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At the Hurst home on Olive Street in London, the household continued to revolve around Miss Caroline Bingley’s commands; as the clock struck one of the clock, both footmen were engaged with carrying the hot water above stairs to provide a bath for the houseguest. At half past two, the housekeeper came into the parlour and reported that Miss Bingley wished to speak with Mr and Mrs Hurst in her bedchamber.

The couple conversed with a few glances before rising and ascending the stairs.

Hurst knocked once and Caroline called out, “Come.”

The couple remained waiting outside the door until Caroline threw open the door and growled, “It is unsupportable that you force a lady to answer her own door.”

Mr Hurst retorted by saying, “A proper guest in my home would not summon me to her bedchamber.”

Inside the room, the couple watched Caroline return to her chair. Mrs Hurst notice the gowns thrown across the bed, bonnets and feathers scattered about on the bureaus and tabletops. Mr Hurst noticed the dirty breakfast tray sat on one table with straw bonnet smashed into the plate.

“I wish for both of you to remain above stairs until Lord Campbell arrives at three.”

“No,” Geoffrey replied. “I am hopeful that Charles will arrive by that hour, and we can discover if your dowry can be recovered from the criminal George Wickham.”

Alarmed by the man’s announcement, Caroline sputtered, “Charles? Recovered? Criminal? What do you mean Mr Hurst?”

Louisa was equally surprised and exclaimed, “Oh Lord! Geoffrey, why do you think George Wickham is a criminal?”

Mr Hurst explained that none of his associates at his club, and none of the lawyers at the firm that managed monetary affairs for the Hurst estate, or the Bingley fortune knew of a single piece of evidence that the New World Tea Company had ever paid a real dividend to any individual.

He added, “What’s more, no one in business has ever heard of the company or the proprietor.”

Sitting back in the chair, Caroline moaned, “What will Lord Campbell think? How can he ask me to marry if Wickham is a criminal?”

But Geoffrey argued, “Caroline, the man you think is Lord Campbell may be a confederate with George Wickham. If Charles and I can find Wickham, we may find your Lord Campbell and Mrs Young.”

“No! I do not believe it. My husband will be the Earl of Argyle,” Caroline stated to reassure herself.

Suddenly the woman shouted, “This is your fault Hurst! If you had not run off to Suffolk in winter none of this would have happened! It is your fault that…”

“Stop!” Louisa demanded. “We went to care for Geoffrey’s mother. You chose to remain in London with Mrs Young as a lady’s companion.”

Peevishly, Caroline commented, “Better the old woman had died.”

Surprising everyone in the room, Louisa slapped her sister’s face.

Then with some heat in her tone, the woman said, “Whenever Charles appears, he and my husband will attempt to locate the thieves to whom you entrusted your fortune. If they can recover any part of it, I shall beg my husband to throw you from this house the same afternoon.”

Turning away from Caroline, Louisa headed for the door but then she turned back and said, “I hope your Lord Campbell appears this afternoon. If he proposes, I shall pay for a common license from my own purse to see you married tomorrow morning and gone from this house. I do not care if you become the Countess of Aryle or Duchess of Manchester, I want you gone from our home.”

Surprised by his wife’s declaration, Geoffrey took note of the look of shock on Caroline’s face as Louisa opened the door of the bedchamber.

The man followed his wife from the room and then escorted her down the stairs.

Behind them Caroline slammed the door to her bedchamber.

As they passed the front door, there was a knock upon the door panel.

Opening the door himself, Geoffrey was pleased to find Charles Bingley standing there.

“Charles! Thank goodness you have some!” Louisa declared.

Back above stairs, the door to Caroline’s bedchamber slammed shut for a second time that afternoon.

~~~

At three of the clock, the Darcy coach-and-four waited outside the door at Netherfield.

Lady Catherine who was full of tea and biscuits instead of luncheon, was escorted by her nephew through the open door.

The gentleman’s aggravation with his relative grew when the woman did not offer any thanks to Mrs Bingley for the hospitality shown to the uninvited visitor.

Leaving Lady Catherine outside the door for the moment, Darcy thanked the young bride for the kindness she had shown to his family.

He bowed to his hostess before he stepped out of the manor and never offered his aunt his arm as they walked the short distance to his carriage.

Darcy’s valet and his aunt’s lady’s maid were already seated in the carriage and the Matlock footman sat beside the Darcy coachman in the box.

Mr Darcy’s trunks were secured to the top of the carriage.

Once he handed Lady Catherine into the interior of the carriage, Darcy took a moment to confirm with his coachman, Mr Jasper, that the footman knew the best route to Matlock house in London.

When Jasper confirmed that the two servants had discussed the route, Darcy told the coachman, “Stop at the best inns along the way to rest the horses as you think necessary. I wish to be in the city tonight but do not want a horse lamed by any false urgency.”

~~~

While Lady Catherine remained silent for most of the return trip to London, she did state her belief that Darcy was misinformed about the New World Tea Company’s prospects.

She discussed her meetings with George Wickham and revealed that the man kept rooms at the tavern named Sleeping Dog.

Darcy was interested in this bit of news, but his aunt recognized his interest and pressed him for an explanation.

“I shall call on George and attempt to recover my cousin’s wealth that you have thrown away,” he replied.

For the next half hour, Darcy had to endure his aunt’s bitter denunciation of his high-handed behaviour.

Whether the horses required rest or Jasper had heard the shouting, the coach stopped at a prosperous tavern outside of the city.

Here the coachman would water the horses, and the passengers could tumble from the coach to refresh themselves.

During the stop, Darcy talked to Jasper to alter their plan – as soon as they reached Matlock House, Lady Catherine and her maid would be left inside the front door.

Then the coach would turn toward the Sleeping Dog where Darcy would seek an interview with George Wickham.

When it was time to continue the journey to London, Darcy’s valet rode beside Jasper in the box for the remainder of the trip, but Darcy felt obligated to remain in the coach to ensure his aunt did not abuse the lady’s maid riding with them.

Jasper knew the location of the Sleeping Dog because the tavern stood on the street where stagecoach drivers stopped to water and change teams of horses while disgorging and boarding new passengers moving between the hundreds of villages located across the English countryside.

The blacksmiths located around the tavern provided horses as needed for the different coaches travelling along the muddy roadways.

Seated inside the coach with his aunt who continued to spew vindictive language at her nephew, Fitzwilliam Darcy endured the woman’s diatribes.

In his mind, the man thanked his father for the important lesson of treating his servants with respect to earn their loyalty and good service.

While Darcy had never ridden between cities and towns in a public stagecoach, from time to time he had ridden in hired cabs in London and Bath.

He counted it to be fortunate that Jasper had driven hackney cabs and public stagecoaches before being hired five years earlier.

The Darcy coachman would steer the Darcy coach along the streets to the Sleeping Dog.

~~~

The atmosphere remained tense at the Sleeping Dog; the serving girls were timid with the drinkers and several guests had left for other taverns after their first tankard of ale and learning of the murders.

The man was considering ways to turn the notoriety into an attraction to draw new clients when he noticed the entrance of three unfamiliar footmen.

He placed his hand on his coin purse to ensure that it remained on his belt.

Then a well-dressed gentleman entered the inn and looked to the footmen.

One of the strangers pointed to the innkeeper.

The gentleman displayed a coin in his fingers before addressing the innkeeper, “Good man, I am Fitzwilliam Darcy, and I have been told that George Wickham is a frequent guest of yours. Is Wickham here?”

Once the coin was in his palm, the innkeeper explained, “You’re a day late, sir.”

“How so?” the gentleman asked with a slight frown on his face.

“George Wickham was here yesterday along with another fellow named Phillip Bounty, and then Mrs Edith Young came looking for him.”

Surprised by this information, Darcy asked, “Edith Young? Mr Wickham knows Mrs Young?”

“He knew her, yeah,” the innkeeper replied. “Late yesterday, I went looking for George and his compatriots in the back room. Wickham was nowhere to the found but Mrs Young and Mr Bounty were stuffed under the bed with their throats slit.”

Shocked to hear that two people had been murdered and Wickham had vanished, Mr Darcy grimaced. For a moment, he thought to question the man’s statement but instead asked for the names of the constables who had dealt with the bodies.