Page 85 of Till Death Us Do Part: Book 2
He walked over to bow to Mr Baker and give the same reassurances, but before he could cover the half-dozen yards to the newcomer he heard, “Why, Mr Darcy! Fancy meeting you here.”
The greeting came from someone he had known reasonably well at one time, and he saw the former Caroline Bingley walk up to Baker, with a child slightly younger than Miriam on her hip. She looked calm and collected, as did Baker, but Darcy thought it best to reassure everyone.
“Mrs Baker, I presume?”
She curtseyed. “Yes, and this is Margaret.”
The child looked at him curiously, but did not seem inclined to speak, so Darcy continued, “Mr Baker, Mrs Baker, Margaret. As I was just saying, you need fear nothing from me except that I will be tediously repetitious in my praise and thanks. I will assert that you did what needed doing at the time. I will not begrudge any of your actions—only my own.”
Elizabeth had walked up beside him, and she took his arm, so all three couples were standing with the wife holding the husband’s arm, though whether that was to offer comfort or prevent any funny ideas about fisticuffs was anybody’s guess.
“Fitzwilliam, I believe I may speak for all when I say that forgiveness, in every direction, is all we need. You and I were hurt by the actions of the past. My friends were placed in extremely awkward positions. It is unfortunate, but it is in the past.”
Surprisingly, Caroline said, “Mr Darcy—as Amanda says, we all can use some forgiveness. If she is willing to forgive you your trespasses, and you forgive us ours, then we will all get along splendidly.”
“I am touched by your generosity, since it was my intransigence that started all the pain in the first place.”
Baker said, “That is true, but think of it this way. All of us aremuchbetter off than we were five years ago, and in fact, much better off than we would have been absent your lunkheadedness. We have a thriving business, so we are all much better off materially. The three of us all found wives about ten times prettier and a dozen times smarter than we deserve. We have two healthy children between us and more cannot be long in coming.”
Darcy felt Elizabeth squeeze his arm, and he thought he could feel a secret smile just for him. Perhaps he imagined it, but if that was the case, he would take it.
Mr Hervey said, “We have a good family here.”
Everyone laughed, and Molly said, “The people with any sense are going to eat while it is still hot. You men can join us if you like.”
With a laugh, everyone tucked in. Amanda and Darcy had not eaten since the previous midday, so they were ravenous. Margaret and Miriam got at least half their porridge down their throats, which was better than average, and the adults talked about this and that, where they had been and what they had done since the last time they were together. It was the best meal of Darcy’s life.
When nobody could eat another bite, everyone stacked their dishes on a wheeled cart, and the cook wheeled it towards the kitchen at the same time as a nursemaid took the children. Theremaining six adults moved to a sitting room where tea was served by Mrs Darcy-Thorne.
During the meal, all conversation centred around the recent travel of the Bakers and Herveys, as well as the recent and upcoming purchases, and the like. There was even a minor discussion about the sales for the month, but without the ledgers it lacked depth.
Once everyone settled in, Darcy felt he had to say his piece. “Once again, I must reiterate that I am so grateful that you were such good partners to Elizabeth all these years, and—”
He did not quite know how to say what he had to say without causing offence. He was trying to work it out when Mr Baker took the lead.
“Mr Darcy, may I recommend acandidconversation. We do not mince words in our little group here, nor do we shield our wives, nor do they shield us, from anything—ever.”
“Both admirable and sensible procedures, Mr Baker. I applaud them and will join the general scheme myself.”
Baker nodded. “We are in a bit of a special situation, I believe. There are things that must remainprivatefor decades, if not forever, with real consequences for failure of disclosure.”
Darcy appreciated the candour. “Pray, allow me to speculate. You no doubt have contingency plans that could be activated if I ever discovered the situation, and I would wager you still do.”
Baker nodded slowly. “Go on.”
“I have no idea what they are and have no need to know. If I were you, I would have some sort of legal recourse to ensure you were not prosecutable for anything that may or may not have happened back then.”
“Such as?”
“The most obvious would be money squirrelled away here and there, inside and outside England. Probably pre-purchased tickets to somewhere outside of English law. Perhaps someforged identity papers, clothing hidden away along the route. Some leverage you could use in an emergency to keep me in line. Agents in any gaol you might end up in. Am I on the right track?”
Baker just nodded, so Darcy continued.
“Those are the obvious things. A man like you no doubt has favours owed from powerful men in the courts, since your business was not limited to runaways. I also suspect there was a fair amount of ambiguity in how you went about reporting things. Beyond that, I would presume you thought of at least three things I have not.”
Baker nodded. “That is correct, sir.”
Darcy ran his hand through his hair. “You all have ample reason to distrust me, and none to trust me, but—”
