Page 1

Chapter 1

Netherfield

1814 March

Charles Bingley nervously ran his hands through his hair, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Lizzy was supposed to be in her rooms, but once again they had found her on the terrace staring out into the night. “Is she asleep?”

“I think so. I cannot tell anymore.” Jane sighed wearily, her blue eyes filled with worry. “She pretends to sleep, but Mrs. Drury informed me that she gets out of bed as soon as I leave.”

“It is difficult to judge if it is any better. She does not speak, and she clutches that doll...” Charles’ voice trailed off. He did not want to add to the upset his wife was already suffering.

Jane took a ragged breath. “True, she does not speak, but what concerns me more is that she will not look me in the eye. She seems to be in a daze. The only time I have been able to elicit a response is when she does not want to do something. Then she will resist, shaking her head no and pulling back. As for the doll, she will not let anyone take it from her. Mrs. Drury has tried to remove it while she sleeps, but she panics if she wakes, and it is not in her arms. I truly do not understand the significance of the doll... nor any of it.”

Silent tears slid down her cheeks, causing Charles to take his wife in his arms and gently rock her back and forth. “Calm yourself, my love. It will not help for you to get so distressed again.”

“If only I knew what happened. It breaks my heart to make Lizzy do anything she does not want, after that savage...”

She could not continue, and Charles held her tighter, whispering words of comfort until she sniffled and pulled back to look into his face. “I do not know how much longer we can hide her, and if he were to find out that she is still alive...” she shuddered. “I would simply die if he came for her.”

“I know. We have to think of a safer arrangement. Your mother has almost found her several times, since she persists in coming to the house unannounced. Then there was the dance at the assembly hall. How in the world did Lizzy get out of the house and walk that far without having anyone come upon her?”

“I have no idea how she eluded Mrs. Drury to escape the house that night, but Lizzy is used to walking. You know that, Charles.”

“Is there something else we can do? More locks on the doors?”

“We have locked her doors, but she just knocks one of the small window panes out of the balcony door and unlocks it. I refuse to board up the windows. It would break her heart not to be able to see outside, and I would be fearful of a fire. I think she goes out of doors because she misses the freedom of walking.”

Charles ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation. “But we cannot let her walk about just anywhere. She might be seen and now there are all these silly rumours about a ghost outside the assembly hall, all because Lizzy walked about in plain view, howbeit at a distance, and Miss Paulson saw her. If she had not screamed and run back into the room, scaring Lizzy away, well, I fear she would have been discovered that very night!”

“I realise that we came close to being found out, but we have managed to keep her safe here at Netherfield for five months. It is hardest on Mrs. Drury, poor thing. She hardly gets any sleep. Lizzy is just as likely to ramble around in the middle of the night as during the day, but we cannot risk bringing anyone else into our confidence.”

Jane began to cry softly. Charles slipped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest and patting her on the back. “We will find a way. Lizzy shall be safe, even if I have to buy a house far out in the country and hire someone to care of her.”

“I do not want her to be where I would worry over her safety. If only we could get Mr. Darcy to…” Jane’s whispered hopes ended abruptly.

Charles stiffened and pulled back to look in her face. “I cannot believe I have not heard from Darcy. Even if he could not help us, he could at least have answered my letters.”

Suddenly his eyes flashed. “Why did I not think of this before? I shall write to his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, and ask whether or not he knows if Darcy is in residence at Pemberley.”

“Charles, I told you that Lizzy was truly sorry for refusing Mr. Darcy’s proposal, and I imagine that he was very hurt too. Do you think he did not return because he thought he would have to see her? She was so sure that he hated her.”

“I do not think Darcy has it in him to hate anyone and especially not Lizzy, but perhaps he felt it better not to open old wounds. After all, he had no idea she was missing.”

Charles seemed to mull over the reason he had not heard back from his oldest friend. “It is unlike Darcy not to give me an answer. I have heard nothing since that letter he sent last year from Scotland. Surely he has returned to Pemberley by now.”

“I would be willing to move elsewhere in order to keep Lizzy safe.”

“And I would move anywhere for you, my love.” Charles leaned in to give her a kiss. “Now it is late, and she is safe for this night, at least. Let us get some rest, as young Master Peter will be up early looking for his mama.”

Jane slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. “Yes, and his mama will want to see him, too.”

Onboard a ship from Ireland

1814 April

It was eerily dark aboard the creaking vessel, the moon having gone behind ominous black clouds. Rain, which he could smell already, was headed their way, but it had not begun just yet, and Captain Burris was thankful for that as he pulled his cap down over his ears. The wind, however, had picked up, and he had trouble keeping his balance as he moved along the starboard side. Just as he stepped around a load of cargo lashed to the deck, he was startled to see someone, a passenger judging from his clothes, leaning on the rail, bracing himself against the rocking of the ship. It was a rare occurrence to find a passenger awake at this time of the morning, much less above deck, where the waves washed over the sides of the ship in stormy weather.

Shaking his head in annoyance, he moved to warn the man of the danger before stopping abruptly. It is Mr. Darcy.