Page 79 of Ashes and Understanding
The colonel pressed his lips together tightly. “My superiors would have me hung for treason. It was difficult enough for me to confide in you, and I have known you my entire life. You’ve known her for… what, a month?”
“That’s long enough for me to know she is one of the most honorable, trustworthy young ladies with whom I am acquainted.”
There was a pause before the colonel said more softly, “You care for her.”
Darcy did not deny it. “I do.”
“And what do you intend to do about it?”
“I do not know,” Darcy admitted, his voice nearly a whisper. “You saw her face. That distrust was not only for you.”
The colonel sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “I do not know, Fitz. You know what is at stake. I cannot afford to take risks.”
“Yes, but you also cannot make any progress forward if you do not have the information you need, and she has it.”
“There are other ways. I am sure she’s confided in others, like friends.”
Darcy looked at his cousin with a hint of disdain. “And how long will that take, to establish those relationships and ask questionswithout raising suspicion? Weeks? Months? You said yourself yesterday that time is of the essence.”
The colonel sighed quietly, and Darcy pressed on. “Miss Elizabeth is well liked here. If she distrusts you, she will not hesitate to make it known to her friends. That will significantly hinder your progress as well.”
“If I tell her,” the colonel said slowly, “and it’s the wrong move, it could end everything.”
“And if you do not,” Darcy said, voice hardening, “you will lose any chance of finding out the truth—about Smithson, about Benjamin, all of it. And I—” He stopped, jaw tightening.
“You will lose her,” the colonel finished.
Darcy nodded once. “Please, Fitzwilliam, just tell her.”
A long pause followed, the air between them thick with unspoken tension. At last, the colonel exhaled slowly. “All right. When she comes back down, the three of us will go for a walk—where we cannot be overheard.”
Darcy gave a curt nod. “Do not make a mess of this. If you do, you will not only lose me her good opinion—” his voice dropped, dangerously low “—you will cost us the only chance we have of finding out the truth.”
A voice cut through the quiet behind them.
“What truth?”
Both men turned sharply. Elizabeth stood just inside the room, her eyes dark and unreadable.
∞∞∞
After her confrontation with Darcy, Elizabeth took Benjamin to the nursery, her hands shaking slightly as she ascended the stairs. The baby was already drifting off, his small face pressed against her shoulder, one hand fisted into the collar of her gown.
What is so special about you, Benjamin, that has so many strangers interested in you?
In the nursery, she passed him gently to the nurse, who accepted him with practiced hands and a quiet smile.
But Elizabeth did not smile back.
“I want him watched at all times,” she said, her voice low but firm. “No one—no maid, no footman, no relative—is to remove him from this room unless I give permission. Not even my parents or sisters.”
The nurse blinked, her brows rising, but the seriousness in Elizabeth’s expression left no room for argument. “Yes, miss,” she said, nodding. “With what has happened, I understand.”
Elizabeth hovered at the doorway for a moment longer, watching the woman settle Benjamin into the cradle. The child’s breathing was already even and slow. He looked so peaceful, untouched by the chaos and fear that clung to her like a second skin.
If only I could be that untroubled.
She turned away, closing the nursery door with care, and descended the stairs slowly. Doubt churned inside her. She had trusted Darcy instinctively—had trusted him from the momenthe defended her from Mr. Smithson, from the way he had held her in the firelight, supported her when she had almost fainted with shock. And yet now…
