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Climbing from his coach outside Newgate Prison, Mr Darcy was surprised when he recognized Charles Bingley and Geoffrey Hurst at the entrance to the primary building.

While the three men waited for the governor to be available, Charles revealed that his sister had given George Wickham fifteen thousand pounds to purchase stocks in his New World Tea Company.

Hurst added, “No one in business has any knowledge of this firm and we fear that unless the constables locate Wickham, we shall never recover any of the money.”

“I am here concerning a similar loss, gentlemen,” Darcy admitted to Bingley and Hurst. “Only an hour after Charles departed Netherfield this morning, Lady Catherine appeared at the front door with a similar wild tale. My aunt revealed that she gave George Wickham fifteen thousand pounds for shares of this fictious New World Tea Company.”

“During the journey back to London, my aunt revealed the establishment where Wickham kept lodgings in the city.

The moment I left my aunt at Matlock House my coachman drove the carriage there.

At the Running Dog, the innkeeper revealed that yesterday Wickham was at the tavern and apparently killed his two accomplices, Edith Young and some man named Phillip Bounty.

Surprised to hear the woman’s name, Darcy mentioned that he also knew an Edith Young. He learned that she had been Caroline’s lady’s companion for Miss Bingley since the winter and he explained his family’s short association with the woman the previous year.

Darcy continued, “I found no connection to George Wickham last summer after I dismissed her. Today, I came to Newgate to gather information. If Wickham can be found, we may find some part of the wealth he stole.”

Hurst added, “My footman knows Mrs Young and the man who called himself Lord Campbell. We came to provide identification of the bodies though I have little hope of locating Wickham or finding any of the gold.”

The governor welcomed the three gentlemen and the footman to the prison.

He led them into the morgue area where they viewed the corpse of the woman and confirmed her identity to be Mrs Edith Young.

The wound to her throat left no doubt as to the cause of her death.

The footman identified the man to be ‘Lord Campbell,’ the man who called on Miss Bingley two or three times each week since February.

“The innkeeper at the Sleeping Dog named this man to be Phillip Bounty who was often in company with George Wickham and Mrs Young. He may have been born with another name but that is the name the constabulary will use when he is buried in pauper’s field.”

The constables confirmed to the three gentlemen that the bodies of Mrs Young and Mr Bounty had been found in a rented room at the Sleeping Dog. The pair were found underneath a bed with their throats slit.

“Their trunks were present and packed. The innkeeper discovered the bodies when he came to let them know the wagon had arrived to transport them to the docks; apparently, they planned to escape when the evening tide pulled the ships down the river.”

A different constable continued, “The innkeeper at Sleeping Dog stated that a known patron, George Wickham, rented the room and took both Bounty and Young above stairs earlier in the day. The innkeeper had heard nothing from the three during the afternoon. When he investigated, the man found the two bodies stuffed under a bed. The constables were called, and they determined that the bloody bodies were stripped of money and valuables but both trunks were locked though bloody clothing was found in Mr Bounty’s trunk. ”

Hurst grimaced as the official said, “Wickham fled in the clothing of one of his victims. And the murderer or the innkeeper took any gold off the corpses.”

The governor continued, “The innkeeper certainly had a mess to deal with. There is a substantial pool of blood when a person bleeds out.”

“What has been done to find Wickham?” asked Charles.

The governor confessed that the constables had searched along the docks, but no one admitted to seeing a man with blood on their sleeves.

Darcy added, “I shall send my footmen along the docks as well to look for signs of Wickham.”

The governor shook his head and said, “Your men will waste their time, sir. Several merchant ships sailed on the tide last evening to be first to reach the colonies in the Caribbean this summer. I wager your Mr Wickham was on one of those ships.”

Hurst protested, “With thirty thousand pounds? It is hard to move that much gold.”

Now Mr Darcy shook his head and explained, “Rothschild’s Banks is using cheques now. These instruments allow persons to transfer relatively large sums of cash to banks in other nations. They send letters to the destination nation to expect an individual with so many cheques of a certain amount.”

Geoffrey asked, “Will the bank reveal Wickham’s destination?”

“No,” replied Charles. “Rothschild’s will never reveal a client’s confidential information based on a claim that he is a thief.”

“Not even for a bribe?” asked Hurst.

Charles replied, “I am not willing to throw away more coins on a chance to recover gold that is gone. You would have a better chance at the card table in our club.”

Outside of Newgate Prison, Darcy parted company with Bingley and Hurst after Darcy assured Charles that Mrs Bingley was in company with Miss Elizabeth, Miss Darcy, and Georgiana’s lady’s companion.

He added, “With your permission, I shall return to Netherfield as soon as ever I settle my aunt’s affairs and send her packing to Rosings. ”

“Did Lady Catherine’s coach return to London?”

“No, one of her horses had gone lame and your stablemaster sent for the local blacksmith to examine the mare’s leg. The team may be there for a week or more.”

“There is ample room, hay and oats, Darcy. Do not give it a second thought,” Charles assured his friend.

~~~

Upon their return to Olive Street, Charles and Geoffrey informed Caroline and Louisa that they had identified the bodies of Mrs Edith Young and Mr Phillip Bounty at the prison.

And Charles explained twice that another trustworthy person had identified the dead man as the person who presented himself as Lord John Campbell.

“What do you mean? Where is Lord Campbell?” Caroline demanded to know.

But Charles insisted, “There is no one named Lord John Campbell. This was a charade to obtain your fifteen thousand pounds. Wickham and Mrs Young used the man named Phillip Bounty to gain your confidence and steal your gold. Then someone cut Bounty’s throat along with Mrs Young’s so they would not have to share the prize. ”

“But…no, this not true!” protested Caroline. Her bright future as Countess of Argyle vanished in this confusing conversation with her unpleasant relatives. The young woman insisted, “Charles, you must call on Lord Campbell to discover the truth.”

In the end, a physician was summoned, and the man listened to Caroline’s sad story for a time before he prescribed laudanum to calm her mind.

The physician provided four doses of the drug to Louisa with strict instructions to not give her sister more than one every twelve hours.

To prevent a tragedy, the physician urged Mrs Hurst to hide the other doses in another room.

~~~