The outcome of today was much different than what I expected…

At last, me and Sylvia would rid the world of Constance once and for all. As she took a bite of the foxglove, I smiled with glee. At last, Credence was finally avenged! But what I did not expect was for Constance to attempt to make amends. All I ever wanted was for her to take responsibility for hurting my brother. But it was too late…

Although Sylvia is a deeply unstable and a somewhat psychotic woman, I still love her. I thought my revenge was more important than her, but now I see that she is the only thing in my life that I truly ever valued. I tried to convince her not to kill her mother, so she would not have to live with the shame of taking a life, but Sylvia was still determined as ever. In my final effort to stop Sylvia, I told her to run off with Daniel, and that I would take the responsibility for Constance’s death.

My brother is dead. I killed my brother’s lover. My “lover” never even loved me. She chose a humble stable boy over me. There is nothing in life that brings me pleasure. Not even food, wine, or those vapid, meaningless women. Life is not worth living anymore.

To advance our plans, Sylvia and I stole some poisonous foxglove from a neighbor’s yard. I got a bit of a scare, because Sylvia’s dress got caught on the fence while trying to escape, and the foxglove fell out of her pocket. I scurried down and retrieved it quickly. After retrieving the poison, Sylvia and I plotted to bake the foxglove in bread and poison our enemies. Credence, my sweet brother, you shall be avenged.

Dearest Sylvia,

I am sure you are curious about why the Baroness and I despise each other so. Well, my brother’s demise is the reason for our intense hatred towards each other. Constance, as you know, is not a pleasant woman. Despite her repulsive nature, she seduced Credence. Her being an older widow, she prided herself on the fact that she was financially independent and did not need to marry again. Deeply in love with the Baroness (God knows how), my brother proposed to her, but she cruelly dismissed him as nothing but a plaything to her. The poor boy was heartbroken, so I proposed that we take a trip to Bath so that he could take his mind off of Constance. Well, as everyone in this town knows, Credence, delirious from the pain of rejection, ran into the middle of the town square and was tragically trampled by a horse. I blame the Baroness because if not for her cruel behavior, I would never have taken Credence to Bath, but she blames me for taking him there in the first place. After his funeral, Constance confided in me that she was also deeply in love with Credence, but she could not risk her reputation by marrying a younger man. Too little, too late Constance. Now she must atone for her sins.

Eternally yours,

Claudius

While I was tending to my horse, I overheard Sylvia attempt to persuade her peasant lover to murder her parents. The girl has truly gone mad. A life of ease and luxury is seen as “abuse” in her eyes. If we were to be married, what would stop her from making me her next victim? Perhaps I should break off this engagement. But what if she decided to murder me for humiliating her? That would be absurd; the girl despises me. But I understand Sylvia’s desire for revenge. If only I could avenge Credence! The sight of the Baroness sends me into a rage; it is time the old hag got her comeuppance. If Sylvia helps me rid the world of that vile woman, then I will agree to end our engagement. Although I love and will always love Sylvia, she has started to frighten me somewhat, but no more than my thoughts frighten me nowadays.

Constance’s ball is tonight, and in order to antagonize her, I will be crashing the shindig. Let the fun ensue…

Of course, at the sight of my face, Constance was enraged. She’s just an old hag anyway. Although I predicted Constance’s reaction correctly, I did not correctly predict my own. I thought that after many years, I would finally be able to face her, but the pain was just as fresh as the day of the incident. After a tense conversation with the witch and causing quite a scene, I asked my only source of sanity nowadays, my beautiful Sylvia, to dance. She refused and told me to dance with my friends Abigail and Margaret. I was wounded by her rejection, especially after Constance rubbing salt in my wounds. I even witnessed Sylvia flirt with another man, which only upset me further. Constance then screamed at me that she wished that I was dead. If only Constance was dead, then perhaps my pain would be eased…

To whomever reads this,

I regret my actions deeply. This is a record that I kept during the time that I made my rash decision. I do not expect to be forgiven, but hopefully this offers insight into why I did what I did.

C.D.