Page 49

Lieutenant Sanderson had been largely silent during the discussion.

He had identified love notes addressed to several of his fellow officers, as well as two to Wickham from ladies who had socialized with the regiment in Brighton.

Eventually he took up a stack of letters written in a feminine hand but with such poor penmanship that the others had pushed them aside.

A memory of a vivacious young lady laughing at his attempts to read her scrawl while playing a game of lottery tickets at her aunt’s home flashed through his mind.

He flushed slightly but his voice was steady when he handed them to Mr. Darcy.

“These are from Miss Lydia Bennet, sir.”

Darcy grimaced, but recognizing some of the pain in the younger man’s eyes, he commented, “Wickham is a practiced deceiver; indeed, he has managed to pull wool over the eyes of some of the most intelligent and perceptive people I know. I shudder to think of what he had planned for Miss Lydia Bennet, but we must remember that he did not succeed. ”

Sanderson stared at the letters in the gentleman’s hand for a moment before saying quietly, “She has such an energy about her—it’s hard to look away sometimes. I pray that this experience will not diminish that.”

Thinking to himself that such a shift in personality was highly unlikely where Lydia Bennet was concerned, Mr. Darcy said mildly, “I doubt that her natural high spirits will be permanently damaged. If anything, I hope that a better understanding of the perils in the world may cause her to be more careful in the future. When I last spoke with Mr. Bennet, he was considering the benefits of sending her to school for a few years.”

The tow-haired youth nodded seriously. “A prudent idea. My own younger sister has been under the protection of my brother and myself since the death of our father several years ago. We have left her care and education to our mother but, when I was last home, I noticed that Dorothy has developed a distressingly na?ve view of the world. I have wondered if a year or two at school might help her learn to temper her sensibilities.”

Darcy found himself warming to the junior officer.

“Miss Elizabeth Bennet recently pointed out to me that, in many ways, our society’s convention of protecting young ladies by closeting them away does them a grave disservice.

By keeping them ignorant of the world’s evils, they cannot protect themselves, and no matter how hard we try, their brothers and fathers cannot guard them every minute. ”

Nodding, the Lieutenant admitted, “I will need to think on this further and then discuss it with my brother, but what you say makes a great deal of sense.”

Darcy was unaccustomed to being so open with relative strangers, but he could see that Sanderson was genuinely worried about his own sister, in addition to Miss Lydia Bennet.

“I myself have a younger sister and, as Colonel Fitzwilliam will attest, I’ve been the most overprotective guardian imaginable since my own father passed on some seven years ago.

If I am ever so fortunate as to have a daughter myself, I hope I will be strong enough to act somewhat differently. ”

Richard could not help but chortle, “Oh Lord… Darce, the mere image of you trying to restrain your protective nature with a daughter of your own… why, I shall pray every Sunday that I live long enough to see you forced to introduce a whole gaggle of beautiful daughters to Society…” His chuckle became a full belly laugh when his cousin blanched at the thought.

Before Colonel Fitzwilliam might proceed with his teasing, their conference was interrupted by a knock at the door. Georgiana entered somewhat timidly, although her curiosity over the gentlemen’s conversation could not be completely contained.

They all rose and Will went to stand by her side. “Gentlemen, allow me to introduce my sister, Miss Darcy. Georgiana, these are Colonel Forster and Lieutenant Sanderson. They have come down from the regimental headquarters in Hertfordshire.”

He was relieved that he would not have to explain further when Georgiana merely nodded slightly while eyeing the two strangers. After exchanging greetings, she turned back to her brother.

“I wished to inquire about your plans for luncheon. Aunt Eleanor sent a note over to say that she would be arriving with Ellen and Lucy at half past one. And, of course, I expect Mrs. Gardiner to arrive with Miss Bennet and Miss Elizabeth around the same time.”

However much Darcy might yearn to hold Elizabeth and bury his face in her hair, Richard was already shaking his head. “I thank you for my share of the invitation, Georgiana, but as much as I would enjoy the company, I fear we must return to my office and get these papers sorted out.”

He turned to his cousin. “Darce—there is no reason you should not stay… as long as you aren’t afraid of being the lone gentleman dining with seven ladies… with weddings and shopping being the prevailing topics of conversation, I would wager.”

Although the remark made him smile a little, Will shook his head. Turning to his sister, he squeezed her shoulder. “I must go with them; I may have knowledge of Mr. Wickham’s acquaintances and habits that will be of help. But will you be alright alone, Georgiana?”

Miss Darcy was proud that she did not to flinch at the mention of That Man’s name. “Yes, of course, and Elizabeth will be here to help me if someone fearsome arrives unexpectedly.”

To be sure, Georgiana was thinking only of Miss Bingley, whose recent disappointment had made her even less pleasant than usual.

However, as her brother’s thoughts had been centered on Wickham all morning, it was not surprising that his mind leapt to the worst possible interpretation.

“Mr. Wickham is locked up, guarded by soldiers who have no patience for his charming lies, dearest. You don’t need to worry about him forcing his way in here. ”

Miss Darcy was about to correct his misunderstanding, but something in her brother’s voice told her that he needed to feel that he had been able to reassure her.

She smiled softly. “Thank you, Fitzwilliam. I shall not worry.” Georgiana turned back to the others and bid them farewell.

A twinkle in her cousin’s eye suggested that Richard had guessed her stratagem, but she managed to depart before he might tease her about it.

Not much later, the gentlemen left the house and mounted their horses for the Staff Corps headquarters. If one of their number looked back wistfully, hoping to see a certain young lady arriving at Derwent House with her aunt and sister, he was to be disappointed.

The men worked all afternoon and into the evening, but the effort was well worthwhile.

Sanderson was sent off to Darcy’s solicitor with a note that allowed him to collect certain papers documenting Wickham’s extensive debts over the years.

By the time the Lieutenant returned, Colonel Fitzwilliam’s man had just arrived with another stack of notes detailing Wickham’s additional obligations to the merchants of Brighton.

“Hell’s bells! Wickham spends more on clothes than I do!” exploded Colonel Fitzwilliam. “Not only uniforms, but all sorts of coats and hats and boots! What possible use could he have for twenty silk handkerchiefs, I ask you!?!”

Darcy could have answered that, when they had shared rooms at university, Wickham would often boast about loaning such items to ladies as the first step in his seduction. Given what he suspected of George’s relationship with Colonel Forster’s wife, however, he chose to remain silent.

Fortunately, Richard had moved on to a different receipt. “What the devil is this written in, German?”

Colonel Forster eyed the note and then passed it to his aide. “Possibly—many of the shopkeepers in Brighton are immigrants. Sanderson?”

The Lieutenant was already preparing pen and paper. “Yes, sir. A northern dialect, I believe. I’ll draft a translation for you just now.”

Colonel Fitzwilliam’s eyebrows rose and he spent several minutes quizzing the young officer and becoming increasingly impressed while Colonel Forster looked on like a proud father.

“I know I ought to discourage Sanderson’s plans to transfer to the regulars—he makes my own job far easier, as you can imagine—but his linguistic talents are far too valuable to be wasted in the militia, I fear. ”

The two Colonels shared a look and an unspoken agreement was made. If Fitzwilliam was satisfied with the young Lieutenant’s merit, he would use his own not insignificant influence to smooth Sanderson’s transfer.

Some time later, the four men broke for a quick meal at a local chophouse and went from there to Gracechurch Street.

The colonels’ primary purpose was to take Mr. Bennet’s statement.

If Mr. Darcy and Lieutenant Sanderson had hopes for certain feminine company, only one of them was to be satisfied, and even then only partially.

Elizabeth and her sisters were upstairs while Mr. Darcy introduced the others and explained what they needed from Mr. Bennet.

Mr. Gardiner’s intelligent questions rapidly gained him Colonel Fitzwilliam’s respect and Richard found himself explaining more details of the situation than he would have done for Mr. Bennet alone.

Although the cavalryman might not show it, he actually felt a great deal of pity for Elizabeth’s father.

The gentleman was obviously heartsick over this latest evidence of his youngest daughter’s shameful conduct and rapidly found himself out of his depth when the conversation turned to the legal aspects of Wickham’s trial.

Bennet covered his ignorance with a few sarcastic quips and a quote or three from the Greeks, but it was obvious to Richard’s sharp eye when Mr. Gardiner subtly prompted his brother-in-law on the pertinent details to include while writing his statement.