The princess thanked the physician and saw him out. Then she turned to Kitty.
“We shall stay with you for a time this evening, Miss Bennet, while the searchers go out again. What an ordeal! I have called for tea—a substantial tea—for surely you have missed dinner. Tea, cold meats, cakes, and tales! A fine ending we shall make of this evening of adventure and mayhem.”
Then she turned to the men.
“I wish you gentlemen luck in finding the scoundrel who abandoned Miss Bennet. And the missing young lady—is she with him of her own accord? Or has he made her a captive?”
“I do not believe Miss Jamison is a captive of his, but perhaps a captive of her own gullible heart,” Kitty said quietly. “I think Mr. Drake does care for her, in his way.”
Owen remained silent during this conversation, although he and Kitty exchanged a few glances.
“Where might he go? Is this Mr. Drake a newcomer to the area?” Miss Elphinstone asked.
To everyone’s surprise, it was Mr. Alfred Cressley who responded.
“I do not believe so, Your Highness. According to my other son William, Mr. Christopher Drake has been observed many times at racetracks, taverns, clubs, and other such events. He appears to be deep within a crowd involved in gambling, especially on the horse races. No, he is no stranger.”
“But are you sure it is he?” Darcy asked.
“Quite sure, Mr. Darcy. He is a dashing young man, high-spirited, and has a unique way of tossing his blonde hair about. William recognized him immediately when your party arrived at Oakhurst.”
George Cressley then spoke. “I too have noticed him at the track when I was there on breeding business.”
Mr. Cressley continued. “We were surprised to find him in your company, Darcy. Some young men who wander astray in their youth are able to recover their honor and place in society. Let us hope that may be the case here.”
“This is ill news indeed,” Darcy said, brooding on the meaning of it all. “Perhaps he is unaware of the dangers of this crowd?”
Mr. Cressley shook his head.
“Unlikely. He and another gentleman who is often with him appear to be materially involved. Most such are in it for the money, to fund their gambling. Those who run these groups appear to have prestige, but it is all a sham. No one has seen the other gentleman of late though,” he said.
Darcy glanced quickly at Owen. He then changed the subject by directing the attention of the men to assembling search parties to seek the wayward couple. Messengers and scouts had been sent out earlier but none had returned with news. The stable master would stay behind with a few lads that could be sent out if news arrived or the couple returned. The plan was in place, the searchers ready, and the ladies saw them off. Then Kitty, Miss Elphinstone, and Princess Charlotte returned to the drawing room.
Tea was brought immediately, the fire stoked, and a blanket fetched for Kitty. Miss Elphinstone poured. Her regal bearing and mien made her seem more a princess than Charlotte, whose common jolliness contradicted her royal heritage.
“Your Highness, you are most kind …” Kitty began.
Charlotte waved her arm.
“Please, call me Charlotte. Let us use our Christian names—it is just we ladies now. It is a rare treat to meet anyone near my own age. I am a virtual prisoner, eh Margaret? Sometimes I am even banned from seeing Margaret, my dearest friend.”
Kitty gave her a quizzical look at this but it was not her place to question the princess.
“Please call me Kitty, as my friends do,” she said. “How fortunate that it is my left wrist or I should be in danger of spilling my tea with this awkward splinting and wrapping. How can I ever thank you for bringing the physician? I am sure his word set Mr. Darcy’s mind at ease as much as it did mine.”
Charlotte buttered some bread onto which she piled several slices of meat.
“It is also fortunate that is your only injury, Kitty. And that you kept your wits about you so as not to wander deeper into the forest. Things could have gone very ill indeed. Do tell us all the details now, from the beginning. I should like to hear the story in its entirety.”
Kitty smiled. “You are right. My fate could have been much worse. I did plunge into a panic at first, especially after my horse bolted.” She proceeded to tell the tale in full, from riding ahead of the whispering couple, to turning back and finding her companions gone, to the horse rearing and bolting.
“You must ride often, Kitty. Where is your home again?”
“I have lived all my life at Longbourn, our family estate in Hertfordshire. But I am spending the summer at Pemberley, the seat of my brother-in-law, Mr. Darcy, in Derbyshire.”
“The peaks area?” Charlotte asked.
“Yes. And what beauty and drama are found there! I have a lovely little part Arabian mare I ride—she is Mr. Darcy’s. My own father disapproved of young ladies riding.” She furrowed her brow. “He disapproved of most everything I did,” she said, thinking back.
The princess helped herself to several more slices of meat and nodded in commiseration.
“My father is the same.”
Kitty looked up to see a sadness lingering in the face of the princess and felt sympathy for her.
“Fortunately my father did not monitor my activities well and I was able to ride often, on the sly. I even …” Kitty looked at them both carefully. “May I share a confidence with you? Will you keep it secret?” Both ladies nodded, their eyes lighting up, so Kitty continued. “I even managed to often ride astride, disguised as a boy.”
Charlotte roared with laughter.
“A fine picture that makes, Kitty! I can see it in my head. And in exchange, I will share a secret with you. I have done the same! When I was younger, of course. My body now would be more difficult to disguise.” She burst into a loud cackle. “This ridiculous notion of riding sidesaddle, when one wants speed or to jump a course … why, one’s balance is so precarious when twisted to the side.”
“Precisely!” Kitty enjoined. “I cannot help but think it also throws the horse off balance, having to compensate for such an awkward position.”
Margaret took hold of her teacup.
“To a pair of true horsewomen.” She smiled and held up her cup in salute, and they met it with theirs.
“To true horsewomen and the secrets they must conceal!” Charlotte proclaimed. They all three laughed and drained their cups.
“After the horse bolted,” Margaret asked, “what did you do? Surely it was dark by then, and the paths in the forest can be confusing, even in the daylight.”
“That was when I truly panicked. I had hoped the horse would take me back even though he was not familiar with the forest. It is said horses can find their way. But once I lost him, I had to find some way to cope. I admit I wept for a time. Then I told myself I must think like a man.”
“Like a man?”
“Yes. Logically. Scientifically. Mr. Darcy was my inspiration; as was a friend from Derbyshire, a Mr. Stapleton, who is a geologist. A few of us had taken a ladies’ ride along the River Derwent some time ago. Lady Drake, the mother of the very Mr. Christopher Drake they now search for, organized the party. She is a fine rider, and I’m told even rides to the hounds. Her younger son is quite in love with Mr. Darcy’s sister and is the finest gentleman you would ever wish to meet, so very unlike his brother. Anyway, Mr. Stapleton is an excellent teacher, and I was an enthusiastic student of the many rock formations, trees, caves, and other features of the Derbyshire landscape. He showed me how moss can usually be found growing on the north side of trees. It can be relied on, to a good degree, to find the compass direction.”
“I was not aware of that. How peculiar,” Charlotte said.
“Nor I,” said Margaret.
“This memory came back to me, surely from Providence itself, as I sat by a large tree in the dark to gather my thoughts. For some time the darkness was complete. I did not wish to wander in circles or go deeper into the forest by mistake. S
o I felt for the moss and found it. Thus, I had determined north. But then I had to remember which direction we had taken riding into the forest. Of course, I had not paid any attention at the time, but eventually memory served and I determined we had entered the forest from the south. And then, luckiest of all, the moon rose—in the east of course—so I had some bearings and I could see, though only a little. That was when I began to walk, ever so slowly, in a southerly direction.”
“That is brilliant!”
“Amazing! You might have made it out all on your own and been your own hero,” Charlotte said, laughing heartily.
Kitty smiled. “Possibly. However, I do admit I was most relieved to see Owen … Mr. Wyndham … coming towards me with a lantern. I hid until I was certain the lantern-bearer was friend, not foe.”
“Very wise, Kitty. There are unsavory sorts about, even in the royal grounds,” Margaret commented. “A lady must take care.”
“But …‘Owen.’ You use his Christian name? He is well known to you then?” Charlotte asked with an arched brow as she chomped on a large piece of cake. “He is a handsome fellow.”
Kitty blushed. “By happenstance, he discovered my masculine riding secret. He came upon me and the stable boy one day while we were out for a hack. Mr. Owen’s wagon had broken down—actually he was en route to his estate with the very royal mares we returned today—and he recognized me by my eyes. So far, he has kept my secret.”
Margaret’s brows were knit together. “And what is the name of the young lady who is now missing? This Mr. Wyndham seems mightily concerned for her.”
“He is, Margaret. She is his stepsister. She is quite unlike him in character and principles. His real brother was recently injured in a steeplechase. He may never walk again.”
Princess Charlotte’s face grew sober.
“But Wyndham … I seem to remember that name attached to the rumors I have heard about a gambling group.” Miss Elphinstone looked at Kitty. “I believe they call themselves an ‘investment club.’ My father is investigating the situation. They not only gamble but also attempt to fix races by drugging horses, or jockeys, or both. There have been several injuries, and at least one horse has died and one jockey is crippled. Was this injured Mr. Wyndham actually Mr. Drake’s comrade?”
Kitty frowned. “Mr. Owen’s brother did—before the accident—often travel with Mr. Drake, I have been told. I have no firsthand information. I hope you are misinformed about them. Lord and Lady Drake are upstanding people.”
“And Mr. Wyndham—at present in Matlock with his injured son—is as fine a man as you will ever want to know. His younger son, Mr. Owen, has shouldered the responsibilities of the estate and especially the horse husbandry program in his father’s absence. The family has suffered much sorrow. Mr. Owen’s mother and sister were taken by fever some years back. The older son had contracted it first and blames himself for their deaths. His reactions have caused much grief.”
Margaret had been listening to this account with care.
“I cannot think that these two young men concocted this ‘investment club.’ They are merely the pawns of greater criminal minds. Perhaps,” said she in a lowered voice, “they could be used—with or without their knowledge or consent—to bring the real culprits to account?”
The princess poured more tea for each of them, chortling as the cups overflowed.
“Now there is a scheme. And that makes sense, Margaret. If these two young men were convicted, the crimes would still go on. Those in control would simply find two more such young men to do their bidding for a small share of the purse.”
“Exactly,” Margaret said.
Intrigued by this plan, Kitty asked, “Do you mean there might be a way for these two to be released from their crime and so not dishonor their families? For them to have a second chance to do right?”
Princess Charlotte said, “Certainly the injured one will no longer be involved … unless he has another accomplice. We may have a way to work on young Mr. Drake, to save both his own reputation and that of his lady love, should she wish it. But we cannot know until they are found.”
She leaned back in her chair. “We will need to communicate amongst ourselves in the weeks ahead. Kitty, leave your direction with Margaret here; and it would be best to write only to her. Sometimes my mail or messages are intercepted—even changed or falsified. We have no way of knowing who is at the top of this illicit scheme, and who may be protecting them. We must take great care. Fortunes are at stake for the culprits. Let Margaret be in charge of our plan. I will be equally involved, but silent.”
Kitty raised her brow, wondering at this.
Charlotte sighed. “Such is the situation, I am afraid. At present, I am ensconced at Cranbourne Lodge in the Great Park. But my father moves me around at his whim and decides whom I may or may not see. You are surprised?”
Kitty’s eyes were wide. “I confess I am. I had imagined a sumptuous life of parties and balls and travel and fine dining amongst the royalty. It does not seem like this bears out?”
“No, it does not. I will need to marry to gain my freedom, like any other gentlewoman. Only then will I have my own home to order as I wish. And someday rule as … well, and so my mind is bent for now on a marriage; and one for love if that can be managed. You see, I am not so different from you or your friends, Kitty. I wish I had friends and could socialize where I wish. Margaret here is my closest and most devoted …”
A servant knocked and announced that some of the searchers had returned. The trays of tea things were removed and when the servants had quitted the room, Margaret spoke again in a low voice.
“Most of the searchers know only that they seek a young couple who may have eloped. Let us preserve that notion.”
Charlotte nodded. “Yes, that is wise. We must speak tomorrow, Kitty, before you depart. Shall you still wish to ride tomorrow morning?”
“The physician advised against risking another fall.”
“Best to follow his advice, though I regret losing the chance to gallop about with you. You will be at risk enough during your return journey.”
“I am disappointed to not ride with you. But there will be another time, I hope?”
“Of course. Perhaps I may escape to Derbyshire one day!” Charlotte laughed heartily.
Kitty wrote her direction at both Pemberley and Longbourn and passed it to Margaret.
“I believe I shall be at Pemberley for the summer, perhaps a little longer. My sister’s confinement will begin in late autumn, and I do not know yet if she wishes me to stay for the birth.”
≈
It was not long until Darcy, Owen, and the Cressleys entered. They had little to report. The young couple had not been seen.
“One stable boy did disclose Mr. Drake had asked for directions to nearby inns. Riders will be sent out again at dawn,” Darcy said.
Owen stood sullenly beside Darcy.
George Cressley frowned, then asked, “What of our departure, Darcy? Shall we leave tomorrow or delay until they are found?”
“I believe we should leave immediately after luncheon no matter if they are found or not. But it troubles me to leave the young lady in such circumstances.”
“Perhaps I may be entrusted to stay and continue the search?” George offered.
Owen protested. “She is my sister; I should stay.”
Darcy’s face was severe. “Both of you shall stay, but only for two days. Mr. Owen, you must return with us when we leave Oakhurst. It is not known yet if your father and brother will remain in Matlock some weeks longer. You are needed to manage Greystone.”
“I will do so, for my father. My brother cares nothing for the estate. Why should I keep it running for—”
Darcy clipped him off—“Good. And Kitty,” he remarked, turning to her, “can I assume your gracious invitation to ride with the princess and her party has been … postponed due to your injury?”
Princess Charlotte answered. “She has already declined, Mr. D
arcy. But I have renewed the offer for any time possible in the future. As Miss Elphinstone has advised, Miss Bennet has enough risk on the return to Oakhurst and beyond. Her wrist must not be reinjured.”
Owen looked at Kitty with concern, then cast hard eyes towards the fireplace, his mouth grim in a clenched jaw.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The return trip to Oakhurst was made without incident although Kitty did have to insist that Darcy not lead her horse as if she were a helpless child. After demonstrating her level of control using one hand, he relented. He and his cousin talked about family affairs and events, horse breeding and the horse market, as well as estate issues and interests. Kitty listened halfway but found her mind straying towards the many events of late. Here was time to try and make sense of it all. Owen’s countenance—alternately troubled or smiling—floated amongst her other thoughts and impressions. The journey was not the same without him.
They reached Oakhurst not long after teatime. Georgiana and Matilda greeted them in the foyer with great enthusiasm.
“Oh, Kitty, how we have missed you! Oh, what has happened to your wrist?” said Georgiana, reaching out and taking Kitty’s hand gently. Then, looking about, she asked, “Where is the rest of the party?”
Darcy grimaced. “Please allow Kitty to rest before peppering her with questions.” Darcy kissed Georgiana on the forehead in greeting. “Perhaps you could see to tea? I am sure Kitty needs refreshment. Just for you ladies at present; Alfred and I will see to the horses and meet with the head groom.”
“Of course. I shall arrange it directly with Lady Matlock.”
When William saw Kitty’s wrist he directed the staff that she be attended to immediately in her quarters.
“You are very kind, Mr. William,” she said and the three ladies mounted the stairs.
Kitty turned to Georgiana and Matilda.
“We are a much diminished party, for now. As you may imagine, there is much news to share. Please, grant me half an hour and a spot of tea—black please—and then I shall regale you with all the details.”
Her Summer at Pemberley Page 21