“This must be where they took their final meals.” She turned back to Martha. “Did you say the fire started in the kitchen? Was it truly an accident, as some maintain? Doubtless, your quick thinking saved my life.”
George shifted uncomfortably in the shadows. “Mother, we don’t have time for storytelling. Midnight approaches, and we must?—”
“Hush, George,” Martha snapped, clearly relishing Elizabeth’s attention. “The girl deserves to know her history.” She turned back to Elizabeth with obvious pride. “It was indeed a masterful operation.I knew the cottage would be… compromised that evening, so I made certain to retrieve you beforehand.”
“How thrilling! And my parents—did you try to warn them as well?”
Martha’s expression grew calculating. “Your parents were beyond help. John Darcy had made enemies through his interference in matters that didn’t concern him. Some lessons can only be taught through… permanent consequences.”
“This is preposterous,” Collins pronounced. “We’re talking about murder. The sixth commandment says, ‘Thou shalt not kill.’”
“Enough of this nonsense,” Rumsey interrupted, his skeleton costume rendering his harsh features even more sinister. “The ceremony must be done before George can whisk his bride to the next county.”
“Oh, but there is plenty of time,” Elizabeth exclaimed, pointing to the mantel clock she’d adjusted. “An hour is proper for a bride to be prepared. Surely you wouldn’t rush such an important occasion?”
Martha narrowed her eyes, suspicion warring with pride. “What preparations do you mean?”
“Madame Evro, surely you can confirm the spiritual requirements for such an important occasion?”
The fortune teller glanced nervously between Elizabeth and Martha, the feathers on her turban quivering. “Well… the lunar influences are indeed significant…”
“Precisely!” Elizabeth seized this opening with enthusiasm. “And before any ceremony can proceed, we must have proper divination to ensure the stars are favorably aligned. Madame Evro, begin the palm readings immediately. Perhaps there is a palm here that is particularly red-handed?”
“Miss Bennet,” Martha said with dangerous calm, “you seem to be laboring under the misapprehension that you have choices in this matter.”
“Oh, but I do have choices,” Elizabeth replied with serene confidence. “I can choose to cooperate with a proper,legally valid ceremony conducted with all appropriate spiritual blessings—or I can choose to resist an invalid farce that would accomplish nothing but your own embarrassment.”
She turned to Collins with renewed appeal. “Dear cousin, surely you cannot in good conscience perform a marriage ceremony outside the sanctified bounds of a proper chapel? The very stones of this cottage cry out against such sacrilege.”
Collins nodded with growing conviction. “Indeed, Miss Bennet speaks truly. A marriage should be conducted within holy ground, with proper banns read and appropriate preparation made. This… this irregular proceeding violates numerous canonical requirements.”
“There!” Elizabeth exclaimed triumphantly. “You see? Even kidnapping a clergyman cannot force him to violate his sacred obligations. Mr. Collins refuses to perform the ceremony under these circumstances.”
“I do indeed refuse,” Collins declared with surprising firmness. “I will not participate in this… this mockery of holy matrimony. Lady Catherine would be most displeased to learn of such impropriety.”
Martha’s face contorted with rage. “You will perform the ceremony or face the consequences of your refusal.”
“I fear no earthly consequence when my immortal soul is at stake,” Collins replied with dignity Elizabeth had never suspected he possessed. “I place myself and Miss Bennet under the protection of Divine Providence.”
“How gallant!” Elizabeth clasped her hands together as though moved to tears. “Truly, you are a man of principle, dear cousin. I declare myself fortunate to have such protection in this dark hour.”
George had grown increasingly pale throughout this exchange. “Mother, perhaps we should reconsider this plan. The girl clearly will not cooperate, and forcing an unwilling bride seems… unseemly.”
“Unseemly?” Martha whirled on her son. “Twenty years I haveplanned for this moment. Twenty years of careful preparation, and you develop scruples now?”
“But if she won’t consent, what good does it do us?” George protested. “A marriage performed against her will would be legally meaningless.”
“Not if she’s been properly… compromised,” Martha replied with sinister implication.
Elizabeth felt ice form in her veins, but maintained her bright expression. “Oh, but I haven’t been compromised at all! Quite the contrary—I’ve been most carefully chaperoned by dear Mr. Collins, who has maintained the highest standards of propriety throughout this adventure.”
“Adventure?” Rumsey snarled. “This is no adventure, girl. This is the business of survival and the elimination of threats.”
“How dramatic. And I suppose my parents represented such threats? Who could they possibly harm? I’m sure they had no intentions of meddling with established business practices.”
“Benjamin Bingley would disagree,” Martha snapped. “Along with his wife.”
Elizabeth gasped. “Are you saying they were the murderers? If so, why didn’t you inform the authorities?”
