* * *
The storm finally thinned into a sad drizzle. Saffron stood behind Dr. Maxwell’s desk, gazing through the window overlooking the Quad. She’d spent the last hour sketching out all the clues she knew of, every theory she’d come up with. Her head hurt. She was used to solving puzzles; indeed, it was the goal of every scientist to find answers and explanations. But with such insufficient information, there was only so much she could do.
She traced rain droplets on the window idly, allowing her mind to wander. Everything looked more alive and fresh after the rain. On the fringes of the concrete lay little sections of grass and garden. Red and purple tulips bowed toward the ground alongside the drooping yellow crowns of daffodils. Most botanists she knew sneered at the local, common flowers as being uninteresting. Saffron loved any flower she came across, just like her father had. They’d spent hours on long walks, quizzing each other on wildflowers. She remembered learning to cut roses with her mother; her parents weeding the garden bed together; laughing as her father teased her mother with a dirt-covered worm.
It was an unfair turn of fate that they had been taken away from each other before their time. They could have continued on so happily together. Not like Dr. Henry and his wife. Why should they remain together if they were so unhappy?
But she supposed they weren’t really together anymore, anyway. Dr. Henry was cavorting with who knew how many women. It was very possible Mrs. Henry also had taken up a lover. Eris Ermine certainly had made it clear she believed that the wife was no more loyal than the husband.
In her mind’s eye, Saffron saw the glittering dinner table, Mrs. Henry casting dark looks at her husband and Miss Ermine. And looking down the table, at Mr. Blake, with … interest. There had certainly been something between them, both at the dinner table and when Blake handed Mrs. Henry the champagne. Richard Blake was angry with Dr. Henry for stepping on his toes about the funding, and Mrs. Henry was embarrassed by his flaunting his relationships with other women. Was it possible that they were involved with each other?
Saffron straightened, her hand dropping to her side. Perhaps Richard Blake was Mrs. Henry’s lover. He had given Mrs. Henry the glass of champagne that likely contained the poison. Maybe it wasn’t meant for her. Maybe she was supposed to pass it on to Dr. Henry. Maybe his wife and her lover had botched an attempt to poison Dr. Henry and rid themselves of several problems at once. But something had gone wrong, and Mrs. Henry had drunk from the glass instead.
Body thrumming with the excitement of a new idea, she crossed to the door and made her way down the hall to Alexander’s office. He knew Blake better, or at least had spoken to him. Maybe he’d have something to add.
After knocking, she opened the door at his invitation and announced, “All right, Ashton, new theory.”
Alexander set down a magnifying glass on the botanical text laid out on his desk before him. “All right, Everleigh, let’s hear it.”
Saffron plopped into the chair across from him, eying the Marianne North illustration of Victoria amazonica with momentary interest.
He raised a brow. “You had a theory?”
“What if Richard Blake and Mrs. Henry plotted to get rid of Dr. Henry? She was embarrassed by his behavior with other women, even if she says she didn’t care. Blake was angry that Dr. Henry had gone around him to get to the donors. They could have devised a plan to get rid of Dr. Henry—killing two birds with one stone.”
Alexander narrowed his eyes. “Did you end up using your powers of persuasion to get a confession out of Blake?”
She laughed. “I didn’t see him, actually. I did see Eris Ermine, however. She implied that Mrs. Henry was just as disloyal to their marriage vows as Dr. Henry. Dr. Henry had been spending a lot of time with Miss Ermine, since she’s now in charge of her father’s money while he’s ill. I can guess exactly how Dr. Henry ensured his expedition would go forward.”
“And she suggested that Blake and Mrs. Henry were having an affair?” Alexander looked doubtful.
“No, no, Dr. Henry is having an affair with her,” Saffron said, leaning forward. “Or at least she would have me believe so. She obviously didn’t come out and say that either of the Henrys were having an affair. But it fits with what you heard Berking say, that Henry got his funding in a scandalous way. Seducing Miss Ermine for money certainly would be scandalous.”
“So, you think that Dr. Henry was the real target for the poisoning, and his wife and Richard Blake were trying to kill him? Why?”