The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle

‘How long have you known who the real Evelyn was?’ asks Anna, who’s looking the Plague Doctor up and down, examining him with a child’s wonder.

‘At precisely the same moment you did,’ he says. ‘I came to the lake as requested, and witnessed her unmasking first hand. When it became apparent where she was leading you, I returned to Blackheath to relay the information to the actress.’

‘But why help us?’ asks Anna.

‘Justice,’ he says simply, the beak mask turning in her direction. ‘Evelyn deserved to die and Felicity deserved to kill her. You two have proven that you deserve your freedom, and I would not have you falter at the final hurdle.’

‘Is this it, are we really done?’ I ask, my voice trembling.

‘Almost,’ he says. ‘I still need Anna to formally answer the question of who killed Evelyn Hardcastle.’

‘And what about Aiden?’ she asks, placing a hand on my shoulder. ‘He blamed Michael.’

‘Mr Bishop solved the murders of Michael, Peter and Helena Hardcastle, and the attempted murder of Felicity Maddox, a crime so cleverly concealed it was entirely unknown to myself and my superiors,’ says the Plague Doctor. ‘I cannot fault him for answering questions we never thought to ask, nor will I punish a man who risked so much to save somebody else’s life. His answer stands. Now I need yours. Who killed Evelyn Hardcastle, Anna?’

‘You didn’t say anything about Aiden’s other hosts,’ she says, stubbornly. ‘Will you let them go, as well? Some of them are still alive. If we go now, we can probably still save the butler. And what about poor Sebastian Bell. He only woke up this morning. What will he do without me to help him?’

‘Aiden is the Sebastian Bell who woke up this morning,’ says the Plague Doctor, kindly. ‘They were never anything more than a trick of the light, Anna. Shadows cast on a wall. Now you get to walk away with the flame that casts them, and once that happens, they’ll vanish.’

She blinks at him.

‘Trust me, Anna.’ He says. ‘Tell me who killed Evelyn Hardcastle and everybody is freed. One way or another.’

‘Aiden?’

She glances at me uncertainly, waiting for my approval. I can only nod. A flood of emotion is welling up inside of me, waiting for release.

‘Felicity Maddox,’ she declares.

‘You’re free,’ he says, standing up. ‘Blackheath won’t cling to either of you any longer.’

My shoulders are shaking. Unable to hold it in, I begin sobbing wretchedly, eight days of misery and fear pouring out like poison. Anna takes hold of me, but I can’t stop. I’m on the edge of my nerves, relieved and exhausted, terrified we’re being tricked.

Everything else in Blackheath was a lie, why not this as well?

I stare at Evelyn’s body, and see Michael thrashing in the Sun Room, and Stanwin’s baffled expression when Daniel shot him in the forest. Peter and Helena, Jonathan and Millicent, Dance, Davies, Rashton. The footman and Coleridge. The dead piled up.

How does somebody escape all this?

By saying a name...

‘Anna,’ I mutter.

‘I’m here,’ she says, clutching me fiercely. ‘We’re going home, Aiden. You did it, you kept your promise.’

She gazes at me, not a drop of doubt anywhere in her eyes. She’s smiling, jubilant. One day and one life, I thought it wouldn’t be enough to escape this place, but perhaps it’s the only way to escape this place.

Keeping tight hold of me, she looks up at the Plague Doctor.

‘What happens next?’ she asks. ‘I still can’t remember anything before this morning.’

‘You will,’ says the Plague Doctor. ‘You’ve served your sentence so all possessions will be returned to you, including your memories. If you wish. Most choose to leave them behind, and go on as they are. It may be something worth considering.’

Anna digests this, and I realise she still doesn’t know who she is, or what she did. That’s going to be a difficult conversation, but it’s not one I have the strength to face right now. I need to pack Blackheath away, deep in the dark, where my nightmares live, and I’m not going to be free of it for a very long time. If I can spare Anna similar suffering, even for a little while, I will.

‘You should go,’ says the Plague Doctor. ‘I think you’ve lingered here long enough.’

‘Are you ready?’ asks Anna.

‘I am,’ I say, letting her help me to my feet.

‘Thank you for everything,’ she says to the Plague Doctor, curtsying before leaving the house.

He watches her depart, then hands me Evelyn’s lantern.

‘They’ll be looking for her, Aiden,’ he whispers. ‘Don’t trust anybody, and don’t let yourselves remember. At best the memories will cripple you, at worst...’ He lets that hang. ‘Once you’re released, start running and don’t stop. That’s your only chance.’

‘What’s going to happen to you?’ I ask. ‘I doubt your superiors will be happy when they find out what you’ve done.’

‘Oh, they’ll be furious,’ he says cheerfully. ‘But today feels like a good day, and Blackheath hasn’t seen one of those for a very long time. I think I’ll enjoy it for a while and worry about the cost tomorrow. It will come soon enough, it always does.’