The Lady's Jewels
Page 1
The Lady’s Jewels – A Pride and Prejudice Variation
By Perpetua Langley
Copyright © 2019 Perpetua Langley All rights reserved All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
The Lady’s Jewels
By Perpetua Langley
Chapter One
Elizabeth and Jane crested Pumpkin Hill and slowed their horses to a walk. It was their usual habit to pause there, as it showed their own corner of Hertfordshire spread out below them for miles. It had been the location of quite a few picnics with Charlotte, and Elizabeth often came there on an early morning ride. It was a lovely and peaceful spot, but on this day an unusual sight caught Elizabeth’s eye.
“Do you see that, Jane?” Elizabeth asked. “Just there, among the oaks. It is a carriage bereft of its horses.”
“Perhaps they have broken a wheel and have taken the horses to seek help,” Jane said.
“I do not see a wheel broken. It stands perfectly upright.”
They approached the carriage and Elizabeth noted that it appeared to be private-held and comfortable looking, suitable to carry four passengers. Its mahogany paneling gleamed, but it did not display a crest or other identifying information.
“I suppose we’d better tell papa,” Jane said. “He’ll know what ought to be done in such a case.”
“Agreed,” Elizabeth said. “A carriage such as this left alone would soon be stripped.” Elizabeth paused, then said, “Which makes me think that it must not have remained here long.”
“Very strange that not even a groom is left to see to it,” Jane said, pensive.
A soft groan emanated from the inside.
Elizabeth and Jane looked at each other in alarm.
The groan was followed by a growl. A distinctly canine growl.
“Hello?” Elizabeth said.
“Help,” a female voice answered.
Elizabeth leapt down from her horse and handed the reins to Jane.
“Lizzy, do be careful,” Jane said. “I do not like the sound of that dog.”
Elizabeth opened the carriage door and peered in.
A lady lay prone on a brocade seat, a purple lump on her forehead. She was richly dressed, her blue velvet traveling coat showing a sable liner. Two bull mastiffs with fawn bodies and black faces, sat side by side on the seat across from the lady. One was larger and male, the other a smaller female, though smaller being a relative term as she appeared enormous to Elizabeth’s eyes. While they may have been different sized, they were united in their apparent suspicion. They stared at her unblinking.
“Heavens!” Elizabeth said. “Madam, how are you here alone?”
The lady looked about her, then her gaze settled on Elizabeth. “I am not alone, as you are here. And there is Monday and Tuesday.”
“Monday and Tuesday?”
The lady motioned toward the two canines and said, “I planned to have one for every day of the week, but my Lord put his foot down on Tuesday.”
“Indeed,” Elizabeth said, smiling. She pulled her head out of the carriage window and said to Jane, “It is a lady who appears to have suffered some sort of accident. She is accompanied by two dogs, exceedingly large.”
“Why am I stopped?” the lady inquired. She struggled to sit up. “Why do we not go forward?”
Elizabeth stared at Jane. She felt her face flush as she realized that the lady had no idea that her horses and whatever staff she’d had with her had disappeared. She put her head back inside the carriage.
“I am afraid,” Elizabeth said cautiously, “there has been some sort of accident. We have discovered you here, quite alone.”
Upon hearing this, the lady fell back, appearing faint.
“Had you traveled with a maid or companion?” Elizabeth asked. “Perhaps the lady has gone to seek help?”
“My maid went ahead with my luggage yesterday. I considered myself quite safe in the hands of my coachman.”
Elizabeth turned her head and said, out of the carriage window, “Jane, ride for Longbourn as quickly as you can. Our carriage will already be on its way to Meryton, so have a groom bring a cart sufficient to transport the lady to the house. Send word to Doctor Kellerman and see that Hill sends somebody out to find our father. I fear the lady has suffered greatly from whatever has occurred here.”
Jane nodded and said, “I will take Mercury back with me so that you may ride in the cart and provide whatever assistance is required.”
Elizabeth turned back to the lady, satisfied that Jane would have the situation well in hand. If ever there were a sister with more sense, Elizabeth had not encountered her.
“Would it be quite safe to enter, madam?” Elizabeth asked.
The lady waved her hands. “I do not bite.”
“I did not suppose so, but do they?” Elizabeth said, glancing at Monday and Tuesday.
“Certainly not, in the usual way of things. My girl Tuesday bit my husband once, but the dear man was making himself a pest. You should be perfectly all right as long as you do not make yourself a pest.”
Elizabeth was not at all certain what Tuesday might take for a pest, but she knew from experience that dogs preferred to be told who was in charge. She stared sternly at Tuesday and shook a warning finger at her.
Tuesday, understanding that she was not to be in charge of this particular person at this particular moment, lowered her head and gave her a small and sullen wag. Elizabeth climbed into the carriage. “Madam,” she said, gently helping the lady to sit upright, “I shall stay with you until help arrives and then take you back to Longbourn.”
“Longbourn? I have never heard of such a place. Ah, well, it is Hertfordshire. I suppose there are a great many places I have not heard of. I was on my way to a dear friend’s estate near Quincy and, had she not taken a house there, I would not have heard of that either.”
“I fear Longbourn is not the sort of place one would have heard of outside of the neighborhood. It is a modest estate.”
“Where is Warpole, I wonder?”
“Ma’am?” Elizabeth asked.
“My coachman,” the lady said. “Most unaccountable that he should leave me stranded. Especially when I carry…Good Lord, where is it?”
“Where is what, Ma’am?” Elizabeth asked, wary of the alarm that seemed to grip her charge.
The lady scanned the carriage. She picked up a fur resting at her feet, as if what she sought might be hidden underneath.
“They are gone! My jewels!”
Elizabeth felt her heart flutter. She had feared that some nefarious business had occurred and now there could be no doubt. The lady had been robbed.
Apprehensive that any increased agitation would affect the lady poorly, Elizabeth said, “My father shall be here within the hour and we shall tell him of it. He shall know what to do.”
“And who is your father?” the lady asked, sitting back and looking very tired.
“Mr. John Bennet,” Elizabeth answered, suddenly realizing that she had failed to introduce herself in the midst of the emergency. “I am Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
“I see, Miss Bennet. So you are not married.”
Elizabeth blushed deeply. “No, Ma’am.”
“I only ask, Miss Bennet, for the same reason I show no coat of arms on my carriage. I am Lady Castlereagh, and I spend a great deal of time dodging resolute mamas. They should chase me down the road were they to know I pass by.”
“Lady Castlereagh!” Elizabeth exclaimed. What person in England had not heard of Lady Castlereagh—keeper of the keys to Almacks, wife of the much-maligned foreign secretary and owner of such things as kangaroos and a notoriously bad-tempered tiger? Elizabeth attempted a curtsy, but it was not well done within the confines of the carriage.
“You do not have such a mother at home, do you Miss Bennet? I shan’t set foot in the house if I am to be beset by a lady grimly determined to secure her daughter an invitation to Almacks. I had rather sleep in a tree.”
Elizabeth blushed furiously. If ever there were a grimly determined mama, it was Mrs. Bennet. That vigorous lady had only last week tripped and pretended an injury to her ankle on the doorstep of a local baron, all to finagle an invitation to dine while the man’s son was home from Oxford. In truth, Mrs. Bennet was beginning to garner a reputation for injuring herself on the doorstep of any house that might contain a single gentleman. What might she dare if an invitation to Almacks were within her sights? It would not surprise Elizabeth to find Lady Castlereagh climbing a tree after a moment’s conversation with Mrs. Bennet.
“We do not often visit London,” Elizabeth stammered. She looked about the carriage for anything, anything at all that she might use to turn the conversation in another direction. She noticed a porcelain cup hanging on a hook and said, “There is a stream very nearby, I shall fetch you water, my lady. I am certain it shall do you good.”
Lady Castlereagh nodded. “You are very resourceful, Miss Bennet. That is to be commended in a young lady. Not all of you are, you know. I have seen my share of wilting violets and I do not approve. How are they to stand up to a housekeeper after they are married, I should like to know. Any housekeeper worth her salt needs standing up to. Why, if I had not set Mrs. Wilburn straight when I assumed the mantle of my Lord’s household, I cannot imagine where I’d be today. I certainly would not own a kangaroo; the good woman would not have allowed it.”
Elizabeth did not see what she could add to the historic meeting between Lady Castlereagh and Mrs. Wilburn and so hurried from the carriage.
Elizabeth had brought Lady Castlereagh water, which she drank gratefully. Then the lady had directed her to bring back water for Monday and Tuesday.
Had any of her acquaintance directed Elizabeth to fetch water for a dog, she would have assumed they had lost their wits. Still, she supposed a great lady was used to sending people to fetch all sorts of things and did not give it a thought.
Monday and Tuesday were enthusiastic, but Elizabeth was sure more water landed on the carriage floor than anywhere else. However, if the mastiffs had been suspicious of this new interloper before, all that was to be thrown to the wind. They were now firm friends with Elizabeth Bennet, water bearer.
After three quarters of an hour, Elizabeth heard the clackety-clack of the Bennet’s cart bouncing along the road toward them.
“There now, my lady,” she said, “help has arrived.”
Elizabeth jumped down from the carriage and was relieved to see her father had been located and had come himself. He was accompanied by Jimmy and Matthew leading a horse and cart.
“Papa,” she said, hurrying toward him as he reined in his horse. Reaching his side, she said softly, “Lady Castlereagh, a very great lady from London, is injured inside that carriage. She has a bump on her head, her jewels have been stolen, and her coachman and grooms are gone.”
Mr. Bennet, being a man rarely ruffled by any sort of surprise, merely nodded. “We had better get her home then. Jane has packed the bottom of the cart with enough blankets and pillows to transport the most delicate princess without harm.”
“Good Jane,” Elizabeth said, pleased with the arrangement. Suddenly remembering the mastiffs, she glanced at the cart.
“Ah,” she said, “there shall be room if I walk alongside.”
“The lady is not so large as that?” her father asked.
“Certainly not,” Elizabeth said. “But there are Monday and Tuesday to think about.”
Seeing her father was beginning to wonder if she might have got a bump on her own head, she said, “Dogs. Monday and Tuesday are dogs, one male and one female, both exceedingly large.”
Mr. Bennet appeared vastly amused and said softly, “Ah, the rich and their eccentricities. Why not Wednesday and Thursday? I suppose we’ll never know.”
Lady Castlereagh stuck her head out the carriage window. “Mr. Bennet, I presume?”
Mr. Bennet bowed from his saddle.
“I should very much like tea. I suppose one must get inside your house to have it.”
Mr. Bennet nodded. “Lizzy, the lady wishes to set off at once and so we must make haste. We will leave Jimmy to guard the carriage until it can be retrieved.”
Jimmy, seeing he was to be assigned a job of such importance, bowed deeply to Lady Castlereagh. “Nobody’d dare come near it, ma’am, lest I fight ‘em off like a badger.”
Lady Castlereagh considered this bold assurance and said, “I can only wish one of my own grooms had brought such spirit to the case. I might still be in possession of my jewels and be significantly less bruised.”
Jimmy appeared struck by this and bowed so low that his cap brushed the grass as he softly murmured, “A veritable badger.”
Lady Castlereagh was situated comfortably in the front of the cart, atop layers of blankets and surrounded by pillows. Monday and Tuesday had been leery of the whole operation, until Elizabeth shook her finger at them and told them, in no uncertain terms, to board immediately. Once they did, they happily turned in circles until they had transformed the blankets into suitable nests. They flopped down with satisfied groans.
It was no trouble for Elizabeth to walk alongside the cart, as Matthew had been instructed to go slowly to ensure that Lady Castlereagh was not jostled. Mr. Bennet had ridden ahead to prepare the house for the lady’s arrival. Despite the alarming circumstances of the day, Elizabeth could not help enjoying the brisk air on her cheeks. It was well past noon, however, and the brisk air would soon turn to a chill and so she hoped they might get the lady situated in front of the fire before she was the worse for it.
“Miss Bennet,” Lady Castlereagh said from the cart, “the moment I have tea in front of me, I shall require your services in dictation. I have a number of letters to fire off immediately and I fear my hand shall not be steady for some time yet.”
“I shall be happy to do it,” Elizabeth said.
“I must discover what has happened. What has become of my coachman and his grooms? Who made off with my jewels?”
Elizabeth paused, not certain how to proceed with delicacy. Finally, she said, “My lady, is it possible that it is the coachman who has run off with your jewels? Could the coachman and grooms have been in league?”
Lady Castlereagh considered this question, then she said, “Possible. Of course, most would assume he’s done it. I am not most, however. The man has been in my employ for above ten years. He’s had any number of easier chances at my jewels. Why now? Why in such a manner?”
This, Elizabeth could not dispute. A coachman would have had chances that must be far more convenient. Chances that did not involve knocking his mistress on the head. But, were it a case of highwaymen, the coachman and grooms would have been found injured, or even killed, nearby.
“And you have no memory of the matter at all?” Elizabeth asked, hopeful that some thread or other would begin to present itself to the lady’s mind.
“No
ne,” Lady Castlereagh said. “I remember sitting very comfortably in my carriage, and then waking to find you peering at me. Most unaccountable.”
“It is said that a blow to the head can affect memory, but that it may not be permanent.”
“Let us hope it is not. In any case, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Quill shall know how to proceed. I suppose your mother can be prevailed upon to provide rooms for those three gentlemen? Do you have sufficient rooms, Miss Bennet?”
“Yes, of course,” Elizabeth said, making calculations in her head. There was the guest room for Lady Castlereagh. If Elizabeth were to move in with Jane, and then Lydia and Kitty move from their rooms into Mary’s room, which was the old nursery and already stocked with three beds, that would do.
“Excellent,” Lady Castlereagh said.
They had come to the steep grade that led down Pumpkin Hill. The cart tipped slightly down as they made their descent. Lady Castlereagh only snuggled more deeply into her pile of pillows and blankets. Monday and Tuesday appeared alarmed at the situation and perked their heads up. Elizabeth shook a warning finger at them, lest one or both of them should think of bolting. They put their heads back down, resigned.
“Lady Castlereagh,” Elizabeth said, “will Lord Castlereagh arrive also?” She had no idea how to ask, but she was under the impression that the very rich kept separate bedrooms and there were no more rooms to spare.
“I wish it were so, Miss Bennet,” the lady said. “My lord is a great comfort to me. But just now he is in Vienna on official business. I will delay my communication to him for as long as possible. He has a great many burdens to carry and I shouldn’t like to add another.”
Elizabeth nodded, and thought her a very brave sort of person. Many a lady would insist their husband fly to their side at such a moment.
“Now, about Monday and Tuesday,” Lady Castlereagh continued. “I must have them with me. They shall stay in my room. They have no experience sleeping in stables and, though they appear ferocious, would quiver at the thought of it.”
Elizabeth examined Monday and Tuesday, who had both looked to their mistress upon hearing their names. It was true that on first glance they appeared fearsome, but upon further acquaintance they were like most oversized dogs—the body of a lion and the nerves of a kitten. Her own hound, Paw-paw, so named for his penchant for pawing at any hem of a dress that appeared clean, could continue his reign in the stables without the inconvenience of dominating these two strangers.