“This is a sad business, Elizabeth, and you have already suffered horribly.”
“And so have you. Did we not do everything together when we were abducted? I am helping you to solve this. It would seem getting Kirby to Sheffield is the first thing, and then we must keep your sister safeguarded.”
As much as he wanted to protect Elizabeth, wanted her as far from him as possible, it felt good to have her with him. It was selfish, though, to indulge in it. “We must get you away before Markle’s men resume their watch. If they chose not to loiter because of all the carriages at the square, they will soon be back.”
“They do not think Kirby is here?”
“Markle did not hint at it when we spoke. He thinks that he has to find you in order to get to Kirby, and since he has found no hint of you yet, he threatened Georgiana.”
Elizabeth looked pensive for a moment. “Gunter’s is around the corner in the square.”
What had ices to do with anything? His face must have shown his confusion because Elizabeth laughed. “Are you questioning the lady’s ability to be useful if she is thinking of confections?”
“I would never question your acuity.”
“My aunt has four children under the age of eight.” Darcy could not see where this was going, but did not know how to politely interrupt her. “Can you imagine what a rowdy group that is? If not, then you should invite a friend with a large family to ruin your drawing room for a while. Then, before they leave, theywalk to the square where they are spoiled at Gunter’s. A loud group of children often seems larger than they really are.”
Comprehension dawned, and Darcy grinned. “And when they return to Charles Street, who could be certain if five or six children entered the carriage that finally took the noisy bunch on their way?”
Elizabeth returned his smile. “Markle’s man does not follow it because you remain here and they are looking for a young lady. I am sure your friend would take your young ward to where your servant will meet him and see him safely to Sheffield.”
Brilliant dark eyes that showed the spirit and intelligence exhibited in how she lived her life animated her face. “You are clever,” he said.
“But still not cleverer than you?” she asked with a smile, remembering their game to distract them while they were kidnapped.
“If you would like to prove it by also figuring out how to rid ourselves of Markle, please do so.”
He had spoken lightly, but her laughing expression fell. “What can Bow Street do?”
“Our abduction is not a priority, and menacing me with vague threats is not illegal. And there is still the matter of finding him.” Markle was still in town, but he was as often at sea smuggling, or bringing items onshore and to his inland gang to hide, distribute, and sell.
“So, we need a solution that keeps you, Kirby, Miss Darcy, and me alive for the weeks it might take for the courts to issue a warrant and act on it?”
“There was a warrant issued for him earlier this year, Nan,” Kirby called through a mouth full of sweets.
They shared a look of surprise. Kirby returned to his book, and Darcy rose and went to him. “What do you mean he is already wanted?”
“By the excise officers,” he said, brushing his sleeve across his mouth. “Remember how I told you about the revenue man my uncle’s gang killed? They threw him into a well? I don’t know if they charged my uncle for the informant they burnt in the barn, but the Board of Excise would not forget the murder of one of their riding men, would they?”
“Then why was Markle not arrested for the murder?” Elizabeth asked.
Kirby shrugged, holding a finger in his book to keep his page as he answered. “He is always moving about and has plenty of hiding places, and no one close to my uncle will give him up because they are afraid. The smuggling gangs also earn the trust of the locals and the officials. There are thousands of smugglers in Kent, you know.”
Darcy’s mind turned over what he had learnt. Having procured the necessary warrant, one only needed someone willing to execute it and find the perpetrator. Now he need not wait weeks for Bow Street to act and pursue Markle.
“If there was a way to lure Markle into meeting me, we could make certain that the excise officers were there to arrest him,” Darcy said as he paced the room.
“With the threat to your sister, he has no reason to meet you,” Elizabeth said. “Unless there was a reason to negotiate for Kirby.”
He shook his head. “Kirby is in a carriage to Sheffield as soon as I can arrange the outing with a horde of loud children.” He was not about to bargain with Kirby’s life when he finally had a way to secure it.
“I agree,” Elizabeth said softly, looking at the little boy who had returned to his book and his treat. “But we both know how to draw out Markle and to keep your sister safe tomorrow.”
He had been afraid many times in the last week, but the anxiety of understanding what she offered exposed a new depthof terror. The mere hint of what she was suggesting was enough to shock him.
“Kirby,” he said as evenly as he could, “say good night to Miss Bennet.” He could not overhear the argument that was about to take place.
“But I have not finished my?—”
