it to cling to her mother’s side. Loretta straightened and gazed at the assembly. “With such friends as I have found here already, I feel safe for the first time since being torn from my home. At last, I am free of my captors.”
Mr. Elton stood a little straighter and puffed his chest. “We will see them brought to justice.”
“Oh! Do not pursue them, I beg you! I do not want them to know where I am. They might steal me again — or worse.”
“But surely you wish them to be arrested for what they have done?”
“I would rather they go unpunished than myself live in fear of retribution for bringing them to the law.”
“Their continued freedom threatens the safety of others,” Elizabeth said. “They might steal another young lady. You must at least report their presence in the area to the authorities.”
“Why, I–I was about to do just that. I was at the Crown to enquire whom I ought to inform and where he might be found. But when I went inside, the smell of food — since fleeing, I have been in hiding, and have not eaten in days — the scent of cooking weakened me, so I came out before I fainted away.”
If Mrs. Todd’s sympathies had not been fully engaged before, they were now. “Poor creature! Come with me to my house, and I will cook you a proper meal.”
“That will take too long — the girl is famished.” Mr. Elton gestured toward the inn. “Let us get her something to eat without delay.”
“Oh, but I haven’t any money—”
“Do not concern yourself about that for now.”
The minister led Miss Jones back to the Crown. Mrs. Todd, hovering maternally, followed with her daughter, as did a few others. Hiram Deal looked as if he might join the party, but then glanced at his unattended cart and started towards it instead.
“Thank you for stopping Miss Jones,” Elizabeth called to him.
He turned and shrugged. “I cannot disregard a lady in distress.”
Elizabeth had thought the peddler a better judge of human character than to have fallen for Loretta’s story. Her disappointment must have shown in her face.
“I referred to you,” he clarified.
She nodded towards the inn. Loretta and her entourage had disappeared inside. “What do you think of her?”
“Miss Jones?” He stared at the inn for a moment, as if he could see its occupants through the building’s facade. Finally, he shook his head and looked at Elizabeth. “I confess, I do not know what to make of her. I am glad, however, that she has left the gypsies, and I hope she finds her way home.” Mr. Deal returned to his cart.
Elizabeth turned to Mrs. Knightley. “I do not believe one word of that woman’s account.”
“Mr. Knightley will draw the truth from her, when he comes.”
“In the meantime, I do not want to let the girl out of my sight. She has already proved herself skilled at disappearing.”
They went into the Crown. It was a large inn, with assembly rooms as well as sleeping accommodations and a common dining area. Spots of dirt on the wallpaper and scratches in the heavy old wooden tables of the common area suggested that the room had long been in service and saw considerable use, and Elizabeth imagined it became quite busy when mail coaches and post-chaises stopped in the village. It was not a bad inn, but she was nevertheless glad the Knightleys had offered their hospitality and spared her and Darcy from lodging in such a bustling environment.
Only half full, the common room was not bustling at the moment. It did, however, hold an atmosphere of anticipation. Miss Jones held court among her new passel of admirers at one of the two long tables that dominated the room’s center. Smaller tables dotted the perimeter, their occupants also taking interest in the proceedings. Though the vicar did his best to exert an authoritative presence, this was clearly Loretta’s show.
Elizabeth and Mrs. Knightley quietly took seats on the bench at the table’s far end. Miss Jones noted their arrival but was too much occupied in regaling her audience with tales of her captivity among the gypsies to acknowledge the two ladies with more than a glance — a glance which, to Elizabeth’s perception, seemed rather smug.
The serving girl brought out a steaming bowl and a hunk of bread, which she placed before Miss Jones, along with a pint of stout. As Loretta started on the stew, the server glanced pointedly round the table and asked what she could bring the rest of them. Elizabeth wanted nothing, but feeling compelled to order, requested tea.
Miss Jones’s tales slowed as she ate. Whatever lies she might be weaving — and Elizabeth was sure they numbered many — her hunger was real. She had already emptied her bowl when Elizabeth’s tea arrived.
“What do you intend to do now that you are free of the gypsies?” Mr. Elton asked.
“I–I don’t know. I do not even know where I shall sleep tonight.”
“Poor lamb! You must stay with me!” said Mrs. Todd.
“I could not trouble you.”
“Oh, it’s no trouble at all! I’ve taken in boarders since Mr. Todd died, and I’ve a room that has been vacant since old Mrs. Fisher passed on at Michaelmas. We would love for you to stay with us — wouldn’t we, Alice?”
“But I have no means to pay rent.”
“We can discuss the rent later. Where else have you to go, child? We are a quiet pair, now that my two older boys have joined the militia. Come keep a poor widow and her daughter company.”
“I shall, then — but only until I earn enough money to return to Northumberland.”
“Have you skills to earn a living?” Mr. Elton asked.
Miss Jones certainly had the ability to support herself, Elizabeth mused, though it was a matter of debate whether “earn” was the proper term for how the girl went about it. Her dramatic talents, which so recently won her the Darcys’ possessions, had just procured her free bed and board.
“I learned many things from the gypsies — from weaving to singing. In fact”—a gleam lit her eyes—“I even learned how to tell fortunes.”
“Truly?” Mrs. Todd exclaimed.
“Indeed, yes — shall I tell yours?”
Mrs. Todd looked as if she very much wanted to have her fortune told. But she shook her head. “Dear me, no — I don’t hold with such nonsense. Telling fortunes! Mr. Todd would roll in his grave to hear it.”
“Oh, it is not nonsense! The old gypsy woman I learned from was a talented seer — it was astonishing the things she could tell about a person. Do allow me. You have been so kind — it is the least I can do.”
“I… I suppose. Go on, then. But I can’t say as I’ll believe anything I hear. What do I need to do?”
“Simply give me your hand.”
Mrs. Todd extended her arm. Loretta took the woman’s hand in hers and lightly stroked the palm. “You will remember all your years what I tell you this day.”
Mrs. Todd laughed self-consciously. “That, I shall!”
Loretta studied the lines of Mrs. Todd’s palm, tracing. “I see a long life for you. There is much happiness. Sadness too, but in smaller amounts. You lost your husband recently?”
“My goodness, yes! Not quite a year ago.”
“Your grief has begun to heal. Oh! What is this? A stranger will cross your path.”
“Well, that must be you.”
“No, I think the stranger will be a man — a new husband, perhaps.”
“Ha! Indeed? Mr. Todd surely must be spinning in his grave now.”
Loretta next read Alice’s palm, declaring that the child was bright, and artistic, and would live to see the next century. She then turned to Mr. Elton.
“Reverend, do you care to have your palm read?”
Mr. Elton looked startled by the suggestion — and, fleetingly, not entirely opposed to it. But then he shrouded his countenance in inflated dignity. “I do not think it would be seemly for a minister to engage in such an activity.”
“Even as a harmless diversion?”
“I am afraid not.”
Loretta’s gaze continued round the table until it landed on Elizabeth. “Mrs. Darcy?”
Elizabeth suspected that if she extended even an empty hand toward Loretta, the beguiler would somehow
