Chapter 10

E mery Weasley, Baron Henderson, had a moment of self-doubt as he sat in his study while waiting to hear his plans had come to fruition.

“Did I err in sending Prinny a threat before we have one of his bastard daughters in my hands?” he asked his study aloud. “No, that snivelling coward of a wastrel will be too scared to do anything. If it is the older one, the so-called Miss Smythe, I will force her to marry me. That way, even when Prinny complies with my demands, there will be no end because he will know my treatment of the chit will depend on his obeying me. I will order him to make me his chief advisor!”

The Baron was positive his carefully laid plans could not fail. He had remained at his estate to make sure, in case things went wrong, no one would be able to accuse him of having a hand in the events.

As he sat, he practically salivated when he thought how well being addressed as ‘ Your Grace ’ would sound. The fact the dukedom he wanted was second only to the Bedford one in wealth was important as well. A man could never have too many estates or too much wealth. All of his fellow peers who looked down on him as a mere baron would have to bend their knees before him. Henderson could not wait to lord it over men who had turned their backs on him in the past.

The fact his ostracism was all due to his own actions did not enter into the equation. Although it had never been proved who the perpetrator was, Frederick Granger, the previous Baron Henderson and the current holder’s cousin, along with his two sons had been murdered by highwaymen two years previously.

All of high society suspected the then Mr Emery Weasley of being behind the murders given the glee he had expressed when he had ascended to the title. However, without definitive proof, there had been no more than speculation.

As he sat in his study with a snifter of brandy in hand, swirling the amber liquid around in the cut crystal glass, Henderson felt as pleased with himself this day as he had the day his plan to rid the world of Granger and his whelps had been successful. He had employed Younge and some of his men to approach those who had done the deed on his behalf, ostensibly to make the final payment. Without knowing what the men had done or why the new baron required it, Younge and his men had made sure the four men’s lives had ended that day.

After the deed was done in Brighton, Wickham, who thought he was to be paid very handsomely, would meet his end, just like the other three men. Even if they escaped the Royal Guard, his men would make sure Wickham, Younge, and the other two all died as soon as the girl was handed over to them. He had not remained unscathed by leaving witnesses behind to tell tales.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

The Gardiner parents, Elizabeth, Anna, Mrs Annesley, and their two eldest Gardiner children, along with the four footmen as usual, made the now familiar walk to the centre of Brighton.

While the four Gardiners perused a store which boasted toys and games for children, Elizabeth, Anna, and the latter’s companion made for the book store. Thompson stood inside the door of the store while two of his men were just outside, and the fourth footman remained with the Gardiners. Elizabeth wanted to see if there were any new books since the last time they had visited, while Anna and Mrs Annesley searched through the vast array of sheet music.

Not finding anything new which interested her, Elizabeth joined Anna and her companion. “Did you find anything you need?” she asked her friend.

“No, Lizzy, I did not, and it is all William’s fault,” Georgiana claimed with a smile. When she saw Lizzy’s questioning look, she explained. “William is far too generous, and whenever he visits Hatchard’s or any other bookshop, he purchases me any newly published sheet music. When there are duplicates, he tells me to keep the spare copies at Darcy House so I do not need to carry them to and from Pemberley.”

“So an ideal older brother,” Elizabeth mused, and Anna nodded emphatically. The more she heard about Mr Darcy, the more mortified Elizabeth felt over her prior opinions of the man. She told herself to follow her own advice and look to the future. She could not change the past. She had not written to Mr Darcy yet, but she knew she must include something for him next time Anna wrote. She had as much to apologise for as Mr Darcy had in his missive.

Their browsing completed, the friends and Mrs Annesley made their way outside to wait for the four Gardiners to rejoin them. As they waited, Elizabeth looked up and saw a group walking out from the Pavilion, it seemed to be a young girl and her escorts. Two of said escorts made Thompson look small, and he was a large man.

“Look, Anna, it seems like some of the residents of the Pavilion are making a foray into the town,” Elizabeth cocked her head towards the group who were walking across the park in front of the Prince Regent’s massive mansion.

“Do you think the girl is one of Mrs Fitzherbert’s daughters?” Georgiana enquired.

“That is a possibility, if not, why would she be escorted by members of the royal guard. Their uniforms are rather distinctive. Did you see the two giant soldiers?” Elizabeth returned.

“I did, I would have to be blind not to see them. They dwarf even Thompson,” Georgiana looked to the mentioned footman. “It was not a slight to you, Thompson.”

“An’ I did not think ya meant it as such, Little Miss,” Thompson grinned widely, revealing one of his upper teeth missing. “They be very large men.”

“That is what I thought as well.” Elizabeth looked at Thompson apologetically. The big man reassured her with his grin. “It looks like they are making for where we are, I wonder if we will meet the young lady.”

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Wickham, Younge, Denny, and Johnson had been watching the area close to the Pavilion for a few days so far. This day, they were making like they were admiring the massive structure while their horses were being held by two lads who had been paid a shilling each to perform the task.

Although waiting was rather boring, it was what needed to be done at this point. Wickham surreptitiously looked around and took note of where Henderson’s trusted men were. He did not think of what would occur to the other three if they did not escape. All he cared about was that he got paid. With his skill on a horse, Wickham had no doubt he would be able to scoop up the girl and then ride away before anyone was able to give chase.

He was shaken from his reverie when Younge none too gently elbowed him in his ribs. “Wickham, look!” the big man growled.

He lifted his head and followed Younge’s line of sight. Wickham immediately saw what had caused the brute to elbow him. From the likenesses the Baron had shown him, he could tell it was the younger of the sisters, Miss Mary Georgina Emma Seymour, on her way towards the shops on the opposite side of the street to Prinny’s palace .

“Mount up,” Wickham hissed. He looked towards the men the other three were not aware were watching them and cocked his head towards the victim and her escorts. The man in charge nodded, giving the go ahead. Soon all four were in their saddles. “You know what your tasks are, do you not.”

“You ain’t in charge ‘ere, Wickham!” Younge growled. “Ya do wat ya need ta, an’ we’ll do wat we need ta.”

Wickham lifted his free hand to show his contrition, none of which he felt. If things went well, Younge would be dispatched to hell in a matter of minutes. He allowed his mount to walk forward a little, to allow some separation between himself and the three men behind him.

Seeing his quarry approaching the point where she would cross the street; Wickham tightened his grip on the reins. He waited until she had taken a few steps into the street before he dug his heels into the horse’s flanks, sending it into an immediate gallop. As he did, his cohorts did the same, but aimed their horses at the guards with the girl.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Elizabeth saw the four Gardiners exit the shop they had been in and turned towards them. Just then, she heard the sound of horses’ hooves striking the cobblestones. She turned and saw that the young girl, unaware of any danger, was halfway across the street, only feet away from herself; a man on a galloping horse was leaning down, while aiming his horse at the young girl, as if he was about to snatch her up.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

At the same time, the three men who were to create the diversion galloped towards the guards, but rather than scatter, the men stood their ground and were soon holding pistols. Johnson and his horse were struck at the same time, followed by Denny being hit in his leg, which caused him to fall. A ball struck Younge in the shoulder, and another must have hit his horse, because the mount’s legs buckled and he experienced the sensation of flight until he landed on his face.

Sergeant-Majors Biggs and Johns started to run towards Miss Seymour, but thanks to being momentarily distracted by the brazen attack, unless they could fly they would not reach her before the man on the horse who was preparing to grab her.

The girl was frozen in place thanks to the abject fear she must have been feeling. Neither man dared shoot because of the chance of hitting their charge or some of the innocent bystanders. Both pumped their legs harder, praying, that by some miracle, they would reach her in time.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Time slowed down for Elizabeth. She blocked the sounds of the shots and the thundering of the hooves of the fast approaching horse from her mind, and before she knew what she was doing, with a burst of speed, she ran, and then dove. Her hands pushed the frozen girl to the ground when the horse and rider were a foot or two from her. She looked up and even though the rider was wearing a scarf over his mouth, she knew the eyes, it was Mr Wickham!

One second his target was ripe for the plucking, and then some interfering bitch pushed her out of the way. He would not get paid, and the damned Baron would hunt him down for failing him. Hence, to exact a measure of retribution, Wickham pulled the horse’s reins sharply, aiming it at the interfering one who was beginning to try to stand. The horse’s flanks hit her with a glancing blow, but it was enough to send her flying backwards.

When the horse struck her, Elizabeth was attempting to stand so her legs were at awkward angles. Even though it was a glancing blow, she was sent flying, and she felt excruciating pain from her left leg. She landed on her front, her head came down on the ground with some force, and her world went black.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~ ~

As soon as they saw what was occurring, Thompson indicated to one of his men to stand between the little miss and what was happening in the street. He and the other two footmen, with their pistols in hand, moved towards the prostrate form of Miss Bennet when they noticed four men on horses about to fire on the royal guards and the two men who had been captured. The guards shot first. Two of the men dropped right away, and another was hit and slumped forward on his horse. Before the last one could try and escape, he was swarmed by some of the Royal Guards.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Madeline and Edward Gardiner could not believe what they had just seen. Lizzy had been very reckless, but she had saved the girl! However, their niece now lay prone in the street. They could see one of the Darcy footmen and Mrs Annesley protecting Miss Darcy. They were torn between staying with Eddy and Lilly and rushing to Lizzy’s side.

Before they could move, a huge man in the uniform of the Royal Guard rushed over to where Elizabeth was lying very still.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Biggs and Johns had felt hopeless as they watched their charge about to be scooped up. Then the miracle they had prayed for happened. A young miss pushed Miss Seymour to the ground and out of the reach of the kidnapper.

For her bravery, she paid a heavy price. The criminal ran her over with his horse before riding away like the devil. The two men looked at one another, and by silent agreement Sergeant-Major John Biggs ran towards the fallen heroine while Sergeant-Major Brian Johns made for their charge.

When the latter reached Miss Seymour’s side, she was sitting up and crying from fear, and possibly from being hurt when she had been pushed out of the way. “Why did he w-want t-to h-hurt me?” Emma stammered between sobs.

Johns gently reached down and assisted her to her feet. “Are you ‘urt Miss Seymour?” he enquired. She shook her head telling him she was well. “As to why, Miss I ‘ave no idea. ‘Opefully some of the captives will tell us.”

It was then Emma noticed her rescuer, the blood near her head, and the angle her one leg was to the rest of her body. “Is she…” Emma could not bear to think this lady who had just saved her life had given her own in return. She noticed John Biggs tending to the lady. She also noticed the distressed couple fighting to get to the injured heroine.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Seconds after Biggs reached the young lady, a very distraught woman ran towards where they were. He sensed the woman meant no harm so he made no move to stop her.

Her husband remained with the children as she rushed towards Lizzy. “That is my niece,” Madeline managed as the tears began to run freely. She was about to reach down for Lizzy when the big man gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Missus, we ‘ave to be careful before we move ‘er. We don’ want to make things worse,” Biggs insisted. He glanced over and saw Johns was with Miss Seymour, and other than being terrified, she seemed unharmed. Someone must have summoned reinforcements because a whole platoon of the guard arrived, and they were escorting his Highness and Mrs Fitzherbert.

As would be expected, Miss Seymour was soon in the circle of her mother’s arms as they both sobbed. As soon as he had ascertained his daughter was well, the Regent came to stand next to Biggs. “What the devil happened here? We heard the shots from inside.” It was then the Prince noticed the prostrate lady on the ground, her raven locks matted with blood. “Biggs?”

In as few words as possible, Biggs gave a synopsis of what had occurred. By the end of it, the Regent knew he owed the injured miss everything.

“Who is this bravest of women in the realm?” the Regent asked.

“She is my niece, Miss Elizabeth Bennet of Longbourn,” Mrs. Gardiner managed.

It was at that moment the footman moved from in front of Anna, and she saw Lizzy lying in the street. “ Noooooo !” Georgiana screamed as the tears began to cascade from her eyes.

“Miss Darcy, I know you want to go to your friend, but we need to wait while they attend to her,” Mrs Annesley advised.

The physician and surgeon who travelled with the Regent had arrived at the scene moments after his Highness. Seeing Miss Seymour in her mother’s arms and obviously well, they joined the Regent and the guards around the lady on the ground. The surgeon instructed the guards to ring the lady for her modesty, facing outward, and then with the lady he had heard was her aunt with him, he examined her.

“Is she…” Madeline asked not wanting to say the words.

“She lives,” the surgeon assured her. “The wound to her head is not as serious as I have seen. However, her left lower leg is broken. From what I can tell, it is a clean break.”

“Can we move her to the house we are renting?” Madeline enquired.

“As my house is the closest, that is where Miss Bennet will be taken. She will have the best care the realm has to offer,” the Regent interjected.

“Yes, your Highness,” Madeline curtsied while the tears still fell.

“Who is in your party?” the Regent queried while he watched the surgeon direct some of the guards to very gently lift Miss Bennet and place her on a litter.

“My husband,” Madeline cocked her head in his direction, “and we have four children, two who are at the house on Privet Street.” Then Madeline saw the distraught Georgiana Darcy and knew she would be most aggrieved if she was excluded. “Also Miss Darcy and her companion are with us.”

“All of you and your servants will be my guests until Miss Bennet is able to travel once again,” the Regent invited.

Madeline knew an order when she heard one. “It is most gracious of you, your Royal Highness,” she replied gratefully.

“It is nothing to the debt I owe your niece, Mrs?” The regent asked.

“Gardiner, your Highness. Mrs Edward Gardiner of London,” she responded.

“Well, Mrs Gardiner, you may use as many of my men as you need to help you move to my house. As you can see,” he cocked his head to the men carrying the litter with Miss Bennet on it with the doctor and surgeon supervising them. “Your niece is already my guest.”

She curtsied to the Regent and walked towards where her husband was standing; they were then joined by Miss Darcy and her companion. She told them of the ‘ invitation ’ they could not refuse and repeated what the surgeon had told her. Six men of the guard joined Thompson as his other footmen were relating what they had seen to one of the huge sergeant-majors.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

The four captured conspirators were bound and, no one caring about their wounds, marched towards the Pavilion’s stables where they would be interrogated.

Denny finally understood the folly of his following Wickham. That bastard had scarpered, and here he was facing charges of treason and a likely date with the executioner at the Tower of London.