With such temptations, Darcy was impatient to learn the source of the disturbance. He took up his robe from a nearby chair and threw it over his frame, tying it at the waist as he hurried from the room and to the door to the hall beyond. What met him beyond was most unexpected, for several footmen were moving about, still in their sleep clothes but alert, moving to different points along the house, looking for all the world like a company securing their camp.
“What has happened?” asked Darcy of a nearby man.
“Mr. Darcy,” said the man, turning to acknowledge him. “The on-duty footman found a man in the house tonight.”
Darcy frowned. “Barnes was on duty as I recall.”
The footman nodded. “Mr. Monroe is downstairs directing the staff and has sent several of us up to secure the floor. More are being stationed at every door to the house.”
Knowing this man had told him all he could, Darcy turned to find his butler, when another door opened and Mr. Bennet stepped into the hall. Darcy beckoned for him to follow him to the lower level.
“A footman found an intruder in the house,” said Darcy as he heard Bennet following him.
“An intruder?” repeated Bennet.
“So it seems, though he knew nothing more than that. Monroe is downstairs directing the men.”
Mr. Bennet nodded, not wasting time on useless questions, apprehending as Darcy did that Monroe would have more answers. Monroe, however, knew little more, though they found him with Mr. Barnes, who was better informed as the man at the center of the disturbance.
“Mr. Darcy,” greeted Monroe as he strode toward them in Bennet’s company. “I trust you heard of our intruder.”
Darcy nodded and turned to Barnes. “What do you have to report?”
“A man by the look of him,” said Barnes, his image flickering in the candlelight. “He was prowling through the upper hall in the family wing when I saw him. It was dark, and I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. Then he saw me and ran down the stairs. That is when I started rousing the house.”
“In the family wing, you say?” asked Darcy, confused. “What would a thief want in that part of the house? I might have thought he would make for the study.”
“I know not, Mr. Darcy,” said Barnes.
“Thompson has gone to check on the study,” added Monroe.
“The study was not disturbed,” said Thompson, striding up and appearing like a giant, his shadow massive in the candle’s light. “Perhaps you may wish to check for yourself, Mr. Darcy, but I noted nothing amiss.”
With a nod, Darcy beckoned to the men to follow and turned away. As Thompson had suggested, there was nothing amiss that he could see with his study. All the drawers were closed, the papers he had left on the desk the last time he was in the room stacked to one side, and not so much as the inkwell and quillappeared out of place. The small safe in which the masters of the Darcy family stored their most precious items was also closed and undisturbed.
“The prowler fled?” asked Darcy when he confirmed to himself that all was well.
“He was a quick one, Mr. Darcy,” said Barnes. “Before I could even reach the top of the stairs, he fled down to the lower level and let himself out the east door.”
Darcy frowned. “That suggests a familiarity with the house.”
“That is what I thought,” agreed Monroe. “An experienced burglar might have watched to learn of the entrances and exits, and he might have planned his escape before going to the upper floor.”
“Do you know how he entered?” asked Bennet.
“Not yet,” replied Monroe. “I have sent men around to all the doors, checking windows to see if one is open. If we find nothing, then I must assume that the door through which he exited was also where he entered.”
Darcy considered this. “Could it be a former employee, a man with a grudge?”
“If it was, I cannot imagine who,” said Monroe. “There have been no employees let go for misconduct, and those who have left your employ have done so with references and for reasons other than discipline.”
“Very well,” said Darcy. “Post extra men about the house for the rest of the night. In the morning, bring in a locksmith to replace the locks. If a man is holding a grudge, he might have smuggled a key out of the house. Changing the locks will close that avenue of attack if he thinks to try again.”
“Do you suppose he will?” asked Bennet. “Now that he has aroused the house with a failed attempt, he must know we will be vigilant, at least for the next week or two.”
“You are correct,” replied Darcy, “but to own the truth, I do not know what to think. That a man would enter and penetrate the house to the upper floor is beyond my ability to fathom.”
“It will be done, Mr. Darcy,” said Monroe. “I shall see to it myself.”
