Page 96 of Heiress of Longbourn (Pride and Prejudice Variations)
“Excellent work, Emma,” Manton murmured to the maid as he and Colborne stood at a side door of the inn, waiting for their carriage to pull up. “How is young Maria?”
“She is safe,” the maid said softly, “though extremely upset, of course. I do not think there is any doubt that the viscount was bent on seducing her, probably tonight.”
“Poor girl,” Manton said, just as the carriage arrived. “Stay here at the Eagle for now, Emma, and Sir Lewis de Bourgh will send word if you are needed elsewhere.”
“Yes, sir.”
Colborne and Manton climbed into the carriage, which promptly began rolling back toward the toll pike, en route to London. For a full five minutes, all was silent and then Mr. Manton said gravely, “Well, it is done.”
“It is indeed,” Joshua Colborne agreed with satisfaction.
Another five minutes passed in silence before Colborne said, now uneasily, “What do you think Lady Catherine will say?”
Manton sighed and, in spite of himself, shivered a little. “We will find out soon enough, my friend.”
***
De Bourgh House
Grosvenor Square
London
The next morning
“A duel?” Lady Catherine de Bourgh exclaimed incredulously. “A duel?!”
“There was no other way, my lady,” Colborne insisted, though meekly. “Given the situation…”
“I gave no orders for a duel, Mr. Colborne,” the lady declared, her magnificent eyes flashing.
“To be fair, my dear, you did not give orders that forbade a duel either,” Sir Lewis de Bourgh said gently.
The lady turned upon her husband with narrowed eyes and indignantly parted lips, but after a long glance between them, her rigid form, clad exquisitely in a burgundy morning dress, relaxed noticeably.
“I suppose I did not,” the lady admitted reluctantly.
Not for the first time, Manton thanked God above for Sir Lewis de Bourgh. The baronet was some fifteen years older than his lovely wife, and his health was indifferent, but he and Lady Catherine were a devoted couple; the lady was full of fire and intelligence and energy, and was a passionate and vibrant leader of the League of the Golden Daffodil. There were occasions, however, when her husband’s gentle wisdom defused volatile situations.
“All the same,” Catherine de Bourgh added, now with a twinkle in her eye, “I have no doubt you knew I would not approve, and thus arranged the entire affair before informing me of it. I do not approve of dueling in general, sirs, as you well know.”
“It is hardly my favorite method of dispensing justice either,” Mr. Manton admitted, “but given that Viscount Castleren is a member of the nobility, and his father an earl, there is no hope of stopping his crimes against women through legal channels. I assure you that we considered various options at length, and concluded that a duel was our best hope.”
“That is true,” the woman agreed, and shook her dark head, her lovely face dark with worry. “It will distress me indeed if you lose your life to that rogue, Colborne.”
“I will not, Madam. As the challenged, I am permitted to choose the weapons; I will choose pistols at twenty-five yards and Castleren is not a particularly gifted shot. He will not touch me.”
“Will you be able to hit him, my boy?” Sir Lewis asked.
Colborne and Manton exchanged glances, and then Colborne nodded decisively. “I am a truly brilliant shot, sir, though that is not widely known, as I only came to London a year ago. That is why I was chosen to antagonize the viscount by interfering with his activities these last months. It was obvious to Lord Castleren that I was indeed following him, but naturally, I never admitted it. Yesterday was the last straw, as he was on the verge of seducing the daughter of the landlord of the Eagle. The question I have for you, madam, is whether I shoot to kill, or merely to injure. The latter might be enough to hinder him from committing crimes against women in the future. It is hard to be certain, as it is harder to cripple than to kill.”
Lady Catherine stared at the young man intently. “You truly are that good a shot, Mr. Colborne? You can place your shot at will?”
“I can, my lady.”
The lady walked over to her husband and sat down beside him; he looked at her gravely, and she at him.
“What think you, Sir Lewis?” she asked, and her voice actually trembled a little.
Sir Lewis reached out and took his wife’s strong hands in his own. “I think it is for you to decide, Catherine. You are the leader of the League, and it was you whom the viscount attacked so cruelly three years ago.”
“But I think that means that I should not make the decision, dear husband. On the one hand, I desire vengeance against Lord Castleren for his cruel attack. On the other, he sired my dear Anne. Will she blame me one day if I give the order that her father be killed? No, I will not make this choice; indeed, I will go play with Anne, who should be awake from her nap, and leave you three gentlemen to decide Castleren’s fate. I trust you to make the right decision.”
Sir Lewis nodded, rose to his feet, and held out a hand to assist his lady to rise. “As you wish, Catherine. I will join you when we decide how to proceed.”
“Thank you, all of you.”
“Thou shalt not kill,” Manton said once the door had closed behind the lady. “We claim to follow the ways of God; how can we set aside that direct order from the very Word of God itself?”
“Yet soldiers and sailors routinely kill their enemies during battle, and a man is permitted to protect himself using lethal force if attacked by another,” Colborne argued. “Furthermore, dueling is an acknowledged way of defending one’s honor.”
“In this particular case, it is we who have deliberately incited the viscount to violence. We have harassed and annoyed him deliberately to the point that he was driven to challenge you to a duel, Colborne.”
The young man sighed deeply and ran a hand across his forehead. “So you wish for me to merely injure Castleren?”
Manton shook his head and said grimly, “I wish for you to shoot the man through the heart. He harmed our beloved leader greatly. But vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. I know what I want to do; I do not know what is right.”
“What think you, Sir Lewis?” Colborne asked, turning toward the older man.
Sir Lewis leaned back in his chair and regarded the young men affectionately. He had not had a particularly easy life; his first wife, whom he had adored, had died in childbirth, and their only child with her. Even as a young man, his health had been poor, and after his wife had died, he had fallen into a long decline. Indeed, he was not certain he would be alive today if he had not been called upon by his old friend Matlock to marry young Lady Catherine three years previously, after the girl had been violated by Viscount Castleren, eldest son of the Earl of Lawburn. Catherine had been determined not to marry the man who attacked her, and Sir Lewis had been overjoyed to provide a safe home for Catherine to recover from the horror of the experience. To the surprise of both, his new wife had conceived a child from the attack, and beautiful little Anne, now two years old, had been the daughter he had never thought he would have.
As for Catherine; she was young, beautiful, passionate, intelligent, and very determined. His life, which had been dull indeed, quickly grew exciting as his lady formed the League of the Golden Daffodil, a group of men and women who worked to protect, save, rescue, and succor women who had been harmed by villainous men.
The two men were still staring at him expectantly, and Sir Lewis sat up straight and said firmly, “Castleren must die.”
“Because of Lady Catherine?” Manton asked hesitantly.
“No, because the man is a continued menace to the women around him. Lady James informed me only yesterday that Castleren is laying determined siege on the young heiress, Miss Susanna Westmore. The girl is not well protected and do you think the viscount will allow her to say no if she turns down his offer? And what of the servant girls who are losing their virtue to this foul man? No, we cannot stop him legally and thus must stop him with more violent measures.”
Colborne nodded gravely and said, “I entirely agree, sir.”
“There is another aspect of the situation, of course,” Manton pointed out. “There are laws against dueling, though they are rarely enforced. Nonetheless, if Colborne kills the man…”
“I beg you not to concern yourself,” Sir Lewis ordered. “With my support, along with the Matlocks, the Darcys, and the Millwards, Colborne will be in no danger of conviction for murder.”