Pride and Premeditation (Jane Austen Murder Mystery #1)(6)

“No, a Mr. Hurst,” Lizzie said, and quickly shared what she knew of the case.

“That’s positively horrendous,” Jane said. “That poor family.”

“Yes, the poor family,” Lizzie agreed, feeling a stab of guilt that her first reaction had been excitement, not sorrow. It was rather easy to forget, in the flurry of the moment, that a murder meant more than questions unanswered and a case to be solved and collected upon. It meant grief, funeral arrangements, and lives upended.

So Lizzie tried to temper her tone when she said, “However . . . a case such as this will definitely demand legal advice,” and proceeded to tell her sister about their father’s agreement to consider Lizzie for the job if she could prove herself capable of the challenge, with the caveat of finding her own case.

“And naturally you decided to find a murder case?” Jane asked, incredulous. “How does one even go about investigating such a matter as this?”

“By collecting information,” Lizzie said with a determination that surprised even herself.

She did not wait long to begin her reconnaissance—just until dinner. In true dramatic fashion, Mrs. Bennet had kept to her room for the afternoon, emerging only in time for the family to be seated.

“No Mr. Collins tonight?” she said when she entered the dining room. “Mr. Bennet, are you not passing along my invitations?”

“No, my dear,” he replied from the head of the table. “I spend my entire day with the man. I don’t need to suffer his presence at home.”

“Have you no compassion for your daughters?” Mrs. Bennet gestured broadly. Jane’s face was turned down so that no one could see her amused smile, but Lizzie had no such concerns. Mary looked rather bored, and Kitty and Lydia were whispering, ignoring their mother completely.

“Come now. I love my daughters. That’s precisely why I do not want to inflict Mr. Collins’s presence upon them.”

“Oh, he’s not all that bad,” Mary disputed. “I enjoy watching him trying to puzzle out which fork is which.”

Lizzie let out an unladylike snort, drawing her mother’s attention. “You, my dear, should be working to earn his admiration,” Mrs. Bennet said.

“With all due respect, Mother, I don’t wish to earn Mr. Collins’s admiration, nor the admiration of any other man.”

“Do you wish to be turned out onto the streets when your father dies?” Mrs. Bennet bellowed, causing Lydia and Kitty to cover their ears and burst into giggles.

“Girls,” Mr. Bennet said sternly, but didn’t bother looking up to see if Kitty and Lydia paid him any attention.

“Papa, do you plan to die anytime soon?” Lizzie asked.

“Not unless this conversation continues,” he replied.

“There you are, Mama. Papa promises not to die if we promise not to speak of any of us marrying Mr. Collins.”

“Lizzie can’t marry Mr. Collins,” Lydia said while chewing, “until Jane marries.”

As the oldest, prettiest, and most well-mannered Bennet, Jane was quite the catch, and Mrs. Bennet had set her sights rather high for her eldest daughter. No young man with a fortune less than five thousand a year would be considered. He must own land, maintain a house in town, and preferably be a member of nobility, not to mention handsome. It was quite a lot for one young man to live up to, and Mr. Collins did not stand a chance.

“If I were you, Jane,” Lydia continued, “I’d pay more attention to a military officer. Everyone knows that clergy are too poor to marry, barristers are too dull, and merchants too scandalous. But an officer—”

“Papa,” Lizzie interrupted, eager to steer the conversation back to sensible manners before the situation was well out of hand, “what do you know of Mr. Bingley?”

Before her father could formulate a response, Mrs. Bennet sat up straighter. “Who is Mr. Bingley? And is Lizzie acquainted with him?”

Not yet, thought Lizzie.

Mr. Bennet’s head snapped up, and his gaze pinned her in place. Ah, he knew something. “Elizabeth, this is hardly a conversation to be had at the dinner table.”

That confirmed it. After she’d left, he must have gone to court and heard the news!

“Now, he would be an ideal match for Jane,” Mrs. Bennet continued. “A young gentleman, recently come of age, involved in commerce, yes, but his uncle’s sole heir. Eventually he will inherit that house in Derbyshire. Why, he must earn at least four or five thousand a year! Mr. Bennet, why don’t you invite Mr. Bingley to dinner to meet Jane?”

Lizzie eagerly filed away her mother’s information as Mr. Bennet replied, “Mr. Bingley is engaged at the moment.”

Mrs. Bennet’s face fell. “Engaged? To whom?”

“Not to a young lady, but rather his time is engaged for the foreseeable future.”

The note of finality in her father’s voice told Lizzie he hoped that Mrs. Bennet would let the issue drop, but the one thing that Lizzie and her mother had in common was their relentless curiosity.

“Where on earth is he?” Mrs. Bennet demanded.

“He’s in Newgate Prison.” When this news did nothing to dim the excitement in Mrs. Bennet’s eyes, he added, “For murder.”

The whole table gasped, except Lizzie and Mr. Bennet. Mrs. Bennet slammed her fork down. “You’re teasing me!”