Jane set her napkin on the table. “Please just tell us, Papa.”
“Very well. I was sent a bottle of cognac.” Her father then explained in some detail the events of the day.
Jane and Mary both paled but remained resolute, as Elizabeth had known they would.
Her father sighed deeply. “I have called on a few men who served under my command and currently live in London. They will arrive tomorrow. A few of them will undertake some investigation on my behalf, and others will become your escorts. None of you will leave the house without an excellent reason until we better understand the risk. If you must leave the house, you will carry your pistols and be accompanied by an escort.” He lifted an eyebrow and addressed Elizabeth. “And I do not mean one of your sisters.”
“I promise, Papa,” she said, and her sisters agreed.
It was quite early when the men arrived from London. Even Papa was not down yet, but Elizabeth had been unable to sleep, and was wandering the house in search of an occupation. Sewing was too quiet and reading likewise too sedate. She saw four men riding up the drive, two light-skinned and two dark-skinned. They rode past the house and toward the stables.
They entered at the back of the house near the kitchens, and Elizabeth met them there. Four men were removing their outerwear and holding out their hands to the fire. The two men closest to her she recognised at once.
“Anders and Anders!” she cried. “I did not know you were back in England. Are you well? How is your family?” The cousins were a part of a large family who resided in Lambeth.
The two men grinned at her. “Miss Lizzy,” Isaac Anders greeted her, “you are all grown up.”
“It has been several years since we met,” Elizabeth said impishly. “It was bound to happen.”
“Miss Lizzy,” Josiah Anders said, offering a little bow.
“Oh, none of that, if you please,” she said cheerfully.
“You sound just like your father,” said another man, short, burly, and bald.
“Sergeant Walker!” she exclaimed. “My goodness, I have not seen you in ages.”
“You were not fifteen when I went on half-pay, lass,” he said. He gave her an assessing look. “I would hug you, my dear, but it would not be quite proper now, would it?”
Elizabeth grasped his hands and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “There. Will that do?”
Sergeant Walker’s complexion flushed a deep red, and the other men teased him.
She turned to the man she did not know. “Now, will you introduce me to this gentleman?”
There was some laughter about the word “gentleman,” but Sergeant Walker introduced Mr. Cornelius Hardiman. He appeared nearly forty. His hair was dark, and his green eyes evaluated her silently. She welcomed him, and he nodded.
“Come in, please. Cook has coffee and something to eat for you all. You have arrived so early! Papa will be pleased.”
“The general called,” Sergeant Walker said with a shrug, and the other men grunted.
Elizabeth made sure they were settled and returned upstairs. Mr. Darcy and Papa were speaking in low voices in the hall near his study.
“There is no blame to be apportioned,” Mr. Darcy was saying. “It is the fault of whoever is pursuing this action and no one else.”
“Papa,” she said, to alert the men to her presence, “Sergeant Walker, Isaac and Josiah Anders, and a Mr. Cornelius Hardiman are here. Cook is feeding them.”
“Hill said as much,” Papa told her. “It was good of them to make such haste. I shall let them eat in peace before I go down.”
“Good morning, Miss Elizabeth,” Mr. Darcy said. “You are downstairs early.”
Elizabeth understood that Mr. Darcy was inquiring whether she had slept, whether she was well. She nodded. “I am,” she answered.
His slight nod back said that he did not entirely believe her. He was correct, but she let it go and addressed her father. “It is pleasant to see them again. Jane and Mary would surely like to greet them, Papa. Do you think the men would accept if we asked them to dine with us tonight?”
“I doubt it, Lizzy,” Papa said. “You know Walker and his feelings about rank. I shall make the offer, however.” He entered his study and closed the door. Elizabeth stared at it for a moment.
“How is he?” she asked Mr. Darcy.