“I apologize if you considered it as such,” replied Mrs. Younge, her manner far from subservient, “but I only meant to remind Georgiana that there are studies she must still undertake. If you will pardon me, you do not pay me to provide instruction to Miss Darcy’s friends.”
“No, Darcy does not, though I suspect he could afford to do so.” Mr. Bennet grinned at Darcy, though he could see his father-in-law was not pleased with the woman. “Yet you are not in a position to ignore them either.”
“Tell me, Mrs. Younge,” said Darcy, wondering at this constant butting of heads with a woman who should not challenge them, “if I paid you to provide instruction to Kitty and Lydia, would that meet your approval? Surely you would welcome the benefits of extra income for little extra effort.”
The way the woman’s jaw tightened, Darcy was certain a host of caustic retorts had entered her mind. That she did notvoice them was an improvement, for she had not always been so circumspect.
“I would advise against it, Mr. Darcy,” said she after a moment in apparent consideration—Darcy was certain she had been gathering herself to avoid saying something she should not. “Though I will, of course, abide by your instructions, I have always found it beneficial to concentrate on personal instruction. Adding your sisters would dilute the effectiveness of what I teach.”
“That is quite altruistic of you, Mrs. Younge.”
Though Mrs. Younge heard the mocking quality of Elizabeth’s comment—anyone of any sense at all could not have missed it—she spared only a glance for Elizabeth. Instead, she directed her comments to Darcy.
“Unless you have any objection, it is time for Miss Darcy’s lesson.”
“Very well,” said Darcy. Georgiana appeared annoyed at Mrs. Younge, but she did not protest as they departed from the room.
When they were gone, Thompson stuck his head into the room, fixing Darcy with a questioning look. Darcy nodded, and Thompson turned away, his light footstep following Mrs. Younge and Georgiana away down the hall. The man was not unsubtle; he would not loiter outside the door to Georgiana’s chambers, but Darcy knew he would keep watch for anything out of the ordinary, likely stationing himself near the entrance. Darcy did not know that Mrs. Younge would attempt to spirit Georgiana from the house, but he was not willing to chance it either.
“That woman is a menace,” grumbled Lydia, drawing Darcy’s attention back to her.
“What do you mean, Lydia?” asked Elizabeth.
Lydia blushed, appearing to believe she had overstepped, trying to stammer an apology.
“Do not apologize, for we wish to hear your opinion about Mrs. Younge,” said Elizabeth, giving the girl reassurance.
“She is never kind to Kitty or me,” said Lydia, a note of complaint in her voice. “In fact, she rarely takes the trouble to speak to us at all.”
“That is an improvement, to own the truth,” said Kitty. “Before that, she was often belittling in her comments.”
“Openly?” asked Elizabeth.
“No, she has always been more careful than that. When she spoke to me, she would often use a smile that I saw as insulting, thinking I would not understand what she meant. Sometimes I did not.”
“That is a strange way for a companion to speak to a friend of her charge,” observed Mr. Bennet.
“It is all part of the growing trouble we have had with her,” sighed Darcy. “I am now more inclined than ever to relieve her of her duties; there is something amiss with her and no mistake.”
“That is an option,” agreed Bennet. “If you do so now and put her out of the house, it may be difficult to find her again should Lord Matlock’s investigation reveal something untoward.”
Kitty gasped. “You are investigating Mrs. Younge?”
“Of course, they are, Kitty,” said Lydia. “Even I, who have never had a companion, know that Mrs. Younge’s behavior is odd.”
Darcy acknowledged the girls’ comments, but his attention was focused on Elizabeth, an eyebrow raised in question. Elizabeth understood at once and did not hesitate to respond.
“I agree with Papa. It is best to keep her on for the moment until we learn something more.”
Though he was uncertain of the wisdom of their path, Darcy nodded. “Perhaps we could increase our activities with the girls. More time under our oversight would give her less time to scheme.”
“That is acceptableifyou can bear to withdraw from society.”
Darcy grinned at her saucy comment. “I count it as no loss, Elizabeth.”
His beautiful wife grinned and turned back to her sisters. “For the moment, you must be silent about this matter, for we do not wish to alert Mrs. Younge to our investigation.”
“Can I tell Georgiana?” asked Kitty.
