie stiffened. Did she really look that haggard that he noticed?

But… She shouldn't lie. He would figure it out eventually. She could trust Louis.

Marie shook her head at his question.

"No, I'm not alright, Louis. I was threatened at the tea party by Albina Christie." She said, and he raised an eyebrow,

"Albina Christie? Matthew's new wife?" She nodded and sniffed, biting the inside of her cheek.

"She wants me to kill him." She whispered, and Louis's eyes lit up with understanding. He gestured down the hall again, this time towards William's study.

"How about you go and speak with William? I'll prepare supper for tonight." Marie nodded gratefully and headed towards the study. Louis headed back towards the kitchens.

Approaching William's study, she hesitated before knocking. She heard a faint 'come in' and opened the door. William was inside, sitting at his desk and looking over some documents. She swore she spotted house plans but paid them no mind in favor of shutting the study door behind her.

"What can I do for you, Marie?" He asked, and Marie bit her lip, looking down at her hands. Soon the words in her mind spilled over, and she quickly explained the entire situation to the younger man. He listened patiently, with that smile on his face that slowly turned into a frown.

"Well, that is quite the predicament, isn't it? My apologies. We should have taken this into account when planning the tea party." At this, Marie shook her head and twisted her hands over and over.

"There was no amount of planning that could have foreseen this. I didn't even know Albina was like this. She came across as such a kind lady when I initially met her." She said softly and took a seat at William's gesture. She sat across from him at the desk and placed her hands on the table.

"I suppose you don't want to kill Albina if you can help it?" He asked, and Marie nodded. She worried about what that would do to Matthew.

"I couldn't do that to Matthew. I've caused him enough pain as it is. I can't kill his wife so soon after killing his father." William nodded in agreement,

"That would be most unfortunate. I wouldn't wish that on a man like him. He seems like a good person from your stories and the newspapers." He said and steepled his fingers together, pressing his lips to his index fingers.

"You said you wished to warn Matthew, yes? I'm sure we can arrange something like that." He said and reached into his pile of papers to pull out one and glance at it.

"As it so happens, Matthew has invited my brothers and me to dinner next week. Perhaps you can tag along and get him alone to explain it then?" He offered, and Marie nodded hastily,

"Y-yes, I would love to. Thank you, William! Thank you!"