For The Love Of My Scotsman (Complete!)

Poison and Secret Identities

Lottie stared at Octavia in horror. "Another murder? B-but how? When?"

The other two women pulled Lottie to her feet and Sally helped her dress while Octavia explained.

"Miss Wilde just found Mrs. Ashdown in the ballroom. Mr. de Lacy has demanded your presence for questioning."

Lottie paused, her loose hair pulled halfway over her shoulder. "Me? Why?"

"He wouldn't say. No one else is allowed into the ballroom. Only you," Octavia said. She was eerily calm about the situation, but her face was pale and drawn. "Do you think..." she paused, swallowing hard again. "Do you think that the blackmailer is killing those of us who cannot give them what they want?"

Shaking her head, Lottie lead the way to the ballroom in silence. Was Octavia right? Had the killer struck again because Mrs. Ashdown hadn't given in to his demands? But Miss Wilde—Heather was the one who was being blackmailed. Why kill Mrs. Ashdown?

Two men that Lottie didn't recognize guarded the door to the ballroom, keeping William, the Countess, and the Earl at bay.

"I am the Earl of Durham," the Earl blustered, doing his best to seem imposing. "How dare you block me in my own house!"

But the men's faces remained stoic.

"My men are under strict orders, Your Grace," Mr. de Lacy said as he stepped into the doorway, wiping his hands on a handkerchief. "This is a murder investigation, after all."

William spotted Lottie and tried to wave her back, but Mr. de Lacy spotted the movement and followed the lord's gaze. "Ah," his eyes narrowed. "Miss Lottie. Please, do come in."

William held his hand out to stop her as she pushed forward. "How dare you, Mr. de Lacy?" he said, his voice low and dangerous. "Lottie is a young lady and my charge. How can you ask her to view such a horrific scene alone?"

"If my suspicions are correct," Mr. de Lacy's voice purred, "then she has already seen it. Come along, Miss Lottie."

Lottie looked around at the concerned faces of the people who loved her dearly. Clutching her hands together, she nodded at her brother-in-law and forced a smile. "It's alright, William."

He growled, balling his hands into fists. "I must find Thomas," he muttered, storming off.

Leaving the rest of them behind, Lottie followed Mr. de Lacy into the dark ballroom. Pale, wintry moonlight pooled in from the tall windows on her left, illuminating ghostly patches on the marble floor... and Mrs. Ashdown.

She lay in the middle shaft of light, on her back, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Lottie gasped and turned aside, closing her eyes tightly against the sight. This was her second time seeing a dead body within a week, but it was far more shocking than finding Mr. Farraday.

"Take a good look, Miss Lottie," Mr. de Lacy ordered, turning her back toward the body. "Tell me, what does your scientific mind see?"

Trembling, Lottie forced her eyes open and peered at the unfortunate woman. Had Lottie not already known she was dead, it would have appeared the woman was simply resting... with her eyes open. Nothing looked out of the ordinary... except...

"Her skin... is it blue? Or is that a trick of the moonlight?" Lottie asked, her voice a whisper.

He nodded, kneeling beside the body and pointing to her lips. "Here, too. And there was foam, but someone wiped it off as if to hide the true cause of her death."