Page 11

"Ah, my darling family!" Elizabeth cried when she spotted them. "Have you solved my first fiendish puzzle?"

"We have, my love," said Darcy, producing the little brass disc and laying it on the table. "Although I must say, you have taken a great deal of trouble over this business. I had no notion it would be such a to-do."

"A 50th birthday celebration deserves all the to-do, darling man." She examined the disc and made a mark in her ledger. "Very good. You may have your next clue."

She rose to kiss her husband on the cheek, followed by Kate and Mina, who received the same treatment. When she came to Mr Briar, she offered him her hand.

"And you, sir, are to be congratulated upon surviving your first excursion with my family. I do hope they have behaved themselves."

"Impeccably, Mrs Darcy," he replied, shaking her hand. "Although Miss Mina has already engaged me to sit for a portrait as a Greek hero."

"Oh, has she? Well, you have my sympathies. I suggest you ask Richard how he found the experience before committing yourself to anything. Now, off you go, all of you. There are several teams ahead of you, and I shall be very disappointed if my own family makes a poor showing."

She pressed another envelope into Darcy's hand and turned back to the Colonel, who was still protesting about the wording of his clue.

Darcy broke the seal and read the contents aloud. It was another of Elizabeth's rhymes, this one concerning an old stone that had stood watch over the estate for generations. Kate was familiar with the boundary stones that marked the older divisions of Pemberley's land, and after a brief discussion with her father, they agreed that the most likely place was the western edge of the pleasure grounds, where an old marker stood near the entrance to the woods.

"Come along, then," said Darcy, offering his arm to Mina. "We must make up some ground. Your mother will be insufferable if Richard's team wins."

"Uncle Richard will be worse," Kate pointed out, and her father laughed.

They had not gone very far when a familiar copper-coloured shape came bounding across the lawn towards them. Pegasus had evidently grown tired of being separated from his master and was determined to put matters right.

"Ah, there you are, you silly fellow," said Darcy, bending to scratch the spaniel's ears. "I wondered how long it would take you to find me."

Pegasus wagged his entire body with pleasure before falling into step beside Darcy, apparently satisfied that the world was once more as it ought to be.

Kate found herself walking beside Mr Briar again. This time, however, he did not attempt to draw her into conversation. He merely gave her a thoughtful look before turning his attention to the grounds around them. Kate ought to have been relieved, but after their earlier conversation about the amber on his cane, she found herself wishing that he would say something. Perhaps she had offended him by hurrying away so abruptly. She had only done so because he made her feel so peculiar, although she could hardly explain that to him.

They followed the path away from the formal gardens towards the western boundary, where the grounds became less carefully tended and the trees grew closer together. Kate had spent many happy afternoons in this part of the estate, gathering specimens and examining the exposed rocks with her father. Mr Briar appeared equally interested in the landscape, occasionally pausing to look at something before catching up with the others. Darcy and Mina had fallen into a discussion about the old boundary stone, and Pegasus trotted happily between them, occasionally stopping to investigate an interesting smell before hurrying after his master.

They had reached a bend in the path when Mr Briar stopped altogether. "How curious. Miss Darcy, may I ask you something?"

"Of course, sir."

"That rise in the ground over there. Has it always been there?"

Kate followed his gaze towards a low mound a short distance from the path. "As long as I can remember. We used to play here as children. Bella once declared that it was the burial place of a giant, although I believe she had been reading too much Walter Scott at the time. Why do you ask?"

"Would you indulge me for a moment? I should very much like to have a closer look."

She followed him across the grass, trying to ignore the intoxicating scent of sandalwood and lemons that trailed behind him and wondering what had attracted his attention. The mound was perhaps four or five feet high and covered in grass, with a few bushes growing around its base. She had never thought it particularly remarkable, although now that she looked at it properly, she could see that its rounded shape was unusually regular.

Mr Briar walked around it slowly, examining the ground as he went. "Do you see here, Miss Darcy? The ground falls away a little before rising again. I believe there may once have been a ditch around the base, although much of it has disappeared over the years."

Kate crouched beside him to examine the shallow depression he was indicating. "Goodness, yes, I see what you mean. Do you suppose it is man-made?"

"I believe it may be. There are a great many ancient burial barrows in Derbyshire, and I have seen several with a very similar appearance. Of course, I should not like to make any firm declaration without further examination, but it is certainly interesting."

"A burial barrow? Here at Pemberley?" Kate looked at the mound with renewed interest. "How extraordinary. I have walked past this spot hundreds of times and never considered that it might be anything other than a natural rise in the ground."

"Most people would not. But look here, someone has been doing a little digging of their own."

He pointed to a rabbit hole near the base of the mound, where a quantity of earth had been thrown out onto the grass. Kate knelt beside it and began examining the loose soil. There were several small stones and what appeared to be a fragment of reddish-brown pottery. She picked it up and rubbed away the dirt with her thumb.

"Mr Briar, what do you make of this?"

He moved closer and took the fragment from her. His fingers brushed against hers, and Kate felt the same peculiar sensation she had experienced earlier when examining his cane. She tried to ignore it as he turned the little object over in his hands.