Page 3 of Losing Lizzy
Darcy recalled throwing the ring away, hoping against hope the men only meant to rob him. He thought they mightleave him be long enough for him to make an escape, but they ignored the box. They had ripped the cane from his hands as he had used it as a weapon against them and had tossed it aside also.
“There was nothing to connect him to your disappearance. If you say he was involved, I will have Cowan locate him and bring him in for questioning.”
Darcy shook off the idea. “I know the identities of those involved. There were five all together. Two were killed in a skirmish with another pirate ship and the other three are presently in the custody of the British navy, along with their captain and crew mates.”
“Were you never permitted on land in all those years?” Fitzwilliam asked in bewilderment.
“Not once,” Darcy said in deep sorrow. “I thought, especially in the beginning, I would go mad. Only the memories of Elizabeth and Georgiana kept me alive.”
“You wish to know of Miss Elizabeth’s fate?” Fitzwilliam asked in sympathetic tones, which made Darcy’s heart ache. How would he survive if she had married another?
“Not yet,” he said solemnly. “You still have not spoken to me of the earl’s efforts to declare me dead nor why you are at Darcy House rather than my father’s cousin, Samuel Darcy?”
Fitzwilliam shifted his weight uncomfortably. “In truth, I do not know what Matlock hoped to achieve. I suppose Aunt Catherine managed to harangue him into action. Initially, Lady Catherine appeared pleased you had not married Miss Elizabeth, declaring for one and all that you had come to your senses and meant to marry Anne after a proper period—time for the gossip to die away. However, when we could discover no evidence of your purposeful absence, her ladyship scolded the earl into securing the Darcy fortune before someone swept in and married Georgiana, essentially taking hold of all your holdings. It was determined my brother Lindale would be Georgiana’s groom.”
“Lindale?” Darcy knew he frowned, but this conversation could bring no other emotions beyond pure anger. “Why wouldMatlock think to turn over my father’s holdings? Has not Matlock always feared that Roland Fitzwilliam would ruin the earldom with his profligate ways?”
“Aye,” Fitzwilliam confirmed. “The plan was for me to marry Anne and Lindale to marry Georgiana, solidifying both family fortunes.”
Darcy did not approve of how his relations had worked against him. “And declaring me dead would make the transition easier?” Darcy thought,“And make the Fitzwilliams richer, for what my father left me was nearly five times what the Fitzwilliam factions know, and that does not take into account what I have added since assuming Pemberley’s realm.”
His cousin nodded his affirmation of Darcy’s assumption.
“I pray you put a stop to this madness. You are, after all, also Georgiana’s guardian. You would know my thoughts upon such a joining.”
Again, Fitzwilliam appeared uncomfortable with Darcy’s words. “I fought the good fight, making certain the law would not turn over the Darcy assets to my father or Roland. Not being able to locate Samuel Darcy was both a blessing and a curse in this matter. Thankfully, your father’s will is very specific on the inheritance.”
Darcy’s high dudgeon eased somewhat. “I thank you for your care of Georgiana and my father’s legacy. I realize standing against your family placed you in a tenuous situation.”
Fitzwilliam took a large swallow of the brandy before setting the glass aside. “You may not wish to offer your gratitude so quickly.”
Darcy scowled, but before he could ask the question rushing to his lips, the door swung wide to bang against the wainscoting along the wall. “Tell me it is true!”
Darcy scrambled to his feet as quickly as his sea legs would permit to turn to face his sister standing in the open door. She was pale and swayed in place when her eyes landed upon his countenance. Immediately, Fitzwilliam was across the room to steady her.
“William?” her lips moved, but no sound could be heard.
“I have returned, my girl,” he said as he made his way to her.
Then, she launched herself into his arms, nearly sending them both to the ground. However, Darcy locked his knees in place and absorbed the impact. Tears of what he assumed were joy dampened the coarse fabric of his borrowed shirt.
“All is well, Georgie,” he whispered close to her ear. “I am home, and I will see all is set right. I am grieved you suffered in my absence. Just know you were never far from my thoughts, and if I could have returned to you quicker than I did, I would have claimed that opportunity. It was not my choice to leave you.”
“Where?” she managed to ask on a hiccup.
“It is a long tale,” he said softly. “The short of it: a press gang removed me from London.”
“Come, my dear,” Fitzwilliam said from somewhere off Darcy’s shoulder. “There is more than enough time for Darcy to explain it all. I do not want you to become upset. Think of the child.”
It was only then that Darcy realized his svelte sister was pleasingly plump. He leaned back to look upon her more fully. “You are with child,” he stated in awe. Looking to his cousin, he said, “I thought you indicated you had thwarted Matlock’s plans to marry Georgiana off to Lindale.”
His cousin led Georgiana to a nearby settee and supported her to the seat. Standing tall again, he settled a steady gaze upon Darcy. “I did thwart the earl’s plans by marrying Georgiana myself. We married a little over a year ago, and our first child will be born sometime in the next month. If the child is a male, he will be your heir presumptive, replacing Samuel Darcy, until you choose to marry and produce an heir of your own.”
Chapter Two
To say his cousin’sannouncement had left Darcy momentarily thunderstruck would have been an understatement. At length, he moved a chair closer to Georgiana and sat. “Tell me this was your wish,” he said, ignoring his cousin’s very large presence in the room.
Then his sister did what he had never thought to see her do: She comforted him. “I am excessively happy with Edward. And you should know how much our cousin gave up to protect me. His career. His family. How could you ask for more in a husband for me? For more than two years, the colonel staved off each maneuver Lord Matlock and Lady Catherine placed in my path, while still serving our country. We discussed what to do: He and I decided this was best for both of us. We thought you would want both of us to be happy, and we are. Papa would have approved, William. You know he would.”
