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“If he no longer loves Lizzy, why would he care if you spoke of her?”

“Yes! Why?” Catherine cried.

Jane was preparing a sharp retort when Emma began to wail, distracting her. “I had forgotten that Mrs. Harris mentioned you brought a baby with you!”

“Yes. I was hoping to leave Emma here … but only until I find Lizzy and can return for her.”

“Emma will always be welcome,” Jane replied as she and Catherine hurried towards the basket where little arms and legs were flailing.

Catherine got there first and picked up the child. “Why, she is beautiful, Lydia! And they are so close in age that were she not so dark and Alice so fair, one might think they were twins.”

“They certainly favour each other!” Jane declared, reaching to take one of Emma’s small hands. To the child she murmured, “There, there, sweetheart! I imagine you are hungry, as it is also time for Alice to eat again.”

“I was going to say she should be hungry by now,” Lydia interjected.

Jane addressed Catherine. “Will you please take Emma to the nursery and have the nanny tell Cook to send up two portions of the foods Alice enjoys?”

Bewildered by new faces and voices, Emma stopped crying when Catherine picked her up, so Lydia leaned in to place a kiss on her daughter’s forehead.

“Be a good girl for your aunts, my love. I shall come for you as quickly as possible.” To Catherine and Jane, she said, “I am sorry there is no time at present for us to visit as I would like or to even meet Alice, but I must be off to catch the post coach.”

Near to tears, Catherine nodded before heading to the door with Emma. Lydia followed, watching as they ascended the grand staircase. Wiping away a lone tear, she took a deep breath before turning to Jane once again.

“I must be on my way if I am to catch the earliest coach.”

“Please stay. I fear that whoever is stalking Lizzy may take his anger out on you should you try to intervene.” As Lydia shook her head, Jane added, “I caution you to let a man deal with this! Colonel Fitzwilliam is supposed to be in Derbyshire, and I can send an express to him today.”

“Derbyshire is a large county. It could take days for a letter to find the colonel, and Lizzy must be warned straightaway.”

“Then at least stay long enough for me ask Mr. Darcy to escort you to Lambton. I am certain he would do so, if only for my sake.”

Lydia took a deep breath and let it go loudly. “We have already discussed why it would not be to your advantage to ask Mr. Darcy to get involved.”

Undaunted, Jane rushed to a nearby desk. Pulling out a piece of paper, she sat down, poised to write a letter. “At least let me instruct the bank to give you twenty pounds ….” Lydia was shaking her head vehemently, so Jane tried another tactic. “If you will but wait a few minutes, Cook can have a bag of sandwiches and fruit prepared so that you will not have to worry about food for a few days.”

“I can only spare half an hour at most, but that would give me enough time to get a glance at Alice. I shall be grateful for the food if your cook is able to have it ready quickly.”

As soon as Lydia departed, Jane paced the drawing room as the warning Lydia had given her about Mr. Darcy and Lizzy repeatedly played in her head. Finally, resolving to prove Lydia wrong, she wrote a note to Mr. Darcy and had a servant take it to his townhouse straightaway.

Darcy House

The study

A noise somewhere in the house startled William awake, making him sit up and plant his feet firmly on the floor. As he did, pins and needles shot through his limbs, as always happened whenever he eschewed his comfortable bed for his high-backed office chair and the broad expanse of desktop on which he propped his feet.

Befuddled from lack of sleep, the unmistakable aroma of lavender accosted his senses, and William instantly sought the source before realising he had fallen asleep holding the handkerchief Elizabeth had unknowingly dropped on the lawn of Rosings Park the day he proposed. Cherishing it as the only part of Elizabeth he would ever own, he had kept it in his coat pocket ever since, even cautioning his valet about not washing it but simply placing said handkerchief inside whatever coat he intended to wear that day. Though Adams seemed puzzled, he did not question why but simply performed as asked, allowing William to employ the linen cloth whenever melancholy overcame his better judgement. Retrieving it from where it now lay in his lap, he took a deep breath, trying to recall what little was left of the lavender scent before placing it back in his coat pocket.

Erasing Elizabeth from his thoughts had proved impossible, so he had begun working tirelessly on a plan his steward had suggested to improve the tenant properties at Pemberley. It was a complex project and one that kept him so occupied that he had less time to dwell on her. The result, however, meant he was so tired that he often fell asleep whilst working.

Listening for sounds the house was awake, William glanced at the clock on the mantel upon hearing none. Immediately he began deliberating whether the hour shown—seven o’clock—meant morning or evening. Now that his sleeping habits were chaotic, he often found himself wide awake in the middle of the night and sound asleep at noon, so his level of tiredness did nothing to signify the time of day. A quick look at the curtains revealed they were so tightly closed that even if the sun were up, no sunlight could slip through. Standing, the blood rushed through his unsteady legs as William reached for the bell-pull. Just then, a knock on the door gained his attention.

Swiftly sitting back down, he cleared his throat before calling, “Come!”

Immediately the door opened, and Mrs. Barnes walked in, carrying a tray with toast, jam, butter and a pot of coffee. Her expression was so full of worry as she sat the tray down on his desk that William was instantly remorseful. He knew full well the source of her worry; however, instead of confessing to having slept in his study again, William was evasive when next he spoke.

“Mr. Adams must have slept in today,” he remarked as he rubbed the whiskers on his chin. “Perhaps he is ready for my shave now.”

Mrs. Barnes ignored his excuse for being unshaven. “Mr. Adams has been up since before daylight. I know, for I ran into him in the kitchen when he stopped to pick up the pot of coffee he always takes to your dressing room in the morning.”