Page 22 of Infamous Relations

They were almost back to the parsonage now, when the rattling of carriage wheels on the road made Jane look up, rescuing Fitzwilliam from the depths of his embarrassment. “It is my uncle!” she cried, gathered her skirts and took off at a run, startling Fitzwilliam, who nonetheless lost no time in dashing after her.

On meeting Mr. Gardiner, Fitzwilliam’s bemusement redoubled. How anyone could find this connection objectionable was beyond him. Yes, the man was in trade, but he was clearly a respectable man, well-dressed and intelligent, asking incisive questions of Jane at once. Fitzwilliam appreciated, too, that he did not reproach Jane for her reckless dash from London other than saying;

“I wish you had waited for me, my dear. Whatever should I have told your father if some ill had befallen you?” which gentle reproof made Jane look guilty and apologise for her thoughtlessness.

“There, there, no harm done,” Mr. Gardiner patted her hand. “I have no doubt Lizzy was glad to see you.” He turned an inquisitive glance on Fitzwilliam, nudged his niece gently to do her duty.

“Oh, Uncle, pray forgive me! This is Colonel Fitzwilliam, who is a cousin of Mr. Darcy and a friend of Lizzy’s. He is the one who found her yesterday after she was injured and brought her to Charlotte…”

“Then I am very glad to make your acquaintance, sir!” Mr. Gardiner shook his hand heartily as Jane completed the introduction.

Chapter Sixteen

Darcy appeared to have gathered himself somewhat when they repaired inside, enough to be introduced to Mr. Gardiner without breaking down, at least. Jane escorted the newcomer upstairs to see his niece for himself, and Fitzwilliam was left staring at his cousin.

“You’ve made quite a pig’s ear of this, Darce,” he said finally, and Darcy looked up at him, hollow-eyed.

“What did Miss Bennet tell you?”

“It was more what she didn’t say, actually. Separating Bingley from that angelic creature just to remove yourself from temptation, Darcy? I thought better of you. Especially since it seems the Fates are conspiring to throw Miss Elizabeth in your path anyway.”

“I should have known you’d put it together pretty quickly,” Darcy said glumly. “I’ve made an utter fool of myself, and now Miss Elizabeth has paid the price for it. What am I going to do, Fitz?” it was a despairing, anguished cry.

“There, there,” Fitzwilliam patted his shoulder consolingly. “You just let Cousin Fitz sort it out.”

“Do you even have a plan?”

Fitzwilliam considered, head cocked. “Sort of. Part of a plan. Perhaps half a plan, at most. But there are two very intelligent ladies abovestairs who I have no doubt can help us refine it into a battle strategy worthy of Wellington himself.”

“Miss Elizabeth and…?”

“Miss Bennet and Mrs. Collins. For the sake of all concerned, it is probably best that Miss Elizabeth never recall what has happened – and therefore she should never become aware that there needs to be a plan.” Fitzwilliam gave Darcy a warning stare, and then gestured. “Come with me. I want you to look at something Miss Bennet just pointed out to me.”

They repaired to the lane, and Fitzwilliam pointed out what Jane had noted; that Elizabeth would more likely have run to the Parsonage rather than Rosings, it being a good deal closer, unless her attacker had been between her and safety.

“Oh,” Darcy looked at the lane between the parsonage and the start of the path to Rosings. Looked at the houses overlooking the lane. “Oh… I see.”

“Let us walk back up the path, see if there is anything I missed,” Fitzwilliam proposed, but at once they saw that the imprints of Elizabeth’s running steps in the now-dried ground started immediately at the beginning of the path, where its softer surface retained the impression.

“She was already running by the time she got here,” Darcy said slowly. “This – makes no sense, Fitzwilliam. If the attack occurred in the lane, her screams would surely have been heard, because I am very sure that she would have screamed fit to wake the dead.”

“And if it wasn’t here in the lane, why did she not run to the Parsonage instead?” Fitzwilliam agreed.

“She was attacked at the Parsonage,” Darcy concluded finally.

“That’s what I thought. I wanted to see if you came to the same conclusion.”

“We will need to question the staff…”

“I think we should leave that to Mrs. Collins, actually,” Fitzwilliam cut Darcy off sharply. “We can ask her to do so, and I think we should then visit Dr. Trent and speak with his housekeeper, and the Farleys who live at the other cottage along there. Mrs. Farley has two very young children, she’s home all day and might well have heard something.”

They walked back, quietly discussing how best to handle the matter without advising anyone that Elizabeth had been assaulted, and eventually concluded that it would be best to let Charlotte handle everything. They were pleased to find her waiting for them in the parlour with much the same ideas to propose.

“I think we should return to the inn,” Fitzwilliam finally suggested, and Darcy reluctantly agreed, recognising that they were imposing on Charlotte’s hospitality and indeed impeding her ability to best care for Elizabeth. Before they could take their leave, though, another set of carriage wheels were heard in the lane and within moments Mr. Bennet was entering the house.

“Where is she? Where is my Lizzy?” he demanded at once, and then saw Mr. Gardiner descending the stairs. “Edward! What on earth has happened? Where is Elizabeth – is Jane with you? Madeline?”

“Please, brother, be at ease,” Mr. Gardiner took Mr. Bennet’s shoulder and steered him into the parlour.