“Yes, my love, we shall, we must.”
Matlock House
Late Morning
The Study
“Darcy, come in,” Lord Gregory said. Both he and Richard had been waiting for William to arrive. “Please, have a seat.”
Although it was not yet noon, His Lordship poured each man a short glass of brandy. With all that had happened in the past few days, he had elected not to go into Parliament until the end of the week since he had no committee work to attend to at present.
“Nephew, I trust you are well?”
“I am better now that I have my wife and daughter back.”
“Good, good. It is hard to believe what you have endured. The sooner we get this sorry business with Wickham behind us, the better. I hope it will not be long.”
“Darcy,” Richard interjected, “Wickham has not regained consciousness, nor is he expected to, according to the doctor who attended him. At present, he is sustaining a high fever and although he was stitched up, the wound is quite inflamed and will no doubt fester before too long. As for the other two men, they deny having any knowledge of what Wickham had planned and insist they were simply paid workers. Obviously, that is not the truth since they had weapons and put up a good fight. Bowden also tells me that the woman who assisted Wickham at the boarding house conveniently disappeared by the time our men arrived. Apparently she was a cousin of Mrs. Younge. Should Wickham perish, Father’s inclination is to have his two associates transported rather than drag our family through a public trial.”
William raked his hand through his hair and shook his head in disgust. “So you mean to tell me there may be no retribution for that reprobate and very little for his accomplices? Not that I want our names disparaged any more than you do. Even so, Wickham killed Mrs. Younge. He drugged and took Georgiana against her will, nearly killing her, too. Then he kidnapped my wife and daughter, imprisoning them in the vilest of establishments with the intent of blackmail. Not to mention, my daughter nearly drowned at the docks; Elizabeth and I were barely able to save her in time! Unbelievable!”
“After all that has happened, it does seem unjust,” Richard added. “I, for one, would have enjoyed kicking his sorry arse from here to the gallows. Nevertheless, the doctor said the next twenty-four hours would be critical, though he was not hopeful.”
“I understand.” William paused for a moment then said, “Richard, I do not know how I would have managed without your help and that of your men. I am greatly indebted to you and everything you did to help my family and I have brought a monetary reward to compensate the men for their efforts.”
“Thank you, Cousin,” Richard said taking the money pouch from William. My men will appreciate your generosity. We all worked together: Gardiner, his contacts, the girl and her mother from the boarding house, my men; everyone was indispensable. Let us be grateful that nothing worse happened. Mrs. Darcy and Anna are alive and back under your protection and Georgiana survived her injury and will soon be home.”
“I thank God for that, and believe me, words will never be enough to convey my gratitude.”
“Cousin, I know you have not had a lot of time since yesterday, but have you made any arrangements for your sister’s return?” Richard asked.
“I was hoping either you or Uncle might go to Rosings Park and retrieve her and the maids. I do not care to leave Elizabeth and Anna just yet.
“It would be best if I went,” Richard offered. “I can leave as early as first light for Rosings Park, providing we have decent weather. Assuming she feels well enough to travel, I should have our girl back at Darcy House late tomorrow afternoon, just in time for dinner. As for Wickham and his men, I have given my statements and have done what I could on that end for now. With Father’s influence, he is by far the best person to oversee that situation in our stead.”
“Of course. Thank you, Uncle. I also wanted to say how much I appreciate your support with regard to Lady Catherine. Aunt Eleanor told me some of it when she attended my wedding.”
“You owe me nothing, Nephew. Catherine is my sister, and I accept responsibility for her. She is a stubborn woman who atthis point would prefer to give up her home and live in Town rather than acknowledge your marriage. Even so, it is my fervent hope she will change her mind over time.”
“My wishes are the same, though it is unlikely she will ever acquiesce. Uncle, I realise you were not pleased with the way my marriage came about, but I tell you, I would have no other woman for my wife. Elizabeth is everything I have ever dreamed of. What is more, she is no wilting flower. She is an intelligent, self-assured woman and did everything within her power to protect Anna from that madman when they were captives.”
“Then it appears you are a fortunate man, Nephew. Despite my previous objections, your Aunt and I look forward to properly receiving Mrs. Darcy once things have settled down a bit.” He momentarily chuckled. “I dare say, for Eleanor the wait may not be long. She will waste no time in resuming her plans to host a ball in honour of your marriage and will most likely call on your wife in the next day or two.”
“I will convey your message. Elizabeth deserves to be publicly recognised by our family in this community if she is to succeed and I will do whatever it takes to support her in this.”
“Your aunt will be pleased to hear it.”
Extending his hand to Richard and the Earl, William said his goodbyes and promptly left Matlock House. Thus far it had been a long day, but soon he would be home with Elizabeth and Anna where he would put all of this aside and happily give them his undivided attention.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
A NEW BEGINNING
London
Hyde Park
The Same Day
