Darcy fixed his cousin with a sharp glare, but Fitzwilliam did nothing more than grin. “To those who know you, you were no less than transparent in Kent, Darcy. You should be grateful that Lady Catherine does not know you nearly so well as she supposes. I caught a hint of your interest from almost the first meeting, and as I am certain something happened between you before we left, the knowledge has led me to make a few interesting conclusions.
“Now, can you think of nothing that might have informed Wickham of your feelings?”
For a moment Darcy could think of nothing. Then the memory of the night at Netherfield Park entered his mind, and he blanched.
“What is it?” demanded Fitzwilliam.
“Bingley held a ball not long before we departed the neighborhood. I danced with Miss Elizabeth at that ball.”
Fitzwilliam’s eyes bored into him. “Did you dance with any others?”
“Not a one,” said Darcy quietly. “Not even my hostess, though she did not appreciate my lapse. She was nigh unendurable the entire time I was in Hertfordshire, and I had no desire to do anything that would cause her to hope.”
Fitzwilliam nodded. “Several of Wickham’s fellows mentioned that dance when I questioned them. Then you met Miss Elizabeth in Kent. We left two weeks after Easter, and as I recall, Miss Elizabeth was to depart a week later. That would have put her in Hertfordshire before the regiment relocated to Brighton.”
“You suppose Miss Elizabeth is his target?” asked Darcy, the sinking feeling in his midsection informing him that his cousin likely had the right of it.
“I suspect she is,” confirmed he. “The facts point to Wickham’s understanding of your regard for Miss Elizabeth, and if he cannot be certain of it, Wickham would take even a slight hint of interest on your part as a reason to act.”
“Wickham has never descended to violence,” objected Darcy. “That is the one sin I have no reason to lay at his door.”
“No,” agreed Fitzwilliam, “but he has a supreme confidence in his ability to charm ladies.”
“Given everything I know of their connection,” replied Darcy stubbornly, “Miss Elizabeth has always thought well of him. I suspect it was not two days before he began regaling her with tales of his misfortunes at my hands. Miss Elizabeth confirmed as much to me in comments during our dance at Netherfield.”
“I have always said you were far too passive regarding Wickham, Darcy,” replied Fitzwilliam. “Miss Elizabeth is as intelligent a woman as I have ever met, but Wickham is a deceiver without peer. If she still esteems him, she might be in danger, for even a virtuous woman might fall prey to a lecher. He might exploit even an instant of weakness.”
“She does not think well of him any longer,” said Darcy.
“Oh?” asked Fitzwilliam with deceptive mildness. “Do tell, Darcy.”
Darcy paused, for he had no notion that she knew anything of Wickham, for he could not be certain she had read his letter. Though he had counted on her sense of justice and her curiosity to induce her to read it, that she had simply burned it, hoping to expunge the events in the parlor at Hunsford from her memory was equally plausible.
“I... I had occasion to explain something of Wickham’s behavior to her.”
“Do you suppose she believed you?”
“I cannot say,” said Darcy in all truth.
“There is something you are not telling me, Cousin,” said Fitzwilliam. “I shall have it from you in time. For now, I will say that I believe you are correct, for two of Wickham’s fellows spoke of their meeting before the regiment left Meryton and of Miss Elizabeth’s coolness of manner toward him.”
Darcy nodded, relieved at this bit of evidence of her belief in his account. The way Fitzwilliam was looking at him, Darcy was certain his cousin would badger him until he revealed what had happened between them. Not eager to share it, Darcy meant to put him off as long as possible.
“Then there is little reason to stay here,” said Darcy. “We should make for Hertfordshire at once.”
“The situation is not that dire just yet,” said Fitzwilliam, reaching out to grasp his shoulder and prevent him from rising. “I tracked Wickham from Brighton to London easily enough, but he disappeared into the bowels of the city when he arrived here. I currently have men watching all roads north, so we should have some warning if he attempts to leave. If we are lucky, perhaps they will take him into custody.”
“Do you not suppose Wickham has some means of leaving unobserved?” asked Darcy. “He must know that his commanding officer would not stand aside and allow him to desert without trying to find him.”
Fitzwilliam bared his teeth in the rictus of a grin. “No, I do not suppose he would. But then again, he can have no notion that I am on his trail, for I suspect he would take passage to the New World if he was aware of it.”
That was nothing less than the truth, Darcy reflected, for Wickham had always been afraid of Darcy’s burly cousin. Fitzwilliam was a ruthless and implacable enemy when aroused to anger.
“Then what do you propose?”
“Let us be patient, Darcy. We should be warned if Wickham attempts to leave London, and I sent men to Meryton to keep an eye on things. I am too fond of Miss Elizabeth to leave her to face the depredations of the likes of Wickham alone. We shall go if we must, but I hope to resolve this matter without bothering Miss Elizabeth at all if I can manage it.”
It occurred to Darcy at that moment he had received a golden opportunity to put himself in Miss Elizabeth’s company again. While the situation was not one he wished to face, he knew instinctively they would need to go to Hertfordshire to see to her safety themselves. Given that suspicion, Darcy wondered how he might go about staying in the neighborhood, not only to weather this crisis but also to change her opinion of him.
