Page 28 of Losing Lizzy
Darcy said, “Then we should do some planning on how we mean to communicate with each other and how to deal with each of those involved when we catch up to them.”
* * *
Darcy fought to keep the smile from his lips: His Elizabeth could have had a career on the stage. She dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief and gestured toward his waiting carriage. Over her shoulder, his eyes scanned the street, the other shops, and the narrow alleyways, searching for someone who could be watching them. Finally, his eyes fell upon a familiar figure in the window of the mercantile across the street: John Harwood, Lady Catherine’s long-time man-of-all-work.
Elizabeth asked softly, “Did you see someone familiar?”
“My aunt’s man-of-all-work,” he said in equal caution.
“Mr. Harwood?” she asked.
“You know him?”
“Only by sight from when I tarried with Mr. Collins.”
“Likely the man named ‘Hardy’ the boardinghouse owner had mentioned,” he explained.
She nodded her head in understanding.
“When I depart,” he warned, “watch whether he follows. I do not want him to trail you to Rosings Park.”
She did not wish to look toward the man. “How may I be certain?” she asked with a frown.
He caught her to him as if he meant to exercise his will over her. For a few exquisite seconds, her body aligned with his before Elizabeth remembered she must resist him. It did Darcy’s heart well to know she still could not resist the pull between them. She shoved against his chest, and Darcy reluctantly released her. With a crisp bow, he turned on his heels and strode away toward his carriage. However, he paused before reaching it to stand very still and stare in the direction where Harwood watched for Darcy’s departure. He held his distance, but he made certain Harwood realized Darcy knew of the man’s presence in Brighton. With a nod of his head, he turned and stepped into his coach.
As he looked out the coach’s window, Elizabeth made to retreat inside the bookstore, but she turned at the door to watch his carriage depart. If he were not mistaken, there wererealtears in her eyes this time.
* * *
She stepped inside to watch Mr. Harwood exit the mercantile. The man tugged his hat down lower on his forehead in an attempt to conceal his appearance, but he made the mistake of shooting a glance toward the bookstore’s window, and she had seen him clearly. “Run home to Kent,” she whispered as she watched Harwood mount to follow Mr. Darcy’s coach. “Warn your mistress I shall not be dictated to by anyone.”
With the “closed” sign upon the door, she returned to thekitchen area in the back of the store. “Lady Catherine’s man, Mr. Harwood, followed Mr. Darcy’s coach,” she told Sheffield.
“Harwood?” he questioned. “I know the man. Not the nice sort.” Sheffield put away the cleaned dishes they had used for their breakfast.
“Do you think Mr. Darcy is in danger?” she asked in concern.
“Was the master aware of Mr. Harwood’s presence in town?”
Elizabeth smiled easily. “Mr. Darcy is no longer your master, Albert.”
“I served Mr. Darcy since he was twelve. He will always be the young master to me, just as he said Miss Darcy will always be the young girl who followed him about the halls of Pemberley,” Sheffield argued. “You will understand when Lizzy Anne is in her twenties, but you still see her as the young girl wishing to crawl upon your lap for a hug.”
“I suppose,” she said with a grin. “To answer your question, Mr. Darcy was the first to spot Mr. Harwood in the mercantile.”
“Good,” Sheffield announced. “Mr. Darcy will know how best to mitigate Mr. Harwood’s mission.”
Elizabeth frowned. “Do you think Mr. Darcy is in danger?”
“If the master could survive what he shared of his ordeal, Mr. Darcy will experience no problems with Harwood. Moreover, Jasper and Mr. Farrin will protect him.”
“I know you are correct, but I cannot keep from worrying,” she admitted. “Do you think Lady Catherine will employ others to prevent Mr. Darcy from discovering Lizzy? I do not want either of them in danger.”
“The more people Lady Catherine involves, the more she must open herself up to those who can incriminate her. In my years of observing her ladyship and hearing those below stairs speak of her while I was in service to Mr. Darcy, Lady Catherine trusts few, even those who have served her for years,” he reasoned. “She prefers to intimidate. I imagine your defying herwas a shock to her consequence.”
Elizabeth did not want to dwell on her interactions with Lady Catherine. Instead, she asked, “How long will it take William to reach Tunbridge Wells?”
“Four to five hours,” Sheffield shared.
