The Disappearance of Georgiana Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Mystery (47 page)

Edward had no more than closed the door to the prisoner's cell when a burly-looking attendant stumbled into view. The man carried a tray with several food plates, but when he spotted Edward, he tossed the tray against the stone wall and immediately sent up a call for assistance. The man brandished a cudgel he had left resting against the stone walls.

“Damn!” Edward growled. From behind him, he could hear Darcy and the others scrambling through the small opening while racing feet rushed to the Scot's defense. “Just you and me,” he said ominously. Motioning the man to face him, Edward stepped into the light.

He could have fired his pistol and effortlessly ended the confrontation, but Edward had had enough of killing. Instead, he relaxed and waited for his opponent to charge. No more than two heartbeats passed before his wait ended. Raising his weapon, his adversary lumbered forward. A shout filled the space as Edward easily sidestepped the man's lunge. He landed a straight punch to the man's solar plexus and a back fist to the fellow's nose as he avoided the Scot's best efforts. His foe had had no formal boxing training. Instead, he stumbled his way through the steps and offered only poorly placed punches.

A second pass left the Scot on his back and his cousin at his side. “My friend there sounded an alarm. We need to hurry.”

“The cells?” Darcy asked as the others stacked up behind them.

“The people inside are going nowhere. We need to secure the house first.” Edward moved toward the sound of their next physical encounter. Immediately, Darcy fell in beside him. Edward thanked his lucky stars that his cousin would allow him to work through this madness without censure. “Be careful,” he warned Darcy as a metal-edged door opened to reveal a dozen and a half angry men eager to defend Normanna.

Edward hit the first man with an uppercut to the point of the fellow's chin and sent his adversary tumbling backward, taking down several of the others with him.

Darcy stepped around Edward to take on the next intruder with a quick jab to the man's ribs and a counterpunch to his jaw.

Edward approved of his cousin's efforts. Standing back to back, they took on all comers. If he could have had Darcy with him during his many battles over the last decade, perhaps he would not so desperately need Georgiana in his life. Maybe, the despondency could have been held at bay. He shoved one of their attackers toward Linden and then turned toward the open passageway. “Come, Darcy,” he yelled over his shoulder.

An overly anxious Aulay drew Dolina's attention from her daydream. Seeking refuge in the small chapel's pews, she had been contemplating how she might maneuver Domhnall into giving her the small property near the Achmore plateau before Aulay's urgent entreaty called her away. “Mam! Mam! Please!” Flushed with agitation, her son stood beside her.

“What be it, boy?” she demanded resentfully.

“Men,” Aulay gasped for breath as he leaned heavily against the wooden bench. “Men in the cells, and they be not ours!”

DARCY HAD NEVER SO MUCH admired his cousin as when he trailed Edward through the twists and turns of the monastery's ruins. His cousin's sense of direction and his ability to defuse each situation they encountered left Darcy in awe. Edward moved just ahead of him, but he had placed himself in the position of protector, assuring that Darcy remained safe. He had heard tales of his cousin's exploits on the battlefield, of Edward's heroism in protecting his men. Now Darcy fully recognized the man of which these advocates spoke. This man was not only his cousin; he was
his brother's keeper
. Darcy admitted to never taking well to Georgiana's marriage, but at that moment, he came to accept the brilliance of his sister's decision.

From the beginning, Darcy had suspected that Georgiana had chosen Edward because she felt
comfortable
with the man. Darcy's sister had never taken well to Society's demands, but with Edward's name and his honored position, Georgiana would win over half the
beau monde
without raising a finger. Add to that inducement Edward's tenacious nature and his cousin's need to safeguard complete strangers, and it became quite evident that Georgiana had made the perfect match for a woman with his sister's sensibilities.

“This way!” Edward encouraged as they emerged into Normanna's cellars. Again, a few loyal servants brandished makeshift weapons, but Edward left each sprawled upon the hardened earthen floors. As they reached the kitchen's entrance, his cousin came to a halt as he peered into the now-empty room. Fires burned in the hearth. Bowls rested upon the roughly hewn table. But not a person moved within the space.

Darcy leaned over Edward's shoulder as his cousin knelt for a better view. A nagging unease returned like a powerful blow to his gut. “I count two dozen so far,” he said softly. Darcy heard Weir and Linden moving closer. As Edward waylaid each of their attackers, the Alpin men had finished them off. “How many more?” Darcy whispered into his cousin's ear.

“Even with the grooms, it cannot be more than another dozen,” Edward said cautiously as he positioned himself to explode into the room.

“We have been fortunate,” Darcy reminded him.

Edward did not remove his gaze from the room. “Pray our luck holds. I do not imagine that Lord Wotherspoon will be so accommodating.”

Darcy expelled a deep steadying breath. “Let us finish this.”

The words had barely left Darcy's mouth when Edward charged into the warm kitchen. This time his cousin allowed his gun to lead the way, so Darcy mimicked the seasoned warrior and did likewise. With the wooden floor from the above storey serving as the kitchen's ceiling, the space seemed cramped, especially to two men several inches taller than six feet.

“Nothing,” Darcy noted as they turned in circles to survey the area. The Alpin men checked the storage areas for those possibly hiding inside.

“Then we continue our climb,” Edward said flatly as he turned resolutely toward the steep, narrow stairs.

Surprisingly, they met no one, and the lack of confrontation set Darcy's nerves on alert. They passed through an open area, evidently, part of the foyer where the butler had greeted them earlier in the day. No sound came from the main entrance, and Darcy wondered for a second if they had made a wrong turn, but then a half dozen
poorly armed footmen stepped from the shadows. With a shout, the Normanna men charged into the melee.

Elizabeth nearly jumped in excitement when Mr. Jacks returned with the news that one of the workers had recognized the building in her sketch. “Oh, Mr. Jacks,” she said in a gush. “Please send the gentleman to see me, and ask the stable to hitch up a gig or a phaeton.”

“You do not plan to be goin' out, Mrs. Darcy? Himself will not like it if ye be having trouble like his sister,” Jacks warned.

Elizabeth granted, “I do not plan to make Mrs. Fitzwilliam's mistake. Yet, I must investigate. If Mr. Darcy's sister is at the cottage, we must find her.”

“But Mr. Darcy takes our strongest men with him,” Jacks protested.

Elizabeth frowned deeply. “I do not need one of Alpin's best men, I simply require a vehicle, someone who is competent to escort me, and a confirmation of the cottage's location,” she said in her best Mistress of Pemberley voice.

Her tone must have served well because Mr. Jacks bowed. “Yes, Ma'am. I'll see to it immediately.”

“I want my sister found this day,” she announced for good measure, but as she watched Jacks make his way to the stable, Elizabeth wondered if her instincts were accurate. The Major General and Darcy believed Georgiana was at Normanna Hall. Was she setting out on a wild goose chase?
I must see this through. If there is the slightest chance that Georgiana is not at Normanna, I must know the right of it.

Domhnall rushed through the halls circling Normanna's turret. Earlier, he had climbed the spiral staircase to the parapet's watch post. Even when he hated his life under Coll MacBethan, he had always
loved to peer out over the land's wildness, and for the first time in many years, he had known the comfort in doing so. He had met his demons and had dealt with them. He had decided to send each of the seven prisoners housed below to a different part of Scotland and to start anew. He would present each man with a bag of gold and demand that he not return to Ayrshire. He could think of no other solution. He would not have another lose his life because of Dolina MacBethan, but he could not bring himself to place his mother in the local magistrate's hands. After the prisoners were freed and the estate set aright, he and Lady Esme would take an extended holiday in Europe while awaiting any repercussions.

The thought of Lady Esme brought a smile to Domhnall's countenance. He had found a woman who might return his affections. He had long hungered for a soft touch—to know the feel of someone else's care. “God only knows that my mother offered no such tenderness to any but Aulay,” he had murmured. He would assist Lady Esme in raising her child, and they would have children of their own. For the past few nights, he had dreamed of making love to the woman. He imagined her hair spread across his pillow and her lissom form pressed to his. Just the thought of it brought a tightening of his groin and a quickness to his breathing. He would delay his urge to know the woman, but he prayed that her resistance would not be of a long duration. “At least, in Scotland, one must not wait for the calling of the banns,” he told himself.

Deep in the images of the lady's sweetness, at first, Domhnall had not heard his valet's racing panic. “My Laird,” the man gasped for breath. “There be a skirmish below. Yer mother holds Lady Esme prisoner, and intruders have entered the cellars.”

Domhnall swayed and silently swore. For a moment, he considered pitching himself over the cap house to the ground below. To end it all before his dream could crumble. But that would brand
him as a coward. Also, he held no doubt that his mother would want no witnesses to her crimes. She would kill Lady Esme. Only he could save the woman.