“What is this?” Elizabeth caught it before it singed. She handed it to him.
Darcy unfolded the paper and read aloud:
“There is no peace for those who bear the bloodline.
The madness does not fade—it only waits.
It slumbers in the marrow of the heirs,
whispering in the quiet of the halls,
feeding on the sins of the past.
Those who seek to escape will only find themselves drawn back,
for the house remembers, and the house will have its own.”
A chill passed between them.
“Quite ominous, is it not?” she said, leaning into the halo of the shared candlelight.
“There is no date, no signature,” Darcy said with a frown. “But it appears to be extremely old. I have heard whispers about the deBourgh family's troubles, though I had dismissed them as idle superstition.”
“Do you believe this is what Mr. Collins discovered? And that he believed it?”
“Perhaps. A disturbed mind might find dreadful meaning in such words.” He left the paper on the table. “We must find him before he acts on this.”
With renewed vigour, Darcy extinguished the candle and waved his hand towards the door. He strode out of the chapel with her a brisk step ahead.
***
The waves crashed violently against the hull of the ship.Colonel Fitzwilliam gripped the railing as the trading boat pitched forward. The sea had turned unforgiving, the journey to the mainland far more treacherous than anticipated.
“Sir!” one of the sailors called over the wind. “Look back at the manor!”
Fitzwilliam turned, squinting his eyes to see better in the predominant darkness. In the distance, Rosings loomed like a dark spectre against the cloudy sky.
Then he saw it. The faint glow of fire.
A pit formed in his stomach. The mansion’s silhouette was now marred by flickering orange lights. His breath caught. The implications were clear.
“Rosings is burning,” he muttered. Then, with a surge of urgency, he turned to the captain. “We must go back immediately!”
The captain shook his head. “Impossible in this wind, sir! We’d be swallowed whole before we reached the shore.”
Fitzwilliam clenched his jaw. Helplessness clawed at him as the ship pressed onward, away from the island and whatever fate was unfolding in the depths of the night.
Chapter 14 – Omens Come True
Darcy and Elizabeth re-entered the house through the kitchens, where they were immediately approached by Ferguson.
“A footman saw the parson inside,” the man said. “He was making his way towards the family apartments.”
“How long ago?” Darcy asked, concern sharpening his tone.
“’Bout an hour, sir. Maybe more. He asked after the mistress.”
He exchanged a tense glance with Elizabeth. If Collins truly had murdered his aunt and now meant to harm Anne, then his young cousin was at the mercy of a madman.
