The sheer audacity of her counterattack rendered him speechless. She had not only anticipated his movements but had pieced together his actions with disconcerting accuracy.
“This proves my point,” he replied. “Such inquiries are far too sensitive to conduct openly. You’ve made yourselves conspicuous targets for anyone with reason to fear exposure.”
“All the more reason to work together rather than at cross purposes,” Elizabeth suggested, her tone softening marginally. “Three investigators will surely make more progress than one.”
“No.” Darcy’s response was immediate and absolute. “Georgiana, you will cease these activities immediately. Your time is better spent with Mrs. Hurst and Miss Bingley, planning the All Hallows’ Eve gathering.”
“But, Fitzwilliam?—”
“This is not a negotiation.” He hated the hurt that flashed across her face, but could not relent. “If you cannot abide by these restrictions, I shall arrange for you to stay with Aunt Catherine at Rosings until this matter is resolved.”
Georgiana paled, her eyes widening with shock at the severity of his threat. “You would send me away? From my own home?”
“If necessary to ensure your safety, yes.”
Georgiana glared at him, and then, with a dignity that reminded him painfully of their mother, she gathered her skirts and swept past him.
“Georgiana—” He reached for her arm.
She evaded his touch with a swift step. “I shall be in my room, Brother. Since I am clearly too fragile and feminine to engage in anything more taxing than selecting flower arrangements with Miss Bingley.”
The uncharacteristic sarcasm stung, but Darcy made no move to follow as she walked toward the house, her back rigid with hurt pride.
“Well done,” Elizabeth observed with acid sweetness, “that was certainly an edifying display of brotherly affection.”
The challenge in her voice sent heat through him despite his anger. She stood with her chin raised and her eyes blazing, every inch the defiant woman who had eviscerated him yesterday in his drawing room. Beautiful, maddening, utterly impossible—and completely under his power, if he chose to exercise it.
“Since you have driven off your sister.” She affected a yawn. “I suppose I, too, shall retire to the privacy of my bedchamber.”
“After I detain you, Miss Bennet.” He moved closer, noting with satisfaction how her breath caught despite her defiant posture. “It appears we need to discuss the… parameters of your remaining time at Pemberley.”
“Parameters?” Her eyebrows rose with dangerous delicacy. “How intriguing. Do enlighten me.”
“Your investigations into family history, while understandable, have become inappropriate. You have exceeded the bounds of proper guest behavior by questioning my servants and involving my sister in activities that could prove harmful to her reputation and welfare.”
Elizabeth’s laugh held no humor whatsoever. “I see. And what would you suggest I do with my time instead? Perhaps needlework? Or shall I practice my watercolors while sitting silently in corners like a proper little ornament?”
“You will conduct yourself as befits a lady of good breeding,” he replied with cutting precision. “Which means you will not wander the estate unaccompanied, question servants about family matters,or encourage my sister to participate in activities I have explicitly forbidden.”
“Forbidden.” She repeated the word as though it tasted foul. “How delightfully autocratic of you, Mr. Darcy. I was not aware that your authority extended to guests who have committed no crime beyond curiosity about their heritage.”
“Your heritage remains unproven,” he said sternly. “And until it can be established through proper channels, you are a guest in my home, subject to the same rules that govern any other visitor.”
“And pray tell, what rules are guests subjected to? Do you perhaps require loyalty oaths? Or is there a code of silence I must adhere to?”
“Questioning servants goes beyond the pale of propriety, as do entertaining fanciful tales and disregarding my sister’s safety. While you reside under my roof, you are not to investigate family members, living or dead.” He stepped too close for propriety’s sake, lowering his voice though they were alone in the garden.
“Except, I am not merely a guest like the Bingleys.” Elizabeth’s eyes speared his with an intensity he found hard to ignore. “ If I am indeed your cousin—which the evidence strongly suggests—then I have as much right to be at Pemberley as you do. More, perhaps, depending on what the legal documents reveal.”
“If you truly are Elizabeth Rose Darcy, then you are my first cousin and under my protection as the head of this family.” He delivered the pronouncement with the authority he had cultivated over the years of managing Pemberley. “That means your safety is my responsibility, whether you wish it or not.”
“And if I refuse your… protection?” Elizabeth’s voice dripped with skepticism on the final word.
“Then you place me in the untenable position of returning you to Longbourn. You are but a maid, not yet twenty-one, and I, in my position as your male cousin, must take responsibility for you since your father is absent.”
Darcy saw the exact moment Elizabeth realized the trap had snapped shut.
“I am to be your prisoner instead?” she demanded, color rising in her cheeks.
