Chapter 48
CHAPTER 48
T he following day was a busy one at Bourne House. Ashley went about with Lady Catherine, and met with the magistrate, several local landowners, and the mayor. They also met with Mr Buckle from the East Sussex Volunteer Corps, and Ashley used all of his commanding presence as well as the promise of a generous donation to the corps, if they would rally their forces and continue the search for Darcy with renewed motivation.
Croucher dressed as a rough man and met with several local men in the pub. Men who had families to feed, and who were occasionally obliged to break the law to do so, but were still good Englishmen. They had been afraid to speak too much, but it had been them that had sounded out the local clergyman to alert the magistrate to the strange activity. There were several caves on the coast that were rarely used by smugglers, because during some tides, they were sometimes completely flooded, and therefore dangerous, although they did not usually flood entirely this time of year. These caves were only ever accessible during low tide, and few locals ever explored them. Even the lads knew better than to go exploring and get themselves trapped, or worse, drowned.
Croucher could not promise the men that the army would look the other way to their smuggling endeavours, obviously Richard was here to report whatever he found. But in consideration that there may be something far more sinister happening, perhaps the smugglers could pause their activities, and tell him what they knew, and they might rid themselves of whatever intruders were encroaching on their territory. Knowing that the area was being investigated, the smugglers could absent themselves from the coast for a few weeks. They were not expecting a drop before then.
The men explained that there were few locations from which one might view the entrance to the caves at low tide without being observed, and made arrangements with Croucher to lead him there the following day.
The following day was Sunday, and the entire household was seen in church, and spoke to the townspeople of the search for Darcy as they departed. Ashley and Arabella, wishing to observe the Lord’s Day as well as they ought, but also needing to expend the energy of three rambunctious boys who had travelled by carriage for days, planned to take a basket lunch and their boys for a drive after church. Georgiana and their Aunt Priscilla – who was recovering from her ordeal – and appreciated the distraction – were desolate at the idea of being left behind, so Ashley had rented a shooting break? 1 from the livery, and the outing would be comfortable and pleasant for all, even with their large party.
The family waved goodbye to their friends and relations as they pulled away from the church after services, and headed out towards the coast and the cliffs, followed by four armed men on horseback. They drove for perhaps an hour, high spirits all the way, before stopping near a small village called East Dean, and took their picnic near the cliffs, running and playing with the children for two hours before they tired, when Arabella and the two younger ladies herded Ashley and the boys back into the carriage and headed for home.
When they were perhaps a mile from Eastbourne’s village, there came a shout from over a hill, and suddenly, a large group of brigands on horseback crested the small rise, and gave chase, whooping, and shooting into the air. There were too many for their armed guards to overcome on their own, and so their groom whipped up his horses, and drove them as fast as could be done without overturning the conveyance. The ladies screamed, and the boys began to cry in terror as Ashley turned about backwards and began shooting carefully with the two smoothbore muskets he had produced from under the bench. Each musket held four shots, and Ashley, one of the best shots of his year amongst the men at Cambridge, managed to hit two of the men who were chasing them, and the guards on horseback unhorsed two more, reducing their number to four.
All of the men were now without shots, and the brigands surrounded the carriage and engaged with their guards as the carriage fled down the lane, perilously close to the cliffside. Suddenly Ashley realised what was happening. “They are trying to drive us off of the cliffs!” he shouted to the driver, who in response sharply turned the horses away from the edge, and drove straight into the midst of their attackers, sending them and their horses scattering, though they turned and gave chase with their swords. The ladies and children huddled on the floor of the open carriage, crying and screaming, as Ashley did his best to shield them.
After a short distance, their attackers fell back. All of the men’s guns were now without shots, the attackers’ numbers had been greatly reduced, and it was too late to drive the carriage off of the cliffs. They were now coming too close to the town, and as the attackers fell back. Ashley’s men followed them into the village, unwilling to leave their master and his family without protection in order to give chase.
Ashley and the men called to the house as the horse galloped into their crescent, and the driver pulled them up abruptly. Arabella and the ladies were entirely hysterical, and the children were sobbing and clinging to their mother, who was entirely overwhelmed. The women and children were all carried upstairs, the ladies dosed heavily with brandy and laudanum. Even the boys were given a heavy dose of brandy, but they could not be parted from their mother, and were all piled into her bed to collapse into shock and exhaustion with her.
The magistrate was sent for, not that there was anything he could do, but a great number of local men were roused from their homes to mount their horses and go out in search of the brigands. Obviously the ones who had escaped were not found, though the roads had been followed in all directions. The ones who had been shot were all dead. They were dressed as peasants, in homespun, though the quality of their muskets and swords, plus their ability to not only ride, but fight on horseback meant they were anything but what they appeared.
Pictures of the dead men were drawn by a local man, signs were put up all over Eastbourne and sent to the neighbouring towns, and rewards for information were placed in the newspapers, but there was very little information to go on. Ashley was enraged by the attempt on his family. He had recognised Wickham as one of the men on horseback, and swore upon all that he held holy, that if he encountered the man, he would not be nearly so lenient as his brother and cousin had been in the past.
Huggins was furious. “ You failed? Failed entirely? You went out with seven other armed men on horseback, and did not even manage to harm a single hair on the head of even the most helpless child ?” he shouted at Wickham in French.
“ They had armed men with them ,” Wickham protested in the same language. “ We lost four of our own !”
“ You don’t have a damned excuse to have lost four men, you stupid fool !” screamed Huggins. “ Our contact’s terms were that these people were to be killed before the landing! What if he does something now to prevent it !”
“ Why is it so important for the Fitzwilliams to die? Who the hell is your contact? ” Wickham demanded in confusion.
“ Now I must ensure that a group of men must attack the house during the landing. We need every man to engage the residents of this stinking town so that we can breach the castle! ” Huggins said savagely, ignoring Wickham’s question. “ I do not have fifty men to waste on doing the job which you have not !”
Wickham was quiet for a moment. “ What has this to do with the castle ?”
“ Mind your own business, damn you! Obviously, they are not landing without a reason. Do you believe that four ships, even with well over a thousand men, can successfully invade this pitiful island? Evidently, there must be a purpose! They are coming to look for something. If I wanted you to know this, you would have been told .”
“ And you are certain that there is property and a reward waiting for me in France ,” Wickham said, sounding dubious for the first time with the man who had approached him months ago, claiming to be his mother’s brother.
“ Nephew, I swear to you. If you assist me in returning this great treasure to the Emperor, you will be rewarded beyond all of your wildest dreams ,” Huggins promised. “ That is, if you can do even one thing right before the landing .”
Darcy laid his head back against the cold stone. Wickham had attempted to kill his cousin's family. What had happened? Had any of them been hurt? He recalled Huggins’ remark that not even a hair on the head of the children had been harmed, and prayed that this was true.
On Monday, Bourne House was mostly quiet. They had received a visit from the mayor and the magistrate, both contrite, and with no information about the attack or about Darcy. Arabella had still not left her rooms, she remained in her bed with her children, and refused to come out, for a ball, or for any other reason until they were to leave this awful place. Ashley believed they ought to return to Matlock, but would not send them without him, no matter how large a guard went with them, so until Darcy was found, Arabella and the boys would have to remain.
Priscilla and Georgiana made their way downstairs at breakfast, but they were subdued. Elizabeth and Lydia did not take their morning walk, all things considered, and the company around the table at Bourne House was down in the mouth as they all assembled for the morning meal.
“I still cannot believe there has been no sign of Darcy, no sign at all,” complained Bingley as he made a plate for Jane, and took a place next to her at the table.
“How could he have disappeared, quite into thin air?” Jane agreed.
Elizabeth, pale, and with dark circles under her eyes, said nothing, but considered returning to her bed when she had broken her fast. She ought not to have even come down. She could not bear the company of the others.
“I still cannot believe that we are going to the ball to dance,” said Caroline. “I do not believe I have ever felt less like dancing, not even when I first entered Meryton at that little assembly.”
“Perhaps some of you are going to dance,” said Mary bitterly.
“Whatever do you mean, Mary?” asked Jane.
Mary, realising that all eyes were suddenly upon her, clammed up, and said, “Nothing.” She then stood and left the table, leaving her napkin by her plate.
“I wonder what on earth that was about,” Lydia said, as Elizabeth gazed after her sister and then pierced William with an intense stare. He squirmed under her scrutiny, and excused himself, following after Mary.
“I cannot believe you!” exclaimed William as he followed Mary into the garden behind the house. “ How can you think of yourself at such a time!”
“ You cannot believe me ?” cried Mary, feeling all of the shame her betrothed thought she should feel. “I did not lie. They know they are dancing, they have been asked ! How am I to even know how I am spending tomorrow evening? Have you bothered to speak to me at all in almost a fortnight? I have no idea if I am even to save the first for you! What if another man asks me? Am I to decline and sit out the night? Are we not dancing at all because of Mr Darcy, or are we dancing, like the others, in order to be seen and make people think of him, as Lady Catherine wishes? You have not spoken a word of your intentions to me, so I am apparently meant to attend the ball not knowing what to expect!”
“When am I meant to speak to you, precisely?” asked William. “Am I meant to interrupt while you are spending half of every day talking and laughing with that man, and the rest pounding your keys as if your instrument is the only thing in the world to you?”
“I am practising !” Mary protested. “We have both spent months on our self improvement, and suddenly I am wicked because you are jealous of the comte ? We sit in the drawing room every night, and you have every opportunity to speak with me! You do not offer to turn my pages, you do not sit next to me, and you do not talk to me any more!”
“When am I meant to speak to you in the evening?” demanded her betrothed. “When you are performing for the attention of our company, or when they are cheering and you are enjoying your accolades?”
“Oh!” cried Mary. “Oh, you dreadful man. What sort of man prefers his bride when she is stupid and without talent? I have spent my entire life working on my accomplishments, it is the only thing I am allowed, as a young gentlewoman, and when I finally have achieved the only dream I have ever had, to play well, you resent me! You are supposed to be happy for me! You are supposed to be proud of me! All I wished for is to be good at one thing, so that you might have a wife you could be proud of! I am not hurting anybody! It is not as if I am meant to go out canvassing the town each day looking for Mr Darcy. No one chastises Lydia and Georgie for practising the harp! No one disapproves of Jane for taking up her embroidery! It is not as if I am socialising in the assembly rooms each afternoon! William, what have I done? Why do you hate me so?” She turned and fled into the house.
William felt chastised as he realised that he had been unfair to Mary. He could go out each day and do as he pleased. There were few activities that were appropriate for Mary, and the one thing she had loved all of her life, that she had dreamed of becoming proficient at, was a most appropriate activity, and it was unfair of him to berate her for her enjoyment of it, when she had little else to occupy her time. She could have remained at home with her parents, learning in the kitchens, and helping with the tenants, for she had always been a useful woman. Instead, she had agreed to travel with him here to bring comfort and counsel when his patroness was thought to be dying, and this was how he repaid her.
When he followed her into the house, he went to the music room. He knew he would find her here. When his Mary was filled with sadness or despair, she sought solace at the pianoforte. She was not playing when he entered the room. She had her head down on her folded arms, and sobbed over the keys.
He drew close and sat next to her on the bench, and said, “I was jealous.”
Mary raised her head, hiccuping, and said, “What?”
“I was jealous!” he said again as he rose again and took a few steps away, and stood with his back to her. He took a deep breath, and then turned back around to face her. “The comte made you laugh. He made you laugh here, in this room, every day. He helped you in a manner that I could not, and I was jealous. I feared that you were falling in love with him.”
“William, we are betrothed !” said Mary, aghast. “It is the same as being married, in my view. My heart is closed to all men but you.”
“I should know that, but you are so beautiful, and he is so smart and funny, and rich, and he plays so well. How could I compete with such male elegance?” William confessed. “And now you have perfected your talent, and your sisters are likely going to marry well, or at least Lizzy will if we find Mr Darcy, and if she does not, Jane will surely accept Mr Bingley, and what on earth do you need me for now?”
“William! I gave you my word!” said Mary, shocked by his admission. Suddenly she began to weep afresh. “What are you saying? Are you saying you do not wish to marry me any longer?”
“No! I am-” William broke off as he beheld Mary, and as she wept as though her heart would break, he saw the extent of his great error. “Mary. Would you be so kind as to reserve the first and the supper dance for me?”
Mary sniffled as he handed her his handkerchief. “Are you certain?” she asked. “I do not wish to use tears to force you into dancing if you feel that it is not appropriate with Mr Darcy missing.”
“If you can bear to be seen in public with such a blockhead, it would make me very happy indeed,” he promised.
“Very well,” Mary said, wiping her eyes.
“And the last? Will you favour me with the last as well?” he begged. “Mary, if you will forgive my stupidity, I will spend my life making it up to you.”
“And you will not be angry at me for practising any more?” Mary asked.
“Never again,” he insisted. “I am very proud of you. I am just intolerably stupid, as well.”
“Very well then,” she allowed. Then she gave him a watery smile. “The comte says that he likes you. He says that you are a good man, and that I am fortunate in you. I hope that if we are practising another time, that you might come in and say hello.”
“I will, darling,” William promised. “I assure you that I most certainly will.”
Late that night, a meeting was held in Lady Catherine’s private sitting room with Georgiana, Ashley, Richard, their aunt, and Mr Croucher. “Tell us Croucher, what have you found?” demanded Richard.
“Well, Colonel, sir, the local men, they took me to see the entrances to the caves. There are a few ways to come up on them unexpected, like,” answered the man. “When you leave tonight, sir, it will still be a good time to get a look. I will take you there.”
After the meeting had ended, where the only useful information was that which was shared by Croucher, Richard accompanied Croucher to the coast line, where the man showed him how to access the caves in question. It was very late at night, and very dark. Thankfully they encountered no one, though they did not draw close.
Richard and Croucher made a plan, in which men who Richard trusted, likely his father’s men, some of whom had arrived with his brother, were to be stationed on horseback near the different entrances to the town, to wait for the dragoons, and direct them to a secluded location until Richard could brief them. When the men arrived, on the very next low tide, they would ambush the caves, hopefully finding Darcy, and rounding up the ringleaders of whatever ghastly plot was unfolding in Eastbourne.
If General Vane had sent the unit, and if they travelled at the speed at which Richard prayed they would, the dragoons should be here by tomorrow, or the following day at the latest.
1 ? A Shooting Break was a large, open country carriage with four wheels and a hood, which was large enough to convey six sportsmen, and even their dogs and rifles.