roads a chance to improve before they continued home.
Exhausted from the day’s journey, they retired early and awoke to bright light streaming through the windows. Apparently, the gloom that had pervaded Gloucestershire from the moment they entered it had at last relinquished its hold, and now the sun’s rays warmed and restored the landscape.
Having already committed to postponing their travel, they enjoyed an unhurried breakfast and were just discussing how to employ the day when they heard heavy footfalls on the stairs. Moments later, a loud knock sounded on their chamber door. Darcy opened it to discover a short, barrel-chested gentleman with a sword at his side. Sharp eyes peered from beneath the bushy grey eyebrows that dominated his ruddy face. Two other men, also carrying swords, accompanied him.
“Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy?”
Darcy bowed.
“I am Mr. Chase, constable of this region. An unfortunate situation has come to my attention, about which I believe you possess information. Might I have a word with you?”
“Of course.” Darcy admitted the constable and his companions. He moved one of the chairs away from the table, which still held the remains of their breakfast, and invited Mr. Chase to sit. Despite Darcy’s gesture toward other chairs, the constable’s associates remained standing. Darcy took a seat beside Elizabeth.
“I understand you reside in Derbyshire,” Mr. Chase said. “What business brings you to Gloucestershire at present?”
“My wife and I are returning home from Bath.”
“Upon which day did you depart Bath?”
“Tuesday.”
“And when did you arrive at this inn?”
“Yester eve.”
“Yesterday was Wednesday. Where did you pass Tuesday night?”
“At Northanger Abbey.”
Although of substantial girth, Mr. Chase bore himself with the air of a little man with a lot of authority. It was a trait Darcy had encountered before.
“I am familiar with Northanger. It is remotely situated — certainly off the main roads for a traveler headed from Bath to Derbyshire. What business took you there?”
“We were the guests of Captain Frederick Tilney.”
“Indeed? And what is your connection with Captain Tilney? How long have you been acquainted with him?”
Darcy disliked the tenor of Mr. Chase’s enquiries. “Might I ask to what this interrogation pertains?”
“If you don’t mind, Mr. Darcy, I shall ask the questions.”
Darcy did mind, but saw little to be gained by antagonizing the local lawman. “We met Captain Tilney in person for the first time on Tuesday, but our families have a longer association.”
“I see.” The constable reclined against the back of his chair and folded his arms across his ample belly. “So, passing through Gloucestershire, you decided to call upon him?”
“He invited us.”
“Had you ever visited Northanger Abbey before?”
“Never.”
“It is a large house, and your stay was rather brief. Where did you pass most of your time?”
“In our own chamber,” Darcy said. “We had endured a long day’s travel, due to the storm, and retired early.”
The constable nodded, his second chin spilling over the folds of his simply tied neckcloth. “And where were your quarters?”
“Upstairs, in the back of the house.”
“The late Mrs. Tilney’s apartment?”
“So we were told.” Darcy glanced at Elizabeth to see whether she seemed any better able to grasp Mr. Chase’s purpose than he, but she appeared equally perplexed.
“While occupying the apartment, did you remove or relocate any objects?”
“No. We left all as it was.”
“And you left in haste, did you not?”
The sharpness of Mr. Chase’s tone raised Darcy’s defenses. What intelligence did the constable truly seek, and why did he not simply ask for it? Darcy began to doubt whether full cooperation were in his and Elizabeth’s best interest.
“What causes you to believe we departed in haste?”
“Perhaps I should have said ‘urgency’ As you stated, the storm rendered travel hazardous. Only necessity could have induced you to risk the roads yesterday. What prompted your departure?”
Darcy hesitated to state that there had been no specific reason other than a sense that nothing at Northanger seemed quite as it should. “Business calls us home.”
The constable gestured to the remains of their breakfast. “Yet I find you enjoying a leisurely morning. Are you no longer in a hurry to reach Derbyshire?”
“We thought it best to postpone further travel until the roads improve.”
“They are greatly improved now — I just traveled them myself to come here. But I am afraid your journey home will be delayed regardless.”
At a look from Mr. Chase, one of his companions moved to stand in front of the door. Too late, Darcy wondered whether Mr. Chase were indeed a constable. He instinctively shifted to place himself more squarely between Mr. Chase and Elizabeth.
Noting his movement, Mr. Chase chuckled humorlessly. “Fear not, Mr. Darcy. So long as you cooperate, this will not become a physical confrontation.”
Darcy suddenly felt like cornered prey. His pulse quickened as his mind scrambled to assimilate the nature of the threat Mr. Chase posed.
“Cooperate in what?”
Mr. Chase rose, walked behind his chair, and rested his hands on its back. “I received an anonymous letter this morning advising me that a crime had been committed at Northanger Abbey. It seems that a collection of diamonds once belonging to the late Mrs. Tilney has vanished from the premises, and that their disappearance coincides with your visit at Northanger. Can you offer any enlightenment on this matter?”
Elizabeth gasped and looked at Darcy. “The diamonds...”
Mr. Chase seized upon the utterance as if it were a confession. He leaned forward and regarded Darcy with increased antagonism. “So you do possess information. Where are the diamonds?”
Initial relief that Mr. Chase indeed represented the law rapidly gave way to resentment at the suggestion that Darcy had broken it. “We know nothing about any missing diamonds,” he said. “We discovered a set of jewelry in Mrs. Tilney’s chamber, but we left it in the drawer in which we found it.”
“When did you make this discovery?”
“Almost directly upon our arrival. My wife happened upon them while seeking a hairbrush as we dressed for dinner.”
“Did you mention them to anyone?”
“I was going to mention them to Captain Tilney,” Elizabeth said. “But he interrupted me and our discourse shifted to other subjects.”
“You did not think the discovery of a valuable set of jewelry merited redirecting the conversation?”
“We were not in the captain’s company much longer.”
“By your own management. And you claim that the diamonds were still in their drawer when you left Northanger?”
“I presume so,” Elizabeth said. “We never looked in the drawer a second time.”
“You did not need to. The two of you discovered the diamonds and decided to take them for yourselves.”
The accusation so appalled Darcy that he momentarily lost the power of speech. “Nay, sir,” he practically sputtered when he recovered himself. “We most certainly did not.”
