Page 50 of In Want of a Suspect

“When was the last time we were in the country, Mr. Bennet?” Mrs. Bennet asked, louder than necessary. “Why, it must have been for my brother’s wedding! And what a lovely wedding it was! Summer weddings are always the height of fashion, in my opinion.”

Lizzie would have laughed, if not for Jane practically swaying in her seat, looking ready to swoon from embarrassment. She cleared her throat and asked, “How is the shipping business, Mr. Bingley?”

“Well, thank you—not without its challenges, but much improved from this time last year.”

Lizzie ignored her mother’s dagger stare. “I am so glad to hear it.”

“What challenges?” Mary asked. When her sisters glanced at her, her shoulders drew up defensively. “I’m just curious! I thought Lizzie took care of the pirate problem.”

“We’ve had no trouble since my, ah, pirate problem, as Miss Mary put it.” Bingley was quick to reassure the Bennets. “This time, it’s France—Napoleon is determined to hobble us all when it comes to trading with the Continent. But the navy has been keeping up the good fight!”

“How awful,” Mr. Bennet said. “I hope you haven’t lost any more ships.”

“None, thank goodness,” Bingley said. “The waters have been a little bit safer as of late, thanks to Miss Elizabeth.”

“I’m happy to hear it,” Lizzie said. Clearing Mr. Bingley’s name of murder the previous spring had been a winding case that involved tracing an insurance scam to a pirate by the name of Lady Catherine de Bourgh. She’d managed to evade Lizzie and Darcy in the end, but Darcy’s contacts at the Royal Navy had assured them she wouldn’t get far.

“Have you ever seen a pirate?” Lydia asked, directing her question at Mr. Bingley.

Mary tsked. “Don’t be daft, Lydia—if he had, he’d not likely be telling us about it.”

“Why not?” Kitty asked. “Are pirates indelicate topics?”

“No, silly, because if he’d encountered a pirate, he’d bedead.”

Jane looked pained at the direction this conversation was taking. “I hardly like to think about how dangerous Mr. Bingley’s job must be without you bringing pirates into the mix.”

“You’re forgetting thatImet a pirate and lived to tell the tale,” Lizzie said. She didn’t point out that Lady Catherine might have shot her, too, because that did seem indelicate for a dinner party.

“The lady one,” Lydia said with great disdain. “Not a handsome, dashing—”

“Lydia!” Jane admonished, cheeks now distinctly pink.

Lizzie sneaked a glance at her father, to see if he had any sort of reaction to Lydia airing her fantasies at the dinner table, but he was too busy sneaking a tiny piece of roast chicken to Guy.

“None of you must worry about my safety,” Bingley hastened to reassure them. “The navy is doing its job, and I am in talks with a factory in Scotland to outfit Netherfield’s ships with carronades.”

“Are those like canons?” Mary asked.

Jane gasped. “Is that wise? Will you not become a target?”

“Don’t worry, Miss Bennet—these carronades are for defense only. They’re much smaller than the canons the navy uses, and we’d only use them in the event of an attack.”

“I’ve read about these carronades in the paper,” Charlotte said. “A good number of merchant ships are installing them.”

“Yes, indeed,” Bingley agreed. “One blast from a carronade and deadly damage is done to any privateer that might try to board, which allows the captains to steer our ships to safety.”

“You’ll get these carronades installed soon?” Jane inquired anxiously. “Before you set sail on another business trip?”

“As soon as I am able,” Mr. Bingley promised.

“Sounds costly,” Mr. Bennet observed.

“You can’t put a price on safety. Besides, the carronades themselves will be easy to procure—finding cannonballs is the true challenge. They’re in short supply, and all being requisitioned for the war effort.”

“Why, that’s just silly,” Kitty said. “Why don’t they make enough to shoot all the French and stop the war?”

Lizzie might have rolled her eyes at Kitty’s simplification, but Mr. Bingley took her question in earnest. “It’s not quite that easy, Miss Kitty. Cannonballs require certain materials, and they’re hard to come by. Lead, iron, graphite...”