Mrs. Rushworth gave her a wry smile. “The men in my life would not have noticed my absence for a solid hour, I am sure.”
“The door we came in through, the only door I see here, is not the one you and Mr. Crawford came out of, yesterday, when we were all rushing to the sound of gunshots.”
Mrs. Rushworth was unruffled. “You speak very plainly, Miss Bennet. I find I can respect that, even admire it.”
Elizabeth arched an eyebrow. “And yet you intend to leverage what you discovered in my parlor this morning in order to force me to keep silent about your… friendship with Mr. Crawford? You will not succeed, I am afraid.”
“You are a very confident young woman; I daresay you are often considered impertinent.”
“Only when I exert myself,” Elizabeth drawled.
“You have applied yourself well in compiling your interesting wall of records; all your party has. It would be a shame if it were to be made known to everybody, even the killer. Whoever they are, they might decide to do something… something they have done a few times already.”
Elizabeth nearly laughed at the woman’s attempt to seem imposing. “I see. And since you have the keys, you could show the others into my parlor at any time of your choosing. Unless, perhaps, your husband were to become aware of your activities and take your keys away.”
Mrs. Rushworth’s eyes flashed wide as she realized her own miscalculation. She let out a slow breath and tried another approach. “Henry and I are in love. Surely you can sympathize, Miss Bennet.”
Elizabeth could not conceal her disdain. “Madam, if you believe that just because I have lately discovered myself to be the child of such an illicit connection, that I would support infidelity among a party of, well,mostlydecent people….”
“No. No, forgive me, that is not what I meant. I hope I am not so crass as Miss Denham. I was not referring to your parentage, interesting as it is. No, I only meant that you and Mr. Darcy are very cozy. One young lady in love must sympathize with another.”
“Ha ha!” Elizabeth let out a shrill laugh of surprise, feeling all her triumphant wit dissolve into a hazy shambles. “Me and Mr. Darcy! In love! If you had said as much to me yesterday, I might have spat in his eye to prove you wrong! It is true that we had a long conversation this morning and put aside our differences regarding a disagreement that took place a year ago, which certainly makes it less mortifying to be trapped in a castle with him presently, but that is all.”
Mrs. Rushworth looked as if Elizabeth had just told her the earth was flat. “I had not ten seconds to speak with you before he was rushing to your aid.”
“Yes, well, my sister is wed to his dearest friend. That he does not wish me to be murdered is hardly a reason for me to be choosing my wedding clothes.”
“What disagreement could any unmarried lady have with a man so handsome and rich, and intelligent besides? Really, Miss Bennet, I had thought you clever. Do not attempt to change my mind.”
Elizabeth smiled. “I thought him above his company, disagreeable and disobliging, and a villain of the first order. He says not.” She shrugged, realizing that she had lost the upper hand when Mrs. Rushworth began interrogating her. “Well, if I have satisfied your curiosity, I think we are quite finished here. I suppose you could not help yourself, and sought to gain what advantage you could from discovering what we have been up to in my parlor. Nonetheless, you have achieved nothing; you donot frighten me. I will go and fetch your husband; he must be very worried for you.”
Mrs. Rushworth leaned forward and reached out her hand. “Please. Indulge me, Miss Bennet, for I am used to having my own way.”
Elizabeth resumed her seat and nodded for Mrs. Rushworth to continue. It would not be such a bad thing to collect information about one of the suspects on her wall.
“I never imagined myself the sort to fall in love. My aunt made the match with Rushworth while Tom and our father were in Antigua. And then I met Henry, and I realized that I had simply never met a man I really liked before. I came to love him, and had even thought of breaking the engagement. I was going to, if I could find the courage. But after the fire in Antigua, the losses were so great…. My father wished to hasten the marriage, and when I did not agree, my aunt lectured me endlessly about it, and how it would ruin things for my sister and all the family. And since then I have thought – well, at least he is a stupid man. He thinks Henry is his dearest friend in all the world; sometimes I wonder which of us he would envy if he knew what went on between us. He does not like to… well, I doubt we shall have any children.”
Mrs. Rushworth’s speech seemed about as well-rehearsed as a compliment from Mr. Collins, but Elizabeth believed there was some sincerity in it. Not quite moved, she rather pitied then woman. “You must know that he was the one who informed on your husband and brother.”
Mrs. Rushworth nodded sadly. “I hope I gave a convincing performance of astonishment when Tom revealed it last night. He had drunkenly confided to Henry about the fire when he returned from Antigua, though I doubt he even remembers telling him. Henry was furious, for that was why heand I could not be together. I cannot blame him for having some revenge by telling the captain. Henry said the captain knew about our affair, and believed there was more to be gotten from the connection. I did not exaggerate, Miss Bennet, when I told you my husband would probably prefer Henry in his bed instead of me. Rushworth is too dim for any subtlety. To keepthatquiet, Henry felt he had to give the captain something. And my horrid cow of a mother-in-law quite deserves it, she badgers me relentlessly about grandchildren!”
“I am sorry for your dilemma, but surely you understand that you have only elucidated your own motives, and Mr. Crawford’s. He clearly wished to be free from the captain’s demands,” Elizabeth said coldly.
“What if we were to help you collect evidence for whatever it is you are doing? I am sure Mr. Tilney was lying about the dossiers to save his own skin, for which I cannot fault him, unless he is the killer himself.”
“I will speak plainly, since it pleases you. Based on what you have told me, I trust you and your lover far less than I did before, and I shall be obliged to repeat this conversation to my companions, whom I must rejoin, for fear Mr. Crawford has done them some harm.” Elizabeth stood, but Mrs. Rushworth barred her path.
Elizabeth stepped closer and drew the penknife from her bodice. “Perhaps I ought to insist on you relinquishing the keys I gave you, given how you have sunk yourself and Mr. Crawford in my esteem.”
Mrs. Rushworth slowly brought her hand up to the tip of the letter opener, but when she tried to swat it away, Elizabeth moved it closer to the woman. “I could cry out and tell everyone that you are the killer, and they would believe me. Perhaps youare.”
And then there was a clattering across the room, and they both jerked their heads in the direction of the noise, but there was nothing.
Elizabeth scanned the far side of the room. “The secret passage…. Is the entrance to it somewhere over there?”
“Not to the one that leads to your room, that one is behind the tapestry.”
“There might be another.” Elizabeth lowered her weapon and crossed the room to inspect the shelves and wall for anything that could denote a second passageway. Mrs. Rushworth discovered it by pulling at a strange looking sconce, and a panel in the wall slid back a few inches.
