“You should know that my father is mortally wounded. You are both part of the reason that he is in that state; you may not have pulled the trigger, but you are no less culpable, not to mention that you were reaching for a pistol in your reticule when you were apprehended. You do not take part in the murder of a peer of the realm and live to talk about it!” Richard stated with cold finality.
“B-b-but you said…” Miss Younge started to splutter.
“Do you think that you are the only one who knows how to prevaricate?” Richard spat back.“Jackson, gag the woman and keep these two murderers secure until Sir Rudolph arrives with the sheriff.” The big man nodded and did as he was instructed with pleasure and none too gently.
The three were silent until they were ensconced in the study where mere hours earlier Reggie had confronted Miss Younge.“We will go after the brother will we not?” William asked.
“That is for damned sure,” Richard used an invective usually restricted to the Dragoons’training grounds.“There is a militia unit stationed at Faxfleet. If you will stay here, Uncle George and Will, I will ride and speak to the colonel in charge, and we will pay Mr Younge and his crew of brigands a most unwelcome visit!”
“Of course, Richard, we are here for as long as it takes. You go do what is needed!” George said as he looked on his nephew with pride. He was sure that Richard was hurting terribly inside, but he nevertheless remained outwardly calm as the military officer took over.
“William,” he turned to his son,“Please write to Mrs Reynolds and Mr Douglas; have them send our personal servants, the governess, and clothing for an extended stay.” William nodded and sat down to transcribe his father’s orders.
After talking to his mother, aunt, and sisters, Richard was back on Achilles heading north-west. A half hour after Richard rode away, the magistrate and sheriff were shown into the Earl’s study. Lord Reginald Fitzwilliam, besides being a leading personality in the area, was also a much loved and admired one. The anger of the two men grew exponentially as the story was told to them.
“You both witnessed the confession?” Sir Rudolph asked. Both Darcys nodded.“And Captain Fitzwilliam witness the shooting? When will he return? I will need his witness before the criminals are sent to the gallows,” the magistrate explained.
“We are not sure when he will return, but we have four guards who witnessed the conversation in this office and three of them were witnesses to the events that happened before we arrived,” George Darcy informed the two men.
“That will be more than enough. Jeffers, take charge of the prisoners. The circuit judge will be in Matlock on Monday, the fourth of this month. Will you two gentlemen and the three guards that witnessed all be able to be in Matlock Monday morning for the trial?” the magistrate inquired. Both Darcys nodded emphatically. Even if Reggie still lived by the time the trial was held, there were more than enough grounds to send the conspirators to hell.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As Richard was riding toward Faxfleet, the courier he dispatched was barrelling south. He had more than enough funds to change horses as often as he needed and rode through the night, knowing how urgent the missive was that he carried.
He brought his horse to a halt in front of the Cottage just after Midday on Saturday, exhausted but his critical duty had kept him going. Andrew and Marie were just exiting the house for an afternoon ramble when they saw one of the Snowhaven grooms practically fall off his horse. Andrew had a feeling of deep foreboding as he ran forward to steady the man before the groom collapsed. The man extracted the missive from his pouch and handed it to the man who would soon be his master. Two footmen helped him to the kitchen while Andrew seeing Richard’s handwriting ripped open the seal and read.
1 August 1804
Snowhaven.
Brother come home; father has been shot and is not in a good way.
R.
“Marie, we have to leave within the hour!” a distressed Andrew said as guilt washed over him that he had been thinking of extending their stay by a fortnight.
“My God Andrew, what is wrong?” Marie was much concerned. Andrew handed her the missive and she gasped as she read it. They were on the road within a half hour.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“This is all my fault!” Lizzy cried as she held her father’s hand.“If I had not been part of your family then none of this would have happened!” She leaned her head on the bed as big sobs wracked her body.
“Elizabeth Elaine Fitzwilliam!” her father rasped. Elaine gave him a sip of water. It was one of the few times that he had been lucid in the two days since the shooting.“Look at me young lady,” Reggie ordered in the most authoritative voice that he could muster. Elizabeth lifted her head as she obeyed her father and looked at him with her tear-filled hazel eyes with the flecks of green and gold.“We were a broken family when you came to us. We were still questioning God’s plan that He could take our beautiful little Tiffany from us.” He took some deep breaths so her could continue.“You came to us at the perfect time, not to replace the sister you never met, but to bring life, light, and hope back into our family.
“We would have just gone on with life without actually living it, so we see you now as we have since the day that your brothers brought you home. A gift from the Almighty God!” He coughed some more, and his wife gave him some more water to sip.“You had no part in what happened here. Those who did are dead or soon will be. I pity the men on that sloop when your brother gets his hands on them.
“I digress; the people who did this were driven by avarice. They wanted that which they did not have to earn and like the reprobate who attacked you at Pemberley, deluded themselves that it was somehow their due. All the way back to Cain and Abel, jealousy and coveting what others have had ruled some men, and will as long as there are men alive in the world. You, my sweetling, are not responsible for any of them nor the criminals who invaded our home. NEVER let me hear you say that again, my sweetling.” Elizabeth nodded, huge tears still rolling down her cheeks.“Swear it to me Lizzy,” her father demanded.
“On my honour I swear it Papa,” Elizabeth said through her tears.
“That warms my heart to hear you promise me that, my sweetling. You have brought so much pleasure into my life, all of our lives. I need to rest now Lizzy,” Reggie said weakly as he slipped back into a troubled sleep.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Riding hard, with breaks to rest his horse as needed, Richard reached Faxfleet in less than four and twenty hours. Once he explained what he needed and why to the unit’s colonel, he was given whatever resources that he needed. In the twilight, they rowed across the River Humber to the island and camped on the opposite side from where they had spiedThe Stealthy Runneranchored close to the island. As the sun rose in the east while the captain and crew slept, dreaming of their cut of the fifteen-thousand-pound of the ransom, Richard led twenty men in three longboats as they rowed silently to the sloop. The crew had left a rope cargo net hanging over the side that they must have used when they used their longboat to get to one of the riverbanks or the Island.
The men followed Richard up the netting stealthily until they were all on deck. There was one man on watch on the quarterdeck who was fast asleep. He had a rude awakening as he woke to stare down the barrels of two muskets with bayonets affixed. Some men remained on the deck. The bulk of them went down to the messdeck where the crew slept while Richard and two soldiers proceeded to the captain’s cabin.
