Southampton Row - Anne Perry [104]
“That’s monstrous!” Rose protested.
“Of course it is,” Emily agreed. “But it is idiotic to play the game by the rules you would like there to be. You will lose every time. You must play within the rules there are . . . better if you like, but never worse.”
Rose said nothing.
Emily went back to her first question in the whole miserable affair, which she still thought might be at the heart of it. “Why did you go to the spirit medium? And don’t tell me it was simply to contact your mother for a comforting talk. You would never do that at election time, or deceive Aubrey about it. You’re tormented with guilt over it, and yet you kept on going. Why, Rose? What do you need to resolve from the past at that price?”
“It has nothing to do with you!” Rose said miserably.
“Of course it has,” Emily contradicted her. “It’s going to affect Aubrey—in fact, it already has, and that will affect Jack, if you expect him to try and help, to support Aubrey at the election. And you do, don’t you? His backing away now would be pretty obvious.”
Rose looked for a moment as if she were going to argue, her eyes hot and angry, then she said nothing after all, as if the words were useless even as she thought of them.
Emily pulled another chair closer, opposite Rose, and sat down, leaning forward a little, her skirts around her. “Was the medium blackmailing you because you went to her?” She saw Rose wince. “Or over whatever it was you found out from your mother?” she pressed.
“No, she wasn’t!” It was not a lie, but Emily knew it was not entirely the truth, either.
“Rose! Stop running away!” she begged. “The woman was murdered! Somebody hated her enough to kill her. It wasn’t a chance lunatic who wandered in off the street. It was someone who was there at the séance that night, and you know that!” She hesitated, then plunged on. “Was it you? Did she threaten you with something so terrible that you stayed behind and rammed that stuff down her throat? Was it to protect Aubrey?”
Rose was ashen, her eyes almost black. “No!”
“Then why? Something in your family?”
“I didn’t kill her! Dear God! I wanted her alive, I swear!”
“Why? What did she do for you that matters so much?” She did not believe it, but she wished to jolt Rose into telling the truth at last. “Did she share the secrets about other people with you? Was it power?”
Rose was appalled. There was anguish, fury and shame in her face. “Emily, how can you think such things of me? You are vile!”
“Am I?” It was a challenge, a demand for the truth.
“Nothing I did harmed anyone else . . .” She dropped her eyes. “Except Aubrey.”
“And have you the courage to face it?” Emily refused to give up. She could see that Rose was shivering and close to the breakdown of her self-control. She reached out and took Rose’s hands in hers, still shielding them both from the rest of the room, all busy talking, gossiping, flirting, making and breaking alliances. “What did you need to know?”
“If my father died insane,” Rose whispered. “I do wild things sometimes; you asked me just now if I were mad. Am I? Am I going to end up mad, as he was, to die alone somewhere in an asylum?” Her voice cracked. “Is Aubrey going to have to spend the rest of his life worrying about what I’m going to do? Am I going to be an embarrassment to him, someone he has to watch and continually apologize for, terrified of what awful thing I shall say or do next?” She gulped. “He wouldn’t have me put away, he’s not like that, not able to save himself by hurting someone else. He’d wait until I ruined him, and I couldn’t bear that!”
Emily was overwhelmed with a pity that rendered her speechless. She wanted to put her arms around Rose and hold her so tightly she could force warmth and comfort into her, which was impossible. And in this crowded room it would have caused even these busy, absorbed people to turn and stare. Anything she offered could