Page 47 of The Blackmail of Mr. Darcy
“Miss Bingley, you have once again proved your worth. Such a memory you can boast! Thank you so much for all the information.”
Chapter 27
Elizabeth
The two couples travelled to Haye-Park in Mr. Darcy’s comfortable carriage. Mr. Darcy astonished everyone by entering the carriage as soon as he handed Elizabeth in, rather than, as was proper, allowing Jane to enter next. He sat in the rear-facing seat and, since he had never relinquished Elizabeth’s hand, pulled her gently to join him on that bench.
Elizabeth gasped, but Mr. Darcy kept a calm expression on his face, as if the arrangement was everything proper.
Mr. Bingley handed Jane in, and she took the front-facing bench, of course. She blushed bright red as Mr. Bingley joined her on the bench. Mr. Bingley looked quite pleased, but also embarrassed. The two sat rather stiffly and—as Jane moved to make it so—as far apart as possible.
Mr. Darcy still held Elizabeth’s hand, gently ensuring that she sat quite close. She could not help smiling at the idea of the reticent and highly respected master of Pemberley behaving rather like a besotted schoolboy who did not yet understand society’s rules, but she did not love making her sister so uncomfortable.
“Sir,” she whispered right into his ear, “are you not worried about gossip?”
Bending to her ear, he murmured, “Were you addressing me, Elizabeth?”
“Sir,” she almost hissed, but with laughter in her eyes, “we are not alone.”
“The curtains are drawn; nobody can see inside. Your very dear sister and my very dear friend will not tell, and my servants are very well paid and have ever been discreet about everything concerning the Darcy family.”
“Am I being courted by a rake?”
“Perhaps, but I am only a rake when it comes toyou. I have been everything proper for seven and twenty years, and now that I find the woman I would wed, the obstacles thrust upon us are worthy of a novel: deranged plotting, blackmail, aborted kidnapping, and even accidental death. May I not be allowed a few minutes of supposed impropriety?”
Elizabeth was shocked to feel, not just an upwelling of affection for her suitor, but also an entirely physical reaction to his nearness, his tender cradling of her hand, his unexpected words. She felt stirrings deep in her core, and although her brain skittered away from naming what she was feeling, she was very happy to cease her protests about the seating arrangements and just enjoy them.
As the carriage slowed, Mr. Darcy helped Elizabeth join Jane on the forward-facing bench, and Mr. Bingley moved to join Mr. Darcy. When a footman opened the door and lowered the step, the only unexpected sight was Jane’s still-blushing face.
The two men stepped down from the carriage and helped the ladies alight; Mr. Bingley escorted Jane to the door as Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth followed. The butler indicated that the family was at home to callers, and he announced them before leading them into a rather gaudy drawing room where sat Mr. and Mrs. Goulding, along with their son, Mr. William Goulding, and their daughter, Miss Amanda Goulding.
Everyone bowed, curtsied, and exchanged greetings; they briefly spoke about the weather and the roads. Of course, there were some hastily-covered shocked expressions at Mr. Bingley’s battered appearance. That provided the opening they needed, and he said, “I wish this was merely a social call, but my household has suffered from a most disastrous month: an accidental fire that destroyed much of my kitchen and, soon after, a criminal attack. Darcy and I must beg you, Mr. Goulding and Mr. William Goulding, to consult in private on two sensitive matters.”
Again, astonishment raised the eyebrows of their hosts, and again, good breeding demanded that the Gouldings cover their surprise with bland expressions. The men all left for a more private talk, and Elizabeth and Jane used every bit of their charm to introduce less shocking topics of discussion.
Eventually, Elizabeth said, “My beloved sister was taken ill while visiting Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley, at Netherfield, and of course I went there to nurse her back to health. While we were there, we were very impressed by a housemaid named Molly. And Molly eventually shared with me that the maid I had known as Mademoiselle Bonaparte had come here to Haye-Park. I wished to briefly consult with that maid, if you still employ her. It is a matter of delicacy concerning her knowledge of the manor house at Netherfield.”
Mrs. Goulding opened and closed her mouth twice, as if wishing to emulate a goldfish. Miss Goulding said, “That ridiculous name! Mama and I do not let her use such a name, here; we call her Alice. Should I ring for her?”
Elizabeth swept a glance at Mrs. Goulding, who was nodding; she said, “That would be so kind of you. I thank you and apologise for the interruption to your household routine.”
However, Alice Pott did not appear. Instead, the middle-aged housekeeper appeared, looking incredibly worried as shewhispered something to her mistress, then bobbed her head and left the room swiftly.
Elizabeth and Jane watched as their hostess wrung her hands, hesitating, as if she did not know what to do or say.
“Are you well, Mrs. Goulding?” Jane asked.
“Mama! What has happened?” Miss Goulding demanded.
“Elizabeth.” The last was Mr. Darcy, and she got up and turned towards the door; seeing him standing there, she hastened over. He took her hand and led her out to the hallway.
“What news?” she asked in a whisper.
“Apparently, two days ago, Alice Pott and Robert Patterson were seen together, conversing in the area between the manor house and the stables here at Haye-Park. No one from the household has seen them since, but when they did not return that night, the butler arranged for a quiet search yesterday morning. The only thing that the searchers turned up was that a servant from the neighbouring estate, who was approaching Haye-Park in order to return a borrowed horse, saw the two of them walking towards Meryton.”
“And nobody in Meryton saw them?”
“Apparently the searchers could not turn up any additional sightings of either of them that day or since.”
