“Why would you not want to join your family?”
“Please do not ask me to explain further. Scripture tells one to honour thy mother and father,” Mary demurred.
Then he remembered Mrs Bennet’s relentless scolding after Mary refused to marry the buffoon Mr Collins. With that in mind, it was not strange that she was wary of returning to Longbourn.
Should he wait until Bingley and Jane returned from their bridal trip? They could stay at Darcy House while he was away, chasing Elizabeth to Holstein. He could not ask the Matlocks to host Mary, as they had made their disdain for everyone named Bennet abundantly clear.
Tired and angry, Darcy decided to await his friend before undertaking another sea voyage. He could call in Wickham’s debts and send him to Newgate, but that would remove the possibility of making Lydia into a respectable woman for all eternity. He dared not risk it, even though the newspapers had abandoned the debate about which of his sisters had dallied with the rogue. It was the best he could hope for while he prayed that they never discovered the truth—that it was both of them.
Then an idea struck him. It entailed humbling himself before Mr Gardiner, but he would do that, and much more, to find Elizabeth.
“I shall ask Mr Gardiner whether Miss Bennet can stay there until Mr and Mrs Bingley return. I shall arrange for you to visit Lady Matlock, Georgiana.”
“But, what about Almack’s on Wednesday?”
It vexed him no end that Georgiana had received a voucher while Elizabeth had not. Lady Jersey and her accomplices wished to humble him by forcing him to escort his sister to an assembly where his wife was not welcomed. It suited him very well to thwart their efforts in demeaning Elizabeth.
“Lady Matlock can escort you just as well if not better than I, Georgiana.”
Darcy was decided, and the girls realised it as they made no further demands upon him.
He sent a message to Mr Gardiner, received a favourable reply, went directly to the merchant’s warehouse, and was admitted into his office.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. In either instance, I shall have Elizabeth’s grandmother’s current address.”
Mr Gardiner eyed him warily, but Darcy was tired of the games, prevarications, and missing his wife.
“She is at Ritterhof Castle, five miles south of Rendsburg in the direction of Hamburg.”
“Thank you,” he muttered. “And I would like to purchase Mrs Bean’s debts.”
The Bow Street Runners had discovered that Mrs Bean was indeed responsible for the licentious drawing of Elizabeth in her ball gown—an offence he intended to punish severely.
Mr Gardiner looked at him warily. “It is a substantial sum—three thousand one hundred and twenty-seven pounds. If you want it, it is yours.”
“I shall write you a bank note and have my man of business deliver it. If you will excuse me, I must prepare for a sea voyage.”
Darcy rose, shook Mr Gardiner’s hand, and walked out of the office.
If he failed, he could always wait for Richard in Altstadt.
The Bingleys would arrive from Scotland on July the fourteenth and had promised to visit him in London before returning to Netherfield. Darcy penned a letter, inviting them to remain in his house until he returned from the continent. He prompted them to allow Mary and Georgiana to stay with them there. In the meantime, fear was beginning to override his senses, and he paced his study like a caged animal, nurturing his anger and allowing his resentment to grow.
Chapter 26 If I be Waspish, Beware of my Sting
In the garden of Ritterhof Castle, July 24th
“Mrs Darcy, there is a gentleman here to see you.”
Elizabeth’s hands flew to her hair. It was no use; the wind had pulled several locks from their pins, but it was impossible to mend without a mirror.
“Where is h—” The words died on her lips as she turned to address the maid. Mr Darcy was striding towards her with his coat billowing around his legs. The hair at the back of her neck rose to stand on end, her solar plexus hummed, and a knot formed in her throat.
“That is no gentleman!”
Her rage was instant and violent. The poor maid looked like she was about to have an apoplexy.
“You are excused and may return to the house,” she ordered the servant. She did not want anyone to witness the spectacle that was certain to follow.
