As the carriage rolled along, Darcy asked, “Lady Abigail, can you tell me of the day Phillip was injured?”
Her eyes darkened.
“We were all in such spirits. My brother Michael had come down for the month during a recess from his studies, and two of the squire’s sons and two local gentlemen were invited to join us for the day. Anise and I were the only women present. The only blight on our day was the Earl.” She frowned.
“We had been some time in the field when, without warning, a shot rang out. I was riding not far behind Lord Stafford, and when he fell, I was the first to reach him. At first, I believed he had been struck, for his horse was spooked and reared violently, and he lay on the ground, unmoving.
“When I came to him, I saw at once that neither he nor the horse had been struck. Anise caught Storm and brought him to us, hoping Lord Stafford might be helped onto him to ride home, but it soon became clear that he had struck a stone in his fall. He lay unconscious, though he still breathed.”
“One of the gentlemen rode back to fetch a cart. Lord Stafford was placed within it, and I held his head in my lap, watching him for signs of recovery, but he did not wake even once.” She lifted her eyes to his. “How is Lord Stafford? Has he recovered?”
Darcy related all that he knew of Phillip’s condition, yet even as he spoke, he questioned whether he ought to have withheld some portion of it, for Lady Abigail had begun to weep.
Nonetheless, he pressed further, determined to learn all that might be discovered for his cousin’s sake. He turned this time to Lady Anise.
“Was any gentleman of your party absent during that interval?”
She shook her head. “It is possible that one may have left the hunt, for the area is hilly and wooded. But eventually, every man was accounted for. Our two friends attended Lord Stafford, while the others searched the wood for the one who had fired.”
“What led them to conclude the shot came from outside the party?”
“Michael examined each weapon. All were present, and none had been discharged. He then instructed his friend, Lincomb, to assemble a search party.”
“I do not understand, Lady Anise. My uncle was informed it was an accident, yet your brother discovered that none of the gentlemen in his party had discharged a weapon.”
“A search was undertaken and continued until nightfall,” Lady Anise replied. “No one was found. It was concluded that perhaps a poacher had been concealed in the woods and had fired by mistake.”
Lady Abigail lifted her head and added, “We have endured many poachers over the years, sir, and on three occasions our servants were accidentally fired upon. In each instance, the culprit was discovered and proved to be a servant or tenant of our own or a neighboring estate. My father would not allow them to be prosecuted, for he maintained that a man must feed his family. We supposed this to be another such occurrence.”
“Was there anyone you observed during Phillip’s visit who bore him ill will?”
“No, sir. Lord Stafford is very affable, and a favorite among his acquaintance. I saw no one who appeared to bear him ill will.”
Lady Anise spoke. “Abby, no one examined Lord Manvers’s firearm. He refused on the grounds of his rank and position, declaring it quite untoward.”
After this unsettling remark, the occupants of the carriage fell silent, each lost in private thought.
As for Darcy, his thoughts turned, unbidden, from Phillip’s accident to Miss Elizabeth Bennet in London. He wondered how she fared in his absence, and whether Bingley might introduce her to his friends. Darcy could not doubt that many of Bingley’s friends would be drawn to her.
With Bingley’s eager attentions to Miss Bennet, it seemed likely that other eligible men would be invited into their circle to balance the party. No one would be particularly drawn to Miss Bingley, but Elizabeth, included as her sister’s companion, would easily attract notice.
He was still brooding upon this uneasy thought when a shot rang out.
Chapter 18: Houseguest
Mr. Gardiner stood looking at his niece.
“Elizabeth, help me to understand. You say Mr. Darcy is not at home, his sister has no companion, and she has asked you to visit her for a few days, to keep her company?”
“Yes, sir.”
He turned to his wife.
“Maddie, do you not see the impropriety? Two young ladies alone in a house with no chaperone?”
Mrs. Gardiner’s eyes narrowed as she considered.
“Edward, the master of the house is absent, and there is a respectable housekeeper overseeing the establishment. Elizabeth is twenty years old, soon to be one and twenty. If she should observe anything concerning, she may send a footman to call for you at once. It is only a thirty-minute drive from Mayfair to our home.”
