Page 98 of A Matter of Murder
“Good. Now, it’s rather late morning—no, don’t look alarmed. You all needed your sleep. Charlotte came down for breakfast, and I set her up in the library. She’s rather taken by my father’s collection of travel diaries of various explorers of the New World, and I imagine she’ll be absorbed until at least teatime. I was wondering if you’d like a tour of the grounds? We can sneak out through the kitchens and get you both something to eat, if you like.”
“That sounds marvelous,” Lizzie said. “But why do we have to sneak?”
Georgiana made a face. “Because if Mrs. Watts sees me, she won’t let us go unchaperoned lest we run into my brother—she’s rather prudish that way—and she’ll insist we don’t go outside until afternoon, and she won’t let me take you to the woods, and she’ll ask a whole series of boorish questions—”
Lizzie laughed. “All right, you don’t have to convince me. She sounds rather unpleasant. Lead the way.”
Georgiana kept up a steady stream of conversation as she led Lizzie through the back halls to the kitchens, which appeared to be a merry sort of chaos. A jolly-looking woman with hundreds of freckles on her face turned when they entered the kitchen and immediately tsked. “Miss Georgiana, what are you doing bringing a guest into the kitchens? You’ll scandalize the poor lady!”
“This is Elizabeth Bennet, and she’s a lady solicitor. You canscarcely scandalize her.” To Lizzie, she said, “This is Mrs. Craig, and she is the best cook in all of Derbyshire.”
“Oh, hush now, child!” Mrs. Craig turned pink.
“I am delighted to make your acquaintance,” Lizzie said. “And I have to agree with Miss Darcy—the meal last night was excellent.”
“Well, sit, sit,” she said. “I’ll rustle something up for you both and the pup.”
Lizzie enjoyed watching the bustle of the kitchens and the warmness of Mrs. Craig’s smile as she served them a simple breakfast, cooked to perfection. Guy got his own plate near the hearth, and everything felt... relaxing. Right. When they’d finished, Mrs. Craig shooed them out, and Georgiana took Lizzie out the back.
“Where’s your brother this morning?” Lizzie asked as they rambled through the gardens.
“Oh, he’s around somewhere, I imagine,” Georgiana said. “He’s likely gone to visit Holmes—that’s our steward—or maybe into Lambton. He always has a hundred things to do when he comes home, and he hasn’t been here much lately.”
“I’m sorry,” Lizzie said. “I feel as if I am partially to blame for that.”
“What do you mean?” Georgiana asked, eyes wide.
“Just that... we’ve had so many cases as of late, and he’s been an invaluable consultant. I worry he thought he couldn’t leave London because of the work. But I know he’s missed you terribly.”
“Oh, no. I know he’s been busy. And I’m glad you’ve been putting him to work with so many cases. Will you tell me about them? I only know what I read in the papers, and my brother is terribly reluctant to share the details in his letters.”
“He probably worries I’ll be a negative influence on you,” Lizzie said, laughing. If Darcy were here, she could imagine his eye roll. “But all right. Which one do you want to hear about first?”
“The Pandemonium at the Pantheon! Did that man really try to stab a woman in front of an audience of a hundred people?”
Lizzie laughed. “Well, first I must go to the beginning of that case...”
Lizzie and Georgiana spent a pleasant morning walking through the grounds, swapping stories about Lizzie and Darcy’s recent cases and tales from Darcy and Georgiana’s childhood. Georgiana pointed out her favorite horses, and Lizzie told her about her ill-fated ride in Hyde Park upon Georgiana’s borrowed mount, and then Georgiana led her on the walking path, which followed the river and led into the woods. Lizzie let Guy off his leash and the little dog romped through the tall grasses and chased squirrels and birds in the brush, always looping back to check in on Lizzie and Georgiana. It was the most pleasant morning Lizzie could remember, and the only thing that would have made it sweeter was if Darcy had joined them.
They had just rounded the bend in the wooded path when they came upon two men dressed in simple workwear standing at the path, speaking urgently between themselves. When theyspotted Georgiana and Lizzie, Lizzie could read the alarm on their faces as plain as day. She called for Guy immediately, and the dog came bounding up to her.
“Miss Darcy,” said one of the men. “You ought to go back on up to the house.”
“What is it?” Georgiana asked.
“It might be nothing, but we’ve found two trespassers climbing the wall up ahead,” he said. “The rest of the grooms have rounded them up and called Travers to come collect them. We’ll keep them at the gatehouse until Mr. Darcy can question them.”
Lizzie went cold, and the airy, happy feeling of the morning vanished. “Who?”
“Please, Miss Darcy,” said the man, looking apprehensive. “Your brother wouldn’t like it.”
“Do you think it could be her?” Georgiana asked. “Lady Catherine?”
“Or her emissaries,” Lizzie said, pushing forward. “Please, let us at least see who they are.”
The man looked reluctant, but he wasn’t given much of a choice—because Lizzie and Georgiana heard the sound of footsteps cutting through the underbrush, and two men appeared, walking what appeared to be two young ladies, their hands restrained behind their backs. Lizzie’s heart nearly stopped just then. Could it be... could it be that simple? Would Lady Catherine really try to scale the walls at Pemberley? Had they caught her once and for all?
But then one of the ladies turned, and Lizzie got a good look at her face and her jaw dropped.