Darcy’s clearing of his throat cut the man short. “I have an announcement of sorts. Murray returned with news of the lieutenant’s absence. Stafford, Edward, Sir Phillip, and I entered Harwood’s room when he did not respond to our entreaties.We regret to tell you that Lieutenant Harwood has met an untimely death.”

Anne gasped and swayed and collapsed into Nigel Worth’s arms. Her sobs followed. “Poor Robert.”

“How?” Worth demanded as he tried to comfort the woman.

Edward glanced quickly at Darcy. “I do not believe we are at liberty to discuss it at this time. Sir Phillip will wish to speak to each of us as part of his investigation.”

“I have nothing to say on the matter,” Lady Catherine observed. “Although I wish no man an early death, I welcome the absence of the lieutenant’s malice.”

Edward moved to the settee shared by Worth and Anne.“I will see to my cousin, sir,” he whispered.“Sir Phillip wishes to speak to you.”

Anne’s head snapped up in disbelief. “Why must Sir Phillip question Nigel? Mr.Worth has done nothing wrong!”

Worth eased her out of his embrace. “It is nothing of consequence,” he assured her.“The magistrate simply performs his duty. I expected nothing less.”Worth stood and straightened his waistcoat. “I assume, Mr. Darcy, that the baronet occupies your study.”

“He does.” Darcy stood and reached for his aunt’s hand. “It seems most prudent that we discuss Harwood’s threats from a different perspective. I suggest we allow Edward time to freshen his clothes.” Lady Catherine placed her hand in his.“We shall all retire to the blue drawing room. I will send for refreshments and ask the others to join us. It will expedite Sir Phillip’s examination if we discuss everything we know as a group.”

His aunt stiffened with disdain. “You would openly consider your cousin’s failings before strangers?”

“You know my usual reticence, Aunt, but the ordinary does not currently operate at Pemberley. Four people have lost their lives under this roof in the past week. Somehow everything is connected, and we must clear the air if we are to stop the insanity. I cannot imagine that Anne would wish to hide the truth if it meant a murderer would go free.”

“Of course not, Fitzwilliam,” Anne said from somewhere behind him.

“It is time for some honesty,Your Ladyship.”


“And your relationship with Miss de Bourgh?” Sir Phillip questioned Mr.Worth after having dismissed Lord Stafford.

Worth, used to such interrogations, understood the necessity of Spurlock’s probe, but he did not appreciate the invasion of his privacy. “I would not say Miss de Bourgh and I have a relationship.We have known each other for only a few days. However, Mr. Darcy and I agreed that I might provide the lady with a reliable explanation for her attendance in Liverpool.”

“And why might you place yourself in a questionable position, Worth, if you and Her Ladyship’s daughter have no prior knowledge of each other?”

“I am a gentleman who will not stand idly by and allow a bounder to take advantage of an innocent. Miss de Bourgh made a grievous error by placing her trust in Harwood, but the lady should not face ruination for it. If I err, Sir Phillip, it is on the side of purity.”

The baronet smiled, hearing the unspoken words. “And what might you know of Mrs. Jenkinson?”

“The lady served Miss de Bourgh well, offering maternal care and love. I met her as one of Mr. Darcy’s guests, and we immediately took a liking to each other. I had fleeting thoughts of pursuing a connection, but the lady simply enjoyed my company. She had a vision of what she wanted for Miss de Bourgh’s future, and the lieutenant was not part of that conception. I flatter myself in thinking that Mrs. Jenkinson maneuvered her charge in my direction—the lady took an interest in me because she wanted a stable bond for Miss de Bourgh.”

“I thought you said you held no relationship with Anne de Bourgh, other than to serve as her man of business in this matter?”

“I do and I do not.” Worth considered all the complications involved in his affections for the lady before he answered. “I hold no acknowledged intimacy with Miss de Bourgh, but that does not mean I have no desire to develop one.When we leave Pemberley, it is my intention to request permission to call on the lady.”

“And as such, you warned Lieutenant Harwood away from Miss de Bourgh?”

“What you really wish to know is whether I killed the lieutenant.”

The baronet simply nodded: He and Worth had experienced the courtroom together on more than one occasion. Sir Phillip knew Worth’s reputation.

“As much as I abhorred the man’s public swagger, a crime such as you described earlier, Sir Phillip, is a crime of passion and an act of opportunity. You know me, Spurlock. I am a man of reason—spent a decade in the English public courtrooms. I might go a round of fisticuffs with the lieutenant, but cutting a man’s throat and letting him bleed to death is simply not my style.”

Spurlock agreed, although he made no mention of the fact to Worth. Something about this investigation bothered him—something he needed to clarify. “Might we join the others, Worth? Mr. Darcy sent word that he has gathered everyone in the blue drawing room. I would welcome your insights into this case.”


The household gathered at Darcy’s request. He told them nothing until Spurlock joined them, and then he said very little about the reason for their attendance. Sir Phillip would simply listen and observe, at least, initially.“I have asked Sir Phillip Spurlock as the local magistrate to join us,” Darcy announced at last. “Some of you met Sir Phillip earlier. As the weather has taken a positive turn, and we will soon be able to properly see to the deceased, we thought it best to address some facts before our parting—to find a resolution.” By silent agreement, no one mentioned Harwood directly. Several in the room still held no knowledge of the lieutenant’s death.

The baronet stepped forward.“Mr. Darcy, his wife, and his sister have spent an inordinate amount of time defining this past week’s events, but I have some questions I wish to address to individuals in this room. As I explained to Mr. Darcy, allowing each of you to hear what the others say may lead to new clues—new facts to solve this dilemma.”

No one responded directly, but a nervous buzz spread to every corner of the room. Before the baronet began his interrogation, Darcy took the opportunity to finish the introductions. “Pardon my interruption, Sir Phillip, but I should complete our welcomes.”

“Of course, Mr. Darcy.”

“For those of you unfamiliar with the gentleman on my left, it is with great pleasure that I present my cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam. Edward, I believe you familiar with everyone except Miss Donnel, His Lordship’s cousin.” Darcy paused while Edward bowed over the lady’s hand. “Mrs. Williams.” Pause. “And Mrs. Darcy’s youngest sister.” So as to explain why his cousin might not already know Elizabeth’s sister, he quickly added,“I believe Mrs.Wickham was in Newcastle when Elizabeth and I wed.You would have had no opportunity for a prior acquaintance.”

“It is a pleasure, Mrs. Wickham.” Edward brought Lydia’s hand to his lips for the obligatory air kiss.

“Thank you, Colonel,” Lydia cooed.

When Edward turned his head, Darcy noted his cousin’s raised eyebrow. He did not know if it was because the colonel realized Lord Stafford possessed no “cousin” among those staying at Pemberley, or whether Edward saw the buffoonery of acknowledging George Wickham’s wife. After all, Edward shared the guardianship of Darcy’s sister and was well aware of Wickham’s attempted elopement with and seduction of the girl. Darcy imagined Edward’s sensibilities to be shocked by the irony of both women being Pemberley’s guests.

When the colonel settled himself beside Georgiana on one of the settees, the baronet recovered the group’s attention. “I understand from the Darcys how you each came to be at Pemberley,” he began, “and the events of those first few days. What concerns me first is the fateful afternoon when Mrs. Jenkinson lost her life. I have examined the body and the cup from which the lady drank, and I agree with Mr. Darcy’s assumption of arsenic being the method.” Sir Phillip took a nearby seat and removed some folded paper and the stub of a pencil from his inside pocket, so that he might make himself some notes.“I understand, Mrs. Wickham,” he said, quickly turning to Lydia,“that you were the one to make arrangements for the hot cider and tea after the sledding adventure.”

Lydia flushed with the notice.“I came into the house and asked Mrs. Jennings to provide us refreshments,” she admitted.

“Did you touch the service, ma’am?” the magistrate continued.

Lydia started to respond, but then she paused with a frown. “If you mean, did I pour the drinks, the answer is no, Sir Phillip.” She saw the viscount’s head snap up in surprise. “It is true,Your Lordship,” she avowed. “I have thought long and hard on your accusations regarding my opportunities for poisoning the lady’s drink, but I was not the first person in this room that day.”

Adam Lawrence demanded, “Then who was, pray tell? It was you, Mrs. Wickham, who ordered the drinks’ preparation from Darcy’s staff, and you were partaking of the hot liquid when the rest of us entered the room.”

Lydia bristled with the renewal of his accusatory tone, but she did not retreat from his charges. “Mrs. Williams was sitting by the hearth when I arrived in the room,” Lydia asserted.

“That is impossible,” Worth remarked. “Mrs. Williams entered with the rest of us.”

“Yes, and entered the storeroom off the kitchen with the rest of us so that we could rid ourselves of our snow-soaked outerwear,” Stafford clarified.