Christmas With Mr Darcy (12 page)

‘Oh, that’s ridiculous!’ Dame Pamela said but a fleeting look of doubt passed over her face as if she was weighing up the possibility.

‘Everybody just calm down,’ Dan said, stepping forward. ‘We’ve all had a shock. Mrs Soames, we’ll all have a good look around for your handbag.’

‘I think we should call the police!’ Mrs Soames said, ‘and have everybody searched.’

‘I’m beginning to think that’s the right thing to do too,’ Robyn said.

Dan turned to look at her. ‘Really?’

‘Well, you can’t find your gold watch,’ Robyn said. ‘Maybe there
is
a thief amongst us.’

Warwick stepped forward and cleared his throat too. ‘I’ve lost something as well.’

‘Really?’ Dame Pamela said.

‘What have you lost?’ Katherine asked.

‘Well, it’s-’ he paused, ‘it’s a surprise.’

‘But I thought you said you’d left it at home – whatever
it
is,’ Katherine said, her voice laced with suspicion.

Warwick shook his head. ‘The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced I packed it,’ he said.

‘Well, one thing’s for sure – nobody’s going anywhere – look,’ Dan said, and everybody looked out of the hallway window as the snow began to fall thick and fast. ‘We’re well and truly snowed in.’

‘Well, somebody’s trying to get somewhere,’ Roberta said as she walked over to the window.

‘Oh, my god! It’s that awful Jackson Moore!’ Mia said as she joined Roberta.

‘What’s he doing going out in this weather?’ Dame Pamela asked. ‘I don’t want any more casualties today.’

‘He’s running away!’ Mrs Soames shouted. ‘He’s got my handbag –
look!
’

‘Stop him!’ Dame Pamela shouted.

Instantly, Dan sprang into action, opening the great front door and dashing out into the winter wonderland, his long legs sinking deep into the snow as he ran after the escapee.

‘STOP!’ he yelled but the man did nothing more than look behind him for a moment before stumbling on down the driveway. It was definitely Jackson Moore and Dan was furious that this man thought he had a right to come to Purley and take whatever he wanted – from his sister and from their guests.

‘I said
STOP!
’ Dan shouted again.

Luckily, the snow was slowing the thief down as was the enormous rucksack he had strapped to his back and it wasn’t long before Dan caught up with him, grabbing the bag from behind and wrestling him to the cold ground.

‘Get off me!’ Jackson Moore cried, trying to get away but Dan was much too strong for him.

‘You’re not going anywhere,’ Dan told him.

Warwick and Adam were soon by Dan’s side and the three of them escorted Jackson Moore back to Purley Hall.

‘Well, I never!’ Dame Pamela said as the four men entered the hallway, shaking snow from their hair and their boots.

‘Take the bag, Adam,’ Dan said and the man was stripped of his rucksack.

‘My handbag!’ Mrs Soames said, stepping forward and wrenching the bag from the man’s grasp before hitting him over the head with it.

‘That will do, Mrs Soames,’ Dan said. ‘We’ll let the police deal with him.’

‘What are we going to do with him?’ Dame Pamela asked.

‘Sit him quietly in the West Drawing Room,’ Dan said. ‘We’ll keep an eye on him. He won’t go anywhere.’

Jackson Moore tried to shrug himself free of Dan but his grip was like iron.

‘I expect the police will want to know exactly what he took but I’m guessing everyone wants their possessions back?’ Dan said, nodding to Adam.

‘I’ve got a camera,’ Mia said, taking the world’s tiniest camera out of her jacket pocket. ‘I can film everything as it comes out of the bag.’

‘Great idea!’ Dan said.

‘Oh, my goodness!’ Adam said. ‘It’s my wallet! I didn’t even know it had gone.’ He reached inside the rucksack and brought out item after item.

‘Who’s is this ring?’ Dame Pamela asked, holding up a lovely old garnet ring.

‘That’s Doris Norris’s,’ Mia said, recognising it instantly.

‘Why you low down, sneaking-’ Mrs Soames was at Jackson Moore again with her handbag.

‘You’d better take him through to the West Drawing Room right away before Mrs Soames finishes him off,’ Adam said with a wink.

Dan nodded and the traitor was led away.

Adam continued his search through the rucksack, placing items onto the side table in the hallway.

‘One gold watch,’ he said, handing it to Robyn.

‘Thank goodness!’ she said.

‘A silver cross?’

‘That’s mine!’ a young woman stepped forward to claim her missing necklace.

‘And-’ Adam rooted around, surfacing with a little ring box which he opened. He gave a long low whistle. ‘A rather lovely antique diamond ring. Who’s is this?’

A few guests moved forward to take a look but nobody claimed it.

‘No sign of the first edition?’ Dame Pamela asked anxiously.

‘I’m afraid not,’ Adam said, placing the unclaimed ring on the table and checking the side pockets of the rucksack.

‘Pammy?’ Dan’s voice called from the West Drawing Room.

Dame Pamela walked across the hallway and disappeared into the room. Everyone waited and, a moment later, there was a cry and Dame Pamela emerged, a gigantic smile on her face.

‘It’s the first edition!’ she said. ‘He had it hidden in his jacket!’

Everybody cheered and Warwick made the most of the moment and pushed his way through the guests. ‘Adam?’ he said.

Adam looked up from the rucksack which he was still searching through. ‘Yes? You okay? You look a bit washed out.’

‘That ring box – the red one.’

Adam’s eyebrows rose. ‘Is that yours?’

Warwick nodded, glancing quickly behind him to check that Katherine wasn’t watching.

‘Ah!’ Adam said with a knowing smile as he handed him the box. ‘Very nice.’

Warwick quickly placed the ring box in his jacket pocket and then jumped as Katherine’s arm snaked around his body.

‘You were fabulous out there with Dan,’ she said.

‘Was I?’

‘Like a hero from a Lorna Warwick novel,’ she said, smiling up at him.

He grinned. ‘You’re so wonderful,’ he told her. ‘Come on. I’ve got a surprise for you.’

‘What, right now?’ Katherine said.

‘Not
that
kind of surprise!’ he said with a laugh. ‘It’s
much
better than that.’

‘Really?’ Katherine said. ‘This I’ve got to see!’ And the two of them left the crowd and headed up the great staircase together.

Roberta flopped down into an armchair by the bedroom window. ‘I’ve never been so relieved in all my life!’ she said.

Rose had picked up the three volumes of
Pride and Prejudice
and was flipping through the pages. ‘So what edition is this, then?’

‘I have absolutely no idea,’ Roberta said. ‘I’m only glad it’s not the
first
.’

‘But it looks really old. It’s probably still worth tens of thousands of pounds.’

Roberta gulped and stood up. ‘We have
got
to get it back to the library – right
now!
’

The two of them left the room, the three old volumes hidden in the hessian bag once more. Most of the guests had dispersed and the sisters found themselves blissfully alone in the library. They were just about to take the books out of the bag when Higgins entered.

‘Can I help you, ladies?’ he asked, eyeing them with suspicion.

‘No, thank you,’ Rose said. ‘Well, actually, there
is
something you might be able to help me with but you probably don’t know the answer.’

‘What is it, madam?’ Higgins said. ‘I tend to know the answer to most questions.’

Rose nodded. ‘The portrait in the hallway?’

‘Of Dame Pamela? It was painted in 1977 by Robert L Sheldon.’

‘No, not that one – the other one,’ Rose said, skilfully leading Higgins out of the library.’

Roberta waited a moment until they were out of sight and then dived into the bag. One, two, three volumes – all neatly back on the shelf. She breathed a sigh of relief and smiled as Rose came back in.

‘I hope you’ve done it.’

‘Oh, yes,’ Roberta said. ‘Now, get me out of here. I don’t want to see another old book as long as I live!’

Chapter 17

Warwick swallowed hard. The time had come. He turned to Katherine and steeled himself. He was making the right decision. He knew that. He’d never loved anyone in his life as much as Katherine and he knew he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

‘So, what’s this surprise then?’ she asked crossing the room and closing the space between them.

‘You know I said I’d left your Christmas present at home? Well, I didn’t.’

‘You found it?’

‘No, Adam found it – in Jackson Moore’s rucksack.’

‘Jackson Moore stole my Christmas present?’ Katherine said indignantly.

‘But we’ve got it back - only the paper’s gone so I’m afraid you can’t unwrap it.’ He cleared his throat. ‘Merry Christmas, Katherine.’

As soon as Katherine saw the tiny box, she gasped. There was only one thing a box like this could hold and that was a ring. She looked up at Warwick.

‘Open it,’ he said.

Her fingers shook as she opened the box. It was a beautiful diamond ring – its single stone almost smoky with age.

‘Do you like it?’ Warwick dared to ask.

‘Warwick – I
love
it.’

‘Because I can get you a modern ring if you prefer. Only I found this amazing place which specialises in antique jewellery and this is Georgian. Well, the guy said it was Georgian. Maybe it’s just old, I don’t know.’

‘No, it’s Georgian,’ Katherine said. ‘Warwick, is this what I think it is?’

He smiled hesitantly at her. ‘I’m not going to tell a lady which finger to wear a ring on but I’m hoping – very much – that you’ll wear it on this one.’ He picked up her left hand and kissed her ring finger.

‘Oh, Warwick!’

‘Katherine, will you marry me?’

Katherine’s eyes glittered with tears. ‘Yes,’ she whispered. ‘I’ll marry you.’

They kissed and then they hugged and then they cried and then Warwick placed the ring on Katherine’s finger, his hands shaking with excitement.

‘It’s so beautiful,’ Katherine said.

‘No,
you’re
so beautiful,’ Warwick told her, ‘and I love you so much.’

‘I love you too,’ Katherine said and they kissed again.

‘Are you all right?’ Warwick asked a moment later.

‘I’m fine,’ Katherine said, blinking her tears away.

‘Are you sure?’ He stroked her hair and gazed at her. ‘You look,’ he paused, ‘a bit dazed!’

Katherine laughed. ‘I am,’ she said. ‘I never thought that you were planning this. I thought-’

‘What?’ Warwick said, his head cocked to one side.

‘I thought you were up to something.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I don’t know,’ she said, ‘but you were making me anxious and I didn’t know what to think.’

‘Katherine!’ he cried. ‘You know I wouldn’t hide anything from you – nothing terrible, anyway! You
must
know that by now.’

She nodded. ‘I’m so sorry,’ she said, trying to banish the insecurities of her past.

‘But I had to hide this from you because it was a surprise!’ he said.

‘I know!’ Katherine said.

‘And it was a good surprise, wasn’t it?’ he asked, a tiny smile on his face.

‘It was the best surprise in the world,’ she said.

‘Good,’ he said and they kissed again.

‘Hey,’ Katherine said a moment later, a huge smile on her face, ‘maybe Dame Pamela will let us get married here!’

Warwick laughed. ‘A wedding at Purley?’ he said. ‘What a
wonderful
idea!’

Jackson Moore hadn’t said a single thing since being shoved unceremoniously into the West Drawing Room an hour ago. Dan and Adam were standing guard, watching as their prisoner sat hunched in the corner of the room, muttering incomprehensibly to himself and occasionally stroking his moustache. Higgins had brought in tea and scones but he hadn’t touched anything.

Dan looked at his recently-found watch. ‘Well, the police should be here at any moment.’

‘They said they were coming by road?’ Adam said.

‘Apparently, the roads aren’t as bad as we think outside Church Stinton but this last stretch is pretty hairy and we might have to walk him down the driveway.’

Adam nodded. ‘I used to want to be a policeman when I was about four.’

‘Me too,’ Dan said and they grinned at each other. ‘Listen, I’m going to ring the hospital again to check on Doris. Will you be all right keeping an eye on our fugitive for a moment?’

‘Sure thing,’ Adam said. ‘If he tries to steal those scones, I’ll call through for assistance.’

Dan saluted him and left the room.

Dame Pamela, Robyn, Cassie and Benedict were sitting in the library by the fire when Dan entered.

‘I’ve finally been able to talk to someone at the hospital,’ he said. ‘Doris is going to be fine. She
did
have a heart attack but she’s stable now and her family has been contacted.’

‘Oh, thank goodness!’ Dame Pamela said.

‘Poor Doris! This is one Christmas she’ll never forget,’ Robyn said, kissing the top of Cassie’s head as Dan joined them by the fire.

‘It’s a Christmas
none
of us are going to forget,’ Dan said. ‘And there’s news from the police too,’ he added. ‘Apparently, Jackson Moore’s got previous charges against him. It seems he goes from conference to conference preying on unsuspecting victims.’

‘So, he wasn’t a Janeite after all,’ Robyn said. ‘I was talking to Mia and Kay and we were all suspicious about him.’

Dame Pamela shook her head. ‘I still can’t believe he thought he’d get away with it. It was badly done, wasn’t it, Higgins?’ she said as her butler entered the room.

‘It certainly was, madam.’

‘Yes, he shouldn’t have picked on Jane Austen fans,’ Robyn said. ‘He met his match this time.’

Dame Pamela smiled. ‘He most certainly did.’ Her gaze settled on Benedict and she let out a long sigh. ‘And I owe somebody an apology,’ she said. ‘I’m so sorry I suspected you, Benedict.’