This morning, Darcy arose and went about all his normal tasks, finding there to be no reason to differ from any other day. He made himself presentable and spent breakfast with young William, reading to him a new letter or chapter of a book per day to increase his literacy.
Though, with each passing day, William was now becoming concerned with his Aunt, Uncle, and Mother's absence. It was not spoken
"Papa," William babbled, his limited vernacular benefiting him now. Darcy could hear the note of discontent in his voice and hardly knew what he could say to make the situation better. "Mama?"
"She'll be home soon," Darcy promised, forcing what best of a smile he could muster. If he presented a warm and confident front, he might believe his own words as much as William did.
His son frowned, as if there was something amiss in the answer, but he continued to eat the breakfast fed to him by one of the maids, allowing Darcy to set the letter down upon the table and return to his deep thoughts on the nature of all this terrible business with Bingley and Jane.
The facts were clear.
Mr. Townsend, a disgruntled servant, had taken Jane in an effort for revenge. Mrs. Brown was also missing and the staff cited a long-had affair between Townsend and the woman, which would account for her loyalty to the man. It even explained the misplaced money, for a servant who did not have a spark of guilt in kidnapping the mistress of the house would hardly feel the recriminations of stealing several pounds here and there.
There was a monetary ransom placed on Jane and Bingley had gone to fetch her, Darcy's own wife in tow, along with their father-in-law. If all went well, Jane would be back with him and no ransom need be paid.
Darcy did not find it suitable to think of what might happen if things did not go well.
He took William into his arms, in order to move to the study for another day of perusing the elder Bingley's logs, to find a more detailed account of the terrible business between the Townsends, sending the maid on her way.
He was met in the hall by the doorman. "Sir, a letter from town."
Which town was not said and Darcy took the envelope in hand, keeping it sealed until he arrived into the study. He was careful to set William down on the carpeting, where he would not find harm, before taking an opener to the wax seal that bore no mark he recognised.
The writing, however, became instantly familiar.
It was by Townsend's hand.
Charles Bingley,
Your lack of communication is most harrowing. It is my sad part to inform you that Mrs. Bingley shall not be remaining where she is for much longer. We shall be moving her once more before you permanently lose the chance of ever seeing her alive. The demand for money remains the same. It is required to be delivered in a fortnight, to the address listed below. If the authorities have been alerted, I cannot promise your Jane's safety.
It was not signed, but it did not have to be. The sender was clear enough and it filled Darcy with disgust to even hold a letter from the vile man. He instantly knew he could no longer sit idly by while the search for Jane continued. Even if he needed to bring William with him, he would…
No, he mustn't. Exposing his son to such a danger was reckless and out of the question. He sighed, hoping that Elizabeth and Charles would find Jane soon enough and be back before he went out of his own mind.
This was, quite frankly, going to happen very soon at the rate he was traveling.
The Bingley townhome in London was a veritable mess of litter, lists, and letters. The communications between Mr. Townsend and his former clientele were plentiful and no sleep was found as they perused each of them to see whether the owners of the house were to be in the country during the season.
It had been a full day of searching and only three possibilities had been eliminated, which to Bingley, was not good enough in the least.
"This is utterly pointless," Mister Bennet sighed, tossing another letter over his shoulder. "By the time we have read every last vowel and consonant, some proper action might be taken. Elizabeth, the authorities," he said, quite sternly.
"No!" Bingley immediately interjected; the voice of panic. "No, he'll harm her." He shook his head, rapidly, taking up another of the letters and setting them down on the table. "And that is out of the question. We will find her."
Elizabeth sat there, not saying much of anything, as though stuck in the middle between two opinions. A rock and a hard place, as it were.
"Out of the question for you, but she is my daughter," Mister Bennet now rose to his feet. "And I will not have her safety compromised because her husband is too meek…"
"Meek!" Bingley interrupted. "I am not meek, I am concerned!"
"Too concerned to deal with this properly, to be sure."
"Gentlemen!" Elizabeth cut them off harshly, holding up the letter. "I've found it."
They both turned to look at her and by the looks on their faces, it appeared as though they were wondering if she had simply invented a solution in order to quell the bickering, but she had a look of knowing on her face, relief masked by the happiness of finding something. She laid out the parchment upon the table and beckoned the men to read it.
Hovering over Elizabeth's shoulders, they read the information together. "You see?" Elizabeth inquired of the two, quite proud of her findings within the seemingly endless pile of letters. "The Windsors possess a country home near the Bingleys, where Jane could be taken immediately and they also have a large manour in London. However, it was not to be in use, as they are traveling in France for the season and have asked Mr. Townsend to watch the grounds."
"And no other family could possibly be housing Jane?" Mister Bennet ventured and though it drove Bingley half-mad, he knew they must be sure.
Elizabeth shook her head. "No!" she promised as the eagerness of her discovery shone on her face. "No, not with such perfect circumstances as this."
Bingley snatched up the letter and began to pace around the room, reading it again and again for himself as Elizabeth focused all her attention on Mister Bennet. He hardly seemed to hear anything as they continued to discuss what to do now, for the address was known and the details of the letter were exact.
"We must rescue her," Elizabeth insisted. "But how?"
Bingley froze. "I think I know a way."
Mister Bennet arched an eyebrow, but said nothing.
Elizabeth thought it to be the wisest choice her Papa had made all day.
The insistent knocking on the door of the Bingleys' home filled Darcy with a strange sort of exuberant hope that he hadn't expected to feel, not so inflated as it was. The announcement that it was, "A Mrs. Bennet, sir," did nothing to comfort his nerves, but rather, expounded upon them.
Of course, with every disappointment came an opportunity.
He greeted his mother-in-law as quickly and politely as was possible, listening to her go on about her Jane and the danger and the impudence of Mister Bennet to simply leave as he did, but Darcy was already concocting an idea in his head.
"Mrs. Bennet," he asked, direct and to the point. "Would you watch William while I go to London to aid in the search?" It was hardly the best situation to be in and he didn't wish for a moment to actually leave his son behind, but these were pressing times.
Mrs. Bennet hardly took well to this request, reacting in a flurry of insistences that the spasms of worry might well cause her to faint, but Darcy was in no mood for dramatics and simply caught her gaze. "I can go and help find Jane," he assured her. "But you must watch my son. Is that understood? No harm is to come to him."
"Mister Darcy," Mrs. Bennet remarked, quite pluckily at that, and in a moment, Darcy saw a glimmer that not all of Elizabeth's personality came from her father, "I am very adept at caring for children. I raised five girls, I can handle one boy."
"In that case," Darcy replied, with a nod, "William should be no trouble. I shall write," was his terse last words to his mother-in-law before he gave orders that a carriage be readied while he said goodbye to his son temporarily.
He would be back, no matter what he would have to face in order to return.
tbc