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In the quiet room beside the back stairs at Sleeping Dog Tavern, Wickham dealt with the blood on his hands and arms. When he slit Phillip’s throat, the gush of blood covered his coat and shirt.

Once the body was secured underneath the bed and the rugs thrown over the blood stains, George removed his shirt and coat.

He managed to remove most of the blood from his hands with judicious use of the pitcher of water at the washstand.

But he did not dress in Phillip’s clothing yet – he would use his bare chest to distract Edith long enough to slit her throat and let her corpse join Phillip’s under the bed.

‘I imagine they discussed a similar fate for me,’ he mused. Glancing toward the door of the bedchamber, he wondered, ‘How long until Mrs Young escapes from Miss Bingley and appears at the door?’

His gaze turned toward the money belt hung on the washstand – the cheques from Lady Catherine de Bourgh and Miss Caroline Bingley had been cashed at Rothschild Bank and converted to cheques of five hundred pounds each in his name.

Using multiple ships, the bank would send a letter to a private bank in Philadelphia, a large city in the United States, where there were enough money concerns to cash these cheques over the next ten years.

‘I shall live for many years with thirty thousand pounds,’ George decided. ‘Young women, racing horses, and games of chance.’

There was a knock on the door and Wickham moved to the door after checking that the knife remained in easy reach on the table beside the door.

~~~

Edith knocked on the door and it was opened by none other than George Wickham with his upper body exposed to her view. The man smiled and said, “Lovely lady, you are early.”

Surprised to find George at the door without any sign of Phillip, Edith managed to look pleased.

Stepping into the room, Mrs Young explained, “The spider remained lurking above stairs until her prey arrived. I urged her to wait in the parlour but of course, Miss Bingley decided that an entrance was important to impress Lord Campbell.”

The man asked, “Will you not be missed?”

Edith shook her head and explained, “Miss Bingley was lost in her imaginings for the last hour. Now that the clock is past three and her lord has not arrived to propose, she will haunt the upper stairway and call for me. But the servants do not respect the harridan, and the housekeeper will not send any footman out onto the street to search for me.”

Stripped of his shirt, the man’s muscular chest distracted Edith enough that she stepped into the room and ignored the quiet.

George immediately took her into his arms and kissed her passionately.

Alone with George in the room, Edith was willing to indulge George’s lusts this afternoon.

She returned the kiss and once aroused, she allowed herself to be turned around so that George could nibble on her neck while he undid the buttons down the back of her gown.

The sharp blade ended Edith’s life as quickly as it had ended Phillip Bailey’s.

Without any excessive noise, the woman bled out quickly in George’s arms. Then Wickham lowered the dead woman to the floor; if her eyes had still captured sights, Mrs Young’s eyes would have seen Phillip’s face underneath the bed.

Moving quickly to hide the second body under the bed not to be seen until someone bent down to look, then George cleaned up as best he could, washing his hands and lower arms again.

He ignored the few drops of blood on his trouser legs and boots.

Once he was relatively clean of the blood, Wickham took a handful of coins from the money belt; he took a moment to count the many cheques that represented thirty thousand pounds before closing the pouch and fastening the money belt around his waist. Then the man dressed in one of Phillip’s shirts and coats.

The garments fit as well as any of the other clothes purloined from other gentlemen.

He locked Phillip’s trunk and Mrs Young’s trunk and left them in the room.

Without another thought for his confederates, George closed and locked the door of the room before he slipped down the back stairs.

There a door opened onto an alley that gave any motivated guest access to a cross street away from the Sleeping Dog.

George disappeared in the afternoon crowd and walked a few streets before hailing a cab to take him to the docks.

~~~

Before dark, a wagon appeared as ordered.

The driver was to transport the three persons and the two large trunks to the docks.

With the wagon waiting outside the inn, the innkeeper climbed the stairs and entered the room.

The smell of the blood quickly warned the man that murder had been done.

He noticed the two heavy trunks still in the room and forced the lock on each.

Not finding a body in either, the innkeeper looked elsewhere for the body and was surprised when he found two corpses underneath the bed.

Cursing George Wickham, the innkeeper pulled both bodies from under the bed and then searched them thoroughly.

There were coin purses on both corpses, and the innkeeper marvelled at his good luck.

He took most of the coins before putting the purses back and then calling for a serving maid to run to another inn where the constables lingered.

The man ordered the frightened girl, “Tell ‘em there be two dead ones at the Sleeping Dog.”

~~~

After an exhaustive interview with the housekeeper, Geoffrey Hurst felt reassured that his house had not been used for any immoral purposes by Miss Bingley, Mrs Young, Wickham, or this fellow the servants called ‘Lord Campbell.’

‘Caroline is a vain woman who has been misled by these people – and I left her here with them. Let me find my wife and we shall discover the extent of the damage,’ he thought.

‘ Lord do not let Caroline be with child. That would hurt Louisa terribly since she has not…since we have yet to be blessed with a child.’

As he left the kitchens, Hurst expressed his appreciation to the servants for their good service.

He asked the cook to prepare tea and asked about the cakes and biscuits that seemed readily available.

The cook explained, “Miss Bingley ordered a large tea to be prepared for this afternoon once Lord Campbell arrived. The gentleman preferred the short bread over the cakes with nuts.”

“Well, Mrs Hurst and I thoroughly enjoy your sweet cakes,” Geoffrey assured the woman. “Make certain to send them out when we gather in the parlour.”

As the master of the house departed the kitchen, the cook stated, “Good to see you home, Mr Hurst.”

In the hallway, Geoffrey paused and listened for voices in the front of the house.

It seemed that his wife and her sister had not come down from the bedchambers.

And Mrs Young had not appeared in the parlour, dining room, or kitchens.

Making his way above stairs, Geoffrey stood outside the bedchamber door for a moment and listened to the voices of the two women– Caroline sounded the same–self-assured and haughty.

Outside of Miss Bingley’s door, Geoffrey stopped and knocked politely.

Caroline’s voice declared, “Come!”

When Geoffrey stepped into the room the man was greeted by a single question from Caroline, “Has Lord Campbell arrived?”

Ignoring the question, Hurst replied, “Hello, Caroline. Louisa and I were very pleased to receive your letter about your forthcoming engagement.”

The woman preened for a moment in front of the full-length mirror before she replied, “Yes, I am certain you were surprised and pleased. But do not think I shall ever forget the past slights and insults around the dinner table. When I am Countess of Argyle, I shall not offer you houseroom.”

Hurst asked his questions, “Caroline, how is it you came to be introduced to Lord Howard Campbell? The man has more than sixty years and suffers from gout.”

Surprise evident in her reply, Caroline asked, “Who is Howard Campbell? No, my future fiancé is Lord John Campbell. He is coming this afternoon to ask for my hand in marriage.”

Louisa asked, “Who is John Campbell? Is he Lord Howard Campbell’s son?”

But Caroline only repeated her question, “Who is Howard Campbell?”

Geoffrey explained, “The current Earl of Argyle has one brother who is named Howard Campbell. The earl had no children from either of his marriages.”

Caroline smiled hearing confirmation that Lord Campbell’s brother had no children. But then Hurst continued, “And Lord Howard Campbell’s son is a young man named Edward Campbell who has five-and-thirty years. The younger Lord Campbell has a young wife with three babes in the nursery.”

Louisa grew quiet before she asked, “Is this Edward Campbell attempting to seduce you, sister?”

“What? No! John is forty years and not married,” insisted Caroline.

A look of mild amusement on his face, Geoffrey asked, “Could he be Edward Campbell?”

“No!” shouted Caroline. “Lord John Campbell will come and propose marriage to me this afternoon. Only yesterday we spoke of a honeymoon in Bath after I secured his intentions. I shall be Lady Campbell before summer is done and someday, I shall be the Countess of Argyle.”

Louisa attempted to act as mediator. She suggested, “We should wait for your gentleman in the parlour. Mr Hurst and I shall leave you alone with him once he arrives.”

“I prefer to wait here in my bedchamber and then make an entrance,” Caroline replied.

However, Mr. Hurst insisted that the family await the gentleman’s appearance in the parlour, and the trio descended the stairs. As the housekeeper passed them in the hallway, Mrs Hurst requested that tea be served.

Miss Bingley protested, “But when Lord Campbell arrives…

However, Mr Hurst thwarted any argument and said, “The kitchen will provide a fresh pot of tea with new leaves when your gentleman arrives.”