“A parade?” Mr. Darcy asked. “What parade?”
“Oh, let me see,” Lady Castlereagh said. “It was something got up by the King to raise the people’s spirits. In any case, it was to block the roads out of London. Warpole’s note suggested we leave before dawn to avoid the inconvenience. I was not at all pleased by it. After all, why should I be required to rise in the dark like a milk maid on account of the King’s eccentric scheme?”
Elizabeth looked from Mr. Darcy to Mr. Quinn. They both shrugged. “I had not heard of the parade,” Mr. Quinn said, “but our King will have a care of his people’s spirits. Though, were he to really understand their nature, he’d give them ample bread and ale, rather than a parade.”
Lady Castlereagh seemed struck by this idea. “Do you suggest, Mr. Quinn, that the people cannot eat a parade?”
“That is precisely it,” Mr. Quinn said. “One can never hope to reach an individual’s spirit if their belly is empty. It gets in the way, you see.”
“Yes, I suppose I do see,” the lady said thoughtfully.
“Now,” Mr. Quinn said, “I shall undertake to interview Jimmy the stable boy. If Miss Elizabeth Bennet will accompany me, as she knows the boy and will instantly recognize if he prevaricates.”
Elizabeth smiled. “If I do know Jimmy at all, he will not prevaricate, though he will talk until you tell him to stop.”
Mr. Quinn nodded. “The best kind of witness, in my view. And Mr. Darcy, I speculate that you have been in Lady Castlereagh’s carriage often. If I am correct in this guess, I would ask you to come along. You may be able to spot anything out of place or seeming unusual. After all, we can hardly ask the lady herself to step into the stables.”
“I thank you for that, Mr. Quinn,” Lady Castlereagh said. “I have never done so and suspect it is unpleasant.” The lady pulled some coins from her purse and handed them to the Bow Street man. “You are to give this to Jimmy, on account of his guarding my carriage like a badger.”
Mr. Quinn bowed as he took the coins, rather like he was a knight of yore commissioned to carry out a heroic task. He turned to Charlotte and said, “Miss Lucas, I should not like to think of you attempting to take down facts while standing in a stable, it would be too inconvenient. I shall store the notable facts in my head, and then relay them to you when I return.
Charlotte nodded, appearing to be at the ready to take down any facts floating around in Mr. Quinn’s head.
The sun shone bright out of doors, but the stables were in their usual gloomy dusk. The chinks in the walls allowed in thin streams of light, showing dust motes lazily floating in the air.
Though Lady Castlereagh believed it to be an unpleasant location, Elizabeth found the smells of horse and hay comforting. Her father’s sturdy work horses were out in the fields, leaving Mercury and the other pleasure horses to themselves until they were turned out for the day. Mercury stamped his foot at the sight of her and she rubbed his head.
At the far side of the barn, the Bennets’ carriage and Lady Castlereagh’s carriage sat side by side. Elizabeth had always thought her family’s carriage quite respectable, though now it seemed rather plain in comparison to the much grander carriage next to it.
Jimmy lay on a hay bale, chewing a stalk of hay, which Elizabeth knew perfectly well was the way he spent most of his time. He leapt up at the sight of these three unexpected visitors.
“Shall I saddle up Mercury, miss?” Jimmy said, straightening his shirt, “or does you want the carriage?”
“Neither,” Elizabeth said. “We have come to interview you as a witness, as you were on the scene the day Lady Castlereagh was discovered.”
This news appeared to come as a welcome surprise to Jimmy. He puffed his chest out. “Jimmy were on the scene, and Jimmy did stay on the scene.”
“As a badger,” Mr. Quinn said, handing the coins over to the boy. “Lady Castlereagh has deemed you worthy of this reward, on account of your badger-like tendencies.”
Jimmy stared at the coins in his hand. “Who’d believe a great lady from London found herself in Jimmy’s debt for badger-like services?”
“I would not go so far as to put Lady Castlereagh in your debt,” Mr. Darcy said tersely.
“She ain’t in my debt no more,” Jimmy said, “as she done paid it off with this here. But who’d believe it to begin?”
Elizabeth suppressed a giggle. “I suspect all of your friends will believe it, as you will tell it to them enough times.”
“I will, miss. I’d go and tell it to them all my life,” Jimmy said softly. “I’d be an old man at the tavern and say, ‘Did’ya ever hear how a great lady was in my debt on account of me being badger-like?”
Mr. Darcy appeared incredulous and Elizabeth suspected he did not have such an interesting stable boy at Pemberley. She very much doubted anybody in England had a more interesting stable boy. He was not the most hard-working, but Mr. Bennet would never part with him, as he enjoyed the boy’s unique views far too much.
“Now, young man,” Mr. Quinn said. “As you were on the scene, I will know from you every sight, sound and thought that occurred. No fact is too small!”
Elizabeth bit her lip. Poor Mr. Quinn could have no idea that asking Jimmy for his every thought would result in Jimmy delivering his every thought, and probably some thoughts that just occurred to him now, that he wished he’d thought of then. She walked to the hay bale so recently occupied by Jimmy and sat down.
Mr. Darcy looked at her quizzically. She smiled and said, “We shall be here for some time, Mr. Darcy. We shall be fortunate to escape in time for tea.”
Though Mr. Darcy had not seemed convinced of that prediction, he soon was. Jimmy paced in front of the stalls, hands clasped behind his back, relating every thought, sight and sound he had experienced on that fateful day.
After he had been left alone with the carriage, Jimmy had stood on the coachman’s seat, surveying the land. The countryside had been active that morning, and he did view the swishing tail of a deer, the ears of a darting rabbit and a sudden flight of crows. He thought of how very much against crows he was and wondered who wasn’t against crows. Then, in the far in the distance, he noted a young girl retrieving eggs from a hen house. This prompted him to consider how very much he did like eggs. Fried eggs, in particular.
After a half hour of thinking about eggs, Jimmy decided that he’d better take in his circumstances and determine what he should do if he were set upon by highwaymen. Instantly, he realized that the only way to fight off a horde of attackers was from inside the carriage. He removed there as fast as a badger running to ground.
Elizabeth pressed her lips together to stop from smiling. The badger had let himself into Lady Castlereagh’s carriage. She wondered if his reward would have been quite so large, had the lady known of it.
Jimmy watched out the carriage windows like a sentry, ready to do battle at any moment. Over time, though, he noticed he took a chill. Most particularly, his hands had got a chill. Chilled hands would go against him if he found himself fighting off a horde. Then, he reasoned that there was a fur throw doing absolutely nothing and helping nobody. Why should a fur throw be doing nothing? Wouldn’t the fur throw wish to warm a body so nearby, as it was the whole purpose of a fur? Through this remarkable leap of logic, he soon found himself comfortable under it, the fur throw apparently satisfied that it did its duty.
Jimmy paused, looking thoughtfully at the ground. Softly, he said, “Everybody knows how ‘troidinary a fur will warm a person, and how a body needs to be rested to properly fight off attackers. So I knocked off for a while.”
At this, Elizabeth clapped her hand across her mouth to stop herself from laughing. The badger was now asleep in the carriage, under Lady Castlereagh’s fur.
“Then Matthew banged on the door,” Jimmy continued, “and said he brung the horses and here we are.”
Mr. Quinn stared at Jimmy, then said, “My view that no fact is too small has been entirely upended. I fear Miss L
ucas will have little to record from this interview.”
Jimmy bowed, concluding what he perceived to be a well-received performance. Elizabeth only wished her father had been present, as this was precisely the sort of ridiculous exchange that he enjoyed most.
“Perhaps,” Mr. Darcy said, “we should examine the carriage that has proved so comfortable to this boy.”
Jimmy, never one to perceive a slight, waved his arm as if he were showing them to their theater seats and said, “This way, sir.”
Though they had attempted to examine the carriage while in the stable, Mr. Quinn had determined that the thing could not be done creditably without more light. Now, the carriage stood in the drive, under full sun.
Elizabeth spotted Doctor Kellerman’s horse near the garden gate and guessed that the doctor had made good on his promise to look in on Lady Castlereagh. His horse, being so used to his master’s habits that he need not be stabled, was perfectly happy to reach for any grass he could find nearby.
Lady Castlereagh’s carriage was as Elizabeth remembered it, though the now infamous fur throw had been neatly folded. She peered in one side while Mr. Darcy and Mr. Quinn peered in the other.
“I speculate that the dogs sat there,” Mr. Quinn said, pointing at the dog hair on the seat. “And therefore, Lady Castlereagh was seated on the other side.”
“Just so, Mr. Quinn,” Elizabeth answered.
“Did the lady indicate where her jewels would have been, before they were taken?” Mr. Quinn asked.
“She did not,” Elizabeth said, “though when she looked for them, she looked around her feet.”
“Yes, that would make sense,” Mr. Quinn said.
“But what matter where they were before they were taken?” Mr. Darcy asked.
“Wait!” Elizabeth exclaimed, having just spotted something she did not note on the day. Three perfectly round spots stained the leather of the carriage seat, just where the seat met the back. “See these three red stains? They appear to be drops of blood.”
Mr. Quinn raced around the back of the carriage and arrived at her side. “Yes, I see. Well now, that is finally something for Miss Lucas to record. What does it mean? We cannot yet know. However, if my investigative instincts are correct, this clue will come to mean something.”
“This is very odd, Mr. Quinn,” Elizabeth said. “Lady Castlereagh did not bleed at all.”
“Then it is somebody else’s blood,” Mr. Quinn said. “Perhaps there was a struggle. Perhaps one man turned against another. There is much to unravel here.”
Back in the drawing room, Mr. Quinn raced to Charlotte and they put their heads together, Mr. Quinn talking and Charlotte writing. Mr. Bingley observed Jane as she sewed and delivered high compliments on her skill. Elizabeth had not known it before, but apparently Jane’s stitches were the neatest in all England.
Doctor Kellerman took tea with his patient. “Ah, Miss Bennet,” Lady Castlereagh said, “the dear doctor has come to once again assure me that I will live. Though he would set off immediately after delivering the news, I pressed him to sit and take tea.”
“You have accomplished more than we ever could, my lady,” Elizabeth answered. “We have never convinced Doctor Kellerman to stop for a moment.”
“He is a hard-working country doctor, you see,” Lady Castlereagh said.
Doctor Kellerman blushed deeply at this sentiment and gulped his tea.
“Though I wonder, Doctor,” Lady Castlereagh said, “would you not wish to become a London man? You would not always be upon your horse, a carriage would do. And, should you secure the right address, your patients would never be overly far. I could set you up and you would find that, once recommended by me, you could pick and choose who you would see.”
Doctor Kellerman cleared his throat. “I could never fancy myself a London man, my lady,” he said. “I have no patience for females that swoon, if you understand me. Though I got a few round here that make a remarkable performance of it.”
“I hope none of the Bennet girls allow themselves such an indulgence,” Lady Castlereagh said.
“I don’t generally find girls the problem,” Doctor Kellerman said gruffly. “Look to their mamas to get the real picture of it.”
Elizabeth blushed, and thinking to turn him from absolutely identifying Mrs. Bennet as a lady that would take to swooning when the mood struck, she said, “Doctor Kellerman, we believe we may have identified droplets of blood in Lady Castlereagh’s carriage. Would you be so kind as to confirm our suspicion?”
The doctor nodded and drained his tea. He rose and said to Lady Castlereagh, “As I mentioned, no travel for some weeks unless it be a very short trip. A trip to Meryton here and there is fine, London is out.”
With that, he bowed and left the room.
Lady Castlereagh turned to Elizabeth. “Blood in my carriage? Whatever violence overtook me that day, perhaps it is a blessing that I remember none of it.”
“Not the slightest memory has returned, my lady?” Elizabeth asked.
“Not a bit of it,” Lady Castlereagh said.
They were silent for some moments, then Doctor Kellerman strode back into the room. “Mighty fortunate you sent me to have a look, Miss Bennet. That is not blood.”
Mr. Quinn, having heard the statement, raced to the doctor’s side. “Not blood? But I would stake my reputation on it! The color! The arrangement of spots!”
“That’s all well and good,” the doctor said, “but drops that size on leather, happening so recent, would not have absorbed completely into the material you see. How do I know? I spattered some blood on the very back of my saddle after reporting to a farm accident. I didn’t note it until three days had gone by. They were raised spots. Raised enough to scrape off. That is not what you have here.”
“If it is not blood, Doctor Kellerman,” Elizabeth asked, “what is it?”
He shrugged. “I’m a doctor. I can only tell you what is blood, and what is not.” He tipped his hat and strode out of the room.
Mr. Quinn turned and called to Charlotte. “We must make a revision, Miss Lucas. Blood is to be crossed out and an unknown substance is to be written in.”
At dinner that evening, Elizabeth was once again seated next to Mr. Darcy. Mrs. Bennet had carefully maneuvered her, as well as making certain that Jane was seated next to Mr. Bingley. Elizabeth suspected Mr. Bingley might have done the maneuvering himself, had Mrs. Bennet not taken the lead. He had seemed to attach himself to Jane’s side at every opportunity.
Lady Castlereagh sat by Mr. Bennet and, for all to hear, she said, “What shall you do next, Mr. Quinn? What is our next move to be?”
Mr. Quinn dabbed his lips with his napkin and said, “I will visit the scene of the crime. Pumpkin Hill, I believe it is. I will take Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley with me, and there we shall go over every inch of ground. More often than not, criminals will leave something behind. In the past, I have discovered everything from a clay pipe to dropped handkerchief to a note detailing how the crime was to come off. I have taken to believing it is the criminals better nature, secretly wishing for them to be caught.”
“And what shall we do in your absence, Mr. Quinn?” Lady Castlereagh asked.
Mr. Quinn seemed puzzled by the question. “Wait for our return, my lady?”
Lady Castlereagh appeared unenthusiastic about that idea. “I am frightful at waiting, Mr. Quinn. Oh, I know waiting is meant to be a woman’s finest quality. We are to be the patient sex, forever sitting calmly by until news is brought to us. However, I am simply not cut out for it.”
Mrs. Bennet, seeing her opportunity better than any general planning an attack, quickly said, “You ought not to wait, my lady, if it does not suit. May I suggest a picnic on Pumpkin Hill? If we went forward with such a scheme, you would be at the scene to hear of any discoveries as they are made.”
Lady Castlereagh nodded to Mrs. Bennet. “I am in favor of the idea, though it seems rather cold for such an activity.”
Th
is initially stumped Mrs. Bennet, for it was not the season for eating out of doors. Then her face brightened. “We shall bring plenty of blankets, and braziers for under the table.”
“We might be able to accomplish it, with the help of hot drinks,” Lady Castlereagh said. “It will be rather like a skating party, without the frozen pond. Though I tremble at revisiting the site of the disaster, I feel confident I can go through with it if I have so many allies by my side. We might even bring Jimmy along to guard us like a badger.”
Elizabeth heard a small sigh escape from Mr. Darcy and was certain he did not wish to hear anything further from Jimmy. Mr. Bennet laughed. “Jimmy is to be a badger, is he?”
“A veritable badger, Mr. Bennet,” Lady Castlereagh said with a smile. “You heard him yourself, when you would leave him with my carriage. As my vehicle came through none the worse for it, I must presume he spoke truthfully.”
Elizabeth avoided Mr. Quinn’s knowing look as she pictured the badger sleeping under Lady Castlereagh’s fur.
Mrs. Bennet, having no use for Jimmy but delighted that her scheme had been taken up, said, “It is settled. On the morrow, we picnic on Pumpkin Hill.”
Mr. Darcy said quietly, “Let us hope Jimmy forgoes crawling into anybody’s carriage for a nap.”
Elizabeth giggled into her napkin. “He is too ridiculous, I know. But my father and I are ever entertained by the boy’s unique views of the world.”
“I cannot say that I know the unique views of my own grooms,” Mr. Darcy said. “Or any of their views. I hope I never do.”
“Oh, it is doubtful you would hear anything extraordinary. Jimmy is singular, I am certain. He once told me that he thought our Lord in heaven ought to rethink flies, as he did not see the use for them.”
Mr. Darcy appeared rather stymied by this idea. Finally, he said, “But Miss Bennet, how does one fall into such a conversation with a groom?”
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