As they rattled away on the southward road leaving Boxwell, Darcy kept looking out the window behind him for signs of pursuit. No one could be seen, but that did not completely calm his mind.

"Do you think she will follow us instead of staying to find and berate Anne?" he asked Richard.

"Oh, I am certain she will try. Aunt Catherine was spitting mad. She will want immediate revenge and another chance to have her say. No doubt she is thinking up all manner of unpleasant threats to shout at us if she ever catches up." Richard laughed at the thought. "We probably should not have handled her in quite that way, but I will admit it felt good to make Aunt Catherine feel powerless for a change."

Darcy looked away from the road and back at Richard. "She was so very angry that I am surprised she did not simply fall over in a fit of apoplexy."

Richard grinned. "She may yet when the entirety of the situation sinks in. I am more surprised she found us. I know I considered the possibility, which is why I suggested we not delay over the wedding, but I did not really expect it, and certainly not so soon."

"Nor did I," Darcy admitted. "Some of her servants must have followed you, me, Sir Phillip or even all three of us for her to have arrived so quickly."

With a nod of agreement, Richard said, "Yes. The timing of her arrival would have been just about right if someone on horseback followed me and then galloped back to Rosings to provide directions. If our aunt was ready to leave immediately and traveled at full speed all the way, she could have arrived that quickly. Of course, that means her horses are probably running tired, which gives us an advantage, at least at first, since our horses are rested and fresh."

"They will not stay that way long at this pace. We will need to drop back to a more reasonable speed soon. I hope there is no lone rider following just out of sight of us now to report back to her."

Richard turned sideways on his bench and stretched his legs out into a more comfortable arrangement. "If there is, we will have to deal with the situation later. Are you not glad I had your men move our luggage back to the roof when they transferred the other items to the cart Martin provided?"

"Indeed," Darcy said with a smirk, "Given the road conditions, you would have had trouble keeping your seat while perched on a trunk and probably would have kicked me in the face at the first bump." As if to give emphasis to Darcy's teasing comment, the carriage bounced over something in the road causing it to rock and sway. Both men had to grab for the straps to keep their balance.

"I think it is time to slow down," Richard said more seriously. "Even if she catches up, there is little she can do except shout at us to stop. We would not want to overtire the horses or damage the carriage."

Darcy started to lean out the window again, but had to steady himself as they hit another bump. Once it was safe, he managed to notify his coachman to slow to a trot. Soon their ride was a bit smoother as the driver could identify and avoid obstacles in their path instead of barreling straight over them.

In accordance with the earlier instructions, Hadley took them onto a few side roads that continued their southward journey before finally taking a route that would, according to the sign at the turning, lead them to a large village near a junction with the main road heading north and west.

Despite frequent checks of the road behind them, Darcy saw no one who appeared to be following or tracking them. Even when they stopped in a small village to rest the horses, no one else stopped or even appeared on the road from which they had come. The two men simply hoped their aunt had chased them long enough to give Sir Phillip time to warn Anne and her husband that the wedding had been discovered so they could stay out of Lady Catherine's way.

The new lane was a pleasant one, despite being fairly narrow. They traveled between hedges bordering newly planted fields or pasture for herds of sheep, cattle or horses. In some places, they wound through lightly forested areas covering the rolling hills and in others they passed more small villages with their clumps of shops centered on either the church or the public house. If they had not been worried about getting to Hertfordshire quickly, Darcy would have been tempted to have his coachman slow to a walk, in order to just enjoy the view.

Despite their hurry, the day advanced more swiftly than they had hoped, or at least their progress on the way to Meryton was slower. Richard still insisted that once they hit the main road they could cover the distance quickly enough to get them to Meryton before full dark. Darcy had his doubts.

About the time Richard estimated they should be reaching the village by the main road, they topped a rise and started down towards the valley and the wide river at the base of it. The first clue they had to indicate a problem came when the driver pulled the team to a full stop. Darcy poked his head out the window to ask why they had stopped but did not need to say a word. The answer was obvious. Directly ahead of them, the bridge crossing the river was nothing but a mass of tumbled wood and stone. They would not get to the road on the other side by that route.

"What is it?" asked Richard, who was still on the backward-facing bench.

"We have a problem," replied Darcy. "The bridge over the river is washed out."

He opened the door to the carriage and stepped outside. Richard followed him, taking the opportunity to stretch his legs.

"You've seen the issue, sir?" the driver asked.

"Yes, Hadley. What do you think? Could we ford it?"

"I would not like to take that chance, sir," came the reply. "There seem to be some deep sections and the potential for hidden drops on the riverbed is high. That axle we mended might split with the strain and we could be stranded midstream."

Darcy stepped closer to the bank and peered in. Again, Richard joined him.

"I would not take the chance even on horseback," Richard said. "There is a pretty strong current going there."

"I think this means we will not be reaching Meryton today. Instead, we will have to go back the way we came and take another route to the main road," Darcy guessed.

"I saw an inn back aways that looked a likely place to stop and get directions while we rest the horses for a bit, sir," Hadley said.

"You are usually a good judge of such places," said Darcy. "Get us turned around and take us to your inn. I think my cousin and I could do with a stop for a meal and some ale. I've no doubt you and the other two men would like the same."

Hadley nodded and the two footmen grinned. "Yes, sir," the driver said.

Richard pointed to the top of the hill on the other side of the river. "We were so close," he said. They could just see a cluster of rooftops in among the trees. "I would bet that is the village we were after."

"I have no doubt you are correct, but I see no way to get there from here," Darcy said. "Come on. Let us go and see what we can find out with our ale and a meal."

~o~

It turned out they would have quite a distance to go to get back on a road going in the direction they were headed. At least Hadley was correct about the potential quality of the inn. Darcy and Richard each had a good meal and a glass of decent ale, and Darcy made sure his men received the same.

They learned the bridge had been wiped out during some recent flooding. The local villages were still working out who should pay for a new one and, while they did, all traffic along that part of the road had come to a halt. It was a topic of much discussion in the taproom, with the most likely answer being that several villages in the area would share the expense and, later, the proceeds of the tolls they would collect for use of the new bridge. It seemed a reasonable solution to Darcy when he learned there were no large landowners in the area likely to take on the task themselves.

As soon as the horses were reasonably rested, they started on their way using what Hadley deemed to be the best route among those he had been given by the locals. Once again, Darcy checked but saw no sign of anyone following them. If all was as it appeared, they had succeeded in eluding his aunt. Both men hoped they had also succeeded in deceiving her regarding their intended destination.

They had finally reached the main road and were moving along at a good clip when Darcy suddenly remembered where he had seen a box like the one Richard had given to Anne with her wedding present. The memory also sparked a few other ideas.

"Richard," he said. "A few years ago you sent Georgiana a necklace packaged in a carved wood box like the one you gave Anne today, did you not?"

"Yes, I did," Richard answered. "There was a woodcarver in a Portuguese village my unit was quartered in for a time who made those little trinket boxes. I purchased a few of them because they made such perfect containers to hold the gifts I discovered for the women I care about. I had that one containing the necklace for Anne tucked away in my bags for a few years. I was always finding something or other of interest in the places I stayed, and I made what purchases seemed reasonable at the time."

"Tell me, did you by any chance send a similar box to Miss Elizabeth containing a certain necklace that you so readily identified from my description?"

Richard raised an eyebrow as he stared at his cousin. After a few seconds he said, "Of course, I did not send it to Miss Elizabeth. I am an unmarried man and she is an unrelated, unmarried woman. It would not be at all proper."

Darcy mirrored Richard's expression and stared back at him. Both remained silent, each challenging the other to speak. Finally, as the carriage hit a bump that caused them both to sway in their seats, Richard broke into a grin.

"I sent the necklace set in the box to Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner so that they could present it to Miss Elizabeth on the occasion of her sixteenth birthday," he said. "It was so perfect for her that I could not resist it. I do not know if she is aware that it originally came from me."

"I think I am feeling jealous again," Darcy said. "Or incredibly stupid. At any rate, whether she knows it came from you or not, it is clear she treasures the gift. And it does seem a perfect match for her. When we danced I asked her about it, and she told me that the shield reminds her of all the people who care about her and wish to shield her from harm and she loves the roses because she is very fond of them. At the time I thought her name was Rose, so it seemed quite appropriate."

Richard laughed. "Have I ever told you about the day I learned the proper way to cut roses?"

"I hadn't realized there was a proper way to cut them. If I had any need for roses, I would ask the gardener to cut them for me and assume he knew how to do it."

"I seem to remember saying something similar when the subject came up," Richard said. "I only learned for Miss Elizabeth's sake, or rather Lizzy's. She was only around seven at the time."

Richard gleefully told Darcy about arriving at Longbourn to find a battered rosebush and a worried father. He described how he had examined the scene of the crime and set off to find Lizzy somewhere on the estate. Darcy burst at laughing at Richard's description of the rocks flying over the hedge accompanied by a cry of "stupid Lady Catherine!" He did not say so out loud, but he approved of how Mr. Bennet had shielded young Lizzy from her mother's displeasure by having the housekeeper get her cleaned up and how he allowed Richard to help her gain the bouquet she had wanted for her new aunt.

"She told me later that the bouquet was very much appreciated and was the start of the friendly and loving relationship she and Mrs. Gardiner still share," Richard finished.

"I am certain you have many other fun tales I would have enjoyed hearing over the years if I had not been so stubbornly certain our aunt was all-knowing and always correct."

"You were a nasty little prig at times," Richard agreed, "but you were also my only male cousin and a good companion when the Bennets or George Wickham were not under discussion, so I had to allow you some slack. You have definitely improved with age."

"Age and some well-deserved humiliation," Darcy said.

"That as well."

"We are not going to make it to Meryton tonight," observed Darcy.

"No. Although I still maintain that we would have if the bridge had not been washed out."

"There is no way of telling that now," Darcy said. "We will probably have to rest the horses again soon. Before we head out after that, I will tell Hadley to go as far as he can this evening, then stop at the first likely inn."

"Good idea. Then, if we get an early start, we can probably reach Meryton before noon."

"I hope Mr. Bennet was able to neutralize any threat George posed. If he is with the militia, then his commanding officer would be able to keep an eye on him, would he not?"

"I am hoping so. I just wonder what purpose he is there for. Spying is definitely something he is good at, but I know Mr. Bennet would have recognized his name. It has come up a few times over the years, after all."

"I guess we have to wait until tomorrow to find out."

"I suppose," Richard said reluctantly.

"Well, since we need something else to think about, tell me more about some of the places you have visited. I know your time was not all spent sightseeing and shopping for necklaces."

"No," Richard said soberly. "Not all of it. Not by a long shot. I can tell you some of what I did, but there is much I would rather leave unspoken. Not for security reasons, mind you, but simply because I am doing my best never to think of it again." He dropped into silence for a moment, looking down at his hands, and Darcy waited. Finally, Richard looked up again and there was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

"Let me tell you about the time my unit and I mistook a herd of stampeding cattle for the regiment of soldiers we had been hoping would relieve us..." He launched into a tale that Darcy sensed could have been heartbreaking had it not been told in so amusing a manner. With gusto, he described a time when his unit was outnumbered, outgunned and fearing the worst only to have their courage lifted and their energy revived at the thought they were about to be joined by another full regiment.

"We heard the hoofbeats from behind us and every man took heart. Once we thought we had the superior numbers, we did not hesitate to charge the enemy ranks," Richard said as he neared the end of the story. "We surprised them with what must have seemed an insane tactic and carried the day. Then, of course, when we turned to thank our supporters, all we saw were the backsides of the cattle as they raced away in the landscape behind us." He laughed and added, "Most of them anyway. We had a few of the stragglers for dinner that night. It was a welcome change from the salt pork we had been carrying."

"I take it the food was not usually very good?" Darcy asked.

Richard shrugged. "It depended on where we were and when. Sometimes we were lucky to get hard tack and muddy water. Others, we feasted. I ate plenty of meals I never would have considered when we were younger and often surprised myself by enjoying them. As they say, hunger is the best sauce."

He launched into another tale about an unexpected feast that soon had Darcy helpless with laughter. The ridiculous stories and Darcy's sometimes equally ridiculous questions kept them occupied for the rest of their travel that day.