Mr. Darcy's Daughter (40 page)

When
she disclosed her plan to them, both Grantham and Mr. Carr were willing to
help, but warned that the prospect of success was remote.

Grantham
was pessimistic, believing Jones had killed the girl.

Cassy
disagreed. "I am convinced Margaret is alive," she said, "If she
had died, too, her body would not have been far from where Jones's body was
found.

The
fact that it has not been found gives me some hope," she said, describing
how they were to question, discreetly, all the tenants, labourers, and servants
on the properties under their control, to gather as much information as
possible about Jones and Margaret.

It
was a hope that was enhanced by the arrival of Mrs. Baines, who revealed that
someone had entered her cottage while she was out searching the village for
Margaret and removed some items of clothing and food. This news brought even Mr.
Carr and Grantham to an acceptance that Cassy may well be proved right. She was
overjoyed, convinced that the girl was now definitely alive.

"Not
very much has been taken, but they are all personal and significant items; a
travelling dress and coat which Lizzie used in London and gave to Margaret only
a few weeks ago, some underclothes, a pair of shoes, and a hat. Now, it seems
to me that Margaret is in hiding and means to get away from the area.

"We
must find her before she does, because the moment she runs away, she becomes a
suspect. The police will believe she killed Jones, as a result of a lover's
quarrel, jealousy, self-defence perhaps, if he tried to molest her; who knows
what motive they may attribute to a young servant whom they wish to accuse of
killing a man from a wealthy London family. You can be sure, once they know she
is alive, she will be hunted, found, and charged, and God knows how she will
save herself then, for who will believe her?"

Grantham
protested. "Margaret Baines is no murderess, ma'am," he said. "I
have known her since she were a baby; she cannot have done such a thing."

"I
know that, Mr. Grantham, and so do you and all of us, but the police do not. To
them, she will be just another suspect and, if convicting her will help solve
their murder, they will not ask if she was capable of it. And if she runs away,
she will look guilty and play right into their hands. Which is why we must find
her before they do."

Cassy's
passionate appeal moved both men sufficiently to let them assure her they would
do their best.

"I
shall talk first to my servants here and then to the staff at Pemberley, and Mr.
Carr, would you please do likewise at Rushmore? Do not forget the stud; the men
may have seen something. Ask them also about John Archer. I am certain, though
I cannot explain it or give you a logical reason for my feelings, that Archer
is linked in some way to Mr. Jones."

Grantham
looked sceptical, but Mr. Carr was of a mind to agree with her.

"You
may well be right, Mrs. Gardiner," he said. "I have been thinking,
since his visit to the stud in my absence to enquire about the horses, that he
could have been acting for Jones. I may not have mentioned this, but I am aware
that someone has been trying to purchase a pair of my horses on a previous
occasion; my recollection is vague, but I believe it was a man from Cromford.
Now the innkeeper says Jones, who was also keen on a pair of horses, had been
staying with friends in Cromford..."

Grantham
interrupted, "And Archer was in Cromford last week; I saw him there
myself," finally beginning to believe that the theory made sense.

"There
you are!" said Cassy. "You
do
have something to be going on with. I have to rely on you to
talk to the people in the town and the men who work on the farms; you have
known them, Mr. Grantham, for as long as I have been alive; they will trust you
and tell you far more than they will tell the police. Tell them
what
we believe and ask for their help to save Margaret Baines. We must find her and
discover the truth about Jones's death; it's her only chance."

Grantham
agreed; he could see no other way to save the girl.

Mr.
Carr, by now completely convinced Cassandra was right, declared that in
addition to talking to his servants, he would visit the innkeeper at Matlock,
of whom he had made a firm friend. "I think I may be able to persuade him
to tell me something more about Jones than he has revealed to the police. I
shall certainly do my best."

Cassy
saw them go with more hope in her heart than she'd had that morning. At least,
something was being done to find Margaret Baines.

The
arrival, later that day, of her son Darcy from London, albeit in such a state
of weariness he could barely get up the stairs before falling into bed, fully
clothed, was not entirely inopportune.

He,
too, could be drafted into helping with their enquiries, she thought, for
Darcy, unlike his elder brother Edward, was a gregarious young man and had many
friends in the area. These were not drawn only from the gentry and professional
classes either, for with his love of sport, being a keen cricketer and horseman,
he mixed easily with the sons of tradesmen, mechanics, and farmers, who were
sportsmen, too. This, his mother realised, could be very useful indeed.

Having
slept for some hours, he bathed, changed, and came downstairs, still cursing
the overcrowded train in which he had travelled to Derby, before making the
rest of the journey in "a none-too-comfortable hired vehicle, drawn by
ancient nags driven by a drunken driver!"

His
colourful account of the journey won him some sympathy from his mother, but before
long, while he was still savouring "the first cup of decent tea in
weeks," she was keen to acquaint him with the details of what had occurred
in the last forty-eight hours.

Shocked
and outraged, he was eager to help and indeed was willing to set out at once,
if necessary, to make enquiries among his many friends and acquaintances. Cassy
had just persuaded him to wait until the morrow, hoping that he would drive her
to Pemberley, so she could speak with the staff there first, when the sound of
horses' hooves on the drive alerted them to the arrival of a visitor.

Darcy
went out into the hall and, moments later, Cassy heard him welcoming Michael
Carr. The two friends were enthusiastic in greeting one another and, as they
entered the parlour, it was easy to see how close they were.

However,
when they had done and Mr. Carr had accepted a cup of tea, he spoke with a
gravity that presaged some serious news.

"Mrs.
Gardiner, forgive me for intruding upon you so unceremoniously, but I have bad
news." Cassy braced herself. Please God, he was not going to tell them
Margaret was dead, she prayed silently.

Darcy,
sitting beside his mother, sensed her apprehension as she held his hand tightly
while Mr. Carr spoke, "When I got back to Rushmore Farm, I was informed
that the police had been there in my absence and questioned some of my men and
one or two of the tenants as well. I was rather perturbed that they had not
sought my permission first, but let that pass. As I attempted to ascertain what
they had been trying to discover, they returned. This time they did come up to
the house, but only to inform me that they were going to arrest a young man,
Josh Higgins, who works for my steward at the stud."

"Josh!
That's preposterous!" cried Darcy, whose explosion of outrage interrupted Mr.
Carr only momentarily, as he continued, "Mrs. Gardiner, as Darcy here will
tell you, Josh is the most unlikely suspect you can possibly imagine. He is a
decent lad, a little slow; one might even say simple, but good hearted and a
prodigious worker. He loves the horses and, while he cannot learn a trade, he
is not considered smart enough for it, he is amazingly good at his work."

Darcy
was incredulous. "Surely they cannot believe he would murder
someone?" But Mr. Carr said the police suspected Josh of being involved.
"They claim he was seen in the area; they have questioned him for an hour
or more, though what he might have told them I cannot imagine, the boy is
unlikely to know he is a suspect. They claim he killed Jones for his money, the
man's wallet is said to be missing and the police say that Josh was in the
village on the following morning trying to buy a pocket watch."

"Does
anyone else at the farm believe this?" asked Cassy.

Carr
shook his head. "No one; my steward says the lad could not kill anyone. He
is squeamish about blood and will not even join the beaters on a shoot! But it
does look as though the police are about to build a case against him," he
said looking decidedly pessimistic.

Cassy's
voice was sombre. "Oh my God, the poor lad, unless a witness to the murder
can be found who says otherwise or Margaret Baines comes out of hiding and
tells the truth, he will be charged..."

"And
if he is found guilty...he will be hanged or at the very least transported to
Australia," added Darcy, grimly.

"And
that will surely kill his mother, poor woman," said Mr. Carr. "She
has been so proud of him since he started work at the stud."

Lizzie,
who had come downstairs and heard most of the preceding conversation in stunned
silence, said, "I'd like to visit his mother and sister, Mama. I know
Josh, I know how absurd it is to have him accused of such a crime. They must be
in despair."

She
was eager to go, but both Mr. Carr and Cassy advised against it.

"I
understand your outrage, Lizzie, and it is very kind of you to want to comfort Mrs.
Higgins and her daughter," said Cassy, "but I do not honestly believe
you would accomplish anything by visiting them at this stage."

"Why
not, Mama? Surely there can be nothing wrong in wanting to help the family.
Josh's sister Molly wishes to be a ladies' maid and I have promised to train
her, when we are..." and she broke off in some embarrassment, looking at Mr.
Carr, "Well, can you not see what a blow this must be to her hopes, having
her brother arrested for murder?" Her voice broke as she pleaded to be
allowed to go.

Her
mother looked most distressed, but Mr. Carr intervened, gently and persuasively
arguing that he would personally convey her message of sympathy and support to Mrs.
Higgins and her daughter.

"But,
it would be best, my dear Lizzie, if you did not go yourself, for several good
reasons, including the fact that your dislike of Mr. Jones has been quite
publicly demonstrated in the village," he said and gradually she came to accept
that they were right. But, like her brother, she fulminated and raged against
the injustice that had been done to young Josh Higgins.

"Does
this mean that if Margaret is found, she too will be arrested?" she asked,
angrily.

"It
is possible, my love," said Cassandra, "which is why it is imperative
that we find her before the police do. She will at least have an opportunity to
explain her actions and tell her side of the story."

Mr.
Carr agreed and, while he was unable to stay to dinner, he did promise to
return on the morrow with more, if not better news.

Once
he had left, Darcy declared he was of a mind to go to the police himself and
speak up for Josh Higgins, protesting about his arrest.

But
at that point, both Lizzie and her mother cautioned against such action.
"It will do more harm than good, if we were to antagonise the police at
this time," said Cassy.

His
sister added, "It is more important to find Margaret, now we know she is
probably alive. It is she, not you or I, who will be able to clear Josh of the
accusation. If she can be persuaded to go before the magistrate and tell the
truth, it may help Josh. I cannot believe that either of them is capable of
murder, although it is possible that Mr. Jones may have attempted to take
advantage of Margaret, and she may have struck out at him to defend herself,
not meaning to kill him. He may, as a result, have fallen and hit his
head," she argued.

While
this may have sounded quite plausible, Cassy had to point out that it was not
consistent with the facts.

"Your
Papa has examined the body, which is badly bruised from the fall; whatever it
was that killed him, it seems like a great deal of force was used. His injuries
were very severe," she explained.

Lizzie,
horrified, hid her face in her hands.

She
could still see Jones's face quite vividly, as he had importuned and pestered
her, following her around in the village teasing her; she had wished then that
she had had the strength to strike him and be rid of him. Lizzie could well
understand such feelings as Margaret might have felt, but she kept her counsel
and said nothing.

Seeing
it was almost time to go upstairs and dress for dinner, Cassy said,

"Your
Papa will be home soon. I think his day may have been very busy and he is
likely to be exceedingly tired, so I suggest we try not to speak of this
terrible business at dinner. It is hardly the subject one wants to pursue at
the table, especially with the servants present, and your father may welcome a
change from such matters, having spent all of last afternoon with the police
and the coroner."

So
it was agreed between them, and Richard Gardiner, though he was somewhat
surprised at the lack of questions on the subject, was also relieved.