“She was guiltless of the death of the Leatons!”
“Who, then, was the destroyer?”
“I!” shouted the monomaniac. “I, the Avenger! I, who, in the same hour that I turned away from your triumphant wickedness, with my discarded child pressed to my bleeding heart—I who, in the same hour that was transformed from a woman to a fiend, vowed a vow of exterminating wrath against two men, with all their race, and sold my soul to Satan for the power of accomplishing the work! Had not Satan failed me at the last, the race of Leaton would have been extinguished in blood and shame. That of Elverton, would have lived in misery and dishonor—worse than death and perdition.”
“Woman, you wildly rave! Come to your senses—collect yourself, explain; you say that your daughter was guiltless; that you were the criminal; if this is not a mere trick to attempt to defeat the ends of justice, how do you explain away the direct evidence of Antony More, who swore that he was employed by the so-called Princess Pezzilini to procure the drugs of which the Leatons died!” inquired Lord Elverton, who, amidst all the violent emotion that shook the bosom of the man retained the mental calmness of the judge.
“Antony More was a fool and a beast; the slave of a slave; the mere tool of her who was but the tool of her mother. I put into the hands of my daughter a card with the name of the drug I wanted written upon it. I said to her, ‘Give this card to your dog, Antonio, and tell him to procure the drug secretly and bring it to you; when you get it, pass it secretly to me.’ This was done. Afterwards, she privately admitted me to the house on various occasions by night; and so the work was accomplished; and the last Leaton would have perished on the scaffold for the murder of the others, but that Satan failed me at the very last! It was necessary to get rid of Antony More; but I was not quick enough about it. He took the alarm and fled, and you know the result—a shipwreck, a confession, and the arrest, trial, and conviction of Agnes. But Agnes is guiltless! guiltless even of purloining the jewels and documents of the Princess Gentilescha Pezzilini, which were really given into my hands for safe custody during the time of trouble; and only after the burning of the palace and the death of the princess were they used by me for the furtherance of our plans. For the rest, whatever Agnes might have suspected, she never certainly knew why I wanted the Fabæ Sancta Ignatii, or for what purpose I kept myself concealed in the neighborhood and gained admittance to the abbey only in the dead of night. That dolt, Antony More, complained that she never took him into her confidence! How could she, when she had nothing to confide to him? But she is guiltless, and must not perish! She was the only human creature that was ever true to me; but she must not die for me! Baron Elverton, I came here to denounce myself as the destroyer of the Leaton family! You know your duty; do it!”
“Yes,” he said, “whether you are mad or sane, it is equally necessary that you should be placed in custody; and to-morrow this affair shall be investigated. If your unfortunate daughter should be proved really guiltless, justice must be done her at any cost to myself or to you! And you, wretched woman! must take your chance between the doom of death and the living grave of Bedlam!” said the Baron, as he rang the bell and summoned the proper officers.
And ten minutes afterwards the woman was in custody of the police.
Early the next morning inquiries were set on foot. They were too late to avail the unhappy, blind instrument of a mother’s vengeance. The soi-disant Princess Pezzilini was found dead in her bed. A small locket ring, that fitted tightly upon her finger, was open; but instead of some minute likeness of a friend’s face, or small lock of a lover’s hair, it contained only a tiny glass cavity, which being subjected to scientific experiments, was supposed to have contained a certain deadly poison, one drop of which was sufficient to have produced instantaneous dissolution.
Yes, “like the scorpion girt with fire,” she had stung herself to death!
In due time the criminals were brought to justice and paid the penalty of their crimes.