Page 104 of A Matter of Murder
“Don’t hurt her! She’s not a part of this.”
“She very much is a part of this,” Lady Catherine countered. “She’s been telling me everything you’ve been up to these past eight months. Quite fond of her brother, this one is. According to her, he’s hung the moon and stars. She’ll take any excuse to boast about his accomplishments, and about the clever, the pretty, the resourceful Miss Bennet he’s attached himself to. Why, I don’t know why I bothered buying off Tomlinson when I had no better source on the activities of Mr. Darcy and Miss Bennet than Georgiana Darcy herself.”
As she spoke, Lady Catherine pointed her pistol at Georgiana and motioned for her to join Lizzie and Darcy in the corner. Georgiana flinched when the pistol was pointed at her, and Darcy tried to shout something behind his gag, but it was muffled. “Come here, Georgie,” Lizzie said, reaching out a hand. “It’ll be all right.”
Georgiana’s shock made Lizzie’s protective instincts flare up. “You’ve been here this entire time,” she said to Lady Catherine, thinking back. Darcy and Georgiana’s father had departed England eight months earlier. He’d hired Mrs. Watts before leaving London, but Darcy had never met the woman. Lizzie guessed it was no mere coincidence that Mrs. Watts had taken to her room at the moment of their arrival yesterday. “I’m happy to see your headache has cleared up.”
“Oh, it hasn’t, but I am certain it will by the end of the day.” Lady Catherine hefted the pistol, and Lizzie tried her best not to flinch. “You’ve been quite the thorn in my side, Elizabeth. I suppose I cannot blame you for wiggling away from me in London last year and putting away Collins, but I was really quite angry when you put an end to the Mullins brothers’ operation.”
“That wasn’t me exactly,” Lizzie said. “That honor goes to Miss Leticia Cavendish.”
“You also got Tomlinson arrested, which made me very cross.” Lady Catherine stalked toward her, and Lizzie searched for her courage.
“I’m afraid I have that effect on people.”
Lady Catherine was now close enough to trace the coolmetal of the pistol along Lizzie’s jaw, and Lizzie forced herself to stare straight ahead, to not flinch. “You do. Which is why it’s such a shame that you did not come with me voluntarily when you had the chance.”
Lizzie wanted to move, wanted to fight back, but fear had rooted her firmly in place. Her abilities to defend herself were rudimentary, and no match against a pistol. Besides, if she did try to wrestle the weapon from Lady Catherine, it might discharge and hit either Darcy or Georgiana.
Faster than she expected, Lady Catherine’s other hand tightened like a vise around Lizzie’s upper arm and jerked her away from Darcy and Georgiana. Both the siblings cried out as Lizzie stumbled, but they didn’t move. Lizzie felt the cold barrel of the pistol dig into her side. “You’re coming with me. No tricks, no trying to escape. If you do, Darcy is dead. And if he’s already dead, then Georgiana will be next.”
Georgiana whimpered in fear, but Lizzie didn’t look at either sibling. “If you kill them, you might as well kill me, because I won’t work for you. Whatever you have in mind, I won’t do it.”
“Elizabeth, I am not to be trifled with. However insincere you may choose to be, you will not find me so.” Lady Catherine gave her arm another jerk, and Lizzie bit her lip so as not to cry out from the pain.
“I decline,” Lizzie said, attempting to wrench her arm from Lady Catherine’s grasp. “What was it you said to me once? Often a lady’s only choice is her refusal? Well, let me make it very clear to you—I refuse what you’re offering.”
“And I refuse to accept your refusal,” Lady Catherine said, mouth set. “Trust me, you’ll want the case I’m offering.”
Lizzie actually laughed at that. “There’s no case you could hand me that would make me go with you willingly!”
“Not even a case that could secure your own future?”
Lizzie had steeled herself to refuse anything Lady Catherine might offer, but she hesitated now, and Lady Catherine saw that tiny pause and pressed her advantage.
“You’re curious,” she said. “I thought you would be. It would only be a few years of work, I should think, and when the job is completed to my satisfaction, you’ll be quite free to go back to your life and do as you please—even marry this simpleton, if that’s what you choose.”
“I’m not interested,” Lizzie said. She wasn’t going anywhere with Lady Catherine—but the woman had been right, Lizzie’s curiosity was piqued.
“You could do more to help other women with this case than you ever could back at Longbourn, settling estates and contract disputes.”
“Find someone else,” she said.
Lady Catherine’s laugh was mocking. “As if I haven’t tried! Mr. Collins was the first person I attempted to recruit to my cause, but what a bumbling fool he turned out to be. The only good thing he ever did was lead me to you. Then I thought, perhaps it wasn’t the man, it was the caliber of solicitor that was the issue. And Tomlinson was much cleverer than Collins, but he had no interest in my case—he said it couldn’t be done,but moreover, itshouldn’tbe done. The audacity of that man! I wanted to shoot him myself, but no—instead he’s in the custody of the Crown. You really are the most meddlesome girl!”
“And is that why you ordered him to kidnap me?” Lizzie asked. “To work this case?”
“Of course. And there’s no need to play coy—if you’re curious, just tell me.”
Behind her, Lizzie could hear the muffled sounds of Darcy attempting to speak beyond his gag. She imagined him saying something like,Don’t entertain her delusions, Lizzie!But it occurred to her that if she, Darcy, and Georgiana didn’t return to the drawing room soon, the others might grow curious. And given the tensions on the estate, perhaps Mr. Travers would come to investigate their delay, and they’d have half a chance of escaping this madwoman.
She just had to buy herself more time.
“Fine,” she said. “What’s the case?”
“Property dispute,” Lady Catherine said. “A very wealthy, well-connected man wrongfully seized my property. And while the possession might be technically legal, his methods are questionable.”
Lizzie frowned. “Well, if his possession is legal, then I don’t know what I could do about it. I’d need to know more about the methods and the property in question.”