Not being a man who believed in violence as a way to settle arguments or problems, Darcy had to stop himself from planting a facer into Richard’s smug face. No matter how much fury he was feeling and displeasure he was showing on his face, his cousin looked unperturbed. As he felt his control slip, Darcy stopped himself because he knew if he crossed that line, he may not be able to uncross it. He pushed the door closed with enough force to cause it to slam, and not even that seemed to disturb Richard’s equanimity.
“How dare you return Giana here without my permission? Where is Mrs Younge? Did you go to Ramsgate and dismiss her to get back at me for employing her without consulting you?” Darcy thundered. With each word he spoke and still seeing no reaction from Richard, he closed the distance between them. He froze inches away from Richard’s face whenhe saw a look on his cousin’s countenance, which told him he was in danger. He stepped back and increased the distance between them.
“Are you done being petulant? When you are, I will tell you what happened, and, if you allow your damned improper pride to be put aside, I am sure you will agree that what I didhadto be done,” Richard barked back.
“There is nothing you can say to justify your blatant disrespect of my wishes!” Darcy insisted.
“You arrogant horse’s arse! Unlike you, Ididcall on Lady Jersey to verify the characters that woman gave you. The countess never wrote it, nor did she have anyone write it on her behalf, you great lummox! Not only did you not examine her characters, but you knew not what her true name was! It is, in fact,MissYounge! She was sacked on suspicion of theft after working for the De Melvilles briefly—a matter of days, not years as she claimed in the forged character—and not as a companion!” Richard said with a hard edge in his voice. He did not miss how each word landed like a hammer blow on his cousin. He could not stop now; he needed Fitz to put his arrogant pretentions aside once and for all. “Oh, but she was not alone in her scheme. No, she was in league with Wickham!
“Your arrogance and inactions placed our ward in imminent danger! What price has your pride very nearly cost now, Fitz? You opened the door wide and then left the field open for the fox to enter the henhouse!
“Minutes after you departed Ramsgate, Wicky and Miss Younge began to work on Giana to convince heryour good friendwas in love with her, and she with him. They also attempted to tell her that you would have been well pleased for her to marry the cad. Had I not arrived when I did, the bastard would have been on the way to Gretna with her! Because ourward refused to elope, he intended to kidnap her, with the aid of his paramour, the woman you blindly employed to be Giana’s companion. The same woman you were so sure was a perfect companion for your sister.”
Darcy’s knees went weak. He felt like he wanted to cast up his accounts. He took a few steps backward and collapsed onto the settee which was between the two floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the square. He placed his elbows on his knees and his head in his hands and began to rock back and forth as the ramifications of what Richard reported washed over him. “What have I done? What have I done?” he repeated. His cousin had called him an arrogant horse’s arse. He had wanted to rail against Richard at first. More than that, he desired to prove his rectitude and make Richard beg his pardon. Now he thought the moniker was an understatement regarding his contemptuous treatment of Richard when he had raised legitimate concerns about Mrs, no, Miss Younge. And the only one who needed to apologise was himself. “Does this mean Giana is ruined all because of me?”
“No, she is not. I arrived before they were able to execute the planned kidnapping of our ward…” Richard gave his cousin an in-depth report ending with Miss Younge’s punishment and the death of George Wickham.
“Are you sure his blood is not on your hands?” Darcy enquired once he had assimilated all that Richard had related to him.
“Even had it been, no one will ever find his body. However, no, I did not lay a hand on him which caused his death; he made a bad choice, just like he did for the whole of his worthless life. It was not my fault that the acoustics of the place to which I took him made it impossible for him to tell which side the sea was and which side was the land. I turned him away fromthe cliff edge, and it was his decision not to trust the direction I pointed him. Other than a blindfold, he was unencumbered. He turned and ran; it was only a yard or two to the edge of the land. His wrong decision caused him to fall more than a hundred feet to the rocks below. He will never bedevil any innocents ever again. More importantly, he will not be able to attempt to blackmail you in return for not attempting to ruin Giana.”
“I should have verified all of her characters,” Darcy mumbled. He still held his head in his hands as he hunched forward, with his elbows on his knees. “My mistakes could have sentenced Giana to a terrible life. The fact we would not have released her dowry to him is neither here nor there.”
“Yes, you erred, and yes, it could have cost our Giana very dearly.” Richard paused as he allowed time for his words to sink in. “I will say this once only, and then I will act if needed. If youeverallow your improper pride to even come close to placing Giana in jeopardy again, I will go to Father, and he will assist me in having you removed as a guardian. This is not a threat; it is a promise, Fitz. Do you understand?”
Without looking up at his cousin, Darcy nodded. “I swear, I will be better,” he managed.
“You had better be,” Richard growled. “Fitz, look at me.” His cousin lifted his eyes which were moist. “You need to begin by speaking to Giana. It will help her recovery if you too own your culpability in what happened. She knows she has a part as well, and it is important that you do not attempt to minimise that. She will learn from this. And Fitz…”
“Yes?” Darcy wondered.
“I will be relatingallof this to Mother and Father, and when he returns, Andy as well. The time for secrets among the family is long past.”
“It is no less than I expected. If, no when, they too censure me, I will deserve it fully. Who should feel the culpability if not me? Had I paid heed to you before I allowed the woman to be alone with Giana, none of this would have occurred.”
“If you are expecting me to disagree with you, I will not.”
“No, Richard, that is not my aim. I have much to assess about my behaviour and attitudes, and I know it will not be the work of an instant. I am also sure I will err along the way, even repeat some of my bad behaviours, but I will endeavour not to do so.” Darcy paused as he cogitated. “I thank Godyouhad the foresight, which was sorely lacking in my decisions. For Giana and myself, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
“As far as atruecompanion for Giana goes, I will ask Mother for recommendations, and thenwewill together evaluate the choices, andwe willverify every single character. Only once we agree will we select one.”
Even had Darcy been of a mind to object, which he was not, he would not have said a word in opposition.
Darcy knew that had Richard decided to go to Uncle Reggie and initiate proceedings to remove him as one of Giana’s guardians, his uncle would not have opposed his son.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
“What does the report say regarding this Mr Bingley who has applied to rent Netherfield Park?” Tommy asked one afternoon when the family met in the drawing room to spend some time together.
“Your mother and I have not made a final decision yet,” Bennet reported.
“Why Papa? Is the man deficient?” Ellie, who had turned thirteen in January past, asked.
“He seems to be an honourable man, but he has a tendency to fall in love with alacrity, and then when he loses interest, he falls out of love just as fast. Your Papa and I do not want such a man to meddle with the emotions of girls in the neighbourhood,” Becca explained. “He has a younger sister, Miss Caroline Bingley, who is an inveterate fortune hunter and social climber. From what we see here, even though she is the daughter of a tradesman, she looks down her nose at most who are in fact above her, and is a rather nasty woman. Mr Bingley has proven to be rather capricious and shies away from confrontation, which means he will not correct his sister.”
“If she finds out your grandfather and grandmother are a duke and duchess, and Will a marquess, she will fawn all over you and attempt to ingratiate herself with us to improve her connections,” Bennet added.
“Not the ideal family,” Beth observed.
