Chapter 2 #2
Bennet sent his wife back to her chambers and placed a footman to guard her to make sure she did not go anywhere.
An hour later the mayor and a large contingent of men from Meryton arrived, including his brother Phillips who was accompanied by his worried wife.
Once the arriving group was apprised about the happenings of that night, one of the men who worked with Sam Hodges spoke up and informed them that Sam had hired a curricle to go visit some family in the south in either Dorset or Devon, if his memory served.
One of the men had a team of bloodhounds, so Lizzy’s blanket was given to them to hone on her scent, and they soon found one to follow at the rear of the house.
The men followed the dogs past the stables, out of the stone gate, and into the trees beyond.
The trail ended at the lane and with so many tracks from so many vehicles there was no way of telling what was fresh and what was not, so the dejected group returned to the house.
By the time that they returned, the group of men had grown as the estate owners in the area including Bennet’s tenants from Bennington Fields and Netherfield Park had arrived.
The tenants from those estates had no idea that Thomas Bennet was their landlord but as is often the way in the country town, a lost child was everyone’s concern.
Riders were organised into groups of five and set off in every direction.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
At the same time that the men were starting to search, Sam Hodges was travelling through Essex on his way to Suffolk.
Jenny Brown had decided to alight in Ipswich, as she felt it was a big enough town in which to find a good situation.
She did not know what Mr Hodges and Mrs Bennet wanted with the toddler and did not care.
She now had twenty pounds, which was more money that she had ever had in her life.
Sam found an inn on the Essex-Suffolk border and at around ten that morning they had a meal and changed the horse.
They left as soon as was possible and reached Ipswich before dark.
Thanks to some more drugged milk the little girl had slept most of the way.
She had soiled herself, but neither adult cared for anything but themselves.
After Jenny Brown alighted, Sam told her that he was heading for the coast and a boat to France, then left and turned toward his ultimate destination, Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
After three days of intensive searching, Bennet resigned himself to the fact that whoever took his beloved daughter was long gone.
All he could do now was wait for the inevitable ransom demand.
He considered that someone had somehow found out about his true wealth and was going to try and get money out of him.
And the truth was that if Sam Hodges had any inkling about Bennet’s true worth, that is exactly what he would have done, which would have gotten him his daughter back likely unharmed.
His wife had been questioned multiple times by himself and his two brothers-in-law as Gardiner had arrived the next day to offer whatever assistance he was able.
No matter how much she was questioned or by whom, Fanny never wavered from her story.
Her trump was that all evidence pointed to Jenny Brown.
Thankfully, she had Sam procure the laudanum in London on one of his visits so there was no one in Meryton that was able to provide a clue as to the source of the drugs that were used.
Both Miss Browning and Mrs Manning tendered their resignations and the master refused. As guilty as they felt, the master assured them that he held them blameless. They had unknowingly been drugged and were incapacitated, so there was naught that they could have done.
Just like when she had entrapped her husband, things were not going the way that Fanny Bennet had assumed they would.
She found herself in a cottage where she had to fend for herself, for the most part.
There would always be a footman on guard, and he would summon the midwife when it came time for Fanny’s confinement.
She was allowed to walk into Meryton, but she had no pin money, and the footmen would make sure that she did not approach the manor house.
Bennet had not informed her yet, but as soon as the babe was borne, male or female, he would start divorce proceedings.
There was no proof, but in his gut, he knew that his wife was behind his darling daughter’s disappearance.
He had already informed his brother-in-law who had recommended that he write to Mr Randolph Norman, an up-and-coming barrister with a new firm, Norman and James.
Each minute, hour, and day that passed without a ransom demand, Thomas Bennet sank further and further into despair.
The only saving grace was Tammy Manning who cheered him up and kept his Jane occupied so she would not worry about her baby sister all the time.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On the fourth day after the child had been taken, Hodges entered Sherwood Forest. As much as a miscreant that he was, he would not murder a child.
He pulled the conveyance off the path and tied the horse to a tree with enough length that the animal was able to graze, and he went hunting.
He came upon an unsuspecting deer and shot it with his pistol then proceeded to cut out its heart.
He returned to his curricle in time to hear the wailing of the hungry and dirty child.
He reached in and was about to administer some more drug laced milk when he saw a fine carriage approaching.
In a blind panic, he threw the toddler to the ground, untied the horse, and took off at all speed in the opposite direction.
“Andrew,” Richard said in his high-pitched, still unbroken voice, “what do you think that man threw in the bushes before he took off like he was being chased?”
“How would I know?” retorted the thirteen-year-old Lord Hilldale to his eleven-year-old brother.
The two were on their way to one of their father’s satellite estates in Lincolnshire with their tutor and a group of their footmen-guards.
“It was nothing…” Andrew stopped as he heard it.
The weak crying of a child. “Mr Lipton,” the young Viscount commanded, “stop the carriage!”
“Right away, my Lord,” Lipton replied rapping on the ceiling.
As soon as the carriage halted, both boys jumped out and Andrew followed Richard toward the spot he had seen the man discard what was, very evidently, a screaming child.
As they got nearer, the crying became ever louder.
The sight that greeted them made them stop in their tracks.
It was a beautiful little girl who, except for her eye colour, looked amazingly like their late baby sister Tiffany.
She was in every way dirty, but from her little nightgown they could see that she was a gentleman’s daughter, and she also wore a ruby encrusted cross.
Andrew took charge. He knew that nothing could ever replace their sister, but he also knew that his mother would turn him over her knee if they did not protect this mite and bring her home to care for her until they could find her parents.
He stripped off his coat and swaddled her as best he could so she could feel his warmth, and within fifteen minutes the drivers had the team and the vehicle turned around in a clearing so they could return to Snowhaven with all haste.
When she stopped crying, she asked for “dink” which they interpreted as drink, so they let her sip from the water and lemonade they had in pouches.
She then spied a biscuit and devoured four of them in a row.
As soon as they exited the forest, they stopped at the first inn they found where they had a maid take the girl to thoroughly wash and clean her.
One of the guards kept close watch to make sure that the tiny girl was safe.
The innkeeper’s wife gave them a gown that her babe had worn and outgrown, and as soon as they were able to leave, they headed east, soon crossing back into Derbyshire.
Once she was clean, they were able to see that her hair colour was almost identical to Tiffany’s, as was the shape of her eyes; eyes that were mesmerising.
They were hazel with flecks of green and gold, not the cerulean blue that was a hallmark of the Fitzwilliams. Once she had eaten and had enough to drink, they asked her for her name and were able to get “Izzy”.
When they had examined the cross, they found an engraving on the back that read ‘For my Elizabeth.’ She kept asking “Where Papa, ‘aney, and John?” were, and they continued to promise to find them for her if they were able. Eventually she snuggled between them, her arms around Richard’s arm and her head leaning against Andrew and they looked at each other and smiled in a way only brothers can.
Life and limb would be willingly risked for this little one should it come to that.
When they pulled to a halt in front of the castle-manor house at Snowhaven, Reggie and Elaine Fitzwilliam hurried outside with great concern, fearing that one of their boys was ill.
Both parents felt a wave of relief when they saw their sons looking hale and healthy as they alighted the equipage and then both stopped dead in their tracks when they saw Andrew reach into the interior and turn around holding a little girl that looked just like… Reggie caught his wife as she fainted.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
It had been a sennight with no word from anyone demanding ransom, and each day that passed the hope that little Lizzy would be recovered dimmed.
Jane would cry each time as she spied her baby sister’s empty bed, but thankfully Mrs Manning always managed to comfort her.
The lady seemed to be a ray of sunshine in an otherwise very dark time.