“Yes, sir.”
“On what subject?”
The man’s color deepened, and he faltered.
“I must know what you heard. I shall not report you to Lady Catherine, but if you refuse me, I will go to her at once and learn it myself.”
“Very well, sir. Lady Catherine believed Miss Bennet had sought to entrap you with her arts and allurements.”
“When did this occur?”
“Just after you three stepped out with Sir Gareth, sir.”
“And then?”
“I heard Miss Bennet say she required air. She must have gone by the servants’ stair, for she did not pass this way. She and your cousin often use the back stair when they go out.”
“Thank you, Drake.”
He returned to the drawing room.
“Anne, Miss Bennet had words with my aunt and felt the need to walk. Have you any notion where she might have gone?”
Anne and Georgiana rose.
“She favors the path along Hosey Brook, or the path along the bluffs.”
“Hosey Brook? That is a secluded stretch of country, is it not?”
“Yes, it eventually ends at the tower off Hosey Hill.”
“I do not know the tower. Would Miss Bennet be acquainted with it?”
“I doubt she has ever gone so far, but she prefers that path, and if her exchange with my mother proved severe enough to send her out, she may have continued that distance. It is nearly four miles.”
“Richard, will you ride the bluffs while I take the brook path?”
It was agreed, and the two gentlemen went up to change while their mounts were brought round.
Anne questioned her mother, and when Darcy returned, she accompanied him outside. Georgiana followed, her face marked with tears.
“Cousin, my mother reproved Lizzy severely. She accused her of using her arts and allurements to attach you, declared her far beneath your sphere, and insisted you and I stand engaged. Then she charged her with ingratitude for the privilege of serving as my companion, and censured her for presuming to raise her eyes to a nephew of this house.”
“Engaged to Darcy?” Richard said.
Anne lifted a brow. “You know my mother. The engagement is imagined, as is Lizzy’s post as my companion.”
Darcy looked to her. “Is not Miss Bennet your companion?”
“No, she is not. She is my friend, not a paid companion. She helped me care for Maria through her final days. I entreated her to stay with me while Maria lay dying. Poor Lizzy, and this is her reward.”
A gust of wind struck them.
“We must go and find her before that cloudburst reaches us.”
“Take care,” Anne said. “The water drains into the meadow, and the brook overflows with heavy rain.”
Darcy drew his hat low, secured his coat, and departed. Anne turned to Richard as he prepared to follow.