Brisby inclined his head in understanding. “You suspect someone within their circle, then.”
Darcy’s jaw tightened as he stared into the firelight dancing on the wall. “Yes. Someone familiar enough to walk those halls, to know where valuables are kept, to vanish without notice. Elizabeth is unsettled, and I will not rest while she and her family are subject to such disturbance.Whoever this is, their purpose is unknown, but I cannot believe it is harmless.”
Brisby nodded once, his expression grim and resolute. “I shall see to it, sir. Quietly, as you say.”
Darcy exhaled slowly, some of the tension in his shoulders easing. “Good. Report to me directly when you learn anything, no matter how small. I want this matter resolved before harm comes to anyone under that roof.”
As Brisby withdrew to begin his inquiries, Darcy remained by the fire, his mind restless. The warmth of the flames did nothing to soothe the chill in his veins, the unease that whispered of danger too close to Elizabeth Bennet. Whatever this mystery was, he would uncover it. He would not allow shadows to haunt the woman with whom he fell deeper in love daily.
Chapter Seven
November 1, 1811
Longbourn
Elizabeth
Elizabethpushedopenthedoor to Jane’s room and found her sister hunched over her dressing table, rifling through the drawers with a distracted intensity quite unlike her usual serene manner. The morning sun filtered through the curtains, but the room felt dim and unsettled, as though the tension lingering from yesterday’s events had seeped into the walls.
Jane turned at the sound of Elizabeth’s footfall, a furrow between her brows. “I cannot find it,” she said, her voice quiet but tinged with frustration. “My pin money. I know precisely where I left it—in the bottom drawer, wrapped in a handkerchief beneath my hairbrush. It is gone.”
Elizabeth’s brows drew together. “Gone? Are you certain it has not simply been misplaced?”
“I thought that at first,” Jane admitted, moving towards the nightstand and opening it. She peered inside, then shook her head. “But this is not the first time something has vanished. A ribbon here, a bottle of lavender water… But I always assumed they had been borrowed or moved.” She hesitated, her voice dropping further. “This time, I hid the money better than before. And Lydia has not been in my room in over a week.”
Elizabeth crossed the room, her pulse quickening. “Do you suspect her? She has protested many accusations in the last while.”
Jane’s expression turned troubled. “I do not wish to. I truly do not. But who else…?”
Elizabeth rested a hand on her sister’s arm. “There have been other things missing. You remember Kitty’s locket? Mama’s gloves and candles, Papa’s decanter just recently—and food from the pantry. I fear it is not simply mischief or carelessness. Something odd is happening here.”
Jane’s eyes widened, her breath catching. “I did not know about all of that. Oh, Lizzy…” She glanced around the room, then leaned in. “There is something else. I hesitated to mention it for fear of seeming fanciful.”
Elizabeth’s voice was steady. “Tell me.”
“The night before last,” Jane said softly, “I was nearly asleep when I heard thumping. Not outside—within the walls. Just behind the bed. A dull sound, repeated twice. Then silence.”
Elizabeth’s blood ran cold. “You are sure it was not the house settling? A branch against the window?”
“No,” Jane said firmly. “It was from within—and on the opposite side of the room as the window. It was as though someone were trying to pass through, or…something.”
They were both silent for a long moment, the weight of their shared realization settling over them like fog.
“I am beginning to think,” Elizabeth said slowly, “that someone is moving through Longbourn unseen. Someone who knows the house well enough to remain hidden. And if they are in the walls…” She trailed off, the implications too strange and too alarming to speak aloud. “Though how someone could hide themselves in such a manner is a mystery.”
Jane reached for her hand, and Elizabeth grasped it tightly. “Do you think we ought to tell Papa?” she asked, her voice wavering.
Elizabeth shook her head. “Not yet. He will dismiss it—or worse, mock it. But I have confided in Mr. Darcy. He believes me.” Her cheeks warmed slightly at the admission. “I trust he will help us discover the truth.”
Jane looked surprised but not displeased. “I am glad,” she said softly. “He seems…very different from how he first appeared.”
Elizabeth gave a short laugh. “Indeed. I can hardly recognize him. But his concern feels genuine—and just now, I am very glad for it.”
They sat together for a moment, sisters bound by both blood and growing apprehension. Outside, the wind rattled the windowpane like fingers tapping, and Elizabeth shivered.
Something—or someone—was disturbing the peace of Longbourn, and she would not rest until the mystery was solved.
The clink of porcelain and the soft scrape of silverware filled the air as the Bennets assembled for breakfast, though the usual chatter was notably absent. A peculiar hush had settled over the room—perhaps the early hour, or perhaps the ever-growing sense of unease that had crept into the household like a persistent draught.
