Chapter 12 #3
“According to Hodges, the woman handed him the babe and he took her with the maid that had helped drug the others in a hired carriage and left. He said that he wanted to get far away from where her father lived so he chose Nottinghamshire and Sherwood Forest. He told us that he was about to take some cross from her when he saw a carriage approaching at speed, so he discarded her and took off in the opposite direction at all speed.” When she completed her recitation, Karen Younge remained silent hoping against hope that the Earl would have her life spared.
“How did you travel here today?” she was asked. She realised that she had omitted a very saliant piece of information while caught up in remembering Hodges’s tale.
“In a hired carriage, with one of my brother’s men acting as a footman and Hodges as the driver,” she looked down as the Earl’s anger exploded again.
“The man that tossed my daughter like some rubbish next to the road brought you here, is still here,” The Earl clarified in anger. Karen Younge nodded.
Driven by anger and disgust, the Earl commanded one of the four men with him to bind Miss Younge and then join them outside as he pulled his pistol off the desk where he had placed it while the tale was being told.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Richard was minutes from the house as he barrelled down the drive urging as much speed from Achilles as he could without using the crop.
He was almost home, and he prayed that he was not too late.
As he rounded the corner that gave him a clear view of the house, he saw some of the guards disguised as other servants running toward a hired carriage.
His father was running down the stairs toward the conveyance, pistol in hand.
The driver stood up on his bench looking toward the stable, where with horror, he saw his mother, Anne, and Lizzy walk around the corner with the two huge footmen following them closely.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The ladies had made it back to the stables about a quarter to twelve.
Biggs and Johns helped them down and then collected the empty baskets to return to the kitchens.
The walked towards the house and as they took the corner, they saw a scene of mayhem before them.
There was a small conveyance in the drive; the footman had his arms raised in surrender as their guards were closing in on the carriage.
The driver was staring at Lizzy with malevolence in his eyes.
Papa was running toward Lizzy as he saw where the driver was looking, yelling something that they could not make out.
Into all of this Richard came up the drive at a full gallop, sabre drawn.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
It seemed like time slowed down. The driver drew a pistol from beneath his coat and aimed it at Lizzy, “I should have killed you when I discarded you!” he spat as he applied pressure to the trigger.
Biggs and Johns had dropped the baskets and were pushing the ladies aside when the Earl ran between the driver and his wife and daughter.
There was a sound of a shot at the same instant that Richard launched his sabre like a missile that with the momentum of the galloping horse flew straight and true.
The last thing Sam Hodges wide eyes saw was the sabre as it buried itself deep within his chest with the power behind it throwing him some feet away from the carriage.
Lizzy looked at her papa; he was on his knees feet away from where Biggs and Johns had pushed them and put their own bodies in front of them like huge shields.
Papa’s eyes were wide open like he was trying to work out something and could not quite puzzle it out.
Then they heard Richard’s anguished shout!
“No, please God, no, not my father.” Biggs and Johns picked up Lady Elizabeth and Miss de Bourgh respectively and rushed them inside through the nearest side door while their mother found her feet and ran to her husband’s side.
From the front her husband looked as he always did, but when she went to Richard and looked at what he was staring at in momentary shock, she saw that the back of her Reggie’s shirt was covered in blood.
Richard snapped out of his shock and started bellowing orders to have his father moved to his bed and to have Mr Finch come to Snowhaven with all speed.
He then went to his father’s study and ordered the guard to move the bound woman to a windowless room in the cellar and make sure that she was well guarded along with the man that had surrendered.
He sat down and wrote the most difficult missives of his life, one to his brother and one to the Darcys.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The Darcys were getting ready to start toward Snowhaven when a Fitzwilliam groom came tearing down the drive at full gallop and pulled his horse to a stop sending gravel flying in all directions. He handed a note to Mr Darcy and turned his horse and took off just as fast as he arrived.
George recognised his nephew’s script; the note was short but drove him to immediate action.
Make all speed to Snowhaven, the situation is dire.
R
Luckily Mr Darcy and William had intended to ride alongside the carriage.
George mounted his horse and told William to follow him.
He handed his wife the note and told the driver to make all possible speed and then he and William had their mounts at full gallop within the first few yards as they rode the ten miles toward what they felt was impending disaster.