The Knights of Derbyshire

by Marsha Altman

  “What?”

  “Just do as I say.”

  Like most men, Hatcher was inexperienced in the field of medical science and listened readily to a doctor’s demands, opening Geoffrey’s mouth. Dr. Maddox put the sugar solution under the boy’s tongue. “Does he swallow?”

  “We didn’t want to try.”

  Dr. Maddox nodded reluctant approval. It was more likely that the boy would choke. He rubbed Geoffrey’s neck. “Do you have a cot or something to keep him off the ground?”

  “I could get something.”

  He stroked Geoffrey’s hair, the bit of it that was far away from the wound. He kept his locks a bit longer than absolutely fashionable, and his hair was colored like his father’s but curlier. “I suppose you won’t listen to me when I say you’d best send him home.”

  “How long does he have?”

  “He could very well live or very well die. It’s not a question of time. However, in these bad conditions, he could contract any number of illnesses. Even a cold could kill him now, in such a state.”

  Hatcher sat down on a box in the corner. “You understand that I can’t give him up.”

  “From your viewpoint, perhaps. But from any kind of moral, human, or medical position, no, I cannot understand it. He’s concussed and, perhaps, slowly dying. He’s more likely to contract something in the open woods than safe in his bed. Make the deal with Mr. Darcy and be done with it.”

  “He won’t make the deal we want.”

  Dr. Maddox kept his tongue in check. He was still, strictly speaking, captive. “Make a deal with him if you expect to get anything at all. Or, in my honest opinion, your best bet is to deliver Geoffrey and run. The Darcy holdings are complex and you cannot go into long negotiations with Geoffrey in this condition. You know that, I know that, and Darcy already suspects it.” In the distance, he heard a wolf howl, but ignored it. “Keep him dry and warm, and raise him off the ground. If he gets a fever, deliver him to Pemberley, because he’s no bargaining chip to you then.” He poured water into the bottle of sugar. “Put a spoonful of this under his tongue twice a day. Not on his tongue. Under it. Do you understand?”

  “Yes.”

  The doctor was reluctant to release Geoffrey, but he knew he had to get back to Darcy, and there was little else he could do here. “This is all I can do.” He stood, switching the magnification glasses for his normal bifocals. “Even if I stayed here with him, he still could die at any time, and then there won’t be an army in the world that can save you. So whatever nonsense is between you and Darcy, you’d best end it.”

  He wished it was brighter in the tent, or his vision was better, so he could see if Hatcher was frightened. He suspected that he was.

  ******************************************

  Pemberley was still lit up when Dr. Maddox was returned, and the horses galloped away with Hatcher and his man. Hatcher was in no mood to talk but said he would return in the morning. Dr. Maddox could not see his timepiece, only the lights of Pemberley in front of him, and a bright red, unmistakable figure that came rushing out and grabbed him, and if she had any strength, would have lifted him right up and throttled him instead of hugging him fiercely.

  “How dare you!” Caroline Maddox cried into his shoulder, not loud enough for the others that were approaching to hear. “How dare you put yourself in danger! What would I have done without you?”

  “I wasn’t in danger.”

  “You – I couldn’t – ” But she muffled her own tears by snuggling into his arms, and he returned the embrace.

  The first man to arrive, carrying the lantern, was Darcy. He couldn’t see precisely, but he guessed that it was, from his stature and how he was dressed.

  “I’ve seen to him,” Dr. Maddox said in answer to the unasked question. “I think we’d best discuss the rest inside, but he is alive, Darcy. Concussed, but alive.”

  “Thank God for that,” Darcy said, and led them inside.

  Chapter 14 – The Wolves of Derbyshire

  “What do you think he’s thinking right now?” Cassandra Darcy, the youngest of the three Darcy girls, stared out the glass window at the moonlit sky.

  “You heard Dr. Maddox say he’s sleeping,” Sarah Darcy said. Anne, older and more openly affectionate, took their little sister in her lap.

  “He’s probably having a pleasant dream, then,” Anne said to Cassandra. “He’s dreaming about playing with Gawain or fishing with Charlie.”

  “He’s not afraid?”

  “Geoffrey’s never afraid,” Anne assured her.

  Their nurse entered followed immediately by their mother, who announced that it was time for bed.

  “No!” Cassandra said, climbing off Anne’s lap and running to her mother. “I want to stay up and wait for Geoffrey!”

  “Dearest, I promise you, if he comes home tonight, I will wake you first. But until then, you’d best get your rest.”

  “I bet Georgie gets to stay up!”

  “Miss Bingley is fast asleep, just like the rest of your cousins soon will be. In fact, she specifically requested a different room so she could have quiet from all the noise the men are making, and be better rested for tomorrow. And I won’t have you adding to the noise. Now off to bed, all of you!” She kissed them each as Nurse saw them off, even though they gave great protest. She turned at a knock on the door. “Come.”

  It was George Wickham. “Aunt Darcy.”

  “George.”

  “I just wanted to see – if the girls are all right.”

  “As can be expected,” she said, turning away from him quickly enough to wipe away her own tears that had begun to form. “Thank you, George. You can turn in now.”

  “I didn’t know I also had a bedtime.”

  “You’re my nephew and you’re in my home, so I have every right to enforce it,” she said.

  “There’s nothing else I can do?”

  She smiled. “You can tell me why I saw Charlie carrying a ladder up the stairs when he thought no one was looking.”

  He shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  “Watch over him, will you?”

  “I’ll do my best.”

  She kissed him on the cheek before returning to the first floor, where she waited for her husband to finish the meeting in the study.

  ******************************************

  “He’s in bad shape, Darcy,” Dr. Maddox said. “I know you too well to lie to you. He needs medical attention immediately – more than I could give at their hideout.”

  “Can you tell us anything about it?”

  The doctor sighed and took the offered glass of wine. “It is very deep in the forest. I couldn’t hear any signs of civilization at all, just their horses. They had him in a tent – a temporary one. There was no floor.”

  “Was it well-stocked?”

  “Yes. And near a fresh water stream.”

  “There are dozens of them around here,” Bingley said.

  “How many men were there?”

  “At least three. Maybe four. I didn’t know the other man I saw clearly, and the others weren’t in the tent, so the encampment must be larger – they may have an outside fire going.”

  “Was he old, the other man?” Darcy said. “White hair?”

  “No.”

  “Not Jenkins, then.”

  “But he’s still missing,” Bingley said. “One can only assume he’s either there of his own free will or he’s as much a prisoner as Geoffrey.”

  “Sadly, I would think the latter,” Darcy said. “He’s an old man, but he’s no fool. He wouldn’t fall into Hatcher’s plan so easily, even if he had been listening to him speak. And he’s always liked Geoffrey – otherwise I wouldn’t have given asked Geoffrey to go there.” He frowned and shook his head. “Could you wake him at all?”

  “No. Nor do I think I could do so here. However, I don’t think the skull is cracked. My main concern is that the woods can get very cold and wet in the night and it’s no
t for anyone in his condition. That, and he hasn’t had sustenance in two days now because he can’t swallow.” He sighed. “I told Mr. Hatcher to give it up, but he refused. But he is in a corner and he does know that.” He added, “I did hear wolves.”

  “It seems like there are wolves everywhere.”

  Darcy nodded. “Anything else?”

  “Sadly, no.” Dr. Maddox finished off his wine. “Brian?”

  All eyes turned to Brian Maddox, who had spent most of the day making the rounds in Lambton and the villages of Derbyshire. “There are definitely at least three of them. There’s Hatcher himself, and Mr. Wallace, who hasn’t been seen recently by his wife or brother. His brother said he left early that morning and hasn’t shown up since. And no sign of Mr. Jenkins, but he has no long-standing prior associations with Mr. Hatcher, who rolled into town about the same time as the mine disaster. Did you write His Grace?”

  “Yes, but I can hardly expect a reply from the Duke in time to help with this, if he would do anything at all.”

  Brian nodded. “Either way, Hatcher’s been renting a room over the tavern in Lambton but he hasn’t been there since Geoffrey was taken. He must have had this place in the woods staked out ahead. A man like him would always have somewhere to run.”

  “The others?”

  “There are two field workers who were close with him, or at least were seen a lot with him, one of whom is the son of a tenant of yours named Mr. Graham. The eldest, I believe. I spoke with his father and mother and they said he was always a bit of a stray. The other is a seasonal hand, named Mark Blackwood, who worked in the mine, but survived the disaster, and lived in town. But he’s been known to travel in and out when he’s out of work, so it might not be reliable that he’s with Hatcher,” Brian said. “We posted signs all over town– everyone knows about the reward, and many expressed their concerns over ‘the young master.’” He did his best impression of a local Derbyshire accent. “These demands of Hatcher’s – they’re nonsense, correct?”

  “He wants me to forfeit all of my land in Derbyshire, including Pemberley, which is to be turned into a communal home for the poor. The rest will be turned over to the current tenants.” Darcy held up the paper. “It lists their individual holdings in great detail, so he has clearly spent some time on this, with a complete list of names and the parcels they are to receive at my bequest. Though the tenants themselves might not be aware of it, of course. I am to return to my townhouse in London and be content. He has refused the offer of money. Of course I could write up a bunch of useless deeds – in fact, I am having my steward do so as we speak – but Hatcher must know they will not hold up in any court with the entail intact. Only about thirty percent of my own holdings in Derbyshire are not part of my entail, and even those could be challenged as not binding documents, as they were signed under duress.” He sat back in his grand chair. “What is he thinking? What could he possibly want that is within the realm of possibility for me to give him?”

  “His very plan leaves him without anything of worth,” Bingley said. “Maybe he is a true revolutionary. Good of the people and all that.”

  “Or he intends to take Pemberley for himself once you are gone. As if that could ever be,” Brian said. “I’ll kill him myself before I see that happen.”

  “You will have to wait in line for that honor, I think,” Dr. Maddox said. “Behind Darcy, Bingley and a number of angry women.”

  “He said he will be back in the morning,” Bingley said to Darcy. “Perhaps he will be more amenable to a monetary offer when he better assesses the situation with Geoffrey.”

  “Promise him the moon if you like,” Brian said. “Mr. Darcy, I swear to you I will do everything in my power to make sure that after he’s delivered Geoffrey, he doesn’t make it out of the shire alive.”

  Darcy just looked up at Brian, standing now so tall and serious compared to the tired, world-weary father missing a son, and nodded his thanks.

  ******************************************

  Mr. Hatcher did not arrive early, but he did come alone. The stakes remained where they were, and he felt safe enough with one pistol and the threat of Geoffrey’s death upon his non-return to approach Pemberley with no apprehension. Darcy, who had been sitting on his heels all morning, raced out to find the man dirtied and bloodied. Darcy had to resist the urge to inquire after his health. He didn’t care whether Hatcher lived or died, though seeing the man in such a state was a curious thing.

  “I was attacked by a wolf,” Hatcher said, referring to the claw marks on his face and his general state. “A wild animal. How are you today, Mr. Darcy?” He looked around him. “Where are your men?”

  “Do I need them? Are you intending to shoot me and be done with it? Because if you do, you won’t make it back to the road.”

  Hatcher laughed. He looked tired. In fact, he was breathing heavily. Obviously he had been doing some running, perhaps from the wolf he had mentioned. Or perhaps it was another one of his games. “Bring your people out and let me see them.”

  “And why should I?”

  “Just do it, Darcy. I’m in no mood for games.”

  “Neither am I. Nor am I in the mood to take orders. We’re here to discuss my son and I will not parade all of Pemberley before you before we do it.”

  Hatcher laughed and wiped off some blood that was dripping into his eyes. “Where’s that crazy one? The one who dresses like a woman?”

  “I do not!” Brian Maddox said, storming out. “They’re pleated pants.”

  “Mr. Maddox, please,” Darcy said.

  Hatcher took a good look at Brian and even took a step towards him, but Brian had a hand on his swords, and that was enough to make Hatcher back away again. “All right. The Irish one?”

  “His name is Mr. Bingley.”

  “Mr. Bingley. Where is he?”

  “Mr. Hatcher, what is this madness? We both know why you are here,” Darcy said, but Bingley, having heard his name, did appear with his rifle.

  “Finally,” Hatcher said. “The doctor is too tall. And your huntsman is too stocky. Well, that is that.” He wiped more blood off with an already rag. “I have decided, given the current conditions, that a revision to my earlier demands may be required.”

  “I agree.”

  “Not a severe revision but – I understand this matter of entail and all of that nonsense, so you may keep your precious castle on a hill. The lands being farmed will still go to their proper owners.”

  “My tenants, you mean.”

  “You do not own them, Mr. Darcy.”

  “It is a turn of a phrase. You know very well that I have every respect for them.”

  Hatcher laughed again and removed a flask, taking a drink from it. He was still breathing heavily. “Fine. Keep on with your nonsense. You keep Pemberley, and they get the land that is owed to them by the rights of men.”

  “You know my land is entailed away as much as Pemberley itself is.”

  “And I know you could employ many expensive lawyers to unravel that entail, should you be so inclined. And considering your son’s condition, I would say you would need to hand me the paperwork ... I will give you a day. Meet me tomorrow, at eight o’clock. I trust you own a pocket watch. And I have already given you the list of names and the appropriate deed notifications.”

  “Yes,” Darcy seethed. “Though it’s not legally possible – ”

  “ – I will deliver your son to you, once you have given me the deeds, and I have dispersed them to the people. Then my men will bring him here.” He paused. “Oh, and I would like a rifle.”

  “What?”

  “My pistol – it won’t do. I have a wolf to kill, if I see him again. You wouldn’t want me dying on the way home? Then your precious ‘young master’ would be dead, and all because I won’t be able to defend myself from an animal attack.”

  Darcy sighed. “I don’t know what you’re about, Hatcher.” He turned to Bingley. “The rifle.”

  With only the
briefest of questioning glances, Bingley handed Hatcher the rifle. The man shouldered it, clearly with no intentions to fire it at present. “It is loaded, I trust. After all, you were planning on using it on me if you could manage it, so I imagine it would be.”

  “How intuitive of you,” Darcy said. “And where is this meeting to take place, if I produce all of said deeds?”

  “Signed with the Darcy seal.”

  “Signed and ready.”

  “Then – you may meet me at the place called Potter’s Field. You must know it.”

  “I do,” Darcy said. It was now overgrown and bordered the woods, some four miles from Pemberley, but it was said that it had once been plowed until the ground gave no more crops. “I have no intentions of coming unarmed and alone.”

  “Neither do I. You bring two men, and I’ll bring two of mine. I think that would be fair. After all, this is just a trade of documents. And if you attempt to fill the area with your men first – well, I will do the same. So you understand the terms?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you agree to them?”

  “If you agree to return Geoffrey alive, then yes, I agree.”

  “I will not ask you to shake on it.” Hatcher looked down at his hand. It was filthy and bloody. “I will just take your word.” He bowed extravagantly and turned away, back down towards the road, where his horse waited for him.

  Bingley scratched his head. “What in the world happened to him?”

  “I’ve no idea,” Darcy said, “but if it was good for us, I’ll toss a ham to every wolf in Derbyshire.”

  ******************************************

  Pemberley was bursting with activity as they made preparations for the next day. Dr. Maddox wanted another surgeon on hand should one be needed, but he was unlikely to arrive by the next day. Brian Maddox immediately offered to accompany Darcy, who was grateful for it, but to Bingley’s offer, less so.