Page 39 of The Mistress of All & Torn

“I will take care of you, my dear,” she whispered, while she desperately debated what to do. The earl would surely not allow anyone to see her, so she had few choices.

She opened the window and began to cry for help. Eventually, she spotted a few men looking at her, and she desperately waved to them. They could not see her clearly enough, so she continued to shout.

The men disappeared from her sight and nothing else happened, except that more voices and shouting could be heard from downstairs.

Eventually, Sarah tried to move and said something, so Elizabeth helped her to stand.

“I am fine, ma’am,” the girl whispered.

Although she could barely stand, Elizabeth tried to help her to the bed. But the girl refused to rest.

“If I lie down, I will not stand up again,” she said. “I am fine.”

Elizabeth remained still for a moment, her mind blank. She was lost as to what to do, and her eyes stared at the mantlepiece, absent and lost. She had to signal their presence somehow, they had to escape from the room, but she knew not how.

Then suddenly she understood there was only one chance. She ran to light a candle, then she used it to light the curtains. Moments later, the fire was pouring out of the windows, and a large cloud of smoke spread across the room. She continued to scream, knocking with her fists at the door. The fire seemed to spread quickly, and the smoke made breathing impossible. Elizabeth could do nothing but sit on the bed and hold Sarah, as they both struggled for air. Even when confronted with the fire, the prospect of facing the earl again was worse.

Eventually, the door opened and a couple of servants appeared. Elizabeth pushed past them, dragging Sarah with her. The men were carrying buckets of water and hurried to pull the curtains down and dampen the fire.

Elizabeth held Sarah tightly as they stumbled down the long hallway. More servants passed by, but none stopped them. In the end, they reached the top of the stairs, and there they stopped, hidden behind the corner of the wall. With the greatest shock, Elizabeth saw Mr. Darcy, together with Mr. Bingley, Mr. Gardiner and his solicitor, the two trustees and Lady Sedgewick’s executor. Confronting them was St. Claire, Lambert and Lady Augusta. The earl was halfway up the stairs, holding the balustrade with one hand and a pistol with the other.

Elizabeth’s eyes remained fixed on Darcy, in disbelief. What was he doing there? He of all men? He, who she had abused so horribly only a few months ago? Who she had accused of horrible faults so unfairly?

“Barrington, I shall tell you once again, we will not leave this house until we have achieved our purpose. Mr. Gardiner wishes to see his niece and Bingley his sister-in-law!”

“Shut your mouth, Darcy! Why are you here? I have no business with you? Who the devil brought you here?”

“Barrington, you cannot impress me—as you well know. You may yell like a lunatic and make a fool of yourself, I shall not be deterred from my goal. We are here to speak to Lady Barrington. I have asked for assistance from my uncle, the judge. We have his men waiting outside.”

“You cannot enter my house! Get out this moment, or I will shoot you all!”

“Lord Barrington, for heaven’s sake,” Mr. Reeves—the trustee—attempted to interject. He was utterly ignored, as the earl seemed obsessed with confronting Darcy.

Darcy took a step forward. “Barrington, I shall come towards you now, while Mr. Gardiner and Mr. Bingley will go in search of Lady Barrington. You may shoot your gun and you may even hurt me, although you are so drunk and dizzy from opium that I wonder if you can even see. But hurt or not, once I put my hands on you, you will have no escape! Heed my warning.”

From the left side, Lambert and St. Claire approached.

“Darcy, you have no right to be here!” the former said. “You have no right to threaten Barrington in his own house!”

“We have every right to be here,” Mr. Gardiner said, taking Darcy’s side with Mr. Bingley next to him. “Mr. Darcy is our friend and we begged his assistance in saving my niece from circumstances that seem to have put her life in danger.”

“This entire situation is out of control. We are civil people, members of high society, we cannot behave like savages,” Mr. Finch, Lady Sedgewick’s executor, said. “We wish to see Lady Barrington. If she assures us all is well, we will leave. If not, some measures must be taken according to the law. We cannot leave until we have the matter settled.”

“You cannot see her today! She is not here! Come back another day.” Barrington shouted.

“Barrington, stop this nonsense! We will find and talk to her now!” Darcy said, his voice as strong as thunder while he stepped decidedly towards the earl.

“Dear Lord, what is burning?” Mr. Thorn asked in panic. Only then, the earl turned and finally Elizabeth appeared in his sight, supporting Sarah.

“Go back, woman!” the earl shouted in a mad voice. “Go back now!”

But Elizabeth continued to stumble further towards the stairs, praying she could reach her relatives and be saved. She was painfully aware that each step brought her closer to freedom—which was still very far away.

Voices and frantic moves turned the gathering into an uproar.

Lord Barrington began to shout and hurried up the stairs to grab Elizabeth. His feet slipped a few times, but he continued to climb, holding his pistol. From the other side, Mr. Darcy jumped two stairs at a time, followed by Mr. Bingley. St. Claire also ran towards them, calling Lord Barrington repeatedly.

Moments later, all four men reached the top of the stairs together, pushing against each other.