Page 26 of Losing Lizzy
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Darcy dressed quickly, not wanting Elizabeth to be alone with her fears. Although she might think otherwise, he knew her strengths and her weaknesses. She had withstood Lady Catherine’s attack, and now Elizabeth was second-guessing how her temper had caused their child pain. Even after they recovered their daughter, and he held no doubt they would know success, just not as quickly as either of them would like—Elizabeth wouldnever forgive herself for bringing on Lady Catherine’s ire.
When he returned to the family area below, Mr. Sheffield was setting out the items Mr. Farrin had brought over from the inn. “I took the liberty of brewing tea. The tea pot is on the platter.”
“You are quite handy,” Darcy remarked as he poured himself a cup of tea.
“I always was,” Sheffield responded with a smile.
“I know, and I was constantly appreciative of your care,” Darcy said in all honesty, “but never so much as when I was forced to go weeks without a bath or a change of clothes.”
“For what it is worth, sir, despite the so-called truth Lord Matlock shared with those at Darcy House, I never lost hope for your return.”
The mention of his uncle had Darcy asking, “Could you explain what occurred at Darcy House when you arrived after the overturned wedding?”
Sheffield shot a quick glance up the stairs toward Elizabeth’s quarters, before lowering his voice. “We did not arrive until very late in the day of what would have been your wedding. The house was at sixes and sevens, especially as Mr. Thacker had been dismissed by then. Lord Matlock had taken up residence in your study. He kept insisting you had been killed upon the docks, but I was suspicious because you had written to me from London and explained you might be an extra day or two in the City, for you had been charged with checking on a shipment in which both you and his lordship had invested.
“According to the information you shared in your instructions to me as to what you wished to wear for the ceremony and when you were expected to return, Lord Matlock could not attend the shipment because the earl was in Derbyshire at the time. Supposedly, there had been a fire at the stables. His note to you said he would not be able to attend your wedding because of his duty to his estate. However, his lordship was in London when the colonel, Miss Darcy, and I arrived.
“Certainly, a man could travel from Derbyshire to Londonin two days, if he pressed his horses and the weather held, but it appeared odd to me as how Lord Matlock knew of your attack so swiftly. Would not it have taken an express from London to Derbyshire a full day, more likely two, to reach him with the news? And then there was a brief comment by Lady Matlock to the colonel, upon our arrival, of how her husband had overseen the search for and possible recovery of your body. A man cannot be in two places at once. I was asked for my resignation when your uncle discovered via the new butler that I had begun to express such opinions below stairs.”
“It is as I suspected. I, too, have wondered about the tale that was repeated to me by Colonel Fitzwilliam and Lady Matlock.” His ears noted Elizabeth’s soft tread on the stairs. With a slight shake of his head he warned Sheffield not to speak his suspicions before Elizabeth. “Mr. Farrin and Jasper will return in a few minutes,” he told her when she joined them in the kitchen. “We will set a course for Kent once we have eaten our breakfast. I assume you wish to accompany me.”
“Most assuredly.”
“Kent?” Sheffield asked with a lift of his brow.
Elizabeth explained, “The note from earlier said Townsend might be in Kent.”
“Did it say where? Kent is not a small shire,” Sheffield cautioned.
“We will stop at all the coaching inns until we discover someone who has seen Townsend and our child.”
“Do we have a choice?” she remarked as she collapsed into a nearby chair and buried her face in her hands. Yet, before he could comfort her, a loud knocking came at the main door to the shop.
“I will see to it, sir,” Sheffield said with a nod to where Elizabeth had succumbed to tears again. “Likely Mr. Farrin returning.”
With Sheffield’s exit, Darcy knelt before her and awkwardly wrapped his arms about Elizabeth. “I know, darling. This is too daunting after all you have endured.”
“I have not seen my father—my sisters—or mama in nearly four years,” she sobbed. “They do not even know of Lizzy’s birth, and my parents could lose their grandchild before they even meet her.”
He tightened his grip about her to tug her deeper into his embrace. “None of us will lose Elizabeth Anne. I know, at this moment, this feels impossible, but neither of us will rest—no matter how long it takes to bring our child home to you.”
“You will not leave me until this is done well?”
“Not even then,” he promised.
He rose when he heard Sheffield closing and locking the main door. Sheffield entered carrying a second message. “Another possible lead, I hope.”
Darcy reached for it, but Sheffield shook off Darcy’s hand. “This one is addressed to ‘Mrs. Dartmore.’”
Elizabeth looked up expectantly. “For me?” She struggled to her feet to take the note from Sheffield. She reached for a knife on the table to break the seal.
Darcy waited in uneasy anticipation as she read the page and blanched white. “What does it say, Elizabeth?” Her hands began to shake, and he again brought her into his embrace. Removing the note from her fingers, he handed it off to Sheffield. Over her shoulder he watched as his former valet read the note, Sheffield’s features taking on a thunderous expression. As Elizabeth sobbed into Darcy’s shoulder, Sheffield held the note aloft where Darcy could read it.
Mrs. Dartmore, although we both know such is not your real name. Should I not say, Miss Elizabeth Bennet? If you wish the return of the child who bears your name and that of a fictitious father, you will send Mr. Darcy on his way. Turn him aside, not just for this day, but for all the days to come. Otherwise, this child will be placed with a family far away, and you will never see her again. If Mr. Darcy again seeks your company after your child is returned, everyone will shun the lot of you. You will be exposed as a fraud and the child as a bastard. I will be watching for Mr. Darcy’s departure.
Darcy attempted not to stiffen in anger, but the emotion coursed through his veins, nevertheless. “Let us gather where we might discuss this turn of events.”
