Chapter 13 #2
Elizabeth’s eyes remained fixed on Darcy, in disbelief. What was he doing there? He of all men? He, who she had abused so horribly only a few months ago? Who she had accused of horrible faults so unfairly?
“Barrington, I shall tell you once again, we will not leave this house until we have achieved our purpose. Mr. Gardiner wishes to see his niece and Bingley his sister-in-law!”
“Shut your mouth, Darcy! Why are you here? I have no business with you? Who the devil brought you here?”
“Barrington, you cannot impress me—as you well know. You may yell like a lunatic and make a fool of yourself, I shall not be deterred from my goal. We are here to speak to Lady Barrington. I have asked for assistance from my uncle, the judge. We have his men waiting outside.”
“You cannot enter my house! Get out this moment, or I will shoot you all!”
“Lord Barrington, for heaven’s sake,” Mr. Reeves—the trustee—attempted to interject. He was utterly ignored, as the earl seemed obsessed with confronting Darcy.
Darcy took a step forward. “Barrington, I shall come towards you now, while Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Bingley will go in search of Lady Barrington. You may shoot your gun and you may even hurt me, although you are so drunk and dizzy from opium that I wonder if you can even see. But hurt or not, once I put my hands on you, you will have no escape! Heed my warning.”
From the left side, Lambert and St. Claire approached.
“Darcy, you have no right to be here!” the former said. “You have no right to threaten Barrington in his own house!”
“We have every right to be here,” Mr. Gardiner said, taking Darcy’s side with Mr. Bingley next to him. “Mr. Darcy is our friend and we begged his assistance in saving my niece from circumstances that seem to have put her life in danger.”
“This entire situation is out of control. We are civil people, members of high society, we cannot behave like savages,” Mr. Finch, Lady Sedgewick’s executor, said.
“We wish to see Lady Barrington. If she assures us all is well, we will leave. If not, some measures must be taken according to the law. We cannot leave until we have the matter settled.”
“You cannot see her today! She is not here! Come back another day.” Barrington shouted.
“Barrington, stop this nonsense! We will find and talk to her now!” Darcy said, his voice as strong as thunder while he stepped decidedly towards the earl.
“Dear Lord, what is burning?” Mr. Thorn asked in panic. Only then, the earl turned and finally Elizabeth appeared in his sight, supporting Sarah.
“Go back, woman!” the earl shouted in a mad voice. “Go back now!”
But Elizabeth continued to stumble further towards the stairs, praying she could reach her relatives and be saved. She was painfully aware that each step brought her closer to freedom—which was still very far away.
Voices and frantic moves turned the gathering into an uproar.
Lord Barrington began to shout and hurried up the stairs to grab Elizabeth.
His feet slipped a few times, but he continued to climb, holding his pistol.
From the other side, Mr. Darcy jumped two stairs at a time, followed by Mr. Bingley.
St. Claire also ran towards them, calling Lord Barrington repeatedly.
Moments later, all four men reached the top of the stairs together, pushing against each other.
The earl took out the pistol and tried to shoot.
Darcy fought with him, struggling to grab his hand.
Elizabeth and Sarah tried to avoid the men, but the girl, injured and fearful, stumbled and fell down the first stair, with a cry of pain.
Elizabeth knelt to grab her and while holding Sarah as tightly as she could, she heard more shouts, curses, the noise of fighting, and then a heavy, deep sound froze everybody in attendance.
Elizabeth looked around and saw Lord Barrington, St. Claire, Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy all falling together, rolling down the stairs.
Elizabeth’s heart stopped in panic, while the other men, as well as Lady Augusta, ran to the fallen ones. Mr. Darcy was the first to stand up, then Mr. Bingley, rubbing his leg and hand. Elizabeth sighed in relief.
St. Claire asked for help and was raised to his feet while he whined about his injured left leg and shoulder.
Near him, Lord Barrington said nothing. His mother and Lambert called him and turned him on his back.
His head fell to the side, but he remained still, his eyes wide open. The pistol was still in his hand.
The others called him again. Mr. Reeves—the trustee—looked closely, then said with stupefaction, “I am afraid Lord Barrington is dead.”
Silence and dumbfounded stares followed, then Lady Augusta shouted.
“Dead? What do you mean dead? How can he be dead?”
Mr. Gardiner hurried towards Elizabeth and immediately Darcy joined him. Elizabeth’s glance met his for an instant and then he averted his eyes and gently pulled her to her feet.
“Lizzy dear, are you hurt? Dear Lord,” Mr. Gardiner whispered.
“Sarah is hurt. Please...We must take care of her,” she whispered.
“We will take her,” Darcy said, and the man who had once been proud, arrogant, aloof and disdainful, lifted the servant girl in his arms, carrying her downstairs, while Elizabeth stepped hesitantly, supported by her uncle.
“You! You have murdered my son!” Lady Barrington shouted, cursing them.
“His own character and your negligence has murdered him, Lady Augusta. Let us pray God will forgive his soul, as people will certainly not,” Darcy said bluntly.
“But...I...You cannot leave! You have murdered my son! You will all be punished for your crime!”
“We all saw that it was an unfortunate accident. Would you not agree, gentlemen?” Mr. Gardiner addressed the gentlemen of the law.
“Indeed,” Mr. Reeves replied, and his colleagues approved silently. “A sad and tragic accident. I cannot believe it. We came for a civil conversation and instead…”
“Gentlemen, if there is anything else you need from us, we may speak again tomorrow. Now, we must leave. My niece and the young maid are badly injured and they need a doctor’s assistance,” Mr. Gardiner continued.
The two trustees and the executor remained behind, still numb with shock. They had never witnessed such scenes in their entire career.
“I believe there is nothing you may do now,” Mr. Thorn answered.
“What a tragedy! So shocking! The family must prepare for the funeral, I imagine… There are many legal issues to be settled, but everything can be postponed… What a tragedy…” he ended, while Lady Augusta began to cry and to curse again.