Chapter Nine

It was late in the evening when Elizabeth, Mr. Jones, and Captain Hawthorne descended to join the others at their abridged repast. Jane was stable, with all her external wounds healed. Elizabeth had been amazed at how Captain Hawthorne used a paltry levitation gift to aid in his surgery. He seemed to be able to use invisible fingers to feel around in the wounds for debris, drawing out any that he found, then suturing the wounds starting from deep in the body and working his way to the surface; all without actually touching the patient. She knew she could not do the same, as her gift gave her no particular control over inorganic materials.

After the surgeon had finished his work, Elizabeth had regulated Jane’s humors until they were balanced for slowly healing the damage done by the electricity that had surged through her vital organs. Between the horrific shock and the brutal punishment from the lead projectiles, her liver, heart and lungs had all been damaged and would require time to recover, even under Elizabeth’s care. After which, Mr. Jones had prescribed several poultices and powders to prevent infection and to reduce her pain. Elizabeth would arrange with Mrs. Weaver to ignore those instructions as her form of healing would ameliorate any of those risks.

“Miss Elizabeth, how fares your sister?” Mr. Bingley almost sprang to his feet as they entered the dining room. He rushed to her and took her hand. “I cannot tell you how sorry I am that your sister should be injured on my estate. I must have full responsibility for her welfare until she is recovered.”

“Charles!” Miss Bingley squawked. Elizabeth smiled inwardly. That was almost a declaration of intent on the young gentlemen’s part. But she suspected it originated in feelings of guilt and shame rather than affection; and she knew Jane would not wish to secure a match though such unhappy emotions.

“Please be at ease, Mr. Bingley,” Elizabeth soothed. “Jane will recover, though it will be some time before it is safe to move her. I pray you will extend to us your hospitality until that time. I can either stay here to take care of her, or travel from Longbourn each day. I’m afraid without my care, she will face a much longer and more uncomfortable convalescence.”

“Of course, you must stay as long as you like. I cannot be comfortable with you leaving us until the area has been determined to be without danger. Even then … I would do anything to help in her recovery.” Elizabeth looked away from the gentleman’s display of emotion. Her attention was captured by the scowl on Mr. Darcy’s countenance. He cannot be happy to be thrown into prolonged company with someone he finds so distasteful. Not that she anticipated any great pleasure for herself from his society. Looking at the others at the table, she felt she had let herself in for a most disagreeable visit.

“Thank you for your kindness. I do feel I must travel home this evening, both to inform my family of Jane’s condition and to gather a few necessities for my stay here. If it is acceptable I will return to Netherfield before the evening is over.”

“Surely it would be better to send a footman?” Miss Bingley said.

“It would not be safe to send a footman,” Mr. Darcy stated flatly. “And it is much less safe to send a lady, particularly alone. I can go to Longbourn if you feel it is imperative that someone must go.”

“I think you for your consideration, Mr. Darcy,” Elizabeth said tightly. She was incensed that he thought so little of her abilities that he would restrict her like a school girl to the nursery. “But you must recall that I am the sheriff of Longbourn. It is my duty to see to the safety of our estate. I will be safe and can make the journey in very little time.”

The two medical men were standing in silent embarrassment at the unexpected conflict. Elizabeth saw their chagrin and blushed at the spectacle she was making. Her mother was always cautioning her against her hoydenish behavior. She dropped a quick curtsey to the room and moved toward the entrance. Mr. Bingley started to object, but she was out of his sight before he could form his arguments. Mr. Weaver had her pelisse and bonnet in hand and offered them to her as she reached the front door.

“Thank you,” she smiled. The Weavers had been at Netherfield Park since before Elizabeth was born. They had always been kind to her and her sisters. The older man simply nodded and opened the door for her. She stepped out into the cool evening. The rain had passed, and the stars shone through the scattered clouds. The thin sliver of the waning moon offered little in the way of light, but her cat’s eyes allowed her to see almost as clearly as during the day. She started around the house, making towards the most direct route to Longbourn, the route her sister would have ridden that morning. She was able to find the scent of Jane’s blood on the ground. She followed it into the night.

She moved quickly and unerringly across the muddy fields. She found that the trail was not straight. It meandered through fields and gates, taking a circuitous route. She pictured in her mind her sister, wounded and barely conscious, trying feebly to coax Old Daisy towards Netherfield. The horse would have been frightened by the smell of her blood and unhappy in the rain. Home would have been the animal’s natural inclination. The fact that Jane had steered towards Netherfield likely meant that the attack had happened nearer her destination than her point of origin. Or that the attackers were between her and her home, making Netherfield the more prudent choice.

Or she might have been delirious from her injury and had no real notion of what she was doing. Elizabeth chided herself for trying to draw conclusions from such meager evidence.

After some time, Elizabeth found the site of the attack. The blood stains and burnt grass gave testament to the violence done there. Jane had been just over the border onto Netherfield property in a hillside field with a view of the great house in the distance. Elizabeth looked for signs of the ambushers. In the woods at the edge of the field, on Longbourn property she thought sourly, she found a dropped paper cartridge, some gnawed rabbit bones, and a broken clay pipe.

It was only fifty yards or so from where Jane had ridden. Not a hard shot, even in the rain. The trees would have given some shelter to the attackers, making it easier for the flintlock muskets to fire. At least two different weapons were used, as they both hit her at nearly the same time, else they chased her while she rode away to get the second shot in.

“Miss Elizabeth?” She jumped at the voice and chided herself. She had been concentrating so much on looking for evidence in the dark woods that she had allowed Mr. Darcy, for that was who had called her from the edge of the trees, to catch her unawares.

She emerged from the woods in the starlit field. “Mr. Darcy?” she replied. She noticed his eyes seemed unnaturally bright in the starlight, as if there was a lantern focused on them. Some effect of his gift, she decided.

“I had hoped you were traveling straight home.”

“I wanted to discover anything I could about the attack before the weather washed away any signs. I will need to make a full report to my magistrate.”

“As the attack happened on Netherfield property, I feel that acting in Mr. Bingley’s stead, the responsibility for the investigation is mine.”

“While it is true that my sister was on Mr. Bingley’s land when she was injured, the criminal action took place here on Longbourn property. Therefore, the jurisdiction is mine.”

Mr. Darcy pierced Elizabeth with his haughty gaze, his grey eyes flashing in antagonism. “This was not the only attack today. And as the other took place on a crown road, I will be leading the investigation as a crown magistrate.”

“What other attack?”

Mr. Darcy hesitated before eventually deigning to share his knowledge. “Mr. William Goulding was murdered between his estate and Meryton. The evidence indicate that attack was related to Miss Bennet’s.”

Elizabeth staggered back, her face falling. She had never been overly friendly with Mr. Goulding. He was five years older than her, and had never had much interest in “the petticoat line” as he used to say; though he would occasionally spend an evening gazing longingly at Jane. She had always thought him a bit of a coxcomb. But to hear he had been murdered was shocking.

“I am sorry to bring you pain. I hope you were not … close?” Darcy’s voice held great distaste for the idea that any man might find her interesting.

“Our acquaintance was of some duration, but was not particularly close for all its length. Have there been any other incidents? What is being done in Meryton?”

“The Colonel and the Mayor have both been informed. The regiment has been dispersed to patrol the neighborhood. No other occurrences have been reported, so far.”

“Very well.” She resumed her examination of the site, concentrating on any scents she might be able to discern. But a day’s steady rain had washed away any useful trails. She returned to the site were the ambushers had waited, to find Mr. Darcy gathering the few artifacts left behind. She was curious as to why he was doing so, but would not give him the satisfaction of asking.

“Shall we continue to Longbourn?” he asked.

“You are determined to accompany me?”

“I feel it safer.”

“If you insist. But now that I have found what I was looking for, I see no further need to dawdle.” With that she spread her wings and took to the sky. She was somewhat surprised to find Mr. Darcy following her into the air and keeping pace with apparent ease.

They arrived at Longbourn to find it surrounded by torches and armed footmen. Mr. Bennet, wearing a matching set of dueling pistols and a cutlass, giving him a somewhat piratical appearance, met them as they landed. Mrs. Bennet could be seen in the doorway.

“How is my daughter?”

“She was grievously injured, but she will recover in due time,” Elizabeth assured him. She pitched her voice to carry and saw her mother tremble at the news. “I will need to return to her side and she will be at least a week at Netherfield before she will be well enough to remove. I wanted to let you know.”

“She should stay until she is fully recovered, even if that takes a month complete,” Mrs. Bennet said, a smile growing on her face.

“Mr. Darcy has news for you from Meryton. Jane’s was not the only assault.” Elizabeth hurriedly expostulated, attempting to prevent her mother from announcing her intended machinations to achieve an advantageous marriage for her eldest, and loveliest, daughter.

“Perhaps we might retire to my sanctuary, Mr. Darcy. We can discuss further developments in there.” Mr. Bennet invited. The two men left.

Elizabeth swiftly embraced her agitated mother. “She’ll be fine. It was a close thing. But she’s stronger than we give her credit for. She’ll be just fine.” The two ladies followed the gentlemen into the house, where Mrs. Bennet spread the good news of Jane’s survival and Elizabeth asked Sally to help pack a trunk for her expected extended stay at Netherfield.

She made certain that both her full medical accoutrements and her investigative tools, along with her seldom used combat gear were included in the packing. She had a feeling that this was just the beginning of a very bad time. She reaffirmed her commitment that she would do her duty to her family and her dependents, no matter what the disagreeable Mr. Darcy thought of the matter.