“It lists the address of the gentleman,” Mrs Gardiner noted, reading it over his shoulder. “Why, I know this name. The gentleman hails from Derbyshire and is well-regarded. You remember when we toured Pemberley a year ago, my dear? Certainly, if such a person is named, it must be true.”
“But what would such a man want with our Lizzy? It must be some sort of a trick. Could it be a threat? This Wilson person claims his master is honourable, but he does not even know Lizzy’s proper name!”
Mrs Gardiner was shaking her head in bewilderment. “What can have happened?”
“I do not know,” Gardiner’s voice had dropped gravely low. “But I shall be paying a call to the home of this Mr Darcy in Grosvenor Square, and I shall have a constable with me.”
“There is a constable just ahead,” Elizabeth whispered to her companion as they slipped from one corner to the next. “You do not suppose he might be of some assistance?”
“How so? Shall I tell him that I am fleeing the very men I employ to serve my person? And then shall I explain how I came to be dressed as one of them? I would spend the night in an asylum.”
She scowled, only darkly enough to express her displeasure at his flippant dismissal. “I thought perhaps he or one of his fellows might prove useful to you once you have returned to your house.”
He put his hand to a tree and leaned round it to look ahead. “As far as I know,” he leaned the other way, “there is no law againstwinning the affections of another person’s staff. There is certainly no law detailing in whose bed a single young lady must pass the night when visiting another’s home.”
“Good heavens!” Elizabeth ejaculated before she could recall herself.
He turned to study her in the light of a distant lantern, and an apologetic warmth lined his mouth. “I will be… most grateful to meet your uncle.”
“Indeed!” she nodded jerkily, a little more of his predicament becoming clear to her.
“As for the constable… we ought to avoid him just now.” He held up a hand as one of his men passed into view on the walk ahead of them. “Go,” he whispered after a moment, waving to his right. “I am just behind you.”
They fell into step quite casually, she carrying her own parasol low over her eyes even in the fading light. She walked easily, several strides ahead of him, as if she were unescorted and boldly untroubled by that circumstance. After a moment of practice, she even affected a slight sway to her hips with each stride and intentionally allowed her gaze to linger on any single gentleman she passed. One or two even lifted their hats in her direction, and another was so intrigued as to swivel his head about, gawping rather openly. It was likely that if she had not continued as if she had some other objective, he might have requested the pleasure of detaining her. Elizabeth shivered and suffered a hitch in her strides before she could continue on smoothly again.
After a moment she had caught up to the very footman whom William had followed. She would be quite safe, he had assured her—the man would know his business and would not trouble her while he was on his duty. She need only distract him for half a moment, keep his eyes on her rather than elsewhere, and she felt somewhat confident that she could manage. The footman had slowed as if he had a designated region where he should remain and had now come to the limits of that freedom. She passed himnow, taking care not to do so quickly, and turned her head to feign a glance back.
He did not speak to her—would not dare, William had said—but she was certain of his attention. She walked very slowly, twirling her parasol, and she heard the unknown man clear his throat. Mere seconds later, just as her heart had begun to pound in uncertainty, she heard a strange voice from behind.
“Johnson! The master has been seen preparing to depart. He is bound for the river gate, and we are to follow and attend him.”
Elizabeth faltered, but only for a moment. Her direction had been clear: she was to walk on at the same unhurried pace as if the matter did not concern her, but she could not help listening in fascination. How completely he had altered the tone of his voice, so that even his own man would not suspect him!
“What—er… Meriwether, is that you? Blasted trees, I can hardly see your face. The master has gone ahead you say? Why, what are we bothering about this wood for? Come on, then, no sense in waiting here.”
“No, I was told to search out Wesley and Jones. You may as well go ahead of me, for the master will be wishing to take the first barge across. I am told that if he has gone ahead, we are to follow on the next available crossing. Will you alert Randall and Huxley as you pass through the Grove?”
“Well, then, if you have no need of me. Bloody glad I’ll be to get out of this rat hole before I fall with some disease. Eh, Meriwether, do you see that fancy bit just there? I’d wager that one’s a thoroughbred, eh, with a pretty neck like that? A pity we haven’t time to dally!”
“Save it for the kitchen wenches. You could not afford her.”
“And a crime it is!” The one called Johnson sighed loudly, and Elizabeth slipped into the shadows of some nearby trees to await his passing. She held her breath, afraid even to breathe and be detected. A moment later, there was a warm touch at her shoulder,and William was beckoning her without sound to follow in another direction.
“How did you do that?” she whispered. “I did not even recognise your voice!”
“I have not the least idea,” he confessed. “I have never attempted any sort of disguise before, and am rather astonished at my own success. I hope the role I asked of you was not too distressing.”
“I believe I can best summarise my feelings by respectfully requesting that this incident never be referred to by another living being.”
“That,” he turned to her in the semi-darkness, white teeth flashing, “is a sentiment we can both agree on.”
“Which way do we go now?”
“Nowhere, for a few moments. I have sent Johnson to clear the way ahead of us, and if he is true to his orders, we ought to be able to promenade out with ease. We will allow them ample time to catch a barge, but not so much that their absence is noted.”
“Twenty minutes?”
“Ten should suffice.”
