A Spy at Pemberley (19 page)

Hugo was before him and greeted him with enthusiasm. 'Good evening, Darcy, I'm glad you have arrived first for I've no desire to be obliged to make idle conversation with complete strangers.' He waved his brimming glass of brandy sending droplets of golden liquid onto the priceless carpet.

'A bit early for that, isn't it, cousin?' Darcy nodded at the glass.

'I consider myself a soldier, rather than a member of the
ton
, my friend. Therefore I drink when I want to. Remarkably fine cognac, I must say. Is it French?'

'I'm sure it is – but it was purchased legitimately many years ago by my father.'

There was no time for further conversation as he could hear people approaching and from the volume of noise he was certain it must be his mother-in-law, and possibly Lady Sinclair as well.

'Good evening, Mr Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, we thought we were tardy, but obviously not.' Lady Sinclair made no further comment and Mrs Bennet said nothing at all. If these unusual circumstances were to remain Darcy thought he might almost enjoy the evening.

He nodded to the ladies as did his cousin. 'Is Miss Bennet to join us tonight?'

'Indeed she is, sir, she's quite recovered from her bilious attack. Will my other daughter and her charming husband be coming?'

'I imagine so, ma'am. Ah! I believe I can hear the remainder of our party arriving.'

He and Lizzy escorted their guests next door where they found that Kitty and Georgiana and their husbands had already arrived. The unmarried members of the group congregated together at one end of the spacious drawing room whilst the Dowager Countess Finsbury, Lady Sinclair and Mrs Bennet took centre stage. He could not help but notice Mary looked very fine and was attracting the interest of the two single gentlemen. The rest of them milled about by the door. It was strange that there was still no sign of his father-in-law.

'Is your father unwell, Lizzy? Do you think I should go and find him?'

'Would you do that? I cannot imagine what is keeping him so long and Jane won't have dinner announced until he's here.'

Darcy slipped away and entered his own domain by a side door. He found a footman and sent him upstairs to look whilst he checked the billiard room, study and library. Mr Bennet certainly wasn't downstairs. Peterson met him in the central passageway.

'He's nowhere on the premises, sir, I've had all the reception rooms thoroughly searched. I've sent someone to the stables to see if he's there.'

'Thank you. Continue to look. I'll speak to Mrs Bennet and see if she can explain the mysterious disappearance of her husband.'

Chapter Nineteen

Lizzy watched Fitzwilliam leave and could not help but be worried. Her papa was infamous for being late, but even for him this was unusual. He had impeccable manners and wouldn't dream of offending Charles and Jane.

'I think I must go and to speak to Mama, she might know where he is.' She addressed this remark to Kitty and Jane – Georgiana had moved away to join the more lively group at the far end of the room.

'I do hope Darcy finds him quickly as I've no wish for my first grand dinner party to be ruined by our father's tardiness. I shouldn't approach Mama, dearest, she's engrossed in her conversation.'

'I do hope he is not unwell or taken a tumble somewhere,' Kitty said.

'I should delay for another ten minutes and then have your butler announce dinner. I'm sure nothing untoward has taken place and they will all join us in the dining room very shortly.' Lizzy hoped she sounded calm when the very opposite was true.

She caught the eye of the colonel, who was talking to Charles, and he strolled across. 'Could this be anything to do with your business? Do you think my father might have…'

'My dear Lizzy, you are refining too much on this matter. Mr Bennet has probably fallen asleep somewhere and forgotten the time. Remember he is not a young man anymore.'

'In which case why is it taking so long to find him and bring him here?'

'Pemberley is a vast establishment, my dear, it could take an hour or more to search every room.' He glanced over her head and his expression changed, then he was his usual charming self again. 'Forgive me, Fitzwilliam wishes to speak to me.'

Lizzy turned and saw immediately her husband was alone. She refused to remain in ignorance of the situation and followed to the far end of the room.

'I'm glad you came over, but you must keep smiling. I've no intention of alarming any of the ladies or ruining Jane's party.'

She placed her hand on his arm feeling the tension beneath her fingers. 'What's happened? Has Papa taken ill?'

He addressed both of them. 'As far as I can ascertain he's no longer at Pemberley. The reason I've been gone so long was that I ordered every footman to search and there's no sign of him. His valet is certain he didn't put on his outer garments so he obviously didn't intend to go outside.'

Her heart thudded uncomfortably behind the restriction of her bodice. 'What shall we do? We can hardly…'

'We shall go into dinner and pretend that everything is as it should be. I've arranged for a search party to continue to look for him both inside and out. There are a dozen outbuildings that haven't been investigated yet. We will tell Jane and Mrs Bennet that he's had a bilious attack and retired to his room.'

The colonel interrupted. 'Will she not rush to his side?'

She and Fitzwilliam exchanged a glance but Lizzy left her husband to reply.

'They are not exactly a devoted couple, I doubt she will even notice his absence.'

He held out his arm and she placed a hand on it. 'There's been so much deception in our lives of late; I can't bring myself to lie to my sisters so I'll leave it to you, Fitzwilliam.'

She didn't say she thought him better equipped to tell falsehoods as he'd been deceiving her for months about his so-called business trips. A flicker of annoyance crossed his face but then his lips curved and he marched across to Jane and Charles and told them without hesitation that her father was in his bed, when they both knew he could be anywhere.

The meal seemed interminable and Lizzy could scarcely eat any of the delicious food served to them that night. Neither Fitzwilliam nor his cousin seemed bothered and tucked into each remove with gusto. When eventually Jane stood up to lead the ladies into the drawing room Lizzy was heartily relieved.

Her sister had promised to play the pianoforte so that the younger members could dance. If Charles and Cousin Hugo were prepared to partner one of the single ladies they would have sufficient to make up a set.

She drew Jane to one side as soon as they were away from the dining room. 'Forgive me, but I'm feeling unwell. You might have noticed that I was unable to eat anything tonight. Please make my apologies to your guests.'

'You do look rather pale, dearest Lizzy. Perhaps there is some ailment going around the family. After all did not Mary have a bilious attack today and now Papa? Don't worry, you run along. I must search out my music so I can play. I'm an indifferent musician, as you know, but I doubt the young ladies and gentlemen will notice.'

There was no need to ask for her cloak as Lizzy hadn't bothered to wear one. The night was fine and dry and they were only required to walk a few yards from one front door to the other. Not wishing to draw attention to herself she exited via the side door and entered her own abode in a similar fashion.

She was greeted by Reynolds, the housekeeper. 'Madam, we have searched from top to bottom and not found Mr Bennet anywhere. The outside men have done the same for the outbuildings and are now going through the grounds.'

'Has the search been systematic? Have you checked the servants' quarters? The nursery floor? The attics?'

'None of those, Mrs Darcy, it didn't occur to me that Mr Bennet could be in any of those places.'

'Then please organise it now. I can't imagine he would have gone outside without his coat.'

The housekeeper wrung her hands. 'Do you think the ghosts might have returned and spirited him away like they did Miss Kitty?'

'No, I'm certain they haven't. There will be a much more reasonable explanation. I shall wait in the small drawing room. I require to know when each place has been searched.'

*

Darcy had no desire to linger over port – he wanted to return home and find his father-in-law. 'Bingley, forgive me, but I'm concerned about Lizzy. She didn't eat anything and I fear that she might be unwell.'

He didn't wait for permission to leave but stood up, nodded at the other gentlemen and strode out. He'd no need to go into the drawing room to search for his wife as he was certain she would already have gone home.

Peterson almost ran to his side. In all the years he'd known the man he'd never seen him move so fast. 'Is Mrs Darcy here? Have you found Mr Bennet?'

'Mrs Darcy is in the small drawing room, sir. And no, we haven't found Mr Bennet.'

He was on his way to Lizzy when she appeared, her skirts were gathered in one hand, and she looked like a lady on a mission. 'Fitzwilliam, I believe I might know where he is. I recall Papa saying he wanted to look in the wine cellar as you'd told him you had bottles dating back a hundred years.'

'Why on earth should he go down there tonight?'

'I think he wanted to find something extraordinary to take next door.' She smiled ruefully. 'I know, the wine is not his to give – but I'm sure he would have spoken to you first.'

'I'll speak to Peterson – I don't want to dash your hopes but I think it unlikely he's down there.' She put her hand in his and he raised it to his lips. 'Don't look so perturbed, I'm sure there will be a happy outcome to this mystery.'

Reynolds was nowhere to be found but a senior footman responded to his summons. 'Has the wine cellar been searched?'

The man looked puzzled by this request. 'I doubt it, sir, it's kept locked. Mr Peterson has the key in his pantry.'

'Fetch it to me.'

The man ran off, and a few moments later returned. 'It's not there. Unless Mr Peterson has taken it, I don't know where it is.'

Lizzy tugged at his arm. 'I told you, Fitzwilliam, my father took the key and has somehow got himself locked in there.'

'In which case I'll go and investigate. Remain here, Lizzy, it's cold and dark down there.'

'I'm not a ninnyhammer, Fitzwilliam. I'm well aware what a wine cellar is like. I'm coming with you.' She stared up at him with a determined look in her eye and he knew when he was defeated.

He snapped his fingers and the footman handed him a candlestick. 'You might as well lead the way, we shall follow close behind.'

It was some time since he'd been in the bowels of the building and he'd forgotten just how dark and unpleasant the cellars were. Lizzy moved closer to him and he put his arm around her waist. Fortunately the passageway was wide enough to allow them to travel side by side.

'It's dank and smells peculiar down here, Fitzwilliam. I'm surprised how high the ceilings are and how well constructed the archways and bays are. Is the wine cellar much further?'

'If I remember rightly it's that door ahead. Look, I can see from here that the key is in the lock.'

She shrugged off his hold and ran pell-mell to the door, dodging past the footman who had hesitated. Darcy followed her and heaved the heavy oak door open. Inside was pitch-dark.

'Papa, are you in here? Are you hurt?'

There was no answer. But he couldn't believe this was a wild goose chase. 'I believe he might be in here. It's a huge space full off alcoves and shelves. It's quite possible he dropped his candlestick and has become disorientated and unable to find his way back.'

'He must be unconscious or he would have answered us. I'll go and fetch more help.'

'An excellent notion. We'll need a trestle to transport him and blankets. Get Reynolds to have Mr Bennet's fire built up and have bed-warmers put through his sheets.'

The musty smell of ancient wine filled his nostrils. He told the footman to look into the bays on the right-hand side and he'd do the same on the left. He continued to call but got no response. Then he saw a shape sprawled on the floor.

'Mr Bennet, can you hear me? Take heart, sir, we'll soon have you safe and warm again.' He dropped to his knees in the dirt and placed his candlestick beside him. The footman crouched down holding his candle steady so it illuminated the crumpled figure.

Darcy was relieved to find his father-in-law still had a pulse and that his skin was warm. He checked for broken limbs or anything that could have caused this catastrophic collapse. There was no sign of any injury. His initial optimism faded. If Bennet hadn't hit his head then he might well have had an apoplexy which would be far worse.

He took off his jacket and tucked it around the unconscious man and then propped himself against the wall and placed the patient's head in his lap. His beloved Lizzy would be devastated if she lost her parent as would all her sisters.

'My boy, don't look so downhearted. I'm not about to kick the bucket just yet.'

Darcy blinked back unwanted tears and looked down at the smiling face of his father-in-law. 'What happened, sir? How do you come to be in this predicament?'

'I was nosing about admiring your claret and dropped my candlestick. I became disorientated and walked into the wall. How long have I been down here? I must have ruined dear Jane's dinner party.' He attempted to sit up but Darcy gently restrained him.

'You ruined nothing, sir. We told everyone that you had retired to bed with a bilious attack. Lizzy worked out that you must be in here somewhere. Excellent – I can hear the rescue party approaching.'

Despite his protests Mr Bennet was safely installed on the trestle after being enveloped in warm blankets. With Lizzy holding his hand and offering comfort he was carried briskly through the cellars and, with some difficulty, to his own apartment.

'Has the physician been sent for, Lizzy? Your father was unconscious for some time. His head injury must be attended to.'

The patient, now installed comfortably in his own bed, looked remarkably robust. 'I've no need to see a doctor, Darcy. I've a sizeable lump on the back of my head but nothing more. What I need is something to eat and drink, not fussing over.' He waved both hands in a gesture of dismissal. 'Return to Jane and Bingley – you must miss no more of this jolly evening on my account.'

'If you're quite sure, Papa, then I will leave you in peace.'

Once she was sure she could not be overheard Lizzy voiced her concerns. 'He has no bump on his head. I checked myself. He had a seizure of some kind. I think we should send for the doctor whatever he says to the contrary.'

'My father suffered from something similar and there was nothing a physician could do that we're not already doing.'

'Did your father die from his attack?' Her voice was commendably even but her posture showed her concern.

*

Lizzy watched his face praying she wouldn't hear the news she feared. He gathered her close and once she was warm in his embrace he answered her question.

'My father suffered several of these minor attacks over a period of many years before finally succumbing to a major seizure. I'm sure it will be the same for your papa.'

'Thank God. Do you think we should tell my mother? I well remember how she almost succumbed to her hysteria when she thought he might be killed in a duel with Wickham. I believe her concern is more the fact that the house and estate will go to the odious Mr Collins than for any affection for my father. She's more delicate than she appears and I fear her reaction might exacerbate the situation.'

'Are you suggesting that Mrs Bennet's behaviour could cause another apoplexy?'