Lady Susan threw up her hands with exasperation. “So anybody might be the second murderer, and any of us might still be the intended victim? Apprehending Sir Walter has accomplished very little, beyond the entertainment of it all.”
“I hardly think my Lizzy nearly being shot is entertainment, madam,” Sir Edward snapped.
“You mistake me sir; I refer to… this.” Lady Susan gestured at Sir Walter, battered and bloody, his face twisted with fury.
“We ought to get him out of here, lock him up somewhere,” Mr. Willoughby said.
“We ought to lock up Rushworth’s killer, too,” Mr. Bertram said, grabbing Mr. Crawford roughly by the arm.
Mr. Crawford shoved him off as Mrs. Rushworth attempted to put herself between the two men, who stared daggers at one another. “Stop this,” she wailed. “Sir Walter must be lying! He means to sow discord between us, planting seeds ofdoubt. He killed Rushworth to deflect from his other crimes, to evade blame.”
“Did I? How obliging of me,” Sir Walter snarled at her.
“It certainly is most convenient for you – and for Mr. Crawford,” Miss Denham said.
“Convenient indeed – and perfectly obvious,” Mr. Bertram cried. “Who could doubt it? The handkerchief is his, because he is the poisoner!”
“Or perhaps you are keen for him to take the blame, because he sold your secret to the general,” Mr. Tilney said.
Elizabeth watched Mrs. Rushworth and Mr. Crawford with a knot in her stomach. She wanted to believe the woman; though she knew not why, she even wished to believe Mr. Crawford was innocent. “We have searched all over the castle for the key that still eludes us, but we have never looked in the rooms we occupy. Surely a search of our own quarters may reveal something – the poison used on Mr. Rushworth, perhaps?”
“An excellent idea,” Mr. Darcy agreed.
“Yes! After Sir Walter is dealt with, we ought to commence at once to a searching of rooms, beginning with Crawford’s chambers,” Mr. Bertram agreed.
Sir Walter laughed bitterly. “Apprehended by such a pathetic assortment of amateurs, I ought to be ashamed.”
“You ought to be silent,” Mr. Tilney hissed, administering another punch to the gut. Sir Walter slumped over and groaned, and Sir Edward jerked him toward the door.
“Everyone wait here; when we return, we shall commence a searching of the guest chambers,” Mr. Tilney said. He took thekeys off the table and joined Sir Edward and Mr. Willoughby in leading their captive away.
Sir Walter did not go quietly, and as his shouts of indignation echoed down the hall, Mr. Bertram scowled. “I ought to have offered to help them,” he muttered before leaving the dining room to assist in locking Sir Walter away.
Lady Susan watched him go with the same saucy look she ever wore, and she positioned herself in front of the open doorway. “We had better all remain here, else we might be accused of hiding things we do not want found.”
“I have nothing to hide,” Mr. Crawford insisted.
Mr. Parker picked up Sir Walter’s dossier and examined its contents for a moment before looking over at Cathy. “You have one of these for everybody?”
“The general had them,” she hedged, glancing nervously at Elizabeth.
“And now you have them,” Miss Denham said.
“Well, yes,” Cathy admitted.
“Leave her be,” Emma hissed, striding arm in arm with Harriet to stand protectively beside Cathy. “We have done a fine thing in deducing who the murderer is in our midst, and I daresay you only think of yourself.”
Miss Denham squared her shoulders in a haughty posture. “We have a right to know if you have read all about us.”
“Tilney has danced around his denials,” Mr. Parker said with a shake of his head.
“Can you blame him? Everybody who knew anything was killed,” Emma huffed.
“And now the killer has been contained. Anyone else who knows what is in our dossiers will live to tell the tale,” Mr. Parker said.
Cathy trembled a little. Elizabeth began to go to her sister, but Lady Susan intervened first. “Do stop bullying the poor girl,” she said, swatting at Mr. Parker. “We all have secrets – hers was aired publicly on the second night, the poor child! We will find these secret documents when we conduct our search, and perhaps it is best if we air everything. We shall achieve a sense of mutually assured destruction, which must compel us all to silence.”
Elizabeth could sense Mr. Darcy seething at her side; he had every reason to wish his secret to remain contained. She was on the point of coming to Cathy’s aid when Miss Denham tugged at Mr. Parker’s arm and drew him away from Cathy. She led him to one of the windows and began to speak with great animation.
