Mr. Darcy's Little Sister

by C. Allyn Pierson

  As she reached the end of this speculation, they heard the front door open and the murmur of voices. Elizabeth rose and faced the door, and she noticed that the others did the same. In a brief moment, the colonel burst in and looked around at those in the room, not missing the presence of Burton.

  “What in the devil is going on, Father? Hanford caught me as I was leaving my lodgings for the evening and gave me your note. What did you mean ‘a matter of the utmost urgency’?”

  Lord Whitwell held up his hand to stop the impetuous flow of words and said curtly, “I would, after further consideration, describe it more as a matter of life and death. Your cousin Georgiana has been abducted.”

  “Abducted! You must be joking. How could someone kidnap her in the middle of London? Surely she was not out alone.”

  “She was not. Please give Mrs. Darcy the courtesy of your attention. Mrs. Darcy, will you please repeat the story once more?”

  “I will repeat it a thousand times, your lordship, if it will shed some light on this ghastly mess.”

  He smiled encouragingly at her and she started again, leaving nothing out. At the conclusion, the colonel was standing in front of the fireplace staring into the fire, his hands clasped behind his back. He continued that way for several minutes after she finished then looked up.

  “Do we have any idea who might have done this and why?”

  Lord Whitwell said dryly, “Is her fortune not enough to explain the why? There are very few young ladies even among the nobility who possess such a rich dowry.”

  “Yes, but there are several possibilities which we must consider, and they each require a different course of action. The first, and most obvious, possibility is that Georgiana was abducted to extort a ransom from my cousin. The neatness of her capture in the park—away from the Darcy household, most of whom would have given their lives to protect her—suggests a familiarity with the family and the household routines which a complete outsider would be unlikely to have. Georgiana is not a person whose life is scheduled during every moment of the day, and this confrontation in the park was obviously well planned; it was not an impulsive crime. If this is the case we will soon be receiving a random demand.

  “The second possibility, which I place somewhat higher than the first, is abduction to force her to marry someone so he can obtain her dowry. This person would have to have information on Georgiana’s fortune, but such information is easily obtained; everyone in the upper levels of society knows her net worth to the penny, I have no doubt. The fact that Mrs. Annesley was not also injured and left behind would tend to support the idea of a forced marriage if the perpetrator of this crime is a member of the gentry or nobility who wants her money desperately but also wishes to keep his place in society. He will keep Georgiana with her chaperone to try to minimize the damage to her reputation and, thus, our motivation to seek revenge.

  “The first thing we should do is send riders to Gretna Green. They will not be able to force her into a quick marriage in England but would have no difficulty finding someone happy to marry a clearly unwilling bride across the border in Scotland. In both cases, the villain is counting upon our desire to avoid a scandal to force us to keep quiet once the deed is done. There may be other possibilities which will come to us later, so keep your minds open to other ideas.

  “I am going back to the officer’s mess now. I have a couple of men whose discretion I know I can rely upon. I will send them posthaste to Scotland to try to cut the kidnappers off if they headed that way. Did the injured footman know at what time they were attacked?” He looked at Elizabeth.

  “He was light-headed and confused so I do not know how reliable his testimony is, but he thought that they had been in the park about one hour, which would put it at around four o’clock. They had reached the Serpentine and were returning when it happened. He said that dusk was falling, but they could still see clearly.”

  “I am assuming that this man’s history would suggest he is trustworthy?”

  Burton cleared his throat and spoke up, “Yes, sir, I am quite confident he is not involved in this, except as a victim. He has served at Pemberley for about fifteen years and this is his first trip to London in that time. We brought him because we needed a larger household staff during Miss Darcy’s Season. He is very upset and trying to insist on going out with the others to search for her.”

  Elizabeth surreptitiously wiped the tears welling in her eyes.

  Both gentlemen were immediately on their feet, offering her their handkerchiefs. She gave them a weak smile. “Thank you, both of you. If you don’t mind I will accept both handkerchiefs. I think I may need them.”

  She sat up and tried to control her tears. “Is there nothing else we can do, Colonel? It is unbearable to just sit and wait.”

  He gave her a sad smile. “I wish I could think of more. I am not good at sitting and waiting for others to do the work either, but a few trustworthy men can be more discreet than I can running madly about on my own. If I suddenly disappeared it would be all over the court, and it is possible that our kidnapper may be a member of the ton.

  Elizabeth had been staring at her hands, clasped tightly in her lap, while he had been speaking; but she now looked up. “Do you think that this could be related to my husband’s reasons for travelling to the Continent?”

  Fitzwilliam paused and thought. “I have no reason to believe that his business there involves more than the one person he is meeting, so I do not think so, but I really do not know. I think we should keep it in mind. I have also considered the possibility that this is related to my own activities in some way, although I do not have any specific suspicions. It would be of great benefit to an assassin to have me distracted from my duty to the Prince Regent by concern for my cousin.”

  Elizabeth, staring at her clenched hands, said softly, “And what should I tell the servants? It is obviously impossible to prevent all of them from knowing the entire story, thus far.”

  The colonel considered. “If you would like, I will return to Ashbourne House with you and Burton. Most of Darcy’s servants have been with the family for many years and I hope with the efforts of myself, Burton, and Mrs. Burton we can limit how much of this spreads outside of the house.”

  “I would be most grateful if you would, Colonel. I do not feel at all capable of dealing with this on my own.”

  Lord Whitwell interjected, “And there is no reason that you should be required to, my dear lady, when you have a family to assist you.”

  The colonel offered her his arm and they left for Ashbourne House immediately.

  ***

  As the pale light of dawn gradually lessened the darkness in their room, Georgiana awoke from a brief and troubled sleep with a start. She felt the warmth of Mrs. Annesley stir next to her and she was grateful not to be alone.

  “Are you awake, Georgiana my dear?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did you sleep at all?”

  “Very little, but I did drift off for a bit.”

  Soon they could hear stirring in the house, and the old woman, who did not seem to speak, silently brought in a ewer of water and a towel. They tried to wash and make themselves as presentable as possible with only cold water, but it was difficult. Mrs. Annesley tried to smooth her charge’s hair with her fingers and repin it neatly, but Georgiana was sure she looked a fright in her rumpled gown and flattened curls.

  “I hope Mr. Walker was not too uncomfortable last night.”

  Mrs. Annesley nodded, her lips occupied with holding her hairpins while she tried to redo her own hair. Finally she patted the resulting chignon.

  “I suppose that is the best I can do under the circumstances. I also hope that Mr. Walker is safe. He probably had a sore head to keep him awake.”

  They suddenly heard the key in the lock, and Walker was pushed roughly into the room before the old woman brought them another tray of
food. Apparently, they were to have their meals together.

  After the door was locked again, Mrs. Annesley said softly, “I hope that your night was not too uncomfortable, Mr. Walker.”

  “I had a bed to lie on and my head stopped throbbing after a while. I cannot complain, except to chastise myself for my ineptitude at rescuing you, Miss Darcy. I should have gone to your uncle or to your cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam.”

  Georgiana gave him a tremulous smile. “Do not be stupid, Mr. Walker. If you had, you would not have known where to take them. We are both most grateful for your efforts, and, truthfully, your presence increases my hope that we will escape this peril safely.”

  He smiled at her and bowed. “I thank you for your confidence in me, Miss Darcy. I have hopes that I can find some way to escape my dungeon, and my first task is to try to convince our gaolers to take off my shackles. They must know that I cannot escape—they have kept me in the cellar where there is only a tiny grate to admit light, not large enough for a body to go through. If I can get loose I must creep up the stairs and go out the door or through an unbarred window, if there is one.”

  “I will pray for your success, Mr. Walker.”

  “Thank you, Miss Darcy.” He smiled warmly at her, and she flushed and looked down at her hands.

  “Perhaps if you ladies could lend me a hairpin, I could fashion a picklock of some sort to open the shackles. I cannot say that I have any previous training in such, but I will have plenty of hours to work on them.”

  Georgiana smiled eagerly. “Yes, of course. Mrs. Annesley, could you find a pin in my hair that we could remove without all of it falling down?”

  “I am sure you could spare one.”

  Mrs. Annesley found a pin and was going to hand it to Mr. Walker when they heard the key in the lock again. She quickly put the pin in his hand and sat down next to Georgiana and looked towards the door. The taller of their captors stuck his head in and bared his rotting teeth in a feral grin.

  “Well, young sir, it is time for you to retire to your quarters. I hopes you found them comfortable last night?”

  “Quite luxurious, thank you, my good man,” Walker said calmly as he walked to the door, the hairpin concealed in his palm.

  The rest of the day, Georgiana fidgeted around the room, hoping to hear some sound that would tell her that Mr. Walker had been able to escape, but the farmhouse was silent. She wondered if the kidnappers were gone during the day. It seemed unlikely that they could keep such silence if they were present.

  As the light began to fade in the afternoon, she received the answer to her questions when she heard someone moving about the front room, and their companion was returned to them for the evening meal; another dish of porridge and some more, increasingly stale, bread. Her heart plummeted when he appeared, but she hid her disappointment and commented dryly, “The cook’s repertoire of dishes seems rather limited, does it not? Perhaps we should see if she could take some lessons from our cook.”

  Walker laughed, almost choking on the lumpy porridge he was eating. “Miss Darcy, you will be the death of me! I hope that I can keep my wit functioning as well as you do under these circumstances; your courage is an inspiration to me.”

  Georgiana flushed a deep red and concentrated on her food. “I do not think that I am particularly brave. I feel as if my throat is closing tighter with each moment.”

  Walker smiled and said, “Miss Darcy?”

  She glanced up briefly.

  “You are one of the bravest people I know.”

  He reached out and took her hand. When she looked up again he raised her hand to his lips, the shackles making his movements awkward. Mrs. Annesley cleared her throat and he dropped Georgiana’s hand and turned to her.

  “Mr. Walker, do you think that there is any chance that you may be able to escape?”

  “I have not yet had the opportunity to tell you my news. Our friends have moved me upstairs—I think they were tired of coming down to get me—so there may be a chance of removing one of the shutters if I can get these leg irons loose. I could probably steal one of their horses with my arms shackled, but I would have difficulty with my legs bound.”

  Georgiana smiled to herself.

  Walker was quick to see her expression.

  “And what are you smiling about?”

  She paused, embarrassed. “I was just thinking that a woman would not have that problem since we must always ride sidesaddle.” Her voice trailed off.

  Mrs. Annesley asked, “Do you think that they have sent a ransom demand to Mrs. Darcy?”

  “I do not know. I haven’t heard a sound all day.”

  The sound of the key was at the door again, and the shorter kidnapper ordered Walker roughly out of the room. Georgiana heard the key grate in the lock of the nearby room where Walker was now being held. She sighed, obscurely reassured again by the knowledge that a friend was near, even if he was also a prisoner. The two ladies retired early again as they were still left without candle or fire to see by.

  ***

  At Ashbourne House, Elizabeth had paced her bedroom most of the night of Georgiana’s disappearance, until exhaustion forced her to recline on her settee and she had dozed off for an hour or so.

  She was up early and fidgeted nervously about her sitting-room, trying to keep a calm countenance for the sake of the servants, without much success. The colonel finally called at nine o’clock while she was toying with her food in the breakfast-parlour. She jumped to her feet when he entered, but sank back while the footman quickly set him a place at the table. When they were finally alone, the colonel looked into her eyes and she saw that, in spite of his outwards calm, his eyes were dark and furious and his teeth were clenched so tightly that his jaw muscles stood out. After a moment’s struggle, he controlled himself and said, very quietly, “I sent two men to Scotland last night. We will, hopefully, hear something definite from them soon. This morning I would like to take the injured footman with me and go over the ground that they covered in the park to see if I can find any sign of the passage of their abductors.”

  Elizabeth nodded silently, her throat dry and aching with the tears she held back. He saw her hands clenched on her handkerchief and said kindly, “Pray try to keep your spirits up, Mrs. Darcy… Elizabeth. We will find Georgiana, and her abductors will pay for their crimes.”

  Tears began to flow in earnest from Elizabeth’s eyes.

  “I just hope Georgiana need not pay also.”

  His lips compressed.

  “I also hope that her life is not blighted by the actions of these men. We will do what we can for her. All I can think about is the satisfaction I would receive from running these men through for her sake. A pistol would not be nearly as satisfying a way to punish them.”

  “We must find them first.”

  “Indeed.”

  The colonel gulped down a cup of coffee and rose, bowing perfunctorily to her before he left to find John, the footman who had accompanied the two ladies to the park.

  Chapter 15

  Oh what a tangled web we weave,

  When first we practise to deceive!

  —Sir Walter Scott, Marmion

  After three days of captivity, Georgiana awoke before dawn from another troubled sleep. They had seen Mr. Walker for short periods at each of the two meals they were served daily, and as she lay quietly, trying not to disturb Mrs. Annesley, she wondered now that their captors had allowed them to know that Walker was also a prisoner. She also wondered that she had not seen before how curious this was. Surely it would have been better, whatever their plans were, to deny their prisoners the knowledge that someone had already found them, even though his rescue had been unsuccessful. If I were a kidnapper, she thought, I would be very nervous that someone had found my location. What guarantee was there that Mr. Walker had not sent a friend or servant for help before trailing thei
r carriage? Would it not be sensible to move their prisoners to another location? It might be difficult to set up another secure house, but surely it would be worth a great deal to make sure that their hostages would not be rescued.

  Their self-assurance bothered her obscurely, but she could not find an explanation, so she determined to put those thoughts away for the moment. She did not want to think about her family, frantic with worry for her sake, searching vainly for her, so she blocked those thoughts from her mind as well and decided to think about something else entirely. After a moment, she settled on her music as a safe topic and closed her eyes and mentally played the sonata she had been working on, concentrating all of her restless energy and frustration into seeing the music in front of her and feeling the keys under her fingers.

  It was, as far as she could tell from the changes in the faint light which penetrated the shutters, nearly an hour before Mrs. Annesley stirred.

  “Georgiana?”

  “Yes, I am awake.”

  “Did you sleep at all, my dear girl?”

  “A little,” she whispered. “As each hour goes by and I think of the terrible pain and worry my family must be experiencing I find myself becoming more and more angry. I am so furious that I feel I must spontaneously combust and the thought of doing violence to our captors has firmly taken root in my mind, and I cannot remove it. What my sister must be going through! The ability of evil men to terrorise and ruin the lives of innocent women cannot be God’s will. It cannot.”