Page 72 of A Matter of Murder

“We’re coming!” came her voice from a distance. There was a tiny bit of light far within the corridor, and it grew as she approached. “I’ve got Guy!”

Darcy felt himself sag in relief. “And Sally?”

“She’s here, too! We’re all right!”

Darcy and the others crowded around the entrance to the corridor. Soon, they could make out the shape of the two ladies and Guy loping alongside them. Guy ran straight to Darcy, and he scooped up the small dog. “Where did you run off to? Don’t do that to us again!”

“He’s fine,” Lizzie told him, and he didn’t care about their audience—he wrapped his other arm around her, too. “And we are perfectly all right. No falling through rotting floorboards.”

“Just the one on the stairs,” Sally said.

“What?” Darcy and Jane said in unison.

“It was a small stair board. I didn’t even fall!”

Darcy was so relieved to see Lizzie—a bit dusty and smiling widely, blessedly not hurt—that he hadn’t noticed the leather satchel she was carrying until now. “What’s that?”

Lizzie let out a satisfied littlehmph. “This? Well...”

She opened the flap of the satchel and held it out for them all to see.

Darcy nearly dropped Guy, he was so surprised. Inside the satchel was a pile of coins. Not just any coins—silver coins. Silver Spanish coins. They were nestled heavily in the bottom of the stiff leather satchel, which appeared to have been battered by use and age.

“Is that the Netherfield treasure?” Lydia demanded. “Jane, you’re rich!”

“Where did you find this?” Darcy asked.

“On the second floor of the east wing, in a room that appeared to be a nursery. They were hidden in a window seat. And coincidentally, Guy just happened to be trapped in the same room.”

“Trapped?” Darcy echoed. “How did he get up there?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Lizzie asked, scratching the dog’s ears. Guy was squirming in Darcy’s arms but seemed all too happy to be at eye level with them for once.

“Oh my,” Jane whispered. “Lizzie, I think we ought to find Charles.”

“I agree,” Darcy said, closing the door to the service corridor behind them. He looked at Sally, who had hung back, silent. “Will you come as well?”

She nodded but said nothing else. He gave Lizzie a questioning look, but she shook her head slightly in a way that he knew meantLater.

The whole party made their way downstairs, where they found Bingley and Mr. Bennet coming back inside. They were in conversation, and both looked worried. Their expressions cleared somewhat when they spotted Guy trotting down the stairs, tongue lolling. “Oh, thank goodness you found him!” Bingley exclaimed. “Is everyone all right?”

“We’re fine,” Lizzie said.

“That’s not all they found!” Lydia added.

Jane placed a hand on her youngest sister’s shoulder. “Let’s all retire to the study,” she said firmly, and Bingley and Mr. Bennet exchanged looks before following.

Once the door was shut behind them, Lizzie upended the contents of the satchel on Bingley’s desk. Silver coins tumbled out in a heavy, clinking rain.

Bingley’s eyes went wide. “Is that—what on earth?”

“The rumors are true,” Lizzie said. “The Netherfield treasure.”

Bingley and Darcy each picked up a silver coin. They had genuine heft and Spanish markings. Unlike the one that had been recovered from the body in the flue, these weren’t tarnished beyond recognition, although a small layer of darkdiscoloration covered them all. Darcy flipped his over and looked for a date, which he was able to make out easily: 1731.

Charlotte also reached for a coin. “They’re the same mint.”

“And they were hidden in the house this entire time?” Jane asked.