And several missing items. “Miss Bennet,” he said quietly, pleased when her expression lost the stubborn cast it had been taking on. “I will not rest easy knowing I have not at least searched the woods to be certain there is no threat. If the number of men you have here are insufficient, will you allow me to send for a few trusted men from Pemberley to join me and Thatcher?”
“I would feel rather foolish should you discover there is no one there.”
Darcy shook his head. “It is not foolish to investigate. I would be happy indeed were we to discover nothing.”
Miss Bennet was unnaturally serious. “And if you do?”
“I am a magistrate, if you recall, madam.”
He provoked a small smile with this pronouncement, which had been his aim.
“Very well then. Only—please be discreet. My mother does not know about any of this, and I do not wish to upset her.”
“Should not your mother be made aware?” As the mistress of the estate, it was more her mother’s place than Miss Bennet’s to ask for assistance. But Miss Bennet was always so self-assured he unthinkingly put the question to her.
“Once there is some decision to be made, perhaps.”
Had Miss Bennet not just made one? Still, Darcy had been given his way, and he did not mean to quibble over it. He asked for writing material and dashed off a note to Mrs. Reynolds, his housekeeper. She would know how to gather the men he had requested and see them on their way without delay.
They sat to breakfast—though it was late as she had been awaiting her mother’s pleasure only to be informed Mrs. Bennet would take a tray in her room. Her daughter appeared relieved when informed.
“I begin to think I am only imagining things, Mr. Darcy,” she said, shaking her head and moving her food around on her plate without eating anything. “I am sorry to be putting you to such trouble.”
“It is no trouble at all,” he assured her. “I promised Mr. Bennet I would look after you. And your mother, of course.”
“My father bestowed upon you the office of nursemaid?” Thank goodness she sounded more amused than annoyed.
“I would not call it that. He simply worries for you,” Darcy assured her. “I like your father. He is easy to converse with, despite the fact he is often teasing me for some time before I realise it.”
Miss Bennet chuckled. “I did warn you.”
They lingered a bit over the meal until Miss Bennet was called away on a matter of business by Mrs. Riggs. Darcy wandered to the front of the house to await word from Pemberley. They ought to be arriving shortly. He moved to watch out of the front window.
He had been waiting about ten minutes when four riders came down the drive. Darcy asked Mr. Riggs to have his horse brought around and then stepped outside. The first rider, a broad-shouldered man with a weathered face, lifted a hand in greeting as they approached. As the men dismounted, their boots hitting the ground with dull thuds, Darcy nodded to each in turn.
“Good morning, Mr. Darcy,” the first man said, touching his cap. “We came as soon as Mrs. Reynolds relayed your message.”
“Thank you, Thompson. Did Mrs. Reynolds explain what you are to do?”
He and the other men nodded.
“Miss Bennet is feeling foolish about putting us to the trouble, but in my experience, she is not a missish woman. She believes someone has been watching the house, and indeed several tools and other items from the outbuildings are missing. If a vagrant is living in the woods, however, I wish to detain him, not harm him. Understood?”
Thompson responded with a quick, affirmative nod and indicated the neatly coiled rope attached to his saddlebags. “Aye, sir. We stand ready.” The men behind him nodded.
Darcy glanced towards the woods beyond the gardens. “The perimeter of the woods is square. I want each of you to choosea side and work inward. Thatcher and I will take the centre and work outward.”
The men exchanged looks, then each reached for the reins of their horses, preparing to set off. From the saddle, Thompson touched his cap again. “If there’s anyone hiding in those woods, Mr. Darcy, we’ll find ‘im.”
A groomsman strode up, leading Darcy’s mount. He swung himself up into the saddle and took the reins. “Very well. Let us be off.”
Chapter Nine
The search was methodical. Darcy and Thatcher searched inch by inch for any signs of disturbance—footprints, a makeshift shelter, a new path, anything that might indicate someone was living in the woods. As they did, the others moved in from the outer boundaries of the woods on horses. But as the second hour wore on into a third, they found nothing that would indicate anyone was living here.
Darcy had hoped to find some clue, some evidence to confirm Miss Bennet’s fears and justify his own concerns. But the forest remained stubbornly silent, offering no hint anyone had ever been there. He stopped to look around the wet ground, unmarred by any disturbance they had not caused themselves.
“Sir,” Thatcher said, breaking the heavy silence, “perhaps we’ve been searching in the wrong place. It’s possible the one behind these thefts is not hiding in the woods at all. He may be staying elsewhere and moving around the estate so we cannot locate him.”
