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D arcy turned away to the hall, hoping he could speak to the apothecary before the man tended to Elizabeth.

His jaw tightened; he must not think of her without the honorific — if he forgot to refer to her as Lady Elizabeth, it would antagonise her father even more than he was already.

But there was a disturbance in the sitting room behind him, sudden cries and wails. He saw Mrs. Bennet had noticed the amount of blood on Elizabeth’s gown and had swooned.

Mrs. Bingley hurried past him, drawing her sister to the stairs, while Miss Mary remained with her mother.

Darcy watched Lady Elizabeth as she climbed the stairs, her shoulders bowed, and his heart broke for her.

He recognised Mr. Jones from when the man had been called to the then Miss Bennet at Netherfield.

“Mr. Jones!”

The man hesitated, his foot on the stair, and looked enquiringly at him. “Mr. Darcy?”

“I do not wish to detain you, sir,” Darcy kept his voice low.

“But I wish to inform you, that, even if she states she is well, when we were at the scene, Lady Elizabeth appeared very shocked. She was shivering and cold. Also the bruise on her face is where her assailant struck her with the butt of his rifle.”

The apothecary’s face had hardened at Darcy’s last words. “Thank you, sir. I will take what you say as part of my assessment.”

Darcy glanced round. Without the two older sisters being downstairs, and Bennet still at the scene, the house seemed aimlessly out of control. Then he noticed Bingley standing at the door of Bennet’s book room, his eyes on the stairs where Mrs. Bingley had last been seen.

“Darcy.” Bingley’s gaze was serious. “Mr. Bennet told me to make use of his library — and his whisky — until he returned. I am sure he will not object to you doing the same.”

Darcy nodded. He needed a drink as he never had before.

But he couldn’t sit down. He paced from one end of the room to the other, hampered by the piles of books.

“Do you want to explain to me what happened?” Bingley was beside him. “Might it help?”

“I failed her,” Darcy groaned. “I knew Wickham would be a danger to her, and didn’t act quickly enough. Now she has to live with what’s happened — witnessing the death of a man in her service.” He shuddered.

Bingley’s hand on his shoulder made him jump.

“I am sorry this has happened, Darcy. I think as soon as Bennet is back, we ought to leave this house to become calmer. Come to Netherfield with me. You can stay as long as you need to, and you’ll be nearby to call on Lady Elizabeth when she is recovered enough to be downstairs. ”

“Thank you. I accept the offer with gratitude.” Darcy finally slumped into a chair. “When I saw Wickham holding her, striking her …” he grimaced, and gulped his whisky.

Bennet had returned. “Thank you for protecting this house and my ladies, gentlemen.” He accepted the glass of of his own whisky that Bingley poured for him. “Now, tell me briefly what the apothecary said, and then leave me to do what I must.”

Darcy smiled wryly. It was exactly as he would have acted.

“Mr. Jones is still here, Mr. Bennet, so he will inform you directly. All we know is that Lady Elizabeth is upstairs with her sister, and that Mr. Jones has, just now, encouraged Mrs. Bennet upstairs to calm with a draught. She became distressed at the sight of so much blood on Lady Elizabeth’s gown. ”

“In the circumstances, it is understandable,” muttered Bennet, but didn’t seem inclined to elucidate.

“Miss Mary is with her mother, too,” Bingley interjected. “We will return to Netherfield so this house may be quieter, but can return at any point to assist if that is required.” He thought for a moment. “I will send the chaise back to be available for Jane to return when she is ready.”

Bennet nodded his thanks, and looked round his room vaguely. “I think I had better go up to see what Mr. Jones thinks of the ladies.”

“May I assist at all?” Darcy asked. “The family of the deceased footman — I could go to them and help them with the arrangements?”

Bennet looked up. “He was appointed by the duke and sent from London. I will tell His Grace when I write to tell him what has happened, and find out if he knows the man’s relations.

In the meantime, I have had the body conveyed to the dower house for a safe and respectable place to lie.

” He looked old and tired, and Darcy felt for him.

“Then we will leave you as you have indicated. But rest assured, Mr. Bennet, if there is any way I can assist you, any way at all, please inform me. I would wish to be of use to you.”

“That is good of you, Mr. Darcy. I will bear it in mind.” Bennet straightened up. “Now, if you will excuse me,” he nodded at them and went up the stairs without waiting to see them out.

Darcy didn’t want to leave Longbourn. He was certain Elizabeth would be downstairs soon enough, and he wished to see her, assure himself of her well-being.

But they had been dismissed. He followed Bingley silently out to his carriage.

“Cheer up, man,” Bingley beamed at him. “Your servant arrived with your trunks. You’ll be able to take a bath and change into fresh clothes for when you call back at Longbourn!”

Darcy looked down at himself. He hadn’t realised there were some smears of blood on his clothes, too, from where he had assisted Elizabeth. He touched them absently.

“She is an amazing lady, Bingley. Undeterred by overwhelming odds, she was not giving up.”

“I understand.” Bingley was grinning at him. “So, how long do you think before your cousin arrives, and did you have a change of clothes for him on your coach?”

“No, I don’t think so. I enlisted his assistance at the last moment.” Darcy grimaced. “I doubt that but he will disdain any of my suits!”

“And he is far too tall to fit any of mine!” Bingley laughed. “I suppose the militia will have taken custody of their miscreants by now. You need to be bathed and dressed before they arrive to ask for your evidence of what happened.”