She drew herself upright.
“You must forgive my bluntness, sir, but I believe you ought to leave now. And pray, do not divulge that Mrs. Collins was taken by the Aldington Gang. We do not wish open hostilities to erupt upon the grounds of Rosings between rival gangs.”
Color flooded his face to a dark purple.
“Yes, Mrs. Fitzwilliam. I shall not speak of it to anyone.”
“Indeed, sir, I am quite certain Colonel Fitzwilliam would wish me to request that you refrain from calling here unless your presence is expressly requested.”
“Yes, ma’am. I understand.”
He rose to his feet.
“I shall return to the parsonage.” He bowed and departed.
When Drake closed the door behind him, Anne looked toward the two Bennet sisters. “He does not believe Mary.”
“No,” Elizabeth replied. “He does not. Some men lack the ability to trust. He is one of them.”
Jane rose at once. “I shall go up to Mary and try to comfort her.” Elizabeth also rose and followed behind.
Chapter 32: The Hidden Cache
Richard slept through half the day before returning to assist in the search for the smuggled goods.
He rode along the base of the bluffs until he passed beyond the Rosings Park estate and onto the Blackmore property. Continuing onward, he finally located the men. They had paused to rest and drink water.
Richard removed the provisions from his saddlebags and offered them their luncheon. Having already eaten himself, he set off to continue the search.
Following the footpath, he eventually discovered another cave.
He halted in surprise upon finding Sir Gareth already inside, holding a lantern far within the cavern.
“Beaumont, I imagined you still abed.”
Sir Gareth grinned. “No. I slept for a few hours and returned. Miss Bennet will not rest until this business is settled, so I came back. Never let it be said that I failed to do my part in ridding the neighborhood of this scourge.”
“Ah, Miss Bennet is your motivation. Have you made her an offer?”
“I stood upon the brink of doing so when her sister disappeared, and so I was obliged to wait.”
Richard grinned. “Congratulations, Beaumont. She is as amiable as she is beautiful. You need never fear you have married a shrew.”
Sir Gareth laughed. “No, she is a treasure. A rarity.”
“Well then, let us return to our work. The sooner we locate the goods, the sooner we may return to the house.”
They labored on until the sun began to sink behind the bluffs. Then one of the servants let out a loud shout.
“Sir, it is here. I found it.”
The men emerged from the adjoining caves and hurried toward him. Nothing appeared visible from the entrance, but the servant led them around an outcropping of stone into a vast chamber.
Wooden crates stood stacked four deep and stretched all the way to the rear of the cavern.
“Well, the devil take it, you found it, Stephen. I had begun to believe the goods concealed elsewhere.” Richard clapped the man upon the shoulder. “Excellent work.”
He looked toward the others.
