AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Well,” Sir William said slowly, “there was a man hovering near the musicians. He was thin, dark hair, rather large ears. A London friend of Mr. Bingley’s, I presumed.” He blinked. “He was not wearing dancing shoes, which is why I remarked him. I wondered why he would travel all the way to Netherfield if he was not prepared to dance.”
“Was he tall?” Fitz asked.
“Medium height, I would say, though I was across the room. His hair was worn rather long. And now that I think on it, he did send a look or two in Mr. Bingley’s direction, though that might mean nothing.”
Darcy turned this over in his mind. “Did he wear spectacles, Sir William?”
Sir William considered it. “No.”
“Do you know the man, Darcy?” Fitz asked.
“No, I do not think so.” Darcy replied after he considered it for a moment. “To whom were you introduced, Sir William?”
This sent Sir William on a long recitation of the guests he had met and conversed with, and he always had some way to recall them—a mole, a certain style of dress, a cravat with an intricate knot, a hand that shook.
They had been speaking for some time when there was a knock on the door. Darcy rose immediately from his chair and turned his back, but before he could move to the window, he heard Mr. Bennet and his eldest daughter Miss Jane Bennet announced.
“Bennet,” Sir William said warmly as he rose to greet his guests, “Miss Bennet, I thank you for arriving so quickly.”
Beside him, Fitz stood to be introduced. Darcy did not move.
“Oh,” a soft voice said. “Mr. Darcy. It is good to see you again.”
Miss Bennet had recognized him even without seeing his face.
There was a quick laugh from behind him. “You have an excellent eye, Jane,” Mr. Bennet said. “I would not have guessed it.”
Darcy did turn, finally, to see Mr. Bennet’s sharp eyes upon him. “Well,” the man said slowly, “I would now.”
Both Bennets looked to Sir William. “You said you had news,” Mr. Bennet said bluntly. “I presume these gentlemen are a part of it?”
“How did you know there would be anything to tell?” Fitz asked Sir William.
The older man shrugged. “Mr. Darcy disappeared in the middle of the ball at Netherfield. Miss Eliza watched his departure from the ballroom. Then Miss Eliza disappeared, as best we can tell, eight or nine hours later. When Colonel Black appeared this morning, it seemed certain there was a connection.”
“Colonel Black?” Miss Bennet asked, her forehead crinkling in confusion for a moment before her expression cleared.
“Ah,” Mr. Bennet said. “Very well. Colonel Black.”
Darcy grimaced and ran a hand through his hair. “Mr. Bennet, Miss Bennet,” he murmured, and offered a curt bow.
Sir William motioned for them all to sit. Darcy observed Miss Bennet. Although he preferred Elizabeth’s dark hair and eyes, her older sister was as beautiful as ever. Her complexion was like porcelain, her features aligned in an almost perfect symmetry. Large blue eyes were fixed upon Sir William as though awaiting some pronouncement. Darcy was not so lost to her beauty that he did not see the fear and grief reflected in her countenance. Miss Bennet clasped her hands together in her lap, the fringe of her shawl wrapped around her fingers, and Mr. Bennet was little better, his face pale, his eyes shadowed with the pain of sleepless nights.
Sir William did not allow them to suffer long. “Eliza is safe,” he said quietly.
Mr. Bennet sank limply against the back of his chair.
“My wife’s brother received an anonymous note saying as much,” Mr. Bennet said, closing his eyes briefly before opening them again. “But it seemed too much to hope for.”
Sir William appeared surprised to hear it.
Mr. Bennet turned to Darcy. “Gardiner sent it to me, but it was not the same as your earlier missives.”
“Darcy said you would recognize his hand. I copied it out before it was sent,” Fitz said.
Miss Bennet’s head was bowed, her lips moving silently in what could only be prayer. Darcy watched her until she looked up. “Forgive me for asking so directly,” Miss Bennet asked in a clear, ringing voice, “but I wish to know what has happened to my sister.”
Darcy looked over at Fitz to see whether he would explain. His cousin was also watching Miss Bennet. There was a brief, wistful expression in Fitz’s eyes before it vanished like smoke up a chimney.
