Duels of Every Sort

by Sarah Brown

  Fitzwilliam maintained his cool composure despite my anger. “I realize that, Darcy. My men are doing all they can to find him, but he is smart enough to know that he is wanted by now for desertion and will not be showing his face idly around town.”

  I dragged my hands through my hair again and made a concerted effort to calm down. “I know,” I said. “I know, and I am sorry for my outburst. This is not your fault, and I know you are doing all you can to find him.” I sat down in the nearest chair and put my head in my hands. “It’s just that every time I think he’s gone and I can be happy, he somehow turns up again and destroys some piece of my world. He’s done it all my life, and now, when I should be more happy than ever I am busy worrying over whether he will suddenly show up and shatter that happiness.”

  “It may take time, Will, but we will find him. And then he will be gone forever.” I looked up and saw the determination in Fitzwilliam’s eyes. I hoped he was right.

  --- --- ---

  The next few days were spent with Elizabeth and Mrs. Bennet making plans for the wedding, which we scheduled the first Saturday in February. Mrs. Bennet and I were at odds more often than not, she wanting an elaborate affair instead of the simple elegance Elizabeth and I desired. She seemed to be convinced that opulence was an absolute requirement for someone of my station. However, my stubbornness generally prevailed, and the guest list and needless finery were kept to a minimum.

  If we were not planning the wedding with Mrs. Bennet, then we were making preparations for the Christmas celebrations instead. Christmas was but a week away and Bingley had invited the Bennets to spend the holiday at Netherfield along with Elizabeth’s aunt and uncle Gardiner, of whom she spoke highly and who I very much wanted to meet as they seemed to have been a large influence in her life. Georgiana was to make a heavily guarded journey to Hertfordshire on Christmas Eve to join us.

  Whenever we could, Elizabeth and I escaped for a private, if very chilly, walk through the gardens. As a sort of joke, I had taken to carrying a sprig of mistletoe in my pocket and would dangle it over Elizabeth’s head at every opportunity to steal a kiss. She laughed merrily each time the sprig appeared and stood on her toes to kiss me back. Elizabeth and I had become so comfortable with one another that, were it not for having to leave her at Longbourn each evening, I could have sworn that we were already married.

  Elizabeth brought to my life a contentment that I had not known was missing. I had only known her for just under three months, but it felt as though I had always loved her. I could not wait to make her my wife in earnest and take her to Pemberley to show her all its wonders. And I looked forward to this, our first Christmas together.

  Elizabeth and Miss Bennet—or Jane as she requested I now call her since we were to be brother and sister—had spent the day at Netherfield, helping to decorate the house with greenery and holly and helping Miss Bingley plan the Christmas dinner. After her confrontation with Bingley, Miss Bingley had been making a real effort to be pleasant to both Jane and Elizabeth. I was still a bit suspicious that she really meant it, but the three seemed to be giving each other the benefit of the doubt. I even heard them laughing together over some memory of Christmases past.

  As evening drew near, Elizabeth and Jane had to return to Longbourn. I pulled her aside for a moment for a private farewell as Jane said good evening to Bingley. “I hate to see you go every night. I cannot wait until you may stay with me always.”

  “I know, my love. I wish for that too.” She looked around to see if anyone was watching, but as Jane and Bingely were the only other two in the hall, we were unwatched. Then she reached into her reticule and pulled out a green bunch of leaves. I watched as she rose on her toes in order to dangle her own sprig of mistletoe over my head, as I had done to her countless times over the past few days, her eyes twinkling with mischief. I grinned at her playfulness and pulled her to me for a loving kiss, which lingered and deepened despite either of our intentions to keep it short and sweet.

  At last, Bingley coughed discreetly, and we broke apart. He and Jane had become used to catching us in such situations. They took it all in stride and were lenient chaperones, which Elizabeth and I appreciated greatly. We grinned at each other and I squeezed her hand, then led her outside and handed her into the carriage, bestowing a last kiss on her hand before releasing it. As always, the long night seemed to stretch out before me until I could see her again.

  About an hour later as I was dressing for supper, I was roused from my room by a commotion in the main hall. I heard raised voices, Bingley’s amongst them, and went to investigate. The scene that met me was one that would be etched in my mind forever more. “No! How could this be?” Bingley was shouting.

  John and Mr. Bennet stood in the hallway, with John bodily supporting Bingley. I raced down the stairs, calling, “Good God! What is the matter?”

  As I reached the last step, Mr. Bennet turned to face me, and I saw to my horror that his cheeks were stained with tears. “Darcy!” Bingley cried. “You can fix it! You have to fix it!”

  I turned from Mr. Bennet to Bingley to find his eyes filled with utter panic. “Fix what?” I asked as he sunk down against the wall and held his head in his hands.

  John held out a crumpled piece of paper. Dread settled into my stomach as I took the scrap and smoothed it out. What I found was this:

  Darcy,

  If you ever want to see your Elizabeth or her sister Jane again, you will gather a sum of twenty thousand pounds and bring it to the location marked on the enclosed map at eleven of the evening on the twenty-second. Come alone and without contacting the authorities, or your precious fiancé and her sister will not survive beyond that night.

  Wickham

  I shook my head, disbelieving what I read. It could not be. I felt as though a sword had just plunged into my gut. I could not breathe or speak or even think.

  All the noise had drawn Fitzwilliam from the billiard room. “What is going on?” he asked. I continued to shake my head, staring at the note as the others watched me. Growing impatient Fitzwilliam snatched it from me and read.

  John held out his hand again and said, “It came with this.” There in his palm was the sapphire and diamond engagement ring I had given Elizabeth. I took it gently from his hand and cradled it in my own as my knees gave way, and I collapsed on the stairs. This ring was never supposed to leave Elizabeth’s hand, and now I sat there holding it in my own.

  Vaguely, as if from very far away, I heard Fitzwilliam say, “We can find them. We must repair to London, immediately. I will prepare our things.” His footsteps echoed down the hallway as I continued to stare at Elizabeth’s ring. When I finally looked up, first at John and then at Mr. Bennet, I saw the same desolation in their eyes that I knew must be reflected in mine.

  Chapter Ten

  It took a very few minutes for my fear and devastation for Elizabeth to turn to raging fury at Wickham. Throughout my life, the man had continually swaggered in and destroyed some aspect of happiness, each transgression escalating from the last. This was by far the most despicable—and most idiotic—stunt he had ever pulled. George Wickham was an imbecile if he thought he could get away with this. And if he harmed Elizabeth, he would not live through our next meeting.

  I closed my fist around Elizabeth’s ring and rose from the stairs. Walking to where Bingley was still crumpled against the wall, I grabbed him by the lapels of his coat and dragged him to his feet. Then I turned to look at Mr. Bennet, whose eyes were red and watery with despair. “All right, that is enough wallowing. We have work to do.” Mr. Bennet nodded and rubbed a fist across his eyes. I turned to John. “Return to Longbourn, settle whatever needs to be done, and be ready to leave for London in an hour. We will need to go to my house in town if we are to find them. We can coordinate with Fitzwilliam’s men from there. Do not tell anyone what has occurred if you can help it.”

  John nodded and said, “No one knows what has happened but our coachmen. Father and I were returning fr
om a tenant visit when we found our carriage on the side of the road between Longbourn and Meryton with the note, map, and ring inside. The driver and footmen had been knocked unconscious. We roused them, and learned that they had been taken by surprise by a band of men on horses but did not know who the men were or where they went. We told them to keep quiet and return to Longbourn then rode straight here.”

  “Good, that means Wickham should not have much of head start. Go now and prepare to leave, we will pick you up at Longbourn in one hour.” John and Mr. Bennet turned with out another word and left.

  I turned to Bingley, “Pick your two most trusted servants and inform them of what has happened. Then send them out to question the nearest travel posts, inns, and any other place that Wickham may have been seen. Tell them to report to my town house with their information tomorrow at noon.”

  Bingley hurried off, and I turned to see Fitzwilliam standing behind me. “Glad to see the Master of Pemberley has retaken control of your body. I’ve ordered our horses saddled and the carriage readied and dispatched an express to my lead investigator to meet us at your house in town tonight. I am confident we can find them. It is difficult to hide something of this magnitude.”

  I nodded, and we turned up the stairs to our rooms. “What worries me is that this scheme is much more elaborate than anything Wickham has tried in the past. It took careful planning to know just when he could find Elizabeth and Jane alone. How did he get that information? And just who is he hiding with in London that we have not be able to find him before now?”

  “I don’t know, Will. Can you think of anyone besides Wickham and Mrs. Younge who would want to harm you or those you love?” Fitzwilliam asked.

  I searched my mind for anyone I thought could hold that much malice against me. “No, my mind is a blank. Other than Wickham I can’t think of a single person who could hate me that much.”

  Fitzwilliam placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. “Well, whoever it is, we’ll find them. We will find your Elizabeth and Miss Bennet, Will.”

  I nodded, but cast my eyes away. Quietly, I asked, “But in the hands of Wickham, will we find them unharmed?”

  --- --- ---

  As we were preparing to mount our horses outside Netherfield, Miss Bingley came dashing out the front door. “Charles! Where on earth are you going?”

  “I could not find you, Caroline, so I left a message with your maid. Urgent business calls Darcy, Fitzwilliam, and I to London. I do not know when we will be back.”

  “But you cannot up and leave in such a manner!” Miss Bingley cried. “What will the neighbors think? We have engagements to keep.”

  “I don’t have time for this Caroline. There is not a moment to lose. Please send my regrets to any families we may insult by leaving so abruptly.”

  “But, but—“

  “Miss Bingley,” I said, from my perch atop Strider. “We must be on our way.”

  “But you cannot leave me in this place alone, with just Louisa and Hurst, Charles! I shall come with you!” Miss Bingley turned to the house as if to call for her things to be readied.

  Bingely stopped her, as he mounted his own horse. “Caroline! You will do no such thing. You will remain at Netherfield until I return, you will keep any engagements that you are committed to while I am gone, and you will behave with the utmost civility and respect to anyone you meet. Is that understood?”

  Miss Bingley turned back, her eyes blazing, but she maintained a semblance of calm and replied, “Yes, Charles.”

  “Good. We will return as soon as we can.” With that, he spurred his horse toward Longbourn, and Fitzwilliam and I followed, the carriage behind us with our things.

  When we arrived at the front door, we found John and Mr. Bennet already mounted and waiting for us, their own carriage nearby emitting a piercing shriek. I looked at Mr. Bennet questioningly. “There was nothing else for it. How was I to explain Lizzy and Jane’s disappearance? I cannot keep something of this magnitude from my wife.”

  I nodded, while John continued. “Mother and Lydia must come with us. Otherwise the whole neighborhood will know of what has happened before dusk tomorrow.”

  I nodded again. “Fine. They can follow along with my carriage. The rest of us will ride ahead. We can discuss what is to be done as soon as we reach my town house. Fitzwilliam’s contact is awaiting us there.”

  --- --- ---

  The five of us sped the distance to London in the least time possible, without overtaxing our horses. We arrived at Darcy House just past nine in the evening. Mrs. Glenn, the housekeeper, had been made aware of our impending arrival when Fitzwilliam’s man had appeared on the doorstep. She greeted us at the door, as the butler took our coats. “Mr. Darcy, welcome home. I have prepared your rooms as well as the guest rooms, as I did not know how many would accompany you. A Mr. Gray is awaiting you in the library. I shall have refreshments sent in.”

  Mrs. Glenn had been with my family since I was a small boy. She was always the height of efficiency and courtesy and Georgiana and I looked on her as one of the family more than a servant. “Thank you Mrs. Glenn. We will have six guests for tonight and hope to add two more in the next day or two. My carriage will arrive with our belongings soon along with a carriage carrying Mrs. Bennet and Miss Lydia Bennet. I am afraid they are very distraught, as we have all received some dreadful news. Please see that they have everything they need when they arrive. I will give you a complete explanation once I have spoken with Mr. Gray. And please inform my sister and Mrs. Annesley that I will attend to them as soon as I can.”

  “Yes, sir. I will see to everything, right away.” With a curtsey, she was gone.

  I led my four companions to the library where we found a stocky, middle-aged man with silver streaked black hair and a gray speckled beard. He rose when we entered and Fitzwilliam stepped forward. “Gray, good to see you. Let me introduce my cousin, Mr. Darcy, and our friends Mr. Bingley, Mr. Bennet, and Mr. John Bennet. Gentlemen, Mr. Gray served under me on the continent and is now the finest private investigator I know.”

  Perfunctory greetings were exchanged as a tray with coffee and some cold meats and cheese was brought in. As soon as the servant left, we sat down and set to business. I began with an explanation of the evening’s events, “Here is what has happened, Mr. Gray. Wickham and several unknown accomplices kidnapped Jane Bennet and my fiancé, Elizabeth Bennet, early this evening between Longbourn and Meryton in Hertfordshire. It is unknown as yet how Wickham knew that the sisters would be alone in a carriage with only the driver and footman at the time. Wickham left a note demanding twenty thousand pounds to be delivered on the twenty-second at eleven in the evening by me alone and without contacting the authorities.”

  I handed Gray the note to look over along with the map that had been attached. Elizabeth’s ring was safely in the inner pocket of my waistcoat. “Wickham only had about an hour’s head start on us. We dispatched two men to make discreet inquiries along the travel routes from Hertfordshire, and they are to report to us here tomorrow at noon. Beyond that, we have no idea where Wickham might have taken the ladies.”

  Mr. Gray nodded. “As you know, Mr. Darcy, my men and I have been unable to find any trace of Wickham or Mrs. Younge in any place that they would usually be. If you have any information or even speculations as to where they could have gone, it would be most helpful.”

  “No, Fitzwilliam and I have already discussed this. I have been unable to come up with anything useful.”

  Gray turned to the others. “None of the rest of you have any connection with Wickham?” The others responded negatively. I was the only one Wickham wanted to hurt. He wasn’t aware of John’s involvement in the Ramsgate incident. “Very well, let us look carefully at what evidence we do have. First, I believe Wickham must have had some type of information into the daily activity of the Misses Bennet in order to know when they would be most vulnerable. Do any of you know who could have given them this information?”

  Again, we
all shook our heads. No one in Hertfordshire had seen Wickham in weeks. Gray continued, “Very well, then let us examine what he left behind. Does the location on this map mean anything to any of you?” The others each shook their heads in turn as they noted the location. It was a random field a little ways outside London. As I took the map to study it, I had a vague feeling that I had been to that field before, but could not remember when or why.

  The conversation continued around me as I tried to remember. Gray outlined his plans to gather more information. He would send out more men to make inquiries along the roads between London and Hertfordshire. Since the location of the ransom drop was near London, we assumed that Wickham would bring Elizabeth and Jane in this direction, too. At last, Gray rose to leave, promising to return at noon the next day to hear any information the servants may have gathered and to update us on his own search.

  Just as he reached the door, I called out, “Wait! I have been to this place before.” I indicated the map and motioned to Bingley and John to look with me. “Is not this the field that Billings chose when he challenged me to that duel back in September?” They both agreed.

  Gray asked, “What duel in September, Mr. Darcy?”

  “It’s become something of the fashion for some silly young buck to challenge me to a duel at least once a year. They all seem to think that I am their competition on the marriage market, though I’ve never shown any interest in any young woman of the ton. Mr. Andrew Billings was the last. Apparently his fiancé had called off their engagement in some vain hope that I would make an offer to her even though I had only spoken to her once or twice before. Billings called me out in the middle of White’s so that I could do naught but accept. He cheated at the duel. I let him live because he was young and foolish and have not heard of him since.”