Murdering a Bennet, page 22
“What did our cousin write about?” Darcy knew Anne and Georgiana corresponded, but he felt certain Anne had nothing of significance to write about, which would make this nightly visit necessary. He, however, would humor his sister.
“Anne wrote about the rector at Hunsford. She said he had been visiting his cousin in Hertfordshire.”
“Mr. Collins,” Jane murmured, and Darcy and Bingley remembered the man’s visit to the county.
“I did not recall his name, so I did not make the connection when I met him this evening. Not until Anne’s word came forcibly back did I make the connection. She wrote her mother was upset with her rector because he was unable to fulfill his pastoral role for some weeks due to an accident. She wrote, ‘Mother is extremely put out by Mr. Collins.’ It was those words, which came rushing back to me while I slept. It is funny, he talked all evening about his patroness, but he never mentioned her name, so I did not make the connection.”
“What kind of accident?” Her brother inquired leaning slightly forward in expectation.
“His coach hit something. I recall not what; I would have to pull out the letter to get it completely correct, but I do remember her describing his injuries for they seemed odd but rather funny, at that time. I also heard Mr. Collins saying to another guest how if things had turned out differently, he would now be married to Miss Lizzy. He seemed to be complaining about how she rudely turned him down and declared he could never make her happy. He said, ‘As if it were my place to make her happy. Why the wife must make the husband happy, not the other way around.’ I confess I felt an instant dislike of the man.” Georgiana grimaced as she recalled the man.
Darcy felt furious with the stupidity of the man. Elizabeth, he would be happy to inform the man, deserved happiness, and he agreed with her comment. Mr. Collins would never be able to make her happy, and the man did not deserve such a gem of a lady.
“What about his injuries?” Even though Darcy continued to conceal his feelings about Miss Elizabeth from the others, he still wanted to find out more about the man who thought he deserved such a paragon.
“I want to get this correct, so I may have to stop and think, but please, do not interrupt me or I might lose the memory again,” Georgiana said.
“We will listen intently,” Jane informed her as she reached out and patted the young girl's hand while she shot a look to both men warning them to do just as Georgiana asked.
“I cannot remember how the accident occurred, but there was something about the coach going off the road and hitting something.” She stopped and thought a moment. “A tree maybe, but I guess it is not as important what it hit but what it caused. Anne said the man could not speak for well over two weeks because during the accident, he bit his tongue. I guess he had a local apothecary look at it, and the man had told him not to speak and to eat only soft food until it was completely healed. Anne also said the man had scratches to his face and arms. She said she thought it was funny because when the man first returned, he came straight to Rosings, and she saw blood on his shirt but not on his jacket. She said it was odd he could be injured severely enough to bleed but the blood missed falling on his coat. She said she did not mention it to Mr. Collins but did comment on it to her mother who said she should not worry about where the man bled or did not bleed. I found it funny because I had never heard of anyone biting his tongue so hard it would require weeks to heal. Anne said he must have bit it when the coach crashed.” She stopped and looked directly at her brother. “Have you ever heard of anyone having such a severe bite?”
Darcy looked at Bingley and wondered if his friend made the same connections he was making. To his sister’s question, however, he answered, “No. Never. Was there anything else Anne wrote about Mr. Collins?”
“It seems Mr. Collins did not speak about the accident or any other events until after his tongue healed, but later he made a comment to Aunt Catherine being upset about something and saying he would talk about it later. Anne believes he was waiting for her to leave the room before he would share anything else. Anne said she decided to allow them some privacy, but out of curiosity, she went to the next room, which had a connecting door. She opened the door slightly so anyone looking at it would not notice it was open. She said Mr. Collins complained about his cousins declaring all the Bennet girls were too silly to be the wife of a clergyman, so he could not force himself to marry any of them. Wait . . .” Georgiana stopped instantly, turned and looked at Jane, seemed to consider something, and then said, “He lied. He told Aunt Catherine he did not propose to any of the Bennet daughters, but last evening he claimed he had proposed to Miss Lizzy. Why would he lie to our aunt?”
“Maybe he was too embarrassed to admit he had been turned down,” Bingley offered helpfully.
“Or he had another reason for lying about what really took place,” Darcy added taking everything under serious consideration.
“Maybe Charles is correct, and he did feel embarrassed about being rejected,” Jane added wanting to support her husband and not having been present when the gentlemen were informed about the injuries the murderer might have had.
Darcy thought for a moment before asking, “Did Anne say anything about Mr. Collins having a red coat?”
“Darcy, what are you thinking?” Bingley, at first, felt confused and then thought he might understand what Darcy was trying to discover.
“Give me a moment,” Darcy directed. “Did Anne say anything about a red coat?” He asked again.
“Funny you should ask because she did. In a later letter, she wrote about driving by the parsonage and seeing him at the side of the house burning some brush, but within the brush, she saw something red. She stopped and walked over to the fire and noticed it was a red coat. She asked him why he would be burning a coat, but he only indicated he still could not speak. She forgot about the event until he gave a sermon about Joseph’s coat of many colors. Later, when she was able to speak to him without her mother hearing, she asked him about the coat again. He claimed he had owned the coat before becoming a clergyman, but since it was so colorful, he felt it was improper for him to wear it; hence, his reason for burning it. Anne said he could have given it to one of the parishioners in need of clothing, so she found his actions wasteful.”
“Interesting,” Darcy said as he got up and began pacing around his room.
“Why?” Bingley asked but was not ready to suspect the worst of a clergyman.
“Do you not see?” He returned. “Mr. Collins, after returning to Hunsford at the beginning of December, had scratches upon his face, hands, and arms. He was unable to talk for some weeks because of biting his tongue, or so he claimed later. In addition, my cousin sees him burning a red coat. Bingley, does this not indicate something to you?”
“He might really have been in an accident.” Bingley argued still not wanting to accept the worst.
“Do you remember what the doctor said about possible injuries to the person who attacked Elizabeth?” Darcy was unaware of his use of her Christian name, but for so long he had been referring to her as Elizabeth in his mind that it came naturally to his speech.
“He said the attacker would have scratches about his face . . .. Wait, do you believe he could be the one we have been searching for?” Realization of the truth overwhelmed Bingley.
“Mr. Collins? You think Mr. Collins attacked my sister and killed Kitty?” Jane abruptly stood shocked by the thought. After listening to everything Georgiana shared, however, she could not help but wonder if Mr. Collins, a man of God, could possibly be so evil. Completely stunned, she hastily sat back down.
“It fits.” Darcy abruptly stopped his pacing. “He matches what the doctor said we should look for. He could have made up the story about an accident.
“If he is the man we are looking for, then Miss Elizabeth is in danger,” Bingley declared.
“Lizzy!” Jane jumped up and rushed out of the room.
Everyone else quickly followed her out. She went straight to her sister’s room, and with every step, she felt the return of the fear, which had woken her earlier. She did not even knock on the door; she just entered her sister’s room. She let out a small cry at the sight before her. The moon was shining into the room. The curtains had not been drawn. She saw an indentation on the bed where someone had been lying, but the counterpane had not been drawn back. Whoever had lain there had not attempted to use the covers. Clothing had been strewn around the room as if someone had hastily been looking for something.
Jane quickly turned, “She is gone. Someone took her.” Jane knew Elizabeth would never have left the house without letting her know, and besides her father, no one else would have invited her to leave the house.
“Bingley, ring for the servants. Have them search the house for her. Also, send someone to the stables and have my horse made ready. If she was taken from the house, I will need to find her before it is too late. Also, ask around among the servants and see if anyone remembers seeing anything unusual.” Darcy did not wait for a reply, but made quickly for his dressing room to change. He felt the urgency of quick actions.
When Darcy returned to the now lit hall, he noticed a number of servants standing near Bingley.
“Darcy, you need to hear this.” Bingley motioned him over. “Mrs. Nicholls, tell your part first,” he directed.
“Miss Bingley came to the kitchen, sir, requesting a tea tray prepared. She waited for it to be prepared, and then said she would take it to the drawing room herself. It seemed odd because she always expected someone else to convey the tray when she requested it.”
Darcy noticed the lady was ringing her hands nervously as she spoke.
“Afterwards, she brought the tray back, and I was surprised when I noticed she emptied the tea cups instead of making one of the maids empty them,” Mrs. Nicholls observed.
Bingley motioned to one of the footmen when Mrs. Nicholls finished speaking.
“Miss Bingley requested my ‘elp ta take Miss Bennet ta ‘er room. Miss Bingley said the lady ‘ad fallen asleep while sharin’ tea with ‘er. The lady were unable to stand and walk, so I were required ta carry ‘er up to ‘er room. Miss Bingley were goin’ ta make me go alone, but I says it were improper fer me ta take a lady ta ‘er room alone. Miss Bingley agreed ta lead me ta Miss Bennet’s room. Since I were carrying the lady, I couldn’t ‘elp but smell ‘er breath. It smelt off – too sweet, rather sickly. I ‘member once smelling somethin’ like it afore, Sir. It were when me mother ‘ad been given laudanum by the apothecary.”
“Thank you, James.” Bingley said before he turned to a very young girl. “Amy, please tell Mr. Darcy what you saw before you retired for the night.”
Amy gave a nervous little bob before saying, “Yes, sir. I were outside. I’d forgotten me last chore. I’d seen Miss Bingley leading Miss ‘lizabet. She were walkin’ funny like. Miss Bingley seemed mad. There were a coach waitin’.” She too suddenly began to ring her hands. “I thought it were funny fer it ta be there. A man in black got out, he said somethin’ I didn’t ‘ear. Miss Bingley said too ‘urry afer the family returned. They pushed Miss ‘lizabet in rather roughly and ‘anded the man a bag. She said somethin’ ‘bout Gretna Green. The man yelled up ta the drive ta ‘urry on afere he got in. Miss Bingley, she turned. I sees a big smile on ‘er face.”
“What time was this?” Darcy gruffly asked. How long ago had she been taken? He wondered.
“T’ere near midnight, sir.” Little Amy, in her nervousness bobbed a quick curtsey again.
“How were you able to see with it being so late?” Jane, who had been standing in the hall as well, asked curiously.
“Moonlit night, ma’am,” the young girl replied with a slight smile to her mistress.
“Did anyone see you?” Darcy asked.
“No sir. I ‘id. Didn’t want Miss Bingley ta know I’d fergot a chore.”
“Thank you, Amy.” Bingley said but added, “My sister is not the mistress of my home. You have nothing to fear from her.”
“Thank ye, Sir.” Amy curtsied again.
Before Amy could leave, however, Darcy asked one more question. “Amy, this man dressed in black. Did his clothing remind you of a clergyman?”
Amy paused in thought for a moment, then replied, “Yes, Sir. ‘e did.”
Relieved to know the direction the coach might have taken if the girl heard correctly, Darcy planned to leave immediately. He did not want to think about the man stopping along the way to finish what he had started in the woods last December.
“I am going to search for them,” he told Bingley. Turning to Jane, he added, “Do not worry, Mrs. Bingley. I will not stop until I find her.”
“But if he killed Kitty, what will stop him from killing Lizzy. He must believe she will tell everyone what he did.” Fear was evident in Jane’s panicked look.
“I can only hope I catch up to them before he is able to carry out his plans. He will not want to do it anywhere nearby. I suspect he will want to be further away. I can travel faster on horseback then he can in a coach.”
“Please find her.” She then put her hands together and looked up. “Please, God, keep my sister safe.”
“Bring her back safely,” Georgiana whispered to her brother, and then went to stand beside Jane and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“I’m coming.” Bingley declared.
Darcy happily noticed his friend was already dressed for travel; although, he had no idea when Bingley had taken the time to dress. He also hoped Bingley had thought to have two horse prepared so he would not have to wait for him.
Darcy noticed it was shortly after one in the morning when they left Netherfield. He hoped Mr. Collins waited and traveled some distance away before he decided to take any action against Elizabeth. He too offered a quick prayer, like Mrs. Bingley, to keep Elizabeth safe.
Chapter Twenty
(April 23rd)
Elizabeth remembered a number of important facts as she sat in the coach. First, she knew Miss Bingley put something in her tea because when she first awoke, she felt lightheaded and groggy with her vision slightly impaired. Second, she began to remember her sister Kitty. Third, she remembered Mr. Collins in relation to her injuries and the killing of her sister Kitty. The last fact caused her fear. As soon as Miss Bingley and Mr. Collins maneuvered her into the coach, none to gently she remembered, she feigned sleep hoping her cousin would not get in with her. Unfortunately, she felt him enter the coach, but she refused to allow him to believe her awake. Even when she heard him say, “Soon enough, I will take care of you forever,” she gave no reaction. The words, however, caused a shiver to run through her, but she refused to bring forth the memory of what occurred in the woods. She felt the memory straining to break out, but she needed to focus on getting away from her cousin for she knew his intentions.
Best to ignore his mutters, she decided. His profanity about her still being alive and how he could not afford for his patroness, the great Lady Catherine de Bourgh, to ever learn about what he had done surprised her. Elizabeth wished she had recalled the events of the attack sooner, but she could not do anything about it now. Her greatest concern was finding a way to escape from the coach and her cousin. She hoped they would stop somewhere with other people around, but she lost that hope when he muttered, “ . . . cannot afford to be seen.” She judged the coach traveled for fifteen or thirty minutes when a jarring impacted the entire vehicle, and she felt the coach stop. She wondered if it would provide her an opportunity to escape. She felt the movement of the coach when her cousin left, and she peeked out the window to see if she could slip out but saw her cousin and another man standing near her side of the coach.
“Don’t know, Sir. ‘it somethin’. Too dark ta see prop’ly. Told ya I needed ‘elp driving at night, even with this ‘ere full moon.” The voice was gruff and displeased about the mishap.
She knew it had to be the driver speaking because her cousin replied. “I paid you enough. You could have shared it to hire someone to assist you. It was your choice.”
“I can’ot go on unless I ‘as another set o’ eyes.” The driver’s voice was harsh and rather loud.
“Let me make sure my fiancée is attended to, and then I will sit with you and become your second set of eyes.”
Mr. Collin’s voice did not sound pleased, but if Elizabeth read the man intentions correctly, he wanted to quickly reach his destination so he could dispose of her. She held no false hope he would let her go and no idea which direction they had gone or where he intended to take her.
She quickly closed her eyes when she heard the latch on the door moving. She refused to offer any indication of her awareness of the current happenings. She felt and heard him moving around in the coach, and then she felt his hands around her ankles. She felt him wrap some type of cloth around them, but she could not determine what he used. Thankful he had not used rope she hoped the cloth would give if she worked at it. He then grabbed her wrists and held them tightly in one of his hands. He forced them to cross over each other, and she instinctively fisted her hands. She hoped he would not be able to see her reaction due to the darkness inside the coach. Again, he used some type of cloth to tie her hands together. She tried keeping them apart as much as possible while he fumbled to hold them with one hand and tie with the other. He finally had to release her hands to finish tying them allowing her to pull them slightly more apart. She already had a plan formulating in her mind. As soon as the coach began to move, she would open the door and allow herself to roll out of the coach. She would hit the ground hard, but if she continued to roll away from the road, she could hide herself in the brush and maybe neither Mr. Collins nor the coachman would see her escaping. She only worried they might notice her exit when the coach rocked because of her actions.
He must have felt he had her securely tied, for she heard the door open, and Mr. Collins saying, “I believe she will sleep until we reach our destination. It should not be more than an hour from here, if I am not mistaken.”
