Chapter Twenty-Two
The ladies were shown to the morning room for breakfast, while the gentlemen were sent in the opposite direction towards the smaller dining parlour.
No explanation was offered for the separation, though Harriet immediately declared that Lady Hortensia feared the gentlemen might attempt to steal their strategy over the coffee.
"Considering that our strategy consists chiefly of remaining together and attempting not to become lost, I think they would be disappointed," Clara replied.
The breakfast itself was a quieter meal than usual.
Elizabeth did her best to eat, though anticipation had settled uncomfortably beneath her ribs.
She had slept badly and awoken before the maid came to draw the curtains, her thoughts moving uneasily between the contest and the ball that would follow it.
There had been no opportunity to see Darcy that morning.
Once or twice she heard the gentlemen's voices through the passage beyond the room, followed by a burst of laughter which sounded very much like the Blackwoods, but the doors remained closed and Mr Pritchard's instructions had been firm.
Neither team was to leave until summoned.
At last the door opened and a footman announced that Lady Hortensia was ready for them.
The ladies left the house together and followed the gravel path towards the maze.
The morning was bright and clear, though the grass still held the remains of the night's dew and the air beneath the trees was cool.
As they rounded the corner of the house, the yew maze came into view beyond the lower lawn, its tall green walls rising above the spectators already gathered before it.
Elizabeth stopped for half a step. The parents and companions had returned from the Dower House.
They stood beneath striped awnings arranged along the outside of the maze, talking eagerly amongst themselves while servants carried trays of drinks and small cakes between them.
Mrs Harrington was near the front, waving vigorously the moment she saw Amelia.
Mr Bennet stood a little apart from the liveliest group, his hands clasped behind his back and an expression of quiet amusement upon his face.
"Papa," Jane said warmly, rushing to him.
Mr Bennet smiled as his daughters approached. "There you are. I am told you intend to spend the morning wandering through shrubbery in pursuit of glory."
"That is a rather unkind description of our final challenge," Elizabeth said.
"I have every confidence that you will wander with great distinction."
He kissed Jane's forehead and then Elizabeth's cheek.
Around them, the other ladies were being greeted with varying degrees of excitement.
Harriet's mother chattered brightly, attempting to give her several pieces of advice at once, Lady Frances's companion reminded her not to tear her gown and Mrs Harrington seized Amelia's hands before looking her over from bonnet to hem, aghast at the plainness of her dress.
Elizabeth watched Amelia straighten. "Mama, I am very glad you are here. But I cannot speak now. My team is waiting."
Mrs Harrington blinked, plainly unused to being dismissed, while Amelia returned to the ladies before her mother could object. Henry Blackwood, standing with the gentlemen some distance away, saw the exchange and smiled.
The gentlemen had approached from the opposite side of the house and gathered near a second entrance to the maze. Elizabeth found Darcy almost immediately. He was speaking with Colonel Fitzwilliam, but his gaze moved across the lawn and settled upon her before she had any opportunity to look away.
He smiled. It was not a broad smile, but it felt like a private one, just for her. Even at a distance, it held enough warmth to quiet some of the uncertainty that had followed her into the morning.
Mr Pritchard called the competitors to order before either side could cross the space between them. "Ladies to the western entrance, if you please. Gentlemen to the eastern. Spectators must remain beyond the marked ropes until the contest has concluded."
The two teams separated. Elizabeth looked back once as she followed the ladies towards their entrance and found Darcy still watching her. Colonel Fitzwilliam said something at his shoulder which caused Darcy to turn away with an expression of long-suffering patience.
Lady Hortensia waited beside the maze, a cream shawl arranged about her shoulders and the Challenge ledger open upon a small table at her side. The two entrances were far enough apart that the teams could not easily overhear one another, though both remained visible from the central lawn.
When everyone was in place, Mr Pritchard gave identical folded instructions to Elizabeth and Darcy. Each captain was told not to open the paper until Lady Hortensia gave the signal.
"The final contest," Lady Hortensia announced, raising her voice so that it carried across the spectators, "will test everything you have learned during the week.
You will need observation, memory and good judgement.
Speed may also prove useful, though anyone who relies upon it alone will very quickly discover the limitations of fast legs in the wrong direction. "
Lady Hortensia continued. "Each side must locate five stations hidden within the maze. At every station you will be given a task. Complete it correctly and you will receive a brass token bearing one of the symbols of the Challenge."
Mr Pritchard held up an example for the spectators to see. It was a small round disc attached to a length of ribbon, though the symbol upon it was hidden beneath his hand.
"The ladies' tokens are tied with purple ribbon. The gentlemen's with blue. You may not take, conceal or interfere with a token belonging to the opposing side. I should not have to say so, but experience suggests otherwise."
"You may move through the maze in whatever manner your captain thinks best," Lady Hortensia went on.
"You may remain together or divide into smaller parties, but every member of your side must report to the final checkpoint at the centre of the maze before you can complete the contest. No one is to climb the hedges, cut through them or follow a servant through a private passage.
Any attempt to damage my maze will result in immediate defeat and a stern talking to from my gardener. "
A laugh travelled through the spectators.
Lady Hortensia turned in her chair slightly and raised her cane towards the lawn. At the outer edge of the yew hedge stood a slender white post, clearly visible to both teams and every spectator beneath the awnings. A length of crimson ribbon stirred from its top in the morning breeze.
"The first runner to leave the maze and take that ribbon will win all five points for their side and, with them, the Challenge Cup."
A murmur of excitement moved through the crowd. Mrs Harrington stared towards the white post, and for a moment her expression softened as though she remembered another summer and another race across the same lawn.
Elizabeth looked down at the folded paper in her hand.
Lady Hortensia had told them almost everything, but not what waited at the final checkpoint.
The decision they had made the night before still seemed sound.
They would remain together, remember every turn and trust in Harriet's speed for whatever came to pass.
Across the lawn, Darcy was speaking quietly to the gentlemen. Mr Ashcombe shook his head and pointed towards the maze, evidently arguing for some other arrangement. Darcy listened and looked towards the entrance.
Lady Hortensia lifted one hand. "Captains, you may open your papers."
Elizabeth broke the seal.
The first line was written in Lady Hortensia's bold hand.
Find those who see, hear and speak without doing any of the three.
Harriet leaned over Elizabeth's shoulder. "What does it mean?"
Elizabeth looked through the dark opening between the hedges. Somewhere beyond the first turn, hidden from view, a bell began to ring.
Lady Hortensia dropped her hand.
"Begin."
The ladies hurried into the maze, Harriet restrained only by Elizabeth's hand upon her arm.
Beyond the entrance, the path divided almost at once and the high yew walls closed around them, shutting out the spectators and most of the morning light.
The bell continued to sound somewhere ahead, each clear note seeming to come from a different direction as it echoed between the hedges.
"Faces, maybe," said Miss Lacey, looking from one path to the other. "Perhaps a statue."
"Or a carving," said Miss Drummond. "The riddle says, find those who see, hear and speak without doing any of the three."
They chose the path from which the bell sounded loudest and began calling each turn as they went.
Clara kept count near the front while Mrs Cartwright repeated the sequence from the rear.
Twice they reached dead ends and were forced to retrace their steps, but after several minutes Miss Lacey stopped before three stone faces set into a low wall at the side of the path.
The first covered its eyes, the second its ears and the third its mouth. Beneath each was a small brass bell and an inscription.
The blind face declared, The deaf face speaks truly.
The deaf face declared, The silent face speaks falsely.
The silent face declared, Both the others speak falsely.
A card fixed below them read:
Only one speaks true. Ring the bell beneath the honest face.
A footman stood a short distance away with his hands folded behind his back, his expression carefully blank.
"The blind face cannot be honest," Clara said. "If the deaf face speaks truly, as it claims, then both of them would be telling the truth."
"And the deaf face cannot be honest either," Miss Drummond said. "If the silent face were lying, one of the other two would have to speak truly. It cannot be the blind face without making the deaf face truthful as well."