by Zoë Burton
Elizabeth blushed under the warmth of his gaze and the comfort of his words. She smiled softly at him. “I am glad.”
Darcy House, London
One week later
“Mr. Haynes to see you, sir.” Darcy House’s butler announced the visitor and bowed, then left the room, closing the door behind him once the investigator had entered.
Darcy stood when Haynes strode in, greeting him with a bow and a handshake. Gesturing for the Bow Street Runner to sit, he offered the man a cup of tea, resuming his seat when Haynes declined. “You have something to report?” Darcy leaned on his desk, elbows atop it and hands clasped, eager to hear what Haynes had to say.
“I do.” Mr. Haynes pulled a packet of papers out of his pocket and untied the ribbon holding it together. Unfolding the pages, he explained what was inside. “The man watching the Gardiners’ house has been identified.”
“Who is he?” Darcy reached over the desk to accept the papers from the investigator, who had held them out to him as he had spoken. He began to skim them as he listened.
“Mr. Timothy Foxglove, lately of Kent. He is a drunk, and currently lives in the area of Seven Dials. He moved to London recently, within the last several months; he was formerly a tenant of the Rosings estate.”
“Rosings!” Darcy’s head shot up from its perusal of the papers, and his brows rose along with it. A crease formed between his eyes as he searched his memory for who this tenant might have been. “That is my aunt’s estate, as I believe you know.” Darcy glanced at Haynes long enough to see him nod. “I am in the habit of visiting every year at Easter and doing the books …” His voice trailed off as he pictured the tenants he had met.
“Mr. Foxglove apparently was let go because he failed to pay the rent for several quarters. The steward there was rather forthcoming about the man.”
“I am not surprised. My aunt is demanding and has not inspired much in the way of loyalty in her servants. I have spoken to her about it, as has my uncle, to no avail.” Darcy shook his head. “I have an image in my mind of the rent book, and I do recall someone being significantly behind. My aunt promised to speak to the tenant herself, so I did not meet him. She must have evicted him.”
“If he wasted his rent money on drink, I can understand why she might take that step. I, myself, have little sympathy for a man who cannot or will not control his drinking.” Haynes spoke decidedly.
“My cousin is a colonel in the army. He would agree with you.” Darcy tilted his head and examined the middle-aged man closely. “You were in the army, as well, were you not?”
“I was. I served in France between 1798 and 1802. If you did not keep your wits about you, you put your own life and that of your comrades in danger. It is the same in civilian life. I witnessed too many good men die because they were slow-witted from drink, and I was put in danger of my life twice for the same reason. I swore I would never make that mistake.” Haynes shrugged. “Some things stay with you forever.”
Darcy nodded. “I am sorry you had to experience that. My cousin has shared with me some of the things he has seen. I would not want to face them without men around me who were in full control of themselves.”
Both men were silent for a long moment after that, until Darcy spoke again, breaking the somber mood. “So, one of my aunt’s former tenants is watching the Gardiners’ house.” He leaned back in his chair, resting his elbow on the arm of it and holding his chin in his hand. “I wonder at the connection. What reason would he have for it?”
“There is more; Foxglove has a connection to the rector of Hunsford, which borders Rosings. The clergyman’s name is Mr. William Collins, and this Collins fellow has been seen coming out of Foxglove’s lodgings here in town.”
“Collins?” Darcy sat straight up again. “Where have I heard that name?” Darcy looked at his desk with his head cocked to the side, but he was not seeing the report or anything else occupying that space. Instead, he was searching his memory for the source of his knowledge of that name. Suddenly, a memory rose up in his mind, and he could hear Elizabeth’s voice speaking the man’s name. “That is it! Elizabeth—Miss Bennet—told me recently that the cousin who inherited her father’s estate was named Collins.”
Haynes nodded. “The steward at Rosings told me this Collins fellow had inherited an estate.”
Darcy nodded his head once, slapping his hands on the arms of the chair and gripping them tightly. He stood, extending his hand to Haynes. “Thank you for your diligence.”
Mr. Haynes rose, as well, and shook Darcy’s hand. “You are welcome.” He accepted the payment Darcy handed him, tucking it into his pocket. “I should like to dig a little deeper and see if I can discover anything else. I have a feeling about this Foxglove fellow. I will not be at all surprised to find he was involved in Miss Bennet’s accident.”
“And at the direction of Mr. Collins.” Darcy watched as Haynes tipped his head in acknowledgement. “Go ahead and do that; I must share the information you have discovered so far with Gardiner. If you do find anything else, let me know.”
After seeing Haynes out, Darcy gestured to Baxter to follow him into the study.
“I need a message sent to Gracechurch Street. Send one of the grooms in; I shall have it ready by the time he arrives.”
“Very good, sir.” The butler bowed and left the room, hastening to the small stables in the mews behind the house to carry out the master’s instructions.
Several minutes later, the groom selected was on a horse, note in his pocket, on his way to the Gardiner residence. Darcy remained behind, pouring himself a glass of port and settling into the chair behind his desk, examining the investigator’s report further and contemplating the options available to keep his dear Elizabeth safe.
A Trap Is Set
The next afternoon, Darcy and his sister arrived at the Gardiners’ home to dine. They arrived early in order to give the gentlemen time to discuss the investigator’s report. Darcy and Gardiner removed themselves to Gardiner’s study to talk.
“It is not that we do not want to include you,” Gardiner explained to Elizabeth when she began to object. “We do. However, given the number of unknown variables and your current fears, I would rather hear the information first so I can prepare us both for whatever you need to hear. I know you are an intelligent, thinking woman; I am not saying you are not, but for my own sensibilities, I ask that you indulge me.”
Darcy was pleased to see Elizabeth reluctantly nod her acceptance of her uncle’s request. “I promise you that we will reveal all to you.”
“You will hold nothing back, even if it might be frightening?”
Darcy allowed a small smile to lift the corners of his mouth, his only concession to her fiery demand. It would not do for her to think he was laughing at her, no matter how charming she looked with her hands on her hips and her expression fierce. “We will hold nothing back.”
After a moment or two of examining his face and that of her uncle, Elizabeth agreed to allow the gentlemen to examine the report first. She stepped toward her aunt and Georgiana as the men exited the room.
Just as the ladies were settling in together for a nice, long chat, Maddie was called upstairs to deal with the children.
Elizabeth and Georgiana had chosen to sit together on a settee, and now that they were alone, Elizabeth turned to her friend, taking Georgiana’s hand in her own.
“I do not know if he has informed you, but your brother shared with me your recent trouble. I am so sorry you had to experience such a thing. You are such a sweet girl; your hurt was, I know, very deep. Though my experience in losing someone I love was a different manner of loss, I want you to know that you are free to confide in me or cry on my shoulder or whatever else you might be in need of.” Elizabeth squeezed Georgiana’s hands.
Squeezing back, Georgiana thanked her. “Brother did tell me. I had already told him that you, your words, and behavior, have helped me immensely. I promise that if I need you, I will call on you. You
are the bravest woman I know. I am inspired by your courage to face a crippling fear.”
The girls smiled at each other until Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Georgiana, hugging her tightly. Pulling apart after a few minutes, they pulled handkerchiefs out of sleeves and reticules with a giggle and a smile, wiping their tear-filled eyes and beginning a whole new conversation.
A half-hour later, Darcy and Gardiner had finished their conversation and were standing in the doorway to the drawing room, listening to Elizabeth and Georgiana as they laughed their way through a story one had been telling the other. Darcy’s whole attention was on Elizabeth. When she smiled, the action took over her entire countenance. Her lips widened as the ends turned up, and her eyes twinkled. Her face glowed with joy and good humor. She takes my breath away, he thought.
Gardiner entered the drawing-room. “What is so funny? You must tell us so we can all have a share in it.”
His host’s words snapped Darcy out of his trance, and he followed Gardiner into the room. Smiling fondly at both his sister and Elizabeth, he seated himself in a chair that was near Elizabeth’s end of the settee. He said not a word, just absorbed the happiness that his two favorite ladies exuded and watched them as they laughed and chattered.
Within a few moments, Maddie rejoined them, and the meal was announced. When they were all seated at the table and the first course had been served, Gardiner dismissed the servants so he, his family, and his guests could speak freely. Clearing his throat, he began, “There has been an update from Mr. Darcy’s investigator. I wish to share the information with you now, rather than wait until after we eat.” Looking to his right, where Georgiana was seated, he addressed her. “Your brother tells me that you are aware of the basics of the investigation.”
“Yes.” Georgiana nodded briefly. “I had asked him about the footmen, and he explained that Miss Bennet could be in danger. I also remembered that your house was broken into.”
“It was. That and other things caused your brother to have Lizzy and her accident investigated.” Gardiner now addressed the entire table. “We do not have all the facts as of yet, but the man seen watching the house has been identified. He is a former tenant of Mr. Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh.”
Georgiana’s head shot up from her soup in surprise. “Aunt Catherine?”
“Yes,” her brother affirmed. “There is more.” Darcy gestured for Gardiner to continue the tale.
Swallowing a spoonful of soup, Gardiner rested the utensil on the edge of the bowl and went on. “This Lady Catherine has a rector, one who has recently inherited an estate.”
Elizabeth’s spoon clattered against her bowl. She gasped, eyes wide and jaw slack. Brutus rose from his prone position behind her chair to rest his head on her shoulder and lick her ear.
Maddie, wide-eyed herself, looked at her niece, and then back at her husband. “What is his name?”
Gardiner gazed directly into his wife’s eyes. “William Collins.”
Gasps from Maddie and Elizabeth punctuated identical exclamations of, “What?” Elizabeth’s hand rose to stroke Brutus’s head as Maddie demanded an explanation from her husband.
“What are you saying?”
“We have no proof, but it seems likely that Collins hired this tenant, Foxglove is his name, to watch our house. It also seems likely that the William Collins who was rector to Lady Catherine is also the one who is now master of our brother’s estate.” Gardiner recognized Maddie’s anger in her tightly compressed lips and narrowed eyes.
Darcy added his voice to the explanation. “We strongly suspect it was Foxglove who approached while you were walking, and that it was he who attempted to abscond with Miss Bennet. If this man was hired by Collins to kill the Bennet family, and Collins knew there was a survivor, he may have insisted the man finish the job. My investigator knows for certain that a gentleman named Collins visited Foxglove here in London.”
“Edward,” Maddie addressed her husband in a soft, controlled voice. “Do you recall what Charlotte Lucas told us? About Collins?”
“I do.” Gardiner sighed. “It has been at the forefront of my mind since Darcy told me the news earlier.”
“What?” Elizabeth looked from her aunt to her uncle, to Darcy, and then between her relatives once more, a mix of fear and confusion on her face.
“You remember we told you that we had removed you to your Uncle Phillips’ home?” Gardiner reached for his niece’s hand, holding it tightly.
“I do.”
“I know that you do not remember that time, but Charlotte Lucas visited you every day. It was she that told us Collins had discovered your survival. She also told us that she had seen Collins’ face when he made the discovery. She said she was frightened at the anger she saw there. She told us Collins masked it quickly, and his manner became that of the fawning fool he had been the first time he visited, but she had seen the emotion nonetheless. Once we heard that, we removed you here as soon as possible.”
Elizabeth whispered, “So then, it is possible that he hired this Mr. Foxglove to kill me here, because he failed in Meryton.”
Darcy watched Elizabeth’s pale face. She swallowed, and as she did, it appeared something changed. The courage that he witnessed time and again made its appearance in the suddenly stiff spine that forced her to sit straighter and the firm set to her jaw.
“Well, let him try, then. I have guards and Brutus and my own wits with which to beat him.”
“That’s the spirit, Lizzy,” Gardiner cheered her on, squeezing her hand once more before letting it go to resume eating.
“What will you do?” Georgiana looked from face to face. “Miss Bennet is still in danger, is she not?”
“Gardiner and I have crafted a plan to trap this Foxglove fellow.” Darcy quickly reassured his sister.
“A plan? I hope you do not intend to keep it a secret from us poor females.” She arched a brow and smiled to soften her words. “I believe I deserve to know it as it pertains to my safety.”
“Not at all,” Gardiner chuckled. “As if Maddie would allow that.”
“If she did, you know I would not.” Elizabeth allowed the ghost of a smile to remain on her lips as she relaxed.
“You have learned well, Niece.” Gardiner winked at Elizabeth before he explained her comments to Darcy. “My Maddie is of an independent bent, and Lizzy has followed in her footsteps. As you can imagine, that makes them formidable foes at times.”
Darcy had been admiring the flush that Elizabeth’s passionate remarks had brought to her cheeks. Forcing his thoughts and eyes away, he responded almost automatically to Gardiner’s words. “I can see how that could happen. I am not a stranger to strong-willed ladies, I assure you. My mother’s family is full of them. My Aunt Audra—Lady Matlock—is a force to be reckoned with, as is Lady Catherine.” Darcy looked at Elizabeth again, his gaze intent and his chest tight with suppressed feelings of love and desire. “I am rather fond of women who know their own minds and are not afraid to speak up.”
Elizabeth blushed and ducked her head. There was no time for a response, however, because the servants reappeared to remove the soup course and bring in the next one.
As soon as possible, Gardiner dismissed the servants again and began to speak of the plan he and Darcy had put together. They hoped to trap Foxglove and have him arrested.
“Lizzy’s maid bears a strong resemblance to her, at least from a distance,” Gardiner explained as he carved the roast. “We plan to dress Sarah in Lizzy’s clothing and send her out for a walk, with the guards we have hired in disguise surrounding her. Our goal is for Foxglove to try to grab her as he attempted to do with Lizzy at the museum. The footmen would then surround them and detain Foxglove until the magistrate could come to arrest him.”
“Would that not put Sarah in danger? How can you be certain this man will not just kill her outright?”
Darcy observed Elizabeth’s intent focus on her uncle. Though she continued to eat, it was with a distr
acted air, and her brow was creased. Knowing her intelligence, Darcy presumed she attempted to work out in her mind the sequence of events that would happen.
Resting his hands, with their eating utensils, on the table, Darcy explained the reasoning he and Gardiner had used. “If Foxglove were interested in killing you immediately, he could have done so at the museum. He did not. He is likely afraid of being caught easily by the authorities. If he removes you to another place, perhaps the edge of town or even in Seven Dials itself, a murder is more easily performed and gotten away with.” He resumed eating, stabbing a piece of beef with his fork and bringing it to his mouth. He continued to watch Elizabeth, though, observing the play of emotions on her face.
“So you feel that Sarah is in no danger? That you, or the footmen, will be right there to rescue her?” Elizabeth demanded as her eyes darted between her uncle and Darcy.
“We do,” Darcy responded with his characteristic firmness, but at the same time, he wondered at her questions and what was going through her mind.
“Then I will go. I will draw him out.”
“No! Absolutely not.” Darcy’s expression was thunderous. He had known for some time that Elizabeth hated to be seen as weak, but he was horrified that Elizabeth would entertain such a foolish idea. He was joined in his exclamations by her uncle and aunt.
“It is me he is after; I am not afraid, and did you not just a moment ago reassure me that you would be right there, you and the footmen, to stop him from taking me?” Elizabeth’s jaw set and her eyes flashed fire. “Sarah did not ask for this, to be used as bait to draw out a possible murderer. This is my life, and my servant, and I will make the decisions.”
A chorus of denials rang through the room, but Elizabeth would not be swayed. In the end, the gentlemen gave in; they could see no other way to resolve the impasse once Elizabeth began speaking of forbidding Sarah from assisting. Sarah’s pay came from Elizabeth’s allowance, and her employment was at Elizabeth’s discretion. The conversation ended with a satisfied grin plastered on Elizabeth’s face and the heads of the rest of the party shaking in frustration.
