Unfortunately, I’m an Evil Villainess

- - - 

Officers surrounded the Bryant mansion. Individually, all the servants, masters, and guests were being questioned in various quarters of the dwelling. Most of the servants did not even know what had happened, except one who did too well, of course. 

It was just routine, Mary reminded herself. They had no reason at all to suspect her, and would be all too happy to arrest Lady Catherine, especially after her little push.

"You're Lady Catherine's personal maid, correct?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Describe the scene that took place this afternoon."

Mary obeyed, leaving out, obviously, her own involvement prior to bringing the tea. The officer questioning her, a young man who couldn't have been much older than her, nodded along and wrote down notes. A jagged scar ran across one of his eyes, making him look quite intimidating, though overall he was rather attractive. He seemed familiar, but Mary couldn't figure out how. 

"And you're absolutely certain no one went near the tea or the cutlery?"

"How has Lady Catherine been acting lately?"

"Odd, but she's always been an odd little thing. Cries when she thinks nobody's watching but smiles when anyone comes around. Sighs and looks off wistfully into the distance, as 'em ladies tend to do when they're lovesick."

"You have reason to believe-"

"That she's in love with His Highness? Oh, absolutely! I hear her muttering his name in her sleep sometimes, if you'll believe it. She fell completely the very first time she saw him. Talks about how she'd always wanted to marry a prince, she did. I tried to talk her out of it, y'know, and she said she'd try to move on, but I don't think she ever did manage."

"What about her attitude towards Lady Valentina?"

"Started out admiring her. They all do, don't they? Before they realize that they'll never be able to measure up themselves, and that admiration turns into something more nasty. She never spoke about it to me, of course, but I could hear it in her voice. Scared me sometimes. With how innocent she seems, you'd never be able to tell, but I know her, Sir. I don't think anyone's born bad, but whatever she lived through before returning definitely messed her up."

The officer nodded at her empathetic words with quite genuine concern. With gloves, he took out a glass vial from a bag and held it in front of her. It was half-filled with a brownish-green powder and had clear fingerprints on the container. Mary gave no reaction and reminded herself that she'd never seen it before, answering so when the officer asked. He raised an eyebrow and pushed further. 

"You fold and put away Her Ladyship's clean laundry everyday, correct?"

"Yes, Sir. The last time I did so was yesterday evening, while my lady was having dinner."

"You did not see this in her undergarments drawer?"

"No, and I can tell you now there's no way I could've missed it, since there was nothing left in there before I put in yesterday's clean clothes. Say, isn't it rather improper for you to be ruffling through my lady's undergarments?"

"Attempted murder is far more improper."

"Fair enough. Say, don't I know you from somewhere?"

The officer tilted his head in that old way she'd seen so many times before, so long ago. Mary gasped.

"God! Freddie?"

Slowly, the officer blinked. "M-Mary?" His voice cracked with incredulity. 

The wheels turned rapidly in Mary's head. The chances! Meeting her childhood friend who she hadn't seen for years, especially in such a position… Perhaps all those years of training had messed up her head, but her first instinct was what an amazing opportunity it was. 

"Oh, Freddie! For God's sake, help me!"

She stood up, reached across the table, and grasped his hands. Tears bursted from her eyes, not completely fake. It was the pent-up pressure of the entire mission, the fate she had sold herself to almost a decade ago. How tired she was! For a very brief moment she actually considered telling him everything, but that thought was banished as quickly as it had appeared. For all the sins she'd committed, betraying her true master would not be one of them. She'd come this far, she couldn't back out anymore. 

"She's mad, I tell you! Oh, I'm so glad it's you. You'll help me, won't you? I can tell you right now, swear on my grandmum's grave, there's no doubt she did it. Don't know how or why she thought she could get away with it, but she's never been the brightest, poor thing. Ever since the day she met Her Ladyship, Lady Valentina, she's been quite obsessed! It's some twisted sense of inferiority, I'd say. And you'd never know unless you were as close to her as me! Scared to leave her alone sometimes, I was."

Mary took a deep breath. Her hands trembled, but she noted that Freddie had clutched them, consciously or not, and was looking up at her in earnesty. She continued and cast yet another stone at her lady's already half-doomed destiny before she could change her mind.

"It's more than envy. Sometimes I think it's pure evil. And that terrified me, Freddie, it did. But what can we peasants do? One wrong word, and I'll be lying dead in an alley! That's why I didn't tell you so much at first. Nobody'd believe me, and His Lordship's so fond of her… I myself don't think he was involved in this, but who knows? But you'll help me, right? Remember when you used to say you'd marry me and protect me forever?"

Freddie's cheeks grew red. He gingerly retracted his hands and coughed formally. Reaching into his pocket, he extracted and offered her a handkerchief, which she took gratefully and used to dry her tears, wishing she could wipe away her guilt as easily. 

"Thank you for this information," Freddie said awkwardly. He seemed much less intimidating now. "It'll be used to serve justice. You'll be an important witness at the trial. Don't worry, I'll tell the constable what you said and we'll take you into protection."

"Really? Oh, thank you so much, Freddie! Knew I could count on you."

Mary beamed and Freddie looked away, his face flushed.

"And… let's catch up sometimes," he muttered. 

A genuine smile crept onto Mary's face and she nodded. They bid each other farewell and the smile lingered until the weight of what she had just done removed it. She stood up, staggered in a trance, and sank down behind the back of the chair she'd sat in, staring up at the ceiling. Her job was almost done. Her lady's fate was practically sealed. And along with it so was hers.

If Freddie knew all the things she'd done… hell, not even Freddie. Could what she herself had become face the girl she had been ten years ago? The worst part was, she probably could. After all, she'd always done what she needed to for herself and her mother. If Her Ladyship was the price, then so be it.

- - -

Catherine shivered in the drawing room despite the magic flames dancing in the fireplace that cast ominous shadows on the walls. The last bits of sunlight streamed through the windows. How long had it been since…? A few hours? It felt like eternity. Instinctively she touched her locket and realized that she wished Lord Damian was with her. Ah, she'd been too worn by her illness, the holy days, and the preparation for the tea party to reply to his proposal, not that she knew how to reply. But now, would he be like the rest of the ladies, and blame her for…? What had even happened? 

She simply couldn't understand. Lady Valentina, so magnificently untouchable, poisoned? Who would possibly want to hurt her? And by Lady Delilah's reasoning, how could it all point to her? How could the poison have gotten into Lady Valentina's tea? How had that sleeve gotten into her dress? She had changed into a simpler flock now, the one she wore to the party taken as evidence by knights. But how had anything happened the way it did? It didn't make sense to her and she buried her head into her hands once more, her throat dry. 

"Catherine." A warm but firm hand rested on her shoulder. "They want to speak to you now."

Father and Uncle had been conversing solemnly on the other side of the room, and despite their best attempts to give her quiet, the occasional somber words that reached her scared her. The inspector had tried to talk to her as soon as the squadron had arrived, but she had been such a nervous wreck and they agreed to let her calm down first. Now, after a tonic and some time, she felt brave enough to face whatever was coming, though her stomach still fluttered and her hands trembled as the burly constable came into the room and sat down across from her. Father's grasp on her shoulder tightened.

"Good afternoon, Lady Catherine," the man said. "I'm Constable Gibbs, Head of the Knights of the Capital. I'd like to ask you a few questions."

Catherine nodded faintly. Her fingers dug into her dress. "H-How is Lady Valentina?" she bursted out.

The constable raised an eyebrow. "She is still undergoing treatment at the Avington Manor. You seem quite concerned for her. Are you friends?"

"O-Oh, yes! Lady Valentina was the sweetest to me, my dearest friend."

"Then you would have no reason to poison her?"

"O-O-Of course not! I'd die for her!" Catherine exclaimed. 

Her heart raced and there was a pounding in her ears. She had thought that despite Lady Delilah's brilliance, surely, surely, she'd made a mistake somewhere and the knights would be able to uncover the truth. But how could they also suspect her?

"But she is the fiancee of His Highness, Prince Oscar, whom it is said that you're in love with. Did you not resent her for that?"

The constable's quiet words were louder than thunder to Catherine. Her head spun and her cheeks burned. She wished she could crawl into a hole. She opened her mouth, but Father spoke first. 

"Now, Constable, since when was it that baseless rumours of young ladies are used as evidence? You must've heard of my daughter's situation, and understand that she is unfairly ostracized by many who carelessly toss out remarks that are completely unmerited and borned from nothing but petty prejudice."

Catherine nodded emphatically. Yet the constable smiled slightly, making her uneasy.

"And I suppose a vial of the poison used with Lady Catherine's fingerprints on it discovered in her drawer and the remnants of the poison in the sleeve of her dress can be explained away by 'baseless rumours' as well?"

Catherine stiffened. Her chest heaved, and she couldn't breathe. She stared off into space. It did seem pretty damning, didn't it? If she was reading a novel and this was the situation described, she'd believe she'd done it too. 

Oh, what if Lady Valentina thought it was her too? That was the thought she couldn't bear most, and tears came to her eyes as she pictured her friend's unconscious form again. Would she survive? She must survive, she was so strong, and so lively just a short while ago. But what if they did all believe it was Catherine that did it? Then they'd never catch the real perpetrator, and what if they attempted Lady Valentina's life again, and succeeded? No, no, no! Tears rushed into her eyes. Whatever happened, Lady Valentina had to be happy. 

Father was speaking sharply with the Constable, who threw back curt replies. She couldn't hear what they were saying, she'd covered her ears with her hands and stared down at the ground, wishing it would swallow her up. Vaguely, she saw an officer hand an envelope to the Constable, who gave it to Father. Then the Constable turned to her, and his words took a second to register, but they did. Catherine's eyes widened. 

"I hereby place under arrest Lady Catherine Bryant for the attempted murder of Lady Valentina Avington."