The Mysterious Death of Mr. Darcy (13 page)

Elizabeth busied herself with smoothing away their dusty footprints on the carpet as Darcy balanced on the stool to slide the book's cover over the protruding lever to disguise the secret latch. Just as he stepped down and reached for his wife to bring her into another embrace, the library door latch turned, and the door swung wide. Darcy spun to see Samuel Darcy's housekeeper framed by the hall's backlight.

“Mr. Darcy!” The woman said in obvious surprise.

Darcy placed Elizabeth behind him in a protective manner. “How dare you?” he growled. “How dare you intrude upon my private time with my wife!”

“We...we thought...we thought something amiss,” Mrs. Ridgeway stammered. “We heard no sound from within.”

Darcy lorded over her. “And why should you have? Have you set the household to spy on us? I must say that I find your interference in my efforts to bring a resolution to the mystery of my cousin's death and disappearance beyond the pale. You have taken upon yourself too many liberties, Ma'am. With my cousin's absence you have assumed this household to be yours, but you have erred greatly, Mrs. Ridgeway.” Darcy glanced to his wife, who now stood beside him and who clutched his flexed arm. “If this manor is to have a Mistress, it shall be Mrs. Darcy. From this point forward, you will take your orders from her. Is that understood, Mrs. Ridgeway?”

“Absolutely, Mr. Darcy,” she said with feigned resignation.

Darcy stepped around the woman. His voice carried through the supposedly empty passageway. “Mr. Barriton, I want to see you and the rest of the household staff immediately in the library.” Without waiting to see if his wish would be attended to, Darcy returned to Elizabeth's side. From nowhere and everywhere at once, the room filled with servants dressed in his cousin's livery.

Eyes refused to meet his, but Darcy was accustomed to such deference. He spoke in hard tones. “Mrs. Darcy and I came to Dorset to pay our respects to my late cousin's memory. Unfortunately, because of the bizarre events surrounding Samuel Darcy's death, our journey's purpose has changed. Yet, never once did we consider that we would be treated with complete disregard by my cousin's staff. By my staff,” Darcy said with emphasis. “Along with the Earl and Countess of Rardin, I am your current employer.”

Darcy paused to allow the reality of what he had just announced to settle. “If any of you wish to leave my employment, I will reconcile your wages immediately.” As suspected, no one spoke. Darcy placed Elizabeth's hand on his arm. “I believe Mrs. Darcy and I have accomplished all we may as distant participants in this charade. With Mrs. Darcy's consent, we will be changing our residence to Woodvine Hall tomorrow morning.”

With her silence, Elizabeth obediently supported Darcy's plan. His expression uncommonly somber, he continued, “Mr. Barriton, you will see that an appropriate suite of rooms is prepared for Mrs. Darcy's needs and another for mine.”

Barriton bowed low. “Yes, Sir.”

Darcy's focus remained on the housekeeper. “You will also prepare rooms for my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and two of his associates. Be certain the colonel's rooms befit an earl's son. Later, we will discuss preparations for the Sandersons' arrivals.” Darcy said aristocratically, “That will be all for now, Barriton.”

Barriton bowed again. “I will see to it personally, Mr. Darcy.” The butler ushered the staff from the room.

When Mrs. Ridgeway made to follow, Darcy said, “A moment, Mrs. Ridgeway.” Although he assumed a few of those who had departed would tarry in the passageway to hear his words to the housekeeper, Darcy purposely waited until only he, Elizabeth, and the woman remained. “I will not forget your affront, Ma'am,” he said threateningly. “You will bring this household to a proper order, or you will be seeking another position. When I lock a door, it is to remain locked. When I give an order, I expect it to be followed without comment. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Mr. Darcy.”

Darcy's temper had not lessened. “I am not the amiable employer of your past, Ma'am, and you would do well to remember that fact.”

She had been quiet: Far too quiet for Darcy's peace of mind. “Say it,” he dejectedly insisted. They had departed Woodvine Hall shortly after he had delivered his ultimatum. However, his wife had yet to speak her mind, and Darcy had fretted over her silence.

Obediently, she drew her gaze from the passing scenery to meet his eyes. Elizabeth gritted her teeth. “What is there to say, Mr. Darcy?”

“You might say I overreacted. You might say I failed my cousin by showing the opposition my Achilles heel. You might say I promised you a holiday, but I have dragged you into a developing scandal.”

She lifted her shoulder in a casual shrug. “Why should I speak such disparagements? You obviously recognize your weaknesses, Mr. Darcy.” She smiled wryly.

Darcy moved to sit upon the bench seat beside her. “I could not control my anger, Elizabeth,” he confessed. “I kept thinking how Mrs. Ridgeway's intrusion might have brought degradation to your door. What if instead of the secret room we had partaken of...” He broke off when his wife blushed thoroughly.

“Mrs. Ridgeway has been permitted too many liberties,” Elizabeth conceded. “With your cousin's frequent and extended absences, Mrs. Ridgeway has experienced complete freedom in the running of the late Mr. Darcy's household. Yet, it would not serve us well in discovering Woodvine's secrets to announce our intentions, and I readily admit that I have no desire to sleep under Samuel Darcy's roof.” His wife's immediate understanding of the situation brought a bit of relief to Darcy's mind.

He declared, “I will protect you, Lizzy. I would never purposely place you in danger.”

“I know your nature, Fitzwilliam,” Elizabeth persisted. “But it does not lessen my trepidation. We are caught in a game, and we hold no understanding of the rules or of the players. Nor are we aware of the true dangers. Despite your reassurances, my husband, we must recall that your cousin lost his life to an unknown assailant and in the most improbable manner, and the late Mr. Darcy can find no rest because either the same culprits or a different set have removed his corpse from its final resting place. I cannot feel easy about our relocating to the hornet's nest.”

Darcy touched her arm lightly. “When I made my decision, I did not consider how this situation might worry you. I am truly apologetic.” He stared into his wife's beautiful countenance. “In my defense, I have always seen you as
my
doughty spirit. You are incomparable, Elizabeth.”

Elizabeth sighed in exasperation. She rolled her eyes heavenward, but she asked, “How may I object when you speak thus?” She rested her head on his shoulder, and Darcy drew her nearer.

He did not think he could survive if his wife lost faith in him. Beyond her passion—beyond her companionship, Darcy desired Elizabeth's belief in his steadfastness. “Place your trust in me, Lizzy. I will not fail you.”

“I do not like it, Fitz,” his cousin, Colonel Edward Fitzwilliam, said, as he scowled for the third time in less than ten minutes.

As expected, the colonel had arrived in midmorning with a former Bow Street Runner and an expert from the British Antiquarian Society in tow. Without permitting his cousin or the colonel's associates the leisure of unpacking their belongings, Darcy had set about explaining the events surrounding Samuel Darcy's passing and the series of surprises he and Elizabeth had encountered since their arrival in Dorset. “I am not pleased with the circumstances,” Darcy said seriously, “but I am content that this is the most prudent means to discover Woodvine Hall's secrets.”

“Why should we not simply dismiss the staff and hire one we can trust?” the colonel argued.

“I agree with your cousin,” Elizabeth said pleadingly.

He could not claim his cousin's cunning nor his wife's pure bravado, but there was one area in which he excelled: Darcy knew something of human nature and all its foibles. Darcy caressed the back of Elizabeth's hand before catching it and bringing it to rest in his lap. “As one may hear, Mrs. Darcy holds her own qualms regarding this matter.” He interlaced their fingers. “Yet, I am unswayed. I have considered my rash response to Mrs. Ridgeway's intrusion into Cousin Samuel's library last evening. It is my opinion the Woodvine staff seeks Cousin Samuel's reported treasures. I have observed that most of the items on display about the house are valuable to a man of science or of history, such as Mr. Franklyn,” he said as he gestured to the bespectacled archaeologist sitting unobtrusively in the corner. “But they lack value to those in service. Based on what
little I observed of the secret room, Cousin Samuel's wealth rests within,” Darcy said definitively. “I suspect that last evening when Mrs. Darcy and I drew the drapes, those spying on us thought we had discovered Cousin Samuel's secrets.”

“Which we did.” Elizabeth shivered with hesitation.

Darcy smiled lovingly at her before tugging her closer. “Yes, but Samuel's staff has no knowledge of our find. We had set the library to right before Mrs. Ridgeway made her entrance. The housekeeper only discovered a newly married couple in an embrace.” He noticed Elizabeth's blush, but his wife did not drop her chin nor did she divert her eyes. That was why he had always considered her indomitable. Elizabeth would face down any form of censure. “However, it is simply a matter of time before they uncover what we did,” Darcy insisted. “The only means to prevent that from happening is to take occupancy of Samuel's manor house. Otherwise, his company of less than reputable employees will have free rein.”

“I, for one, agree with Mr. Darcy's reasoning,” the Runner said. He moved to stand beside the marble chimneypiece. Thomas Cowan's hair showed touches of gray at his temple, but there was nothing “elderly” about the man. Perhaps five and thirty, Cowan stood close to six foot and weighed some fifteen stone. There were dark circles under the man's eyes and a faint haggardness in his attire, but Darcy had liked the man immediately. “Sometimes, a man must take control of an investigation by making a preemptive move.”

“I could go alone,” Darcy suggested.

“Absolutely not!” Edward and Elizabeth said in unison.

Elizabeth protested, “I shall not have you be a Daniel in the lion's den.”

The colonel added, “We will face the chaos of Woodvine Hall together.”

Darcy nodded his gratitude. “We should set out when everyone has had the opportunity to partake of the nuncheon Mrs. Fox has prepared.”

Their heated discussion continued on the journey to Woodvine. Darcy had described to the colonel and Cowan the background story he had created for the villagers as to why he had sent for Edward. “I think it safe to say,” Darcy had explained, “that we may
discover
Samuel's cache on the morrow, and then Mr. Franklyn may begin his inventory.”