A/N: For the first time in a long while, I had most of the last two weeks free to write, but I have now learned that having time to write doesn't equate to writing that much faster, at least not for me, because I still take just as long to think about what I want to write. The actual writing is only about 10% of the process, so having free time only allows me to publish a new chapter about 10% faster. I regret it as much as you do.

Answers to a few questions and/or comments in the reviews:

To Guest: While it is true that the average gentleman in Regency England did not learn Spanish, there was nothing average about Darcy. A rich man could hire tutors for any subject he wished, and an intelligent man of wide interests like Darcy would certainly not limit himself to the subjects taught at Eton.

To Ln: Nobody likes Caroline, but I can't imagine a Longbourn-Netherfield based story without her. She's the character we love to hate.

To Guest: No, I have no schedule. I spend as much time on the story as real life permits, and I try to post at least once a month, but I have learned not to make promises. I will never be as prolific as some of the better writers here, but I don't look quite so lazy if you count my words per month, rather than my chapters per month.

To Guest: It was only mentioned briefly, but the governess that Mr. Bennet hired for his younger daughters left Longbourn when Lady Rutherford left Netherfield. Lizzy started the Academy to make up for the loss of the governess. And to answer your other question, sadly, Mrs. Bennet's childbearing days are over.

Thank you all again for the lovely and thoughtful reviews.

Chapter 24 – The Haunted Woods

Longbourn, Hertfordshire, October 19, 1811

Darcy, so accustomed to being in command of every situation, was at a loss. Just when he realized that he had fallen in love with Elizabeth, she seemed to be more interested in his cousin. And who could blame Richard if he reveled in her attention?

Richard had an eye for the ladies, so he could not miss Elizabeth's beauty. And behind his jovial and sometimes even buffoonish personality, he hid a keen mind. He would surely appreciate Elizabeth's intelligence. Although he had always said that he needed to marry a woman with a large dowry, he was not avaricious, and his career as a soldier had forced him to sometimes live in squalor. Darcy could easily see Richard being satisfied with a modest cottage, if Elizabeth were inside it. One good thing, he grudgingly admitted, is that Elizabeth would give Richard an incentive to quit the army, as his family had been begging him to do ever since his first serious wound, several years ago.

Richard had just met Elizabeth, so Darcy could not know what he was feeling at the moment, but he was certain that the more time Richard spent with her, the more he would come to admire her. If Darcy were in his place, he would gladly marry Elizabeth in preference to a typical lady of the ton, no matter how large her dowry. And even though Richard was not likely to inherit the earldom or even a small estate, his parents would not stand by and allow him to live in poverty. They would surely give him a stipend large enough to support a family in comfort.

Well, there was nothing for it. Darcy could not remember ever desperately wanting something and not being able to have it, other than eternal life for his parents. But he knew that for most people, it was the normal way of things to constantly have disappointed hopes. He, of all people, should not think himself ill-used by fortune.

He gathered himself and returned to the house, where the others had repaired to a sitting room for tea and biscuits. He was both pleased and surprised to see that Gigi was sitting next to Elizabeth; apparently her interest in the lady who had so impressed her brother had overcome her shyness.

But Caroline Bingley, who was unhappy that Georgiana had chosen to sit next to Elizabeth, would not be denied her share of the conversation.

"Do you paint, Miss Darcy?" Caroline was asking as Darcy sat down beside Richard.

"Yes, I sometimes do watercolors," Georgiana answered softly, then turned to Elizabeth and asked, "Do you draw, Miss Elizabeth?"

Lizzy smiled mischievously and said, "I believe I can honestly say that my drawings have given my sisters great pleasure."

Darcy hid a scowl. Previously, Elizabeth had always minimized her accomplishments. Now that she had Richard's attention, she was boasting about them. It was obvious where her preference lay.

His thoughts were interrupted by a snort from Lydia, followed by a smothered giggle from Kitty, and then all the Bennet sisters other than Lizzy began laughing merrily.

Lizzy stamped her foot in mock anger and said, "Oh, you have spoiled it! I almost had them believing me!"

As the Netherfield party looked at the Bennets and each other in confusion, Mary took pity on them. "We apologize, it is a family joke. When Lizzy says her drawings gave us pleasure, she means that we all had great fun attempting to guess what she was drawing. Even though she was trying to draw a horse every time, we could never guess it."

Lydia said, "I still say most of them looked like a potato with worms coming out of it," which made her other sisters, including Lizzy, laugh again.

Caroline was not amused. "How droll," she said. "But I am sure that Miss Darcy's paintings are exquisite. I would love to see them sometime."

Georgiana looked uncomfortable, so Lizzy decided to direct the discussion away from her. She turned to Richard and said, "Colonel, how long have you been in the army?"

"It was ten years last February," said Richard, confirming Lizzy's guess that he was a bit over 30 years of age. "I was just in time to join Abercromby at Abukir."

Everyone looked blankly at him except for Lizzy, who said excitedly, "Oh! You have been to Egypt! If I were given one wish to travel anywhere in the world, I think I should pick Egypt. I have read that the pyramids were built centuries before Rome was founded. If I could climb to the top of the Great Pyramid, I would cherish the experience for the rest of my life. And have you been to India as well?"

"Indeed, I served there for two years," said Richard, delighted that Elizabeth had heard of the Battle of Abukir.

Lizzy shook her head. "How wonderful it must be to have seen the wide world!"

Darcy's Grand Tour had been prevented by the war and then his father's death, so he had been to Scotland and Wales, but never off the island of Great Britain. He tried not to frown as Elizabeth gushed over Richard's travels abroad. Nobody noticed his discomfort except for Caroline, who always kept an eye on Darcy. She suddenly realized that if she could promote a match between Eliza and the colonel - two people who certainly deserved each other, she thought bitterly - then Darcy would lose interest in Eliza and realize that it was Caroline with whom he belonged. Eliza was welcome to the penniless third son, and she would probably be thrilled, since he was a soldier. Caroline immediately determined to do whatever she could to encourage their interest in one another. And to do that, she would need to get out of the colonel's black books.

"Indeed, colonel," Caroline said brightly, "we are all grateful for your dedicated service. I am so sorry that my words came out wrong the other evening when I spoke about Private Cummins. I am sure that he was a fine soldier."

Richard thought she must be up to something, but he did not know what, so all he could do was accept her apology with a modicum of grace. "It is Sergeant Cummings, madam, but yes, he was a very fine soldier, and I appreciate your clarification."

Elizabeth, too, was a bit puzzled at Caroline's gambit, but she was happy to talk about Cummings if it kept Caroline from importuning Georgiana. "Is it not unusual for a man to be promoted to sergeant so young?" asked Elizabeth. "I believe Mr. Cummings was only in the army for a few years before he was wounded so badly."

"It is highly unusual, Miss Elizabeth," said Richard. "In fact, he was the youngest sergeant I knew."

"He was always very good at leading pirate raids when we were children," Elizabeth smiled as she recalled the games they had played, "but I never knew that such experience was valued in the regulars."

"Actually, I had to use some devious means to get him promoted," said Richard. "It is sad but true that merit alone does not result in promotions, even among the enlisted men. Of course, I am sure you know that officers' commissions can be bought and sold, but among the enlisted, it is mostly a matter of seniority."

"Then how…?"

"It is rather convoluted, and I am sure most of you would not be interested."

Caroline, still trying to ingratiate herself with Richard, quickly interrupted, "I would be very interested to hear the story, colonel."

Elizabeth, who really was interested, quickly agreed, as did Georgiana, who was happy to have a respite from Caroline's false flattery. After that, the others felt obliged to agree out of politeness.

Richard nodded. "So be it, but do let me know if I start rambling." He briefly collected his thoughts, then began, "The first time I observed Cummings in combat, I could see that he was the best infantryman in the regiment. You must understand that most soldiers have no business being on a battlefield. Not their fault, of course, for most of them were likely either pressed into service, or had to enlist to keep from starving. And in truth, no man should be forced to kill other men simply because their rulers have some dispute over who should control a parcel of land..." He stopped himself. "Well, that is a topic for another time. What I am trying to say is that at least half the men are doing well if we can get them to point their muskets in the general direction of the enemy before they shoot, and not completely lose their wits when the enemy returns fire. They have no idea of what they are about; they are just trying to stay alive. Most of the other half at least try to follow the battle plan, but they do so blindly, and do not know what to do once it breaks down, for it has been an adage since Caesar was a corporal that the plan of battle seldom survives the first contact with the enemy, who stubbornly refuses to cooperate.

"And then there are a very few men like Sgt. Cummings, who not only understand the tactics and goals of the battle plan, but the strategy behind them, and can adapt and improvise, or even devise new tactics on the spot when conditions warrant. I believe that it must be something one is born with, for I have known many officers from Wycombe and Marlow* who could not hold a candle to men like Cummings."

"So he was promoted for his skill in battle?" asked Georgiana.

Richard snorted. "Would that it were so. But the army does nothing the sensible way. Oh, once in a great while a spectacular act of bravery can get one promoted, and indeed, Cummings performed more than one to my knowledge, but I was only a major at the time, and my colonel had the bad luck to never seem to be where the action was the hottest, so he did not witness Cummings' deeds. I badly wanted to promote him so that I could put him in charge of a platoon, but my colonel could not be persuaded."

"Then how was he promoted?" asked Lydia, who had always been interested in soldiers, but until now had pictured only officers in red coats at a ball.

Richard smirked. "You cannot fight army regulations directly; you must work with and around them to get what you want. There are some positions that carry a promotion with them, and that require certain skills over seniority. One of these is the armorer. Cummings was not only a brave and competent infantryman, but he was also skilled at repairing weapons. I do not know where or when he learned it - Miss Elizabeth, did he do gunsmithing here before he was in the army?"

"Not that I know of," Lizzy answered and looked at Jane and Mary, who also shook their heads.

"Well, he must have learned it after he enlisted, then. Perhaps he was assigned to fetch and carry for the armorer, and watched and learned rather than just sitting around during lulls. At any rate, he was the armorer's assistant when I first met him, shortly after I was assigned to his unit, and it did not take long to realize that you would rather have Cummings repair your weapon than the armorer, who was not incompetent, but not as good as Cummings. But the point of all this is, when our logistics sergeant was wounded and sent home, I was able to transfer the armorer to logistics, and then to move Cummings into the armorer's slot, thereby giving him an automatic promotion that was routinely approved by headquarters, and then once he had the rank, I was able to put him in charge of a platoon." He grimaced. "Which position he enjoyed for all of two weeks before he was hit."

There was silence for a moment, then Lizzy said, "I did not know that. He once told me you had given him his promotion, but he never mentioned his skill with firearms. I wonder... Colonel, does it take great dexterity to repair firearms, or is it more a matter of knowledge?"

Richard thought he knew where she was going. "I would say that knowledge is more important than dexterity, but certainly a man must have two hands."

Elizabeth's expression grew determined. "But suppose a man with great knowledge and one arm had a younger brother who was reasonably clever and handy. Could they work together to repair firearms?"

Lizzy's sisters knew that look on her face and leaned forward, interested to hear what she was scheming.

Richard looked thoughtful. "Honestly, I know not whether it has ever been attempted. May I ask that we dispense with hypotheticals, and you tell me what you have in mind?"

Lizzy nodded. "Mr. Moore, Meryton's former gunsmith, passed away a year ago, and no one has replaced him, so people here are obliged to go to St. Albans or to Town to have their guns repaired. Mr. Cummings may not be able to work on guns himself, but he has a younger brother who seems quite intelligent, and could be his apprentice. And the shop is still vacant. I must talk to my uncle Phillips, for he is the owner's agent and will know what it rents for."

Darcy looked at her dubiously. "Surely Cummings could not afford it, whatever the rent."

"Rent can be deferred," Elizabeth replied, as if it were nothing. "It cannot be much, for the shop has been vacant for a year." She looked at Richard. "And the work would restore his dignity. He does not complain, but I know he feels himself a burden to his family, for he is a strapping fellow, even after his lost limbs, and he eats like a strapping fellow. I do not think any of us can imagine how hard it must be for the hero you just described to have to resort to begging to help support himself. If he could train and supervise his brother, he would benefit himself and the village at the same time."

Mr. Bingley, who had spent most of the past quarter hour gazing at Jane, spoke for the first time. "My rifle was misfiring the other day. I could take it over to his cottage and have him look at it."

Elizabeth was growing more enthusiastic. "My father has a defective pistol that he has not bothered to have repaired. And I can write to my uncle Gardiner in London and have him send the tools Mr. Cummings will need. If he does not sell them himself, he will know where to get them at a good price."

She reined herself in. "Of course, I must first ask Mr. Cummings if he is interested. I will ride over there tomorrow. But no, tomorrow is Sunday. Monday, then."

Richard quickly said, "I should be very pleased to accompany you, Miss Elizabeth. I was only able to speak to Cummings for a minute or two when I encountered him the other day, and I would like to see him again."

"I gratefully accept. And if you please, might you first accompany me to Meryton to inspect the shop? I do not know whether the tools are still there, and if not, I would appreciate your advice on what to ask my uncle to send. Oh! And the militia is arriving any day now for winter camp, so that might furnish further business, for I am sure many of the officers have their own weapons as well as those issued to them."

Richard chuckled. "I can scarcely resist such a whirlwind, and I should be happy to examine the shop, Miss Elizabeth."

Darcy felt another pang of jealousy, but he could see no feasible way to insert himself into the proposed visit, for he had never even met Cummings. As if reading his mind, Richard turned to him and asked, "What say you, Darcy, are you in?"

Darcy answered with very ill grace, "I have not been invited."

Elizabeth looked at him curiously, but smiled and said, "Of course you are welcome, Mr. Darcy, it is just that I require the Colonel's expertise with firearms."

Caroline could not believe her good fortune. The colonel and Eliza were practically a pair already, and Mr. Darcy was acting like a spoiled child. He would fall into her hands like a ripe plum. But Eliza and her soldier had dominated the conversation long enough. It was time to resume building her friendship with Darcy's sister.

"I understand that you have a great talent for music, Miss Darcy," she simpered.

Georgiana looked uncomfortable again. "I would not say I have a great talent, but I do enjoy it," she answered. Again, she tried to divert the attention from herself by turning to Elizabeth. "Do you and your sisters play, Miss Elizabeth?"

"We do, but I am not so proficient as I would wish on the pianoforte," Lizzy answered. "Mary, however, is excellent."

Lydia interjected, "But you should hear Lizzy play the harp."

Georgiana's face lit up. "Oh! I would love to! I adore the harp!"

"Why do we not go to the music room now?" asked Mary, and everyone was agreeable to the idea. Caroline was somewhat surprised that the sisters played, for it had never been mentioned when Jane and Eliza were at Netherfield. But then, with the pianoforte at Netherfield unusable for lack of a tuner until very recently, she supposed there had been no reason to do so.

Mary led the way down the hall to a room that looked rather forlorn, for it contained a harp, but no pianoforte. Caroline sneered. "You can always tell the quality of a house by its pianoforte," she said to Louisa, deliberately loudly enough for Darcy to hear.

It did not endear her to Darcy, but he did wonder at the lack of a pianoforte. Looking more closely, he noticed indentations in the carpet that indicated a pianoforte had once been there. Were the Bennets worse off than he had believed? Had Bennet been forced to sell the pianoforte?

Pondering this, he did not notice that Mary had led Georgiana to and through a door at the end of the room. "Oh! Brother!" he heard Gigi cry, and alarmed, he rushed to the door and gaped at what he saw as he stepped within.

It was easily the largest pianoforte he had ever seen. At least eight feet long, he judged. And not only large, but very fine. The rich, dark wood had a luster that fairly shouted quality.

Caroline, looking through the door, suddenly felt faint.

"May I?" asked Georgiana, stroking the keys almost reverently.

"Of course," said Mary, "it is here to be played, not just to be admired."

Georgiana struck the lowest note on the keyboard, and Darcy was astonished all over again. The huge soundboard made its vibrations felt down to his toes. He belatedly realized that the length of the instrument had kept him from noticing that it was also the widest he had ever seen, and the note Gigi had struck was lower than he had ever heard. He quickly counted the keys.

Darcy knew something about pianofortes, for he had been shopping for a new one for Pemberley as a surprise for Gigi. Most of the instruments he had seen in the homes of the wealthy had been built in the 18th century and spanned five octaves, or at most five octaves and a fifth. He had spared no expense for his sister, and had ordered one of the new six-octave instruments that had only recently started to appear. But - he counted again just to make sure - this instrument had a full seven octaves. It could only be a one-of-a-kind, custom-built work of art. It must have cost a thousand pounds.

Netherfield Park, Hertfordshire, February 2, 1809

"Mr. Bennet, thank you for coming so quickly," said Lady Rutherford, dressed in black.

"My lady, please accept my condolences. I was very sorry to hear of your loss. If I may be of any service…"

"You may indeed, Mr. Bennet," she cut him off. "And since I have very little time, I shall come straight to the point. I should like to trade my pianoforte for yours, and it must be done immediately."

Bennet gaped. "I do not understand…"

"There is no way you could, but I will explain. My late husband had many faults, but he was very generous with my pin money. Over a thousand a year. Much more than I can spend most years."

Bennet's eyes widened, and she nodded. "As you know, I am not socially active, so I spent the money on things of more practical value than gowns and jewels. One of them was the pianoforte that I had commissioned just last year. I do not want the duke to get his hands on it, so I cannot take it with me to Mayfield, nor can I bear to leave it here for some unknown tenants to abuse. I would be very pleased, however, to know that it has a loving home at Longbourn, where your daughters, especially Mary and Lizzy, will put it to good use."

"But I could not possibly…"

"Please, Mr. Bennet, you would be doing me a favor. And if it will ease your mind, I promise that if I one day return to Netherfield, or come to be set up in my own establishment elsewhere, we can reverse the trade." She frowned, then added, "No, that would not do, for we cannot know what abuse your instrument may suffer while it is at Netherfield, but I am sure that we can come to some arrangement that will satisfy all around. But for now, I need you to safeguard my pianoforte for me, and it must be done quickly, before the duke's agent arrives. Please, sir, I beg of you, do not refuse me this favor."

Bennet shook his head. "You do not fool me, Lady Rutherford. For as long as I have known you, you have bestowed great gifts upon me in the guise of asking for my help, all the way back to when you changed Lizzy's life, and mine, by pretending it was I who was doing you the favor by supplying playmates for Clarence." He held up a hand when she started to protest, and continued, "But I own that I can see no benefit to anyone in refusing this latest gift of yours. May I see it?"

Lady Rutherford led him to her music room, and he gasped. "I do not think I have a wagon, or the men, who can move this, my lady."

"I have hired men from St. Albans. They should arrive any moment now, with the necessary equipment and transport. Everyone here will be told that the instrument is on its way to my father's house in Town. In fact, they will transport it to Longbourn and return with your pianoforte, which everyone will be told is for the use of future tenants. If everything is in place before the duke's agent arrives, he should have no reason to give the music room a second thought."

Bennet chuckled. "You would have made a formidable general. Very well, my lady, I will hasten home and prepare for the trade. I am not sure this behemoth will fit into our music room and still leave room for any other furniture, but there is a connecting parlor that should serve."

Longbourn, Hertfordshire, October 19, 1811

Georgiana was so enraptured with Longbourn's pianoforte that she forgot all about the harp. She and Mary took turns playing, then played some duets together. It was obvious to all, even Caroline, that they were both highly proficient.

Georgiana asked shyly, "I recently acquired some music for four hands by Herr Beethoven. If you like, I could bring it with me the next time I visit, and we could play it together."

Mary was delighted. "Of course, you are welcome any time, and we would all love to hear you play some more, by yourself or with one of us. You are very talented."

Georgiana blushed, but she looked as happy as Darcy had seen her in months.

Longbourn, Hertfordshire, October 21, 1811

The following Monday, Richard and Darcy escorted Georgiana to Longbourn, had a glass of wine with Mr. Bennet, and then they and Lizzy struck out for Meryton, with a Longbourn footman riding discreetly behind them, out of earshot but not out of sight.

After examining the gunsmith's shop, which was in fair shape but missing some essential tools, they remounted and set off for the Cummings cottage.

"Those were some fine horses your sisters purchased," said Richard, enjoying the unseasonably warm sunshine.

"Yes, they are all very sweet. That was the most important criterion that Mr. Bailey, our groom, was seeking. He knew that my sisters would be showering them with attention, and he said that some horses do not enjoy being brushed excessively. So we sought the horses with the best dispositions, rather than the largest or fleetest. Loki is still the fastest horse in Hertfordshire," Elizabeth said as she patted her horse fondly.

The colonel could not let that go. "Miss Elizabeth, I do not wish to be contrary, but your sisters' horses are not the only new steeds in the area. I daresay that Darcy and I could give you a head start and still beat you in a race."

Lizzy looked at Richard, and her eyes narrowed. "Say you so? Would you be willing to bet a pound on it?"

Richard and Darcy looked at each other, then at Loki, then at each other again, and grinned. Their stallions made Loki look like a colt.

"I can always use an extra pound," said Richard. "What conditions do you propose?"

Lizzy frowned in thought. "I said I had the fastest horse, but I own that your horses are likely bred for stamina and could overtake him eventually, so I propose a race on the shorter side, perhaps a furlong or so."

Darcy snorted. "A furlong? And if we give you a fifty-yard head start, that barely gives us time to get up to speed before you are across the line. The race must be longer than that."

Lizzy shook her head. "I never asked for fifty yards. Five will do."

"Five yards?" asked Richard, astonished.

"Five yards," affirmed Lizzy. "And I know of an excellent place for a race on the way to Mr. Cummings' cottage."

"No doubt it is full of twisty narrow passages that will not admit our stallions," said Richard, still suspicious about such a short head start.

"No indeed, colonel, it is flat and wide open, and best of all it has no rabbit holes, for it is just on the other side of the Haunted Woods, which harbors many foxes that keep the rabbits away."

"Then you have a bet," said the colonel.

"The 'Haunted Woods'? Is it full of witches and goblins?" Darcy asked with a mocking smile.

But Lizzy's face remained serious. "Perhaps it used to be," she said, "for I could not guess how else it got that name. But the danger nowadays is not supernatural - at least, I do not believe so. The danger is from the Old Man of the Forest."

"And who is he?"

"The question is not who, but what," said Lizzy. "No one who has seen him has lived."

Darcy scoffed. "So someone or something nobody has ever seen is haunting your woods? I would guess it is the wind blowing through the trees."

Lizzy spoke in hushed tones. "I did not say nobody has seen him. I said nobody has seen him and lived. It was not the wind that left mangled bodies in its wake. The closest thing to a witness was Mr. Pitts, who was, er, briefly away from his comrades when the Old Man attacked them. He heard their screams and climbed a tree to hide, then heard nothing. After a while, he crept back to the site and found both of his comrades dead. 'Split open like a peach,' he said. People who saw the bodies were sure that it must have been a wild boar, but wild boars are known for grunting and squealing and crashing through the brush, and Mr. Pitts swears that it made no sound either coming or going."

Richard and Darcy looked at each other. Finally, Darcy asked, "How long ago did this occur?"

"Two years ago this month."

"And have there been any more attacks since?"

"Not to my knowledge, but that may be because almost everyone now avoids those woods."

Darcy smiled wryly. "But not you?"

Elizabeth looked down. "I do not go looking for trouble, but if the shortest path is through the woods, I generally take it, if I am riding Loki. But I would not walk through them."

Richard said, "Well, if it has been two years, whatever it was must be gone now."

Lizzy nodded. "That is what the men with Mr. Pitts thought."

"What do you mean?"

"Before they were killed, it had been two years to the month since the previous killings."

Darcy frowned. "Wait a moment. You are saying that two years ago this month there were killings, and four years ago this month there were other killings?"

Lizzy nodded again, but said nothing.

Richard looked at her intently. "So if the pattern repeats, we are due for another incident any day now."

Lizzy said, "If the pattern repeats." She looked up at them astride their tall stallions. "It is all right. I do not blame you for not wanting to go through the Haunted Woods. As I said, hardly anyone else is willing to do so, either."

After that, there was only one thing Darcy and Richard could do.

UI

All three riders sagged in relief as they halted their horses after emerging from the far side of the Haunted Woods. Noticing that Elizabeth was shivering despite the warm sun, Darcy said, "I thought you told us that you traverse those woods frequently, Miss Elizabeth."

Lizzy shook her head, still trembling. "I said no such thing. I said I do not ride around them if they are on my path. But they are rarely on my path, for I seldom have occasion to go directly from Meryton to the Cummings cottage. Perhaps once or twice a year at most."

Richard sat straighter and said, "Well, we are through it, and have lived to tell the tale." He surveyed the field in front of him, and added, "You were correct that this is a perfect field for a race. The ground seems as level as the surface of a pond."

Lizzy pointed to a small mound of straw. "That straw seems about a furlong away. Shall we start here and race to there?"

Her companions assented, and Lizzy said, "Then I shall take my five yards, and we will begin when I shout 'Go,'" said Lizzy. "Agreed?"

Both men nodded again. Lizzy started forward, then stopped and turned in her saddle. "Mr. Darcy," she said, "I have just realized that when I ride forward, I cannot see you, but you can see me. So you must tell me when I have gone five yards, if you please. And then you cannot accuse me of taking six."

Darcy chuckled in spite of himself, and said, "I would never think of it, Miss Elizabeth."

Elizabeth said, "Very well, gentlemen. Are you ready?"

"Ready!" they said in unison.

Lizzy had Loki slowly walk forward until Darcy said, "Five yards." She halted Loki and turned in her saddle to look back at the men. "Are you quite sure this is not six yards, Mr. Darcy?"

"Quite sure."

"Very well then, I…" Lizzy suddenly stopped speaking as her eyes went wide. She pointed a trembling finger at the Haunted Woods behind them and said in a frightened voice, "What in the world can that be?"

Both men wheeled their mounts, and Richard's right hand instinctively flashed to his left hip, but he was not wearing his sword. They scanned the trees for danger, unable to see anything menacing. But they heard something.

They heard a laughing voice cry "Go!" and then the sound of hooves pounding away from them.

They turned their now skittish horses back around, but Lizzy was already 30 yards away and nearly at full speed.

"I cannot believe we fell for that," snarled Richard as they took off in pursuit. But although their stallions were larger and more powerful than Loki, the men each outweighed Lizzy by nearly seven stone, and she reached the straw well before their horses were at full speed. They slowed to a canter, admitting defeat, as Lizzy continued galloping off into the distance, her laughter trailing behind her.

"Jove's brazen bollocks!" cried Richard suddenly. "She was setting us up the entire time!"

"What do you mean?" asked Darcy.

"You told me that Mrs. Nicholls knows everything about the area, did you not?"

"Well, of course I did not mean literally everything, but yes, she is remarkably competent, intelligent, and well-informed. But what does she have to do with any of this?"

"Nothing at all, but I shall bet you another pound that when we get back to Netherfield and ask her if she has ever heard of the Haunted Woods, or the Old Man of the Forest, or Mr. Pitts and his friends split like peaches, she will think we are raving lunatics." He scowled. "Hmph! 'Peaches and Pitts,' indeed. Miss Elizabeth made it all up on the spot, just so she could pull that stunt to win her bet!"

UI

*High Wycombe and Great Marlow were the sites of England's first official military colleges, established in 1801 and 1802, respectively. Coincidentally, their analogs in the US and France, West Point and Saint-Cyr, also opened in 1802. In 1812, England's colleges were relocated to Sandhurst.

A/N: The last scene is dedicated to two of my favorite movies - The Princess Bride, where Vizzini makes the Man in Black look behind him while he switches the goblets, and The Usual Suspects, where Verbal spontaneously makes up a story to fool his adversary.

Thanks to everyone who follows, faves, or reviews, especially with constructive criticism. If you send me a PM and get no answer, please email DeeLimeFF at outlook dot com, which is more reliable.

Copyright 2023 by DeeLime, all rights reserved.