Page 59 of Lord Lonbourn's Daughter
“Wonderful idea, dear husband, but I cannot waltz.”
“There is nothing to it. I shall lead you.”
“Are you telling me that you know how to waltz, Mr Darcy?”
Her husband clutched her waist with one hand and laced their fingers together with the other. Gracefully, he led her to the floor and twirled her around in a dizzying fashion, subtly moving in the direction of his cousin. He did not even limp, Elizabeth noticed.
Chapter 18 Ambiguity
The search for Lydia and Mr Wickham was unsuccessful. Either they had hidden well or had left Lady Hamilton’s ball.
“We should all go home and get some sleep,” Richard suggested.
“Should we not find out where Mrs Younge keeps her boarding house and try to rescue Lydia?” Elizabeth asked.
“From what you have told me, it does not sound like she wants to be rescued. Besides, they left hours ago. I doubt they will still be there. Do you know where Mrs Younge’s house is, Darcy?” the colonel enquired.
“No. I never looked into her finances. I might find something in the ledger I keep for employees or her references. I have those in my study,” Mr Darcy apprised them.
“That will be your assignment for the day. Montgomery, will you escort Mother home? I would like to escort Lady Jane to her house before I return. With Wickham loose on the streets of London, I dare not risk it.”
“I shall be there,” Mr Darcy protested.
“Everyone with eyes can see that your knee is paining you still. To take you would be far too easy.”
Elizabeth thought Mr Darcy would protest vehemently against such a slight to his prowess, but a look was exchanged between the cousins that made her husband nod his consent.
After a swift farewell to the hostess, complimenting her ball, Elizabeth entered the Darcy carriage with her husband, sister, and future brother.
“We must awaken Lord Longbourn when we arrive and inform him of this new development,” Richard stated.
“Yes, I shall send a footman over,” Darcy offered.
His cousin nodded, and nothing else was said until they entered Darcy House.
“The study?” the colonel suggested.
“Yes,” Mr Darcy confirmed.
Elizabeth held her peace around the servants, but as soon as the door to the study closed, she intended to speak her mind. She was not afforded the opportunity.
“What have you discovered, Richard? And for future reference, you may not play the infirmity card on my behalf. I am recovered.”
“I know, you must pardon me, but a thought has disturbed me. You will find that I may have good reason not to be thinking too clearly when I reveal what just occurred to me. I have pondered the fact that the girls were taken in an unmarked barouche box. It has also been mentioned that our aunt owns such a conveyance, but it was being reupholstered. Aunt used her landau to come to town to try to stop your wedding. It may be a light, skilfully designed carriage, but Lady Catherine prefers the distinction of travelling in her barouche box over speed and agility, which led me to make enquiries. I saw the carriage at her house, and I just realised two things. First, the crest hadbeen removed from the door, which should not be necessary for an internal reupholster, and second, it was my brother who collected the carriage and brought it to London on our aunt’s behalf.”
The room grew quiet from the sheer magnitude of the implication. All were deep in thought when the Earl of Longbourn arrived to be informed of their news.
The colonel explained while Mr Darcy searched frantically through his ledger and papers for the information he had on Mrs Younge.
“I do not understand! Why would the viscount treat his own family so appallingly?” Elizabeth enquired.
“It makes sense when you think about the difference in how the girls were treated. Georgiana kept her companion and was taken to her aunt’s house with her reputation intact. He insisted that I marry Georgiana to save her reputation should any rumours arise. He felt no such qualms about the Longbourn girls, whom he wanted to disgrace. Lady Lydia was married at the earliest convenience, Lady Kitty he had no use for, and she was kept incapacitated. He was angry when Jane broke her engagement to Mr Bingley and I offered for her, because he wanted us to fail. Lady Lydia was always intended to marry Mr Wickham, which would have been suspect from a stranger’s point of view—Georgiana’s fortune is ten thousand more than hers, so Wickham should have chosen Georgiana’s fortune as his prime concern. I know that Lady Lydia comes with an estate, but that is not generally known. I doubt Montgomery is aware of the fact. He was never good at reading people. He is too absorbed in his own concerns to notice subtleties. My guess is that he wanted leverage over Darcy—”
“But why? I cannot see that he has a motive,” Elizabeth protested. She could not picture the staid viscount as a villain.
“He has always been jealous of Darcy. Not that he had a particular reason other than he wanted to be the family’s only unapproachable saint. Darcy has never been one to succumb to vice of any sort,” the colonel tried to explain.
“You seem to believe that marriage to me would bring him down? Excuse me, Colonel Fitzwilliam, but I am the daughter of an earl. Mr Darcy is a gentleman from an ancient and well-known family, but he has hardly found a bride below his station.”
