Action Lizzy and the Four Thieves Chapters 3-5

Chapter 3

Lizzy lifted her head from the ground, groggy, trying to recall what exactly had happened. She was lying on her left side so she tried to lift herself with her left arm. As she tried, excruciating pain shot down her arm unlike any pain she had ever felt before. She used her right arm to lever herself up and to get to her feet. She looked back to see the men who had killed their driver racing towards them, three on horseback and one trying to get back on his horse.

She looked at her aunt; she had flown further than her and lay down on the ground unmoving. She then looked to her uncle who was looking at her. He called out and said ‘run Lizzy!’ before his eyes closed.

Lizzy turned, gathered up her skirts with her right hand as using her left hand caused too much pain, and ran west down the stream. Her chest hurt as she ran, and something wet was running into her eyes. Yet still she ran, stumbling her way over rocks. She heard someone behind her yell “chase after the chit and bring her back!”

She hazarded a look behind to see two men on horseback coming after her, though she had a good hundred yard head start. She focused her attention back down the stream, looking for paths that would be difficult for horses to go through. The ground started to slope downwards, with the stream narrowing on either side, but rushing faster over rapids. She jumped and stumbled down the stream, and ran over a fallen log to the other side of the stream, where the sides were steep and a horse could not cross. She was out of sight of the bandits, but she could hear the clattering of horses behind her. She scrambled up the side and behind another large fallen tree, lying down on her right side on the ground to keep out of sight.

“Where the hell did she go? How could she run that fast with all the blood?” she heard one say. He called out. “Come out, girl, we won't hurt you.”

The other said. “We need to go back and help the others. She can't go too far with her injuries. At least we know how far she’s gone. We can come back for her.”

Lizzy waited till she could hear them no longer then put her head up. The adrenalin started to leave and she realised how much of her was hurting. She sat up and took stock of her condition. She looked at her lower left arm and realised it was broken. Most concerning was her left leg. Blood had soaked her skirts on her left thigh. She saw a rip through her dress, exposing a significant gash on her leg that was oozing blood. She could see a severed stick that had been driven into her leg. Lizzy thought about extracting it, but realised it would cause more blood loss if she removed it, that would need cleaning, else it would develop gangrene and she would lose her leg. She knew if she was out for too long without that wound being seen to, she would develop a fever. She put her hand to her head and it came away with blood. So she had also cut her head when she landed. She felt her sides which were sore. She suspected they were only bruised and not broken.

She could not stay where she was for fear of the bandits returning to find her. She could not go back for the same reason. It would take them some time to realise she had crossed the stream, so it was best if she continued North before heading back towards the road. She scrambled down to the stream carefully to take a drink with her right hand.

She rose. With the adrenalin gone, she could now feel the pain in her thigh which made walking uncomfortable. As she went, she realised she would need a better place to hide to wait out the bandits before striking back east.

She did not know how long she stumbled for before she found a thicket of blackberry bushes which appeared to be impenetrable. She used her right hand to push through into the centre of the thicket, scratching both arms and face. Having not eaten since breaking her fast, she pulled at as many blackberries as she could reach to eat, then sat down with her back against the trunk of the tree.

She sighed. It was now time to do what she could for her wound. She wound up her dress to examine her leg wound, then ripped her petticoats to make a bandage, which was difficult with only her right hand. She carefully wound it around her left leg with her right hand and tied it off as tight as she could.

Next she pulled off her bag, which had been slung on her left shoulder when she was tossed out of the carriage. She had landed on it, which had probably saved her from breaking her ribs when she fell. With pain, she manoeuvred herself to take it off her left shoulder and down her arm. She opened it with hope that there was something useful in it, but knew the contents were limited. She had a shawl, paper, a pencil, ink and her pen. There was the letter from Jane she received the day before. She had the book she was reading and an apple, which she had taken from breakfast to eat on the way.

She would save the apple for later. The shawl she would use to make a sling. She was about to discount the pen and paper, then realised she could leave a note for her rescuers. She put her knees up and tried to write against her knees.

Dear Jane and rescuers

Please know that I am alive and in not so dire a condition that you should fear of my death. Our carriage was waylaid by bandits; two infront and two behind. One had called for our carriage to stop and then shot our driver. The carriage raced out of control and then toppled over, throwing myself, my Aunt and Uncle outside of the carriage. I have a small wound on my forehead, I have broken my left arm and I have a gash in my leg. At worst, if I cannot have my leg wound cleaned in time, they may have to amputate it. Dear Jane, how would you like a one legged sister hopping around behind you? It will certainly make dancing difficult!

The men who had attacked us chased after us and two chased after me. I’ve run and hid and plan to emerge when I either hear searchers looking for me or when I feel confident our attackers have passed and I will not encounter them.

Lizzy put her head back. She felt so tired and her head was hurting...

Lizzy jolted awake and she felt pain in every part of her body. The sun was directly overhead, with the light hitting her eyes. It took a moment to recall where she was and why she was hiding in a blackberry thicket. Some nearby ravens had been startled into flight, which must have been the sound that had woken her up.

She held her breath and then she heard it, the distinct sound of a foot breaking a twig and feet crunching on leaves. Then the fall of horse hooves.

She heard a gruff voice. “I can't believe she came this far in her state. We're a good three miles from the carriage.”

Another voice, of slightly higher pitch. Lizzy imagined it to come from a younger man. “Do you think she’s still alive? We’re wasting our time looking for her if she isn't.”

“We found blood a quarter of a mile ago. She can't be that injured, so there's every chance she'll survive and identify us,” replied the first voice.

“Do you really think she got that good a look at us? We had masks on,” said the second young man.

“She was looking straight at Bob when he shot the driver. She'll probably be able to identify him.”

A third voice chimed in. “That was bloody stupid of you, Bob, to shoot the driver.”

The man who must be Bob, with the deepest and gruffest voice of all, finally spoke. “Shut up, Bill, ya know I said I didn't mean to shoot him. The gun went off accidentally when I was pointing it.”

The first man spoke. “She’s the only one who can say it was you. The old woman's dead, and the old man will probably soon follow. If she can pin you, you'll be hanging.”

Lizzy’s breath caught in her throat and tears came to her eyes. Her Aunt Madelein was dead, and her uncle badly injured. She concentrated hard on making no noise. What she heard next froze her to her core.

“If I'm going to hang, at least I'll have some fun with her before we do away with her. With how fast she could run, she looked like a lot of fun.”

The third man, Bill, spoke up. “As soon as someone comes across that carriage and realises there's a girl missing, this forest will be crawling with men searching for her and us. We need to get out of here. She can't pin us if noone ever finds us.”

She heard footsteps to the West and East of her thicket. She could hear her own heart thumping and hoped the bandits could not hear it as well.

The first man, who was clearly the boss, spoke up. “Bill’s right. If we come across her, we kill her and dump the body. However, we can't afford to waste too much time looking for her. I reckon someone has found that carriage by now and there's people racing to Cromford and Matlock now. Another hour men will be crawling over the carriage. We’ll keep heading to our camp site; it's well North of the wreck and I doubt any searchers will find it today. First light tomorrow, we’ll head back to Sherwood forest. Much more space to hide there.”

That was followed by “Yes, boss” by the other three men. Lizzy let out the breath she’d been holding when she could no longer hear them talking. She realised she’d tipped her inkwell over whilst sleeping, so she used what resources she had to finish her note with this new information, discarded her quill, crawled out the thicket and started to head South. She would find the stream she had come up and then head back to the carriage and help. She dropped the note in the thicket, hoping the bandits would not return this way.


Chapter 4

Richard, Darcy and Bingley (Bingley had decided to volunteer for this adventure rather than spend time with his sisters) were riding through Toadmoor, having left Derby that morning. They had heard the news in Derby the previous night of another attack on the road to Matlock, this time with a carriage driver killed.

The usually sleepy hamlet was surprisingly busy, with men milling in the street. A pack of hounds were assembled there, held by their handler, whom Richard recognised as belonging to his father’s house. Richard hailed the man who appeared to be leading the effort. “Sir Riley, what’s the commotion?”

The gentleman in his late forties who was the local sheriff. “Richard, it is good to see you. Did your parents request your return after the attack on your sister?”

Richard nodded. He quickly made introductions. “My parents commanded me to come help apprehend the men who attacked my sister, so we are all volunteers. We heard there was another attack yesterday?”

“Yes, and this one more serious. They have shot and killed the driver. The carriage then lost control and tipped. We have one woman dead and her husband badly injured. He’s still alive and we are hopeful that he survives. But what's more, they were travelling with their niece.”

“What happened to her?” asked Richard.

“She ran off into the forest and she’s not been found yet. We know she's injured and bleeding.”

“She's not been found yet?”

“No, and we searched areas South of the stream yesterday. We've started looking deeper into the forest, pushing west. Your father has sent his hunting hounds to help in the search.”

Darcy, Richard and Bingley all looked at each other, and merely a nod was exchanged between them all. “We’ll help with the search for the young lady. What is her name?”

“We’ll gladly accept all the help we can get with the search. The missing lady is a Miss Bennet from Hertfordshire.”

Both Darcy and Bingley froze and went white. “Jane Bennet?” Mr Bingley croaked out.

“No, it was a Miss Elizabeth. Do you know of her?” asked Sir Riley.

Darcy nodded and swallowed. “If there is any young lady that can survive lost and injured in the forest, it would be Miss Elizabeth.”

Both Richard and Bingley nodded at this.

“Well men, you'll need to leave your horses behind. The ground is too rough for horses, so the search is all on foot. We’ll take you to the wreck of the carriage.”


Chapter 5

Mr Bennet was roused from his study by the urgent knocking of someone at his study. He bade then enter, for a maid to hand over an express.

He read the express, and put his head in his hands, then looked up at the maid. “Please fetch Jane and Mary and send in the housekeeper. And can you send for Mrs Bennet to return home immediately.”

“Yes Sir. I believe she is at Mrs Philip’s.”

Mr Bennet hung his head. “Please ask Mrs Philips to come too.”

Mr Bennet scribbled out two notes. “Have this one sent express to Colonel Forster. The other one is to go to the housekeeper at the Gardiner residence.”

The maid bowed and left. Shortly, Jane and Mary entered. “We heard of the express. Is everyone safe and well?” asked Jane.

Mr Bennet indicated for them to sit. “There has been a carriage accident.”

“Is everyone well? Lizzy?” asked Jane.

“They were travelling to Matlock when bandits attacked them. The carriage toppled over. Your uncle is alive but badly injured...” Here Mr Bennet’s voice broke. He looked away. “Your aunt has died. Lizzy...she ran away and had not been found. This happened yesterday.”

Jane covered her mouth with her hand and choked back a sob. Mary seemed lost on an appropriate response.

“If Lizzy was able to run, she mustn't be very badly injured,” said Mary.

Jane nodded. “We must hold onto hope that Lizzy is well. If anyone can survive in a forest and outside, it's Lizzy.”

“How do I tell the children that their mother isn't coming back?” said Mr Bennet, head in his hands.

“When are you going to tell them?” asked Mary.

“After I've told your mother.”

“What are you planning to do?” asked Jane.

“I've sent an express for Lydia to come home and I'll be sending the carriage to fetch her from Brighton. I'll be hiring a chaise carriage to go to your uncle at Matlock and help with arrangements.” He thought for a moment. “I'll take Kitty with me to help with your Uncle and Lizzy.”

“Papa, I’d like to go to be there for Lizzy and Uncle,” said Jane.

Mr Bennet stood, came around and placed a hand on Jane’s shoulder. “I know you'd like to, however, you know your mother will be distraught at the news. I do not know how long I will be gone for, and the only people I entrust the care of Longbourn is you and Lizzy. And then the four people who will need you most are Mrs Gardiner’s children. With their mother gone, they will need you to be there for them.”

Jane nodded, tears streaming from her eyes. “Oh course, Papa. I will do anything I can for my cousins.”

“That's a good girl, Jane. I know I can rely on you. Can you please talk with the housekeeper about organising appropriate mourning dresses to be sent to Lydia in the carriage, and for Kitty and Lizzy?”

Jane rose. “Of course Papa.”

Mary made to follow, but Mr Bennet put a hand on her shoulder. “Stay, Mary.”

Mary sat back down. “Yes, Papa?”

“Jane is strong, much stronger than all give her credit for. She was closer with her aunt and respected and loved her dearly. But she cannot look after Longbourn, the household accounts and management and the children. She will need your help and for you to be there for her. Have her teach you how to do Longbourn’s accounts and to run the household.” He came and gave her shoulder a squeeze. “I'm counting on you, Mary.”

Mary gave his hand a squeeze in return. “Of course, Papa. I will not disappoint.”

Mary left and Mr Bennet thought about his wife with a level of bitterness. She would think only of herself and would retreat to her rooms, leaving the responsibilities of mistress to one of his daughters. Instead of a partner to share the burden, he was alone and had put the burden on either Jane or Lizzy for the last seven years.

Lizzy. He hoped that she was alive. For the first time in years, he prayed.