Page 105 of Sketching Mr. Darcy

“F orgive my intrusion, but you asked me to deliver news as soon as I had any,” Mr Bourne said.

“Thank you, please come with me.” Darcy invited the gentleman into the privacy of the library and nodded to Stevens to join them.

“Mr Darcy, the three men have been discovered. The names were correct: Wayland was a second lieutenant in the army until three years ago, Pierce was a private soldier, and Baines is nothing but a thief, well known for scandals and illicit activity.”

“Where are they now? I want to speak to them.”

“My men hold them captive in a tavern on Aldersgate Street. We shall put them in gaol tomorrow morning if there is evidence against them.”

“Of course, there is. Three ladies can identify them, and most likely my dogs could too if I put them together in a locked room,” Darcy said sharply. “I want to talk to them now.”

“Sir, should I fetch Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr Bingley?” asked Stevens.

“What on earth for? I shall go with Mr Bourne. Please get my coat.”

“But, sir…”

“Stevens, my coat! And please inform Mrs Darcy that I will be late and I insist that the ladies have dinner without me. Within minutes, he left the house with Mr Bourne, followed by the worried gaze of Stevens.

Darcy returned around ten o’clock and was not surprised to find his cousin Robert and Bingley waiting. They scolded him severely for leaving without them, and he responded with only a dismissive gesture of his hand.

“It was not worth bothering you. Those three were already captured—Mr Bourne is truly efficient. They pretended they had been hired yesterday morning by a man whom they did not know to take Elizabeth to the Bull and Mouth Inn, leave the carriage there, and leave. They received three hundred pounds for that. They were given a carriage and asked to follow another one. They said they had been shown Elizabeth when she left the house earlier today. They pretended they did not know her or me before and had no personal involvement in this! Can you believe it? They hit Mrs Annesley, they were about to shoot Peter, and almost took Elizabeth’s life, but they continued to say nothing against anyone personally.

I was tempted to strike the shameless smirks from their faces!

But they seem not to know more, and believe me, I tried to convince them in every possible way. ”

“I would imagine as much. Will Bourne continue searching?”

“Of course. The men we hired will continue to search for any indication of the one responsible for planning all this. Those three will go before the magistrate this morning. It seems they have committed many other crimes.”

“Will you have them killed? If you wish it, this would be a good time before they are actually tried,” the colonel inquired coolly with perfect detachment.

“What nonsense is this?” Darcy replied, meeting the colonel’s challenging look.

“Yes, I know I said that, and I would have strangled them with my bare hands if I had caught them when they kidnapped Elizabeth. But I cannot just pay someone to murder them in cold blood. And if their crimes are as Mr Bourne says, I doubt their punishment will be any different.”

“So what should we do now?” asked Bingley.

“I will check on Peter and then speak to Elizabeth. Have you dined? We can only wait for news. Or you could return home, and I can send for you if needed.”

“I would rather stay, in case you need me,” Bingley answered. Darcy laughed bitterly.

“How was it with your sisters? Wait, best not to tell me—your expression is more than eloquent. I say, man, you must do something with them, especially if you intend to marry. You cannot allow your sisters to be so disrespectful to you and your future wife.”

“I know. They are unreasonably angry with the Bennets. They seemed very close friends with Jane and now are completely opposed to her.”

“Come now, even you must have observed that they were never truly friends with Jane.”

“Of course they are angry since they hoped you would marry Georgiana and your sister would marry Darcy,” said the colonel laughingly, and Bingley turned white then red.

“Your sister Caroline would be a good catch. She is a handsome woman and has a nice dowry. But her bitterness and her tendency to criticise everybody is very unbecoming and would easily end any man’s temptation to court her,” the colonel continued.

“Yes, well… May I have a brandy?” Bingley could barely hide his embarrassment.

“Please suit yourself. I shall see you again shortly,” Darcy said.

He walked to the door, still heavyhearted. He could not evade the feeling that he was failing Elizabeth’s trust. Every movement gave him pain, but his distress was even more agonising.

He entered Peter’s room. Janey was sleeping in a chair, her head lying on the bed. In the armchair, Dr. Philips watched them .

Darcy gently touched the boy’s forehead. He looked pale and thin, breathing regularly, his small body covered in bandages, and Darcy thought that perhaps the idea of murdering those poor excuses for men was not such a bad one.

Eventually, Darcy returned to Elizabeth’s apartment, closing the door with infinite care to not disturb her. With no little surprise, he found her by the window, pacing nervously.

“Thank God!” She ran to him, embracing him tightly, and he moaned from the sharp pain that struck his chest. “I was so worried! What happened?”

He tenderly kissed her face, attempting to calm her.

“You are frozen. Let us go to bed. I would carry you, but I am afraid I cannot do so at the moment,” he teased, kissing her hair and her hands. They lay on the bed, and Darcy told her everything that occurred, struggling to conceal his concern and frustration.

“I was tempted to conduct the search myself, but Mr Bourne and Robert said I would do more harm than good as I would be easily recognised by precisely the men I sought.”

“I agree—besides, you are not well, my love.”

A shy knock on the door broke the silence, and Georgiana stepped in, her hand held tight by Libby.

“Forgive me for disturbing you. I just want to ask William if he has news.”

“Please take a seat, dearest. Yes, I do have news, unfortunately very little.” Darcy offered her the same information he gave to Elizabeth.

“So we will continue the quest, but do not worry. I shall discover the man in the second carriage. Then we will find out who is behind this scheme.”

“I am so sorry I did not pay more attention,” Georgiana said. “I only saw a silhouette, but I was so preoccupied with Mrs Annesley, and I just could not think… Silly me, I am useless. ”

“Please do not say that,” Elizabeth intervened. “We were all shocked and frightened, and none of us remembered much. You cannot blame yourself.”

“Master, I saw the man in the second carriage,” Libby said. Three pairs of eyes stared at her.

“You did? Why did you not tell me sooner? Did you hear his name? What did you see?” Darcy’s questions were overwhelming, and the girl took a step back.

“Because you did not ask me,” she whispered. “And I tried to say, but Miss Georgiana said I should go with the ladies.”

Again, their amazement was beyond expression.

“So I did,” Georgiana admitted. “Dear girl, please forgive us. Adults are so silly sometimes! Can you please tell us what you saw?”

The girl nodded and again took hold of Georgiana’s hand.

“I did not hear his name. He kept a cloth over his mouth, and I only saw his eyes, and he had a golden watch in his pocket and a golden ring on his pinkie.”

“A ring? Do you remember the colour?”

“Only gold. And his coat opened a little, and I saw that he looked just like the colonel.”

“Like the colonel? You mean he was as tall as the colonel? Did he have brown eyes too?”

The girl shook her head. “Yes, he had brown eyes and hair and he was not as tall as the colonel. But he looked just like the colonel looked today.”

“Libby, what do you mean ‘like the colonel today’ ? Did the colonel not look the same yesterday?”

“No—he wore special clothes today, and the man was the same. Only the trousers were different. He had some dark ones and the colonel had white.”

“You mean he was an officer? And he wore a golden watch and a gold ring?”

“Yes, master.”

“Thank you, my dear!” Darcy caressed the girl’s hair and hurried to the door .

Libby took hold of his coat. “Master, do you want me to tell you about the lady too?”

He turned in disbelief, all the blood draining from his face.

“There was a woman in the carriage? Can you describe her?”

“I can, but you know her too. She was here a few days ago, and she hurt Hodge.”

Elizabeth and Georgiana gasped in surprise. Darcy sat on the bed as his knees weakened.

“Libby, are you certain? Is it not possible that you confused her with someone else? I would have recognised my aunt’s carriage. I know you dislike her. She behaved very badly, so—”

“No, master. The carriage was different from the one she came in last time. She sat back in a corner, but I saw her. She had a brown coat and a brown bonnet with many folds, and I think she had a dark green scarf around her neck, but I am not quite sure of this. And she had evil eyes.”

Darcy looked at the girl a long moment. His wife and sister were equally pale. His head was spinning and his thoughts chaotic. He supported his head with trembling hands to gather himself then turned to his sister.

“Georgiana, was Wickham wearing a golden ring when you last saw him?”

“Oh, William, I do not think that… He could not…”

“Georgiana!”

“Yes, he was, but most of the officers do. That cannot mean…”

“Thank you, Libby,” Darcy said. With a last glance, he met Elizabeth’s troubled eyes, but he hurried from the room before she had time to say a word. In the dining room, Bingley and the colonel were eating, but Darcy’s expression made them stop and rise immediately.

“We are a bunch of idiots saved by a girl of eight,” Darcy shouted. “It was Lady Catherine and Wickham. She must have planned everything and he executed the plan. Let us go now!”

“But Darcy…” the colonel mumbled in complete shock.