Page 82 of In the Midnight Hour

“What is going on?” Mrs. Babcock asked, her brows pitching into an angry V. “You said you wanted to talk to all the females, and now it’s just the maids and Samuel.”

“Samuel has confessed to killing Sir Radnor,” North said.

Maberly gasped, and Mrs. Babcock’s eyes rounded. They both looked toward the footman.

“Why, Samuel?” Maberly asked in an anguished tone.

“It was a matter of defense,” North replied simply. “You must both excuse us whilst we speak with Samuel, Cora, and Gemma.”

“I won’t leave my maids,” Mrs. Babcock asserted with a deep frown.

Maberly sent a concerned look toward the footman. “And I should stay with Samuel.”

“We will be discussing sensitive matters,” North said. “I must ask that you leave this to us.”

Mrs. Babcock opened her mouth, then snapped it shut before turning on her heel and stalking from the drawing room. Maberly pursed his lips somewhat angrily at North before looking to the servants. “I’ll be outside if you need me.”

Why would they need the butler who’d either ignored what was happening in Sir Radnor’s household or hadn’t even noticed?

North happily closed the door after Maberly left. As he started back toward the seating area, Hypatia approached him. He halted when she was right in front of him, as it was clear she had something to say.

“Whilst you were at the door, Cora whispered something to Samuel and Gemma,” she said in a low tone. “The whispering continued between the three of them. I don’t know what’s going on, but I wanted you to know.”

North heard the suspicion in her voice. It mirrored his own. “Let’s see how this goes,” he replied softly. “I want to hear Cora and Gemma’s version of what happened—without input from Samuel. I think you should start by addressing Gemma about Sir Radnor. Broach the matter so she doesn’t have to say what happened.”

“Yes, that’s what I wanted to do too.” Hypatia turned back toward the servants who were now all squeezed together on the settee, with Gemma in the middle. She sat in a chair opposite the settee and placed her hands on her lap. “Gemma, we know what Sir Radnor did, that he attacked you. He’s done that to other women too. You don’t need to explain what happened—not to us.”

Gemma had tears in her eyes. “Thank you, my lady.” She glanced at Cora, who kept her eyes fixed straight ahead. Indeed, Cora was quite stoic whilst the other two appeared worried and overwrought.

Hypatia continued. “That doesn’t mean you may not have to tell the magistrate, and I’m sorry for that. For now, we’d like you to tell us how the…attack was interrupted.”

Samuel squared his shoulders. “I said that Cora came to wake⁠—”

North held up his hand. “We need to hear Gemma and Cora tell the story now.”

Samuel pressed his lips together and leaned back against the settee.

Gemma took a breath and clasped her hands tightly together just above her lap. “I was in bed but not quite asleep when Sir Radnor entered with a candle. He…” She looked at Hypatia and swallowed. “He did what you said. I tried to push him away and screamed for him to stop. He told me to be quiet. That’s when Cora came in and she—she yelled at Sir Radnor to stop, but he wouldn’t. The next thing I knew, Sir Radnor pushed away from me and climbed off the bed, then he fell to the floor.”

“Sir Radnor stood?” Hypatia asked before North could. That wasn’t the way Samuel had recounted it.

Gemma looked at Cora, whose features were somehow even more tense. She’d also turned her head toward Gemma, who then closed her eyes and shook her head. “I don’t know. I’m not sure what happened. It’s all very confusing to me now.”

North looked at Cora. “When were you aware that Sir Radnor was in Gemma’s room?”

“I heard Gemma cry out,” Cora replied briskly. “Her room is right next to mine. I guessed what was happening because Sir Radnor came to my room a week earlier.”

Another motive.

Hypatia sucked in a soft breath—North was close enough to hear it.

“What did you do?” North asked Cora.

“I jumped out of bed and went to Gemma’s room. I saw Sir Radnor, and I ran to fetch Samuel at the other end of the corridor. I told him Gemma was in danger. He didn’t hesitate. I let him go past me and followed him back to Gemma’s chamber.” She flicked her gaze toward Gemma briefly. “Gemma was mistaken though. Sir Radnor didn’t get off her. Samuel had to hit him with the basin. Then he fell off the bed onto the floor.” Cora’s lip curled with pure loathing, and North noted she also had a motive that went beyond protecting her friend. Sir Radnor had abused her too.

“When did you realize Sir Radnor was dead?” North asked.

“He lay there for a bit,” Cora said. “I kicked at him—not hard. He didn’t move. It’s not Samuel’s fault he died.”