Title: A Handful of Dust
Author: Melanie-Anne
Rating: T
Summary: A brutal murder shocks Hertfordshire and suspicion immediately falls on the newcomers to the area. P&P AU. Lizzy/Darcy. Jane/Bingley.
A/N: This is a work-in-progress. I have a two-year-old and a six-month-old. This is my attempt to stay sane. I will update as often as I can.
What are the roots that clutch, what branches grow
Out of this stony rubbish? Son of man,
You cannot say, or guess, for you know only
A heap of broken images, where the sun beats,
And the dead tree gives no shelter, the cricket no relief,
And the dry stone no sound of water. Only
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.
– The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot
Chapter One: Elsie
Fanny Bennet had made it her life's work to raise marriageable daughters and, now that eligible (and rich) young men were rumoured to be staying at Netherfield, pinned her hopes on one of them choosing Jane as his bride – for, of course, Jane was the loveliest young lady in all of England and had to be destined for a rich young man – and thus saving the Bennet family from starving in the hedgerows should Mr Bennet suddenly leave this mortal coil.
As soon as Mrs Bennet went off in raptures about "four thousand a year" and "ten thousand a year, oh, Jane!" her second eldest daughter let her mind wander to more pleasant topics. Elizabeth, even at twenty was far more sensible than her mother, and knew the likelihood of starving in the hedgerows after her father's death was not so great as to cause concern. There were more than enough aunts and uncles who could take the family in, some more happily than others.
So, while Elizabeth was contemplating her trip to the Lake District with her aunt and uncle Gardiner in the coming summer, she almost missed the commotion that followed. It took a moment before she registered that the shrill piercing noise was not just in her head, but was in fact a woman's scream. Mrs Bennet stopped speaking mid-sentence, and all the ladies in the room exchanged shocked glances. Mr Bennet frowned in the direction of the door, beginning to rise to his feet just as the door opened and a very pale Mrs Hill stepped inside.
"Beggin' your pardon," she said, then looked back in the direction from which she'd come. "Beggin' your pardon . . ."
Lydia impatiently threw down the bonnet she had been working on. "Oh, Hill, what is it?"
"Hush-" Jane began, but was cut off by more wailing from another part of the house.
"Mr Bennet, sir." Hill stared at the floor, wringing her hands. "You're needed-"
Another desperate wail filled the air, this one so full of grief and despair that Elizabeth shivered.
"Who is making that dreadful noise?" Mr Bennet's patience was clearly at an end, but Elizabeth knew him well enough to detect the concern behind his words.
"Susannah, sir. It's Elsie – they found her – there's talk she was murdered."
Mr Bennet snapped his book shut before Hill could say another word. If he had hoped to prevent his daughters from hearing, his hope was in vain.
"Murdered?" Lydia squealed, looking gleeful rather than horrified. Kitty clapped her hand to her mouth, covering her own less-than-ladylike squeal.
"Murdered?" Mrs Bennet slumped back in her chair, fanning her face with her hands. "My nerves! Oh, Jane! Oh, Lydia! Where are my salts? Murdered!"
As Jane hurried to find Mrs Bennet's salts, Elizabeth followed her father and Hill out of the room. Mary slipped out a moment later, shutting the door behind her. Elizabeth smiled gratefully; if she had to endure listening to Lydia and Kitty salivating over the news, she surely would have indulged her impulse to throw something at them.
"Girls," Mr Bennet said, "you need to stay here."
Elizabeth had no desire to leave the house, but idleness was not in her nature. "Let us take care of Susannah, Papa," she said.
Mr Bennet nodded, then went out to saddle his horse. Hill grasped Elizabeth's hands in her own. "Thank you, Miss Lizzy; Miss Mary. Poor Susy's in an awful state."
"Hill, what happened?"
Hill exhaled heavily. "Johnny come ridin' up fast this mornin', callin' for Susy to come quick. Said her family needed her at home. You know Susy, though; she's not one to drop her work and run home jus' because someone says so. So Johnny, he had to tell her the whole story: her papa went out hunting this morn and came upon Elsie . . ."
Here Hill's words dried up. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
"Hill?" Mary prompted.
"Johnny said she was tied to a tree, Miss Mary. Naked as the day she was born. Her throat – her throat-"
Mary took Hill's elbow and guided her to the kitchen. She helped Hill into a chair while Elizabeth poured a cup of tea.
"Where is Susy now?" Elizabeth asked.
Hill's hand trembled as she accepted the cup of tea. "Her room, Miss Lizzy. I told Johnny to send for the doctor before I went for your father."
"Mary, will you stay with Hill?"
At Mary's nod, Elizabeth went to Susy's room in the servants' quarters. Susy was of an age with Elizabeth and had been with the Bennet family for almost three years. Although she was a maid, the daughter of a tenant, Elizabeth had always thought of her as a friend. Elsie, two years younger, had also been Elizabeth's playmate once.
There was no sound from within the room. Elizabeth knocked on the door. "Susy? May I enter?"
Despite not receiving a reply, Elizabeth opened the door and found Susy curled up on the narrow bed. When Susy saw Elizabeth, she started wailing again.
"Oh, Susy!" Elizabeth knelt on the floor beside the bed, putting her arms around her friend. "I'm so sorry."
"It isn't her," Susy said between sobs. "It can't be her."
"Perhaps Johnny was mistaken," Elizabeth said, though she doubted it.
"Who would do such a thing?" Susy wailed into her pillow.
Elizabeth didn't reply. She rubbed Susy's back and thought of the dark days ahead. She knew this was just the beginning of Susy's family's nightmare, and couldn't help but wonder how much worse things were going to get.