The Deception At Lyme m&mdm-6

by Carrie Bebris

  “The last time I had the privilege of holding you close, you were coughing up seawater on me. This is far preferable.”

  He kissed her again and reluctantly released her, but she did not go far. She smoothed the lapels of his coat, her fingertips lingering on the gold lace.

  “When do you leave for the West Indies?”

  “As soon as I can raise a crew, which should not take much time. I have served on enough ships that I know many dependable men now seeking work, and officers I can rely upon. We shall have a fine complement.”

  “How long will you be away?”

  “Only as long as I must. Even so, it will be a journey of at least three or four months. Perhaps longer.”

  Though a faint shadow passed across her face, she allowed it to stay only a moment before forcing away the evidence of her disappointment. “I suppose that is not too long to wait to become Mrs. St. Clair.”

  “I had rather hoped Mrs. St. Clair would accompany me.” He again took her hands in his. “Though you will have every comfort in my power to provide, a captain’s cabin is a long way from Pemberley, and life aboard ship is not easy. But if you come with me, you will see such wonders as I hope will make the inconveniences worthwhile. And I dare hope my companionship will offer some attraction.”

  He drew her closer. “What say you, Georgiana? Do you want to see the New World with me?”

  “I do.” Her expression reflected such happiness that it could be matched only by his own.

  Nevertheless, he searched her face for signs of doubt. “Are you certain that you want to board a ship again—this ship in particular—after the accident at Lyme?”

  “I am certain,” she said without hesitation. Then she smiled. “How else will I ever have an opportunity to see a bo’sun standing on the fo’c’sle?”

  He laughed. “Pronounced like a true sailor—you have learned well. Next I shall teach you to swim.”

  “I shall master that, too.”

  “I have no doubt.”

  “Nor do I—about any part of your proposal.” Her countenance became solemn. “Though I am not as traveled as you, I have seen enough of the world to know that life is not all clear sailing. Whether we are on a ship or on the shore, there will be storms to weather. But whatever comes—” She pressed his hands, still holding hers, and regarded him with perfect surety.

  “So long as you are with me, Captain, I know I have a sheet anchor.”

  Epilogue

  Who can be in doubt of what followed? When any two young people take it into their heads to marry, they are pretty sure by perseverance to carry their point.

  —Persuasion

  While Captain St. Clair oversaw the hiring of his crew and the refitting of his ship, Georgiana attended to the inviting of their wedding guests and the fitting of her trousseau. High on the list of invitees—after all their relations—were Admiral and Mrs. Croft, with whom Georgiana formed a fast and firm friendship, and St. Clair’s strengthened. In preparing for life aboard a frigate, Georgiana benefited tremendously from the experience of Mrs. Croft, who, inseparable from the admiral, had spent most of her marriage on warships. Her advice was practical and comprehensive, and her nostalgia for the sea and foreign ports made Georgiana all the more eager to embark on her new life.

  Pemberley being too distant from any royal dockyard where Captain St. Clair could supervise the nautical preparations, the couple were married in London, in a ceremony attended by the bride’s family, friends of both parties, and the full complement of St. Clair siblings and other relations. Georgiana found her new family to be everything she could have hoped, and was so warmly embraced by them as to make her look forward to more fully knowing them in time. Following the celebration, the Darcys removed to the home of Elizabeth’s aunt and uncle Gardiner so that the newlyweds could enjoy a few days’ solitude in the vacated town house before setting off on their Jamaican honeymoon cruise in the company of two hundred fifty sailors.

  Georgiana and her captain were not the only individuals navigating a new course: Mrs. Smith soon left the hospitality of the Wentworths. Though they accepted Mrs. Clay’s death as an accident and Anne Wentworth did in fact find a note from Mrs. Smith when they returned home from the Cobb following Alfred’s disappearance—a note that apparently drifted onto the floor under the front hall settee in the bustle of the sedan chair’s arrival—both Captain and Mrs. Wentworth were left with an unsettled feeling about their houseguest that they were unable to entirely overcome. Mrs. Smith’s mobility and income restored, she and her hosts mutually decided that her removal to a dwelling of her own, with faithful Nurse Rooke as her companion, was a desirable domestic arrangement. The separation marked a return to independence for her and a return to privacy for the newlyweds-turned-new parents. She moved back to Bath, where with winter approaching, she could continue her recovery by availing herself of the greater number of hot baths and legitimate medical practitioners in the city.

  Sir Walter and Miss Elliot also quit Lyme for Bath, but for entirely different motives than Mrs. Smith’s. Though the baronet, too, had come to Lyme for health reasons, he and his daughter found the society of the small village too restricted, its diversions too limited, its shops inadequate, and the sea the very enemy to one’s complexion and youthful appearance that Sir Walter had always believed it to be. They retreated to the elegance of Bath, where they lived in supercilious bliss, oblivious to the fact that the greater consequence of their neighbors reduced their own, and that the superior charms of other, younger ladies cast in sharp relief the inferiority of Miss Elliot’s.

  Walter Alfred Henry Arthur Elliot was much in his father’s speech, if not in his presence. Until Alfred reached a more interesting age—defined by Sir Walter as being old enough to read the entire Baronetage unassisted—the baronet was content to see his heir only occasionally. Under the Wentworths’ loving guidance, and in the companionship and affection of foster siblings who came along over the years, Alfred grew into a sensible and likable young man despite Sir Walter’s best efforts. When the time came for him to assume the baronetcy, he did so with seriousness and respect for the generations-old tradition he was entering, and proved himself a more worthy heir to his title than the man from whom he inherited it.

  Elizabeth and Darcy, after seeing Captain and Mrs. Andrew St. Clair off on their new life, returned home to Pemberley with Lily-Anne. There, they enjoyed a welcome holiday from the “holiday” they had spent beside the sea. The accidents at Lyme, however, had brought them the friendship of the Wentworths and the addition of Captain St. Clair to their family, and so they would always look upon their experience there as more pleasurable than not.

  Before too much time passed, they were once more taken with the idea of travel. As they readied for sleep one night, Darcy again mentioned the possibility of a foreign destination.

  “I am all in favor of journeying abroad,” Elizabeth said, closing her book and setting it on the night table. “Georgiana is not the only Darcy with an interest in seeing more of the world. When do you want to go?”

  On the other side of the bed, Darcy extinguished his candle, lifted the coverlet, and climbed beneath. “I had originally contemplated this coming summer, though now that Georgiana is no longer a Darcy but a St. Clair, we will be booking passage for only three instead of four.”

  “We might need to delay that departure. This summer will be a little busy.”

  “Why?”

  Elizabeth offered him only an enigmatic smile before blowing out her own candle and curling up beside him.

  “When we do go, however,” she said as the firelight teased the darkness, “we shall indeed have to book passage for four.”

  Author’s Note

  Dear Readers,

  When I have the good fortune to hear from you, whether in person or via e-mail, I am often asked about the amount and type of research I do for my novels. The simple answer is that it varies with the needs of each book. I always endeavor to be as thorough as
I can, using primary sources (when available), reference books and other secondary sources, Internet resources (carefully evaluated), museums, hands-on experience, expert interviews, and anything else useful that I happen upon. When possible, I also visit a book’s settings to see them for myself and get a true sense of place. I never know what little detail—seemingly insignificant at the time—will prick my memory months later and become a critical component of the story.

  Research for this novel took me from the cliffs of England’s Jurassic Coast to the decks of the HMS Victory (Admiral Nelson’s flagship from the Battle of Trafalgar) to subterranean smuggling caves. Because the book’s action occurs almost entirely in Lyme and on the Cobb—real places—I spent a considerable amount of time there, exploring the village and seawall, taking hundreds of pictures, asking questions of everyone I met. There is little room for fudging details in a mystery set somewhere readers can themselves visit.

  Fortunately, one of the plot’s most unusual details—the Cobb’s “whispering gallery”—actually exists. It is not very well publicized—I learned about it from a small reference in “The Book of the Cobb,” a short monograph on the Cobb’s history for sale locally in Lyme. When I tested out the acoustical effect, I knew I had to use it somehow in the book. The Cobb suffered serious damage from a storm in 1824 and much of it had to be rebuilt, so there is no way of knowing whether the effect existed in Austen’s time—but that also means no one can say for certain that it did not. (Fiction writers love that kind of ambiguity!)

  Except for Mrs. Smith’s bench, the other features of the Cobb that I mention (the gin shop, Granny’s Teeth, quay warehouses, steps on the southern arm, etc.) are also real and can still be seen. The shipyards are gone but the hamlet, Walk, and beach are still there—modernized, of course. The building thought to have been Austen’s inspiration for Captain Harville’s cottage is now a café. The Lion (now the Royal Lion) can still be found on Broad Street, but the Assembly Rooms have long since been torn down. Due to a fire, only the cellar of the Three Cups inn of Austen’s day still exists (now the basement of a bookstore). Another Three Cups was built up the street; though now closed, the building remains.

  On another historical note, readers particularly well informed about Austen family history might recognize Perseverance as the name of the frigate on which Jane’s brother Frank (Francis William Austen) first sailed after completing his studies at the Royal Naval College. It is not the same ship Captain St. Clair commands at the end of this novel—St. Clair’s ship, like St. Clair himself, is fictional. But I could not think of a more appropriate name for the ship St. Clair and Georgiana sail off in following the events of the story, and the tie to Frank—one of Jane’s two naval brothers who inspired Persuasion—made it all the more perfect.

  I hope you enjoyed The Deception at Lyme. To learn more about the Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery series and forthcoming books, or to sign up for my e-newsletter, visit my website at www.­carriebebris.­com. While you are there, drop me a note—I love to hear from readers!

  With warmest regards,

  Carrie Bebris

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