Colonel Fitzwilliam's Dilemma (31 page)

Yes, very likely, but Anne remained silent rather than giving the odious man the satisfaction of knowing he was right.

***

“Is Mrs. Darcy all right?” Asquith asked when Joshua and two footmen caught up with him.

Joshua’s lips tightened. “She says she is. Darcy is not so sure. Any sign of Sheffield?”

“Not so far, but he must have taken this path.”

“Make haste,” Joshua said. “There is no profit in stealth. We must stop him taking her off the estate at all costs.”

Asquith led the way, moving fast but keeping a close eye on the ground. It had rained heavily a few days ago and footprints made by a man bearing the weight of a young lady over his shoulder, damn his impudence, had sunk into the loamy leaf mould. Joshua continuously glanced ahead but saw no movement, heard no unnatural sounds. Why wasn’t Anne screaming as loud as she could? She must know they would be immediately on her trail. Although perhaps she did not. She and Mrs. Darcy had been some distance from the house and it was pure chance that Asquith and Joshua happened to observe the abduction.

“If anything happens to Miss de Bourgh, if Sheffield harms so much as one hair on her head, I will not be held responsible for my actions,” Asquith muttered, his expression murderous.

Ah, so that was the way things were. Joshua slapped his shoulder. “Fear not, Asquith, she is too important to him to risk harming her.”

“That had damned well better be the case. I am responsible for her welfare, but instead of putting her interests first, I agreed to go along with your plan, indirectly placing her in danger.” He ground his jaw. “Worse yet, I was not there to protect her when she needed me the most.” He shook his head in disgust. “I am a miserable failure, a sorry excuse for a man.”

“Don’t waste time on regrets,” Fitzwilliam replied. “Besides, Anne herself agreed to go along with the scheme. I doubt anything you said would have stopped her.”

“I could have told Lady Catherine.”

“For which Anne would never have forgiven you.” Although part of Joshua now wished he had done so anyway.

“Here, what is this?”

Asquith stopped abruptly, and Fitzwilliam almost cannoned into his back. He held a finger to his lips, advising caution.

“This is the ribbon Anne had in her hair earlier,” he whispered, glancing further along the main path. “The footsteps end here. They only go one way, which is towards Pemberley, so Sheffield must have taken this path to try and fool us. Miss de Bourgh kept her wits about her. I told her leaving signs was a good way not to get lost in a maze. Do we know what’s down here?”

“There used to be a woodsman’s cottage, but it was abandoned years ago when I was still a boy,” Joshua whispered back.

“A perfect hiding place,” Asquith said softly. “We never would have thought to look there without Miss de Bourgh’s quick thinking.”

“How did he find it?” Joshua mused. “He hasn’t had much time.”

“He must have an accomplice, someone he met at the inn, who worked here at one time and holds a grudge. I can’t think how else he can have done it. He would not risk trying to get back to the perimeter in case we caught up with him. Besides, being mounted on a horse in broad daylight with an unwilling lady would attract attention.”

“Right, this is what we ought to do.” Joshua took control because he was a soldier accustomed to doing so. “There are four of us against one, but we don’t know if Sheffield is armed. If he is, you can be sure he will hurt Miss de Bourgh if that’s what it takes to get away. He won’t be expecting us to find him but he will still be alert.”

“What do you have in mind, sir?” Asquith asked.

“A ruse,” Joshua replied. “He knows me and wants to revenge himself against me. I suggest I walk right up to the door, without using any stealth. I will tell him others are searching farther into the woods, but I plan to take Anne back from him then and there. Of course he will decline that invitation.”

“And in the meantime we will have crept to all sides of the building,” Asquith said. “While you two argue, we swoop in and get Anne.”

“Precisely, but only when I give you the signal. Are we ready?”

Everyone nodded, and Joshua, his expression grim and resolute, strode purposefully up the path.

***

Anne thought Sheffield had probably been a handsome man before the colonel broke his nose, but there was also a petulance about him. He was the sort of man who assumed life owed him a living simply because he had been blessed with good looks. His indolent nature and what she had been told about his disinclination for honest work, implied he traded on his looks and charm to get what he wanted. Anne could well understand why Mrs. Sheffield wanted nothing to do with him. Unfortunately, Anne currently had a great deal to do with him and was powerless to stop him from harming her if that was his intention. She didn’t think he would actually kill her. If he did that, his financial expectations would die with her. She suppressed a shudder when she considered there were worse things he could do to her.

He stared at her, his expression cruel and calculating, unnerving her, but she refused to show any reaction whatsoever. She occupied her mind by wondering instead if she and Lizzy had been missed yet. Most likely not, but she refused to be discouraged. The hour for luncheon was approaching, if it had not already arrived, and the alarm would be raised. Pierce knew they were walking together and she was sure they had been seen at one point by a least one gardener. Her ribbon would be found and then…and then what? Sheffield would not let her go without putting up a fight, would he?

She received an answer to her unspoken questions when she heard someone approaching–someone who was making no effort to do so quietly. Sheffield tensed, but Anne’s heart lifted.

“What the devil?” Sheffield peered through the doorway and an evil grin spread across his face. “Morning, Colonel. You should not have come, but I am very glad you did. You and I have unfinished business.”

“I am hardly likely to let you kidnap my cousin and do nothing about it.”

Anne wanted to cry with relief when the colonel peered past Sheffield’s shoulder to ensure she was unharmed. She had never been more pleased to see anyone in her life. She smiled at him and nodded once, which appeared to satisfy him.

“The way I see it, you’ll do nothing about it now ’cause you have to get past me to get to her, and I won’t let you catch me unawares a second time.”

“You are still on Pemberley land, Sheffield, and will not be allowed to leave it with Miss de Bourgh. If you try to harm her in any way then you will lose your only bargaining tool and swing for your crime.”

“It might almost be worth hurting her,” he snarled, “because I know you will be blamed for pulling her into your scheme.”

“I volunteered,” Anne said sweetly.

Sheffield turned to glance briefly at her. His eyes widened, and she took satisfaction from having shocked him. “You knew what they were doing?”

Anne shrugged. “The colonel would not do something like that without my permission. Unlike you, he is a gentleman.”

“So, Sheffield, what is it to be?”

Anne’s sight of the colonel was impaired by Sheffield’s body, but she was sure her rescuer had his hands behind his back, making some sort of signal with them. She understood the colonel’s plan now, or thought she did. He was taunting Sheffield into fighting with him, aware that Sheffield couldn’t fight and keep her from running. In his haste to abduct her, he had overlooked the very obvious need for rope to restrain her. Perhaps he was not so intelligent after all. What self-respecting kidnapper went about his business without a way to keep his captive subdued?

She would not like to see Colonel Fitzwilliam come to any harm if it came down to a fight of course, but she was fairly sure he would be able to overcome Sheffield. Sheffield clearly thought the same thing because instead of standing to face the colonel, he moved back into the hut, pulled Anne to her feet, and thrust her in front of him, a dagger at her throat.

“Very brave,” the colonel said in an indolent tone. “Hiding behind a lady’s petticoats.”

“A change of plan,” Sheffield replied. “Miss de Bourgh and I are leaving the estate, and if you attempt to prevent us then she will suffer the consequences.”

A crystalline stillness filled the hovel, broken only by the sound of Sheffield’s rapid breathing and the beating of Anne’s heart. She felt the cold steel of the dagger nicking the skin at her throat, sensed a wild desperation about Sheffield’s behaviour, and thought he might actually be sufficiently deranged to kill her. Truly afraid now, she implored the colonel with her eyes to do something to help her. She dare not move her head for fear of the dagger actually penetrating her skin. The colonel nodded just once and definitely made a signal behind his back this time. Now that she was standing in front of Sheffield she saw it quite plainly.

The next second a thunderous noise came from the back of the small hut. The crumbling wooden wall crashed in, and Pierce stood there, glowering at Sheffield, magnificent in his anger. Sheffield himself had turned to see what was happening, loosening his hold on Anne just enough for her to dip beneath his arms and flee straight into the colonel’s arms. He swept her from the ground, and they watched Pierce as he floored Sheffield with two massive punches, adding more damage to his nose and, unless Anne was mistaken, relieving him of several teeth.

“It’s all over,” the colonel said. “Are you all right?”

She nodded. “Yes, he didn’t actually hurt me, just scared me half to death.”

“That is as well for him,” Pierce said, taking her from the colonel and swinging her effortlessly into his arms. “Come along. I shall take you back to the house while the colonel deals with the mess here.”

Chapter Twenty

“Are you absolutely sure that you are both all right?” Will asked for the tenth time, sitting beside Lizzy in the small salon and holding her hand, mindless of the fact that Anne, Mr. Asquith and the colonel were also in the room. “You look fearsome pale.”

“Yes,” Lizzy replied. “Please stop fussing.”

“The doctor has been sent for,” Will said. “I want his reassurance. I do not trust you to tell me the truth.”

“I am so very sorry this happened,” the colonel said. “I underestimated Sheffield.”

“Well, he is locked safely away in the cellars for the time being,” Will replied, scowling, “until we decide what to do with him.”

Lizzy blinked. “Surely he must answer for his crimes?”

“Not if we wish to protect Anne’s reputation and keep this business secret from Lady Catherine,” Will said.

“Ah yes.” Lizzy nodded. “I had not considered that.”

“It is fortunate Mama is not here today,” Anne said. “I have a great curiosity to know where she has gone but would infinitely prefer her not to know what happened.”

“Then it is fortunate you found a reason to send Mr. Collins into Lambton,” Lizzy said to her husband. “He knew something was not quite right and I wouldn’t put it past him to listen at doors.”

“Especially if he thought he might overhear something to my detriment,” Mr. Asquith said. “And he would have done too. This is as much my fault as it is yours, Colonel. I ought to have taken better care of Miss de Bourgh.”

Unlike Will, Mr. Asquith was not actually free to touch his beloved, but that did not prevent him from fixing her with a look of such total adoration that no one in the room could have failed to interpret its true meaning.

“We should not waste time apportioning blame,” Will said. “Instead we must decide what to do about Sheffield.”

“He could be put on a ship back to Jamaica,” Anne suggested. “That is where he planned to go once he extracted money for my release.”

“We could,” Will agreed. “But that would hardly be punishment, and what is to stop him from returning to England and trying something even more desperate?”

“Surely he could be prosecuted for trying to steal Mrs. Sheffield’s estate,” Lizzy said. “That would not implicate anyone.”

“Yes, that might be the best thing to do,” Will agreed. “If he starts making accusations about Anne, no one will believe him because no one but those of us in this room knows about it. My servants will not say a word. You had best warn Mrs. Sheffield and obtain her agreement first, Fitzwilliam.”

The colonel nodded. “Very well. I shall speak to her this evening when they come to dinner.”

“What about Sheffield’s accomplice?” Lizzy pointed out. “Do we know who it was?”

“Oh yes, we had a frank discussion about that,” the colonel replied, flexing his grazed knuckles. Lizzy was sure there were fresh cuts on them. Asquith reflectively did something similar with his own fist and Lizzy noticed that his too was cut. “A groom was dismissed by your steward for pilfering, Darcy, and bears a grudge. Sheffield heard him grumbling about Pemberley while in the taproom and fell into conversation with him. Makes you wonder if he was planning something along these lines even before you exposed him for a liar and a fraud. Anyway he knew where the man lived, looked him up as soon as he got back to Lambton. He only went five miles out of the village, by the way, had the coach stop on some pretence, and made his way directly back.”

“So he had been here longer than we realised,” Mr. Asquith remarked.

“Exactly.”

“What is this accomplice’s name?” Will asked. The colonel provided it. “Right, I shall make sure he says nothing about his part in all of this. It will be the worse for him if he does.”

“Good,” the colonel replied. “Then we are agreed on our course of action.”

Everyone confirmed that to be the case.

“We can now put the matter behind us and look forward to the play this evening, “Anne said.

“Are you sure you should participate, Anne?” Will asked. “You have had a considerable shock.”

“But am none the worse for the experience, and would not think of letting the others down. Besides, if I do not take my part we shall have to cancel and explain why. Mama would then know.”

“Well, if you are absolutely sure.”

“Perfectly so.”

Before the matter could be discussed further, the door opened and Lady Catherine sailed through it, an unknown gentleman beside her. Unknown to everyone in the room except Mr. Asquith, it appeared.