Page 27 of A Matter of Murder

“You do realize that this could backfire entirely if no one comes?” Charlotte asked.

“They wouldn’t dare,” Lizzie said. “One or two might be rude to Jane, and Mrs. Fitzgerald might be bold enough to give you the cut direct in the village, but they won’t all be able to turn down an invitation to a ball—it would be unspeakably rude. No, they’ll come because they’ll believe they must, and then once they arrive at Netherfield, they’ll see it’s just a house. You’ll win them over, Jane. A ball really does solve everything—I can’t believe I’m saying that.”

“Neither can I,” Jane said, sounding stunned.

“Mrs. Bennet will be delighted,” Charlotte observed.

They all had a laugh at that, and then Jane clenched Lizzie’s arm. “You said it would be in a week!”

“Oh, I did, didn’t I? That’s very soon?”

“That’s nearly impossible! We’ve only just finished the first stage of renovations. I haven’t touched the ballroom—the floors will need waxing, and the chandeliers haven’t been polished in an age. I’ll have to place an order with the grocer tomorrow, and write the invitations out tonight, and see about flowers and candles and menus and serving staff...”

“Make a list,” Lizzie said. “And put Kitty and Lydia to work.”

“There was a dead man in my drawing room last night! Now I’m to throw a ball that won’t embarrass me in a week’s time, and you want me to haveLydia and Kittyhelp?”

“Don’t worry,” Lizzie said, wrapping an arm around her sister. “The dead man should be buried by then.”

Eight

In Which Lizzie and Darcy Learn the Origin of the Netherfield Curse

Darcy was excited about his lead, meager as it might be. Solving mysteries could be tedious—following an endless string of leads in the hope of uncovering a vital detail took determination and persistence—but he was looking forward to calling on Miss Jeffries. So he was rather taken back when they rejoined the ladies and the first thing Jane said was, “I must return home.”

“Is everything all right?” Bingley asked her, concerned.

“No,” Jane said peevishly, casting a look at Lizzie. “It appears I am to throw a ball.”

Darcy turned to Lizzie and raised an eyebrow. She looked somewhat sheepish.

“A ball?” Bingley echoed. “I thought you didn’t—”

“I’ll explain on the way,” Jane said, moving toward the carriage. The others made to follow her, but Darcy did not.

“Wait a moment,” he said. “What about the print shop?”

“What print shop?” Lizzie asked.

“I got a lead on our dead man,” Darcy explained. “Not a name, so don’t get too excited, but the vicar said we could look through the parish registers...”

“I’m sorry,” Bingley said, already helping Jane into the carriage. “But...”

“Go,” Lizzie said. “We can walk back to Netherfield when we’re done.”

“Would you like my assistance, Jane?” Charlotte asked.

“Not at the moment, thank you,” she said. “And Lizzie... thank you. I think.”

“Walk?” Darcy echoed as Bingley joined Jane in the carriage and it pulled away, leaving him with Lizzie and Charlotte.

“Oh, don’t give me that—you walk the distance easily back home. It just appears farther because we’re in the countryside,” Lizzie said. “Now, where are these registers, and what did the vicar say?”

Darcy summarized his visit with Mr. Thomas. In the telling, his lead didn’t appear to be all that thrilling. A village this size, and how many people were born or buried in any given month? Year? It seemed silly now to think they might find their dead man this way. And that was supposing he had been from the county and not someone passing through.

But Lizzie was not as doubtful as he might have expected, and even Charlotte nodded in approval when Darcy told them about the agreement he’d struck with the vicar. “It will be a fairamount of research,” Charlotte said, “but it’s better than what we accomplished.”

“Oh?” Darcy looked to Lizzie.