“Where did they come from?” Elizabeth asked.
“Most recently, a pawnbroker’s shop in New Orleans.” Randolph tucked the pouch into his breast pocket. “You’d be surprised at the objects that find their way into such establishments. I spotted this pair and, based on appearance and the inscription, suspected they were a legendary set known as the Halbert Rings—the gift of a sixteenth-century French nobleman to his bride. It is said that the marquis loved his wife but was a jealous man, and feared being cuckolded as had so many of his peers. So he commissioned a pair of rings and had them enchanted by the village wisewoman to ensure his wife’s fidelity. But the wisewoman dabbled with forces she did not fully understand and inadvertently invested the rings with the ability to bind one wearer to the other’s will.”
Darcy’s face drew into a frown of suspicion. “If you were the one who found the rings, how did Parrish come to possess them?”
“I didn’t have the money to buy them. I had just been dismissed from my most recent academic post and was seeking a new position. I had been keeping my eye on the rings for about a month when I encountered Mr. Parrish one day in the pawnbroker’s shop. He noted my interest in the rings. I, taking him to be a gentleman of means, explained my professional curiosity about them in hopes that he might be prevailed upon to patronize my studies.”
Randolph cast one of the candles into the hearth. The wax quickly softened and caught fire, brightening the dim room. “Mr. Parrish agreed to purchase the rings and keep them for me until I had the wherewithal to pay for them myself. He said, however, that he was leaving the country the next day and did not expect to return for some time. To my surprise and delight, he invited me to accompany him to England. He said he was intrigued by my studies and wanted to learn more about them. Perhaps, he suggested, he might consider financing my next expedition, or could introduce me to others who would.
“I could scarcely believe my good fortune! Indeed, I was so excited I didn’t realize until later that I hadn’t even learned the name of my new benefactor. Having no other prospects or connections, I packed my belongings and met him at the docks the next morning. It was then that he introduced himself to me as Frederick Parrish, owner of a sugar plantation.”
The first candle having liquefied, he tossed the other into the blaze. It, too, was quickly consumed. “During the voyage, Mr. Parrish displayed insatiable curiosity about the rings—their history, what they did, how they worked. His enquiries then expanded to encompass other artifacts and enchantments. He proved a quick student, absorbing even the tiniest details. After so many years of having my work mocked and unappreciated, I was gratified by his abundant interest. I never realized that I was unwittingly helping him develop a most despicable plot.”
“Would it have made a difference, Randolph?” Parrish snickered. “When we met, you didn’t have a pot to piss in. You were at that pawnbroker’s shop to sell one of your other pieces of junk just to pay your rent.”
“That’s true—I was,” he told the Darcys. “Perhaps I didn’t realize what was happening because I didn’t want to. Once we reached London, Parrish established himself in the townhouse while I took a small room in Fleet Street. Concerned about the safety of my artifacts, I arranged for them to be displayed at the British Museum rather than store them in my room or accept Mr. Parrish’s offer to keep them at the townhouse. He seemed quite put out by my decision, to the point where I feared losing his patronage.
“Mr. Parrish soon became the toast of the ton, and I benefited from his popularity. While he courted marriageable young ladies, I courted potential patrons. And so when he came to me with a lock of Miss Kendall’s hair and asked me to teach him how to create a charm I’d told him about, to my shame, I complied rather than risk losing his favor.”
Elizabeth recalled Parrish asking for a lock of her own hair. “What did the charm do?”
“If the lock is freely given, the charm blinds the giver to the wearer’s faults,” Randolph said. “It’s not as powerful as the rings; it doesn’t dominate another’s will, merely discourages one from considering the wearer’s statements and actions too critically. I believe Mr. Parrish fashioned a second charm—the medallion your husband just removed—from locks given by members of this household.”
That explained the lack of resistance Parrish had encountered when he suggested institutionalizing Caroline, Elizabeth realized. He must have invoked the medallion that night, as he had with Bingley just now.
At Randolph’s invitation, Darcy, still holding the medallion, cast it into the flames. The unpleasant odor of burning hair wafted through the room, but all were too interested in learning more from Randolph to leave.
“Did you not wonder why Parrish wanted to create such an item?” Darcy asked.
“I thought he only wanted to aid his suit and secure Miss Kendall’s hand more quickly. By then, I had started to suspect that his financial resources were running low—he hosted fewer parties, spent more conservatively. He still talked about financing my expedition but never advanced any capital. I believed him simply strapped until the sale of his plantation was complete. Selfishly, I thought his marrying an heiress might restore his generosity, and I yet hoped some of it would fall my way.”
Darcy squeezed Elizabeth’s hand, then released her to approach Parrish. “When Mr. Kendall investigated you and ended the courtship, you had to find another heiress. And you had to act quickly, before Kendall exposed you to all of society.”
Parrish looked at his wife in disgust. “Why else would I have settled for Caroline Bingley? She was an easy mark—licking her wounds over your engagement and unprotected by her brother’s distraction over his. She would have given herself to anyone in breeches.”
“Swine.” Caroline pushed herself to her feet and went to stand before him. “I can’t fathom how I ever believed your lies.”
“Because you wanted to. Just like I tolerated your company because I wanted to—and because I didn’t think I would have to endure it for long. But you just wouldn’t die. You were too damned lucky! I send you out on Bow Street at midnight with a bulging reticule, and instead of a cutthroat, the Darcys find you. I send you down to the kitchen for some late-night slicing, and you take so long to bleed out that the cook discovers you in time. I couldn’t get rid of you! So when Mrs. Bennet let slip how much money your brother really had, I figured I’d kill off your family first to gain a larger inheritance for my trouble—and do it before Bingley went and tied it all up in land.” His lips curved into a smug grin. “Or rather, I’d have you do it.”
“Monster! You directed me to loosen the bolt on that wheel.” Caroline’s voice shook. “You had me don servants’ clothes and sneak into my brother’s chamber to set the fire.”
“And you couldn’t even do those things right, you dumb—”
She slapped him. “And you!” She spun round to accost Randolph. “You stood by and watched him do it!”
“Indeed I did not, madam! I assure you, I had no idea he planned to use those rings until he produced them at the wedding ceremony. And even then, I didn’t realize he intended to kill you. When you were found in the kitchen, I thought your spirit was acting toward its own destruction rather than allow itself to be subverted to Parrish’s will.” He turned to Elizabeth. “Mr. Parrish asked me to suggest taking his wife back to America, saying he thought her family would be more disposed to agree if the recommendation came from me. But the idea of consulting Dr. Lancaster was mine. I truly did want to help her! Later, I tried to use my amulet to weaken the ring’s hold on her. That’s what I was doing the day you walked in on our session.”
“The day of the winter solstice?”
“A coincidence, that.”
“I remember now,” Caroline said vaguely, as if recalling a dream. “All along I could see what was happening to me, but as if I were witnessing it happen to someone else. At first, I didn’t realize what was making me act so strangely. Frederick would suggest things, and I would just do the
m. After I went riding with Miss Kendall, I started to suspect something strange was afoot—Hecate shied from my touch all morning, and spooked when I laid my hand on her neck. The animal knew before I did that I wore an evil ring! But I was powerless to act in my own defense.
“Then Frederick’s commands became more direct, and I noticed him manipulating his own ring when he gave them. I understood then. But the more I attempted to resist, the more mad I appeared to all of you. And the more time I spent in his proximity, the more the ring overpowered my will.” She met Bingley’s sorrowful gaze. “I am sorry, brother, for the injuries I did you.”
He crossed to her and took her hands. “You could not help yourself.”
“I tried! I tried to draw attention to the ring, but my efforts failed. Only once since my wedding day did I feel I had any control at all—after my last meeting with Professor Randolph. When I left, I felt strong enough to confront Frederick. I told him I knew what he was doing, and that I would reveal his treachery if he didn’t remove my ring. He refused, and we fought. Then he drugged me, and when I awoke, I was weak again.”
“Why didn’t you simply remove the ring?” Elizabeth asked.
“I could not. I even burned my hand intentionally, hoping someone else would take off the cursed thing.”
“I was also unable to slide it off,” said Randolph. “It was magically bound to her. That’s why I had to return to London for this rod—to break the bond.”
Elizabeth frowned. “But I removed the ring myself, this morning.”
Randolph regarded her in amazement. “You did? That’s—why, that’s extraordinary, Mrs. Darcy! In the long history of that ring, only the wearer of its companion band has been able to remove it without supernatural aid. You must—” His gaze flickered to the others present. He lowered his voice. “We must speak more at a later time.”
Elizabeth held out the pocketwatch. “Meanwhile, you deserve to have this back. I’m sorry I withheld it from you.”
To her surprise, he shook his head. “Keep it. Despite popular belief, the pentagram is not a symbol of evil, but of protection. That amulet kept you safe from harm today—may it continue to do so.”
“It did not keep Mr. Kendall safe,” she pointed out.
“Because it was planted in his hand after his death, just as the symbols were inscribed after the murder took place. Mr. Kendall was stabbed in the back by a common thief”—he cast a derisive look at Parrish—“who also snatched my watch right out of my pocket just after I tried to use it to help Mrs. Parrish. I didn’t notice its absence until dinnertime, and it was the next day before I realized how I’d lost it.” He addressed Parrish. “You stole it before the murder. Did you intend to frame me then? Or merely prevent me from using the amulet again?”
Parrish shrugged insolently. A prod from Darcy opened his mouth. “The latter. Leaving it in Kendall’s hand was a lastminute stroke of inspiration.”
“When the watch was found, I knew the killer had tried to implicate me,” Randolph continued. “And I knew the murderer must have been Mr. Parrish. He was familiar with my amulet, had seen it many times, but had taken little interest in passive, guardian magics—he wanted to learn only of devices that enable one to act upon others. Had I been a better teacher, I would have realized his malicious intentions sooner. But had he been a better student, he would have chosen a more appropriate symbol to aid his crime.”
The sound of footfalls on the stairs soon led to the entrance of Miss Kendall and the constable. The snow-covered peace officer had not even paused to leave his greatcoat with a servant. “I hear you’ve found the murderer?” His eyes widened as they took in the image of Frederick Parrish bound to the bedpost. He turned to Darcy. “It was Mr. Parrish? Are you certain, sir?”
“Mr. Kendall knew that Parrish wasn’t who he claimed to be,” Darcy said. “He has no plantation in America, and he is wanted under the name Jack Diamond for murder and other crimes there.” Darcy helped the constable handcuff Parrish. “Mr. Kendall threatened to expose you to us, did he not?”
“Kendall was a greedy bastard,” said Parrish. “He got what he deserved.”
“So will you.”
When all the others had exited the room, Darcy drew Elizabeth to him and kissed her.
“I hope you will forgive me,” he said. “Else it will be a long ride to Derbyshire.”
“With sufficient atonement, I may be persuaded,” she said lightly, her expression revealing that he’d already been acquitted.
“How can I make amends?”
She pretended to think a moment. “If you produce a nice enough gift on Christmas morning, perhaps I shan’t make you ride the full distance in silence.”
“But by Christmas morning we already will have made the journey.” He smiled as her look of puzzlement was quickly overcome by one of hopeful anticipation. “Can you be ready to depart by this afternoon?”
“I am ready this instant.”
Epilogue
“Mr Darcy sends you all the love in the world, that he can spare from me. You are all to come to Pemberley at Christmas.”
Elizabeth, writing to Mrs. Gardiner,
Pride and Prejudice, Chapter 60
Happy for all their domestic feelings was the day on which Mr. and Mrs. Darcy set off from Netherfield to spend Christmas at Pemberley. They had not an hour to waste, and exhausted the horses in the journey, but even the animals seemed relieved to reach home after so long a sojourn. Georgiana and the Gardiners met them with much elation, and all enjoyed a merry Yuletide free of the unpleasant people and events of recent weeks.
Mr. Parrish experienced the hospitality of the Hertfordshire county jail for months while he awaited trial. Although the paranormal details of his crimes were withheld from common knowledge, the miscreant’s other acts proved sufficient to convict him in the court of public opinion well in advance of his appearance in the court of law. As word of his treachery spread, all the ton recalled having observed something untrustworthy in his aspect, questionable in his manner, dubious in his speech. Americans in general were declared uncivilized, and marriage to one the ultimate mésalliance.
Caroline remained at Netherfield to recover from her ordeal and petition for a divorce from her frog prince. The disgrace of her marriage chastened her little; free of the ring’s effects, she was soon restored to her usual charming self, and took pleasure once more in derisive commentary on country society. Unfortunately, she was left to make her snide observations alone, as the Hursts departed for the Continent to live amongst other genteel expatriates fleeing high gambling debts. Louisa wrote to her brother with hints that a few extra pounds would greatly increase their comfort, and to her sister with suggestions that a French suitor might prove just the antidote for her American faux pas, but neither responded with enthusiasm.
Jane and Bingley, their house cleared of guests save Caroline, at last knew relative peace. Lest the newlyweds grow bored at Netherfield without murder and mayhem to fill their days, Mrs. Bennet’s frequent visits and the servants’ misguided eagerness worked in concert to keep life interesting. As soon as spring arrived, they undertook with alacrity the search for a new home.
Juliet Kendall enjoyed increased popularity following the Parrish scandal. In the convenient memory of the ton she was credited with having been the first to recognize the scoundrel for what he was. By the middle of the following season, she married a gentleman of moderate means who found her disposition bearable, and perhaps sweeter for the sizable inheritance that came with it. They settled in Sussex and never bothered the Bingleys again.
Professor Randolph managed to escape guilt by association with Mr. Parrish, and was generally considered another unfortunate victim of the rogue’s duplicity. Aided by the patronage of Lord Chatfield, and Mr. Darcy’s suggestion that he would do well to keep his specialty quiet, he secured a position as the British Museum’s first resident archeologist. He immediately commenced planning his next expedition, an investigation into several sta
nding stone ruins in the north country.
Darcy, having witnessed with his own eyes the supernatural effects of the rings, was forced to concede to Elizabeth that there were things of this world that transcend the ability of science to explain. He continued, however, to believe in the superiority of reason over intuition. He also continued to train with his fencing master whenever business summoned him to London, in the unlikely event that he would ever again be called upon to defend himself with a fire poker.
Elizabeth met the demands of her new role as mistress of Pemberley with grace and aptitude. Her days were busy, but she took pleasure in the occupation. As time passed and the intrigue at Netherfield faded into memory, she could hardly believe herself that the eerie events she’d experienced had been more than a chapter in a gothic novel. She was content to set aside thoughts of plots and portents for more mundane concerns: the simple pleasures of home and hearth, and a new husband whose devotion to her was matched only by the affection she bore for him.
In quiet moments, however, she sometimes withdrew Professor Randolph’s amulet and pondered his parting words to her. “I believe you have a gift,” he had said. “A very powerful one. Should you ever choose to cultivate it, let me know.”
Perhaps one day she would.
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