“Yes, sir.”
Darcy strode into his study, the door shutting behind him with more force than he intended. His mind was a cacophony of thoughts, disjointed and urgent, each one crashing into the next before he could make sense of it.
Elizabeth had come to him. Again.
She must have needed something—something urgent enough to shatter her stubborn independence and send her searching for him in a hackney coach, of all things.
And now, she was gone. Gone with a man he did not know.
But had she meant to go?
Had she arranged this meeting in secret, slipping from his house to join some other man? A rendezvous planned beneath his very nose? His uncle already believed sometreason lurked within Gardiner’s home or business. Could it be, after all… Elizabeth? The thought struck him like a blow, hollow and cold.
No.
It was not possible. It was not—
And yet, what did he truly know?
Elizabeth Bennet was clever. Independent. Stubborn. Had she, even now, decided to handle matters on her own, seeking out some contact she dared not share with him? The idea coiled in his mind, unwelcome and unbearable. It would be easier, far easier, to believe that she had been coerced. That she had been surprised.
That she had been taken.
His stomach twisted, the unease creeping up his spine, a slow and merciless tightening.
He turned sharply toward the door, already moving. “Bring my coat,” he commanded. “And call my carriage back!”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Elizabeth had been inenough carriages in her lifetime to recognize the feel of smooth, well-kept roads versus the rough, uneven paths that signaled a descent into the less reputable parts of town. The carriage she now occupied rattled and jolted with increasing frequency. Wherever they were taking her, it was nowhere familiar.
She swallowed hard, sinking her fingers into the worn fabric of the seat and telling herself if they tried to touch her again, they would have to drag the carriage along with them.
There were now two men with her.
Mr. Temple, as he had introduced himself, sat across from her, watching her with a polite expression that did nothing to disguise the steel beneath it. He was a man of middling years, dressed plainly enough to pass for a merchant’s clerk, but there was something too polished about him. His bearing, his voice, the way he had maneuvered her so efficiently into the carriage without raising suspicion—none of it fit the picture of a simple office worker.
The second man, larger and silent, had been on the box, at first. But they had made her get out—a different carriage, gruff words and coins thrown to the previous driver, her head covered, and the pistol shoved into her ribs as they pushed her from one carriage to the next.
Now, the second man sat beside her. A guard. Or perhaps simply muscle meant to discourage struggle.
Her mind worked furiously. How had she been so foolish? So easily deceived?
She had known something was wrong, had known the letter was no mere clerical error, and yet she had walked straight into their trap. Temple had followed her; from the moment she left the safety of her aunt’s drawing room. And, apparently, she had not gone where they wanted her to go.
Temple must have noticed her quickening breath, for he stretched his long legs and kicked his feet nonchalantly into hers as he shifted in the carriage. “There is no need for distress, Miss Bennet,” he said in a voice that might have been soothing if not for the situation. “We only wish to clarify a few matters.”
Elizabeth lifted her chin, forcing herself to meet his gaze. “Clarify? Then it is a pity you chose such underhanded means, sir.”
Temple’s smile did not waver. “Unfortunately, your schedule did not seem to allow for a proper appointment. We had to be… creative.”
“‘Creative?’ I would say simply ‘rude.’”
He chuckled. “You see, Miss Bennet, we find ourselves rather disappointed. We had every expectation that, at last evening’s gathering, you would fulfill your duty. And yet… twice now, you have failed to do so.”
Elizabeth’s heart gave a lurch, but she forced herself to keep her expression neutral. “I fear you are mistaken, sir. I have no duties to fulfill.”
Temple’s gaze sharpened. “No? That is interesting, given how much trouble you have already caused.”
