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Even though the message that Younge would not be present was received, Richard decided that they would not take a chance, just in case.

It was just as well, Johanna álvarez had stirred herself from her bed early that morning and had one of the men escort her to the hiding place so she could see the mansion for herself.

She arrived just as the ‘Duchess’ was completing her ramble.

The three who had been watching before she arrived let out a collective sigh of relief that the routine had been maintained.

Johanna stayed for an hour and then grew bored and instructed the man who had escorted her that it was time for her to return to the cottage. As she rode back, envious thoughts coursed through her mind.

‘ How is it fair that they have so much, and I have nothing after they stole all of my late husband’s hard-earned wealth?

’ she thought poisonously. Giving truth to the saying that the biggest lies we tell are the ones that we tell ourselves, she would likely never understand that it was her husband’s choices and her own that led to her current circumstances.

‘ After what I saw, we should be asking for more than two hundred and fifty thousand pounds! I bet those toffs could pay double that amount, ’ she thought snappishly as her avarice overshadowed her reason.

When she returned to the cottage, she found Younge dozing in a chair in the small sitting/dining room and shook him awake. “I have just returned from the stand where the men are watching the house from.”

“Did y’ take their food wif you?’ he asked.

“No, why would I do that? she responded indignantly. “There are enough men here to do that. It is bad enough that I must perform menial tasks in this backwoods cottage!” she spat out.

“Keeps calm, Mrs. álvarez,” he placated, “I was jut’ askin’. Meant nothin’ by it.”

“You have seen the mansion that they live in, have you not?” she demanded, and he nodded that it was so.

“Living in a palace such as that, we are not demanding enough for the return of their precious little duchess,” she announced.

“If thas what ye think, ‘ow much you wanna demand?” he asked, not averse to receiving more money.

“We should double it,” she stated firmly.

“Too much. ‘ow about three ‘undred an’ fifty thousand?” he countered.

Johanna considered what he said. “Then I get one hundred thousand and you get the rest.” She bargained.

“Done!” Young agreed quickly as the vision of ships danced before his eyes.

“We ‘ave a accord,” he offered her his hand to shake.

Tibbson, who had been listening to the two below the window, could only shake his head in wonder.

He knew that they would never receive a penny, never mind the fantastical amounts that they imagined, but it was amusing to listen to their delusional planning all the same.

Standing near the open window, he told one of the men that he needed to go relieve himself in the forest. He found one of the guards and told him of the latest madness brewing between Younge and Mrs. álvarez.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Georgiana was sitting in the garden with Loretta listening to her tale of her misdirected infatuation with the Duke of Brighton.

She felt badly for her cousin’s heartbreak, but was pleased that Retta had admitted that it was not love.

That word sparked many emotions in the youngest Darcy.

Whenever she heard that word, or thought about it, there was only one image that it conjured, that of the Marquess of Netherfield, James Bennet.

There were some similarities between hers and Retta’s cases, but also a lot of differences.

When they were in company in common, James always went out of his way to spend time with her.

He never treated her like a young girl, but rather as a young lady that he respected.

She became warm all over as a fission of excitement passed through her body remembering their conversation before she departed Pemberley with the De Melvilles and younger Bennet twins.

“May I join you, Georgiana?” James asked as he approached her in the blue drawing room. She nodded as she blushed becomingly, glancing to verify Mrs. Annesley, who was sitting across from them, was out of earshot.

“I have a question that I would like to ask you, Georgiana, if you are willing to hear it.” He hedged.

Her heart was racing even though the restrictions that William and Richard had imposed regarding her first season ensured it was not that question.

She nodded again not trusting herself to talk yet.

Georgiana appreciated that James never referred to her as ‘sister’ as he did the rest of his sisters and sisters-in-law, and he had also stopped calling her ‘Georgie’ but rather used her full name when he addressed her.

He had always spoken to her as an equal, never talking down to her or over-explaining as older siblings were wont to do.

It was one of the many things that she loved about him.

He seated himself on the settee, but not too close to her, maintaining a respectful distance.

“You will dance the first at the coming out ball with William and Richard, is that not so?” he asked.

Again, she nodded, agreeing that it was so.

They had decided that William would dance the opening dance of the set and then Richard would take over for the second dance.

“Then would you do me the honour of granting me the second set, Georgiana?” he asked as he looked deeply into her eyes, conveying it was no small request, and more than this dance hinged on the answer.

“Yes James, the second is yours,” she replied with pleasure.

“May I also be so bold as to request the supper sets?” he held his breath.

“Yes, you may and yes, I will partner you for the supper set,” she responded as her happiness grew and threatened to explode.

“I suppose that your guardians would not allow a third set in so public a venue and at your first official ball,” he frowned, reasonably sure that William and Richard would nix the last set even if Georgiana granted it.

“Your supposition is correct,” she smiled gently.

He could tell that she would have much preferred to be allowed to dance the final set with him, and what she said next confirmed his suspicion completely.

“I will not accept another for the final set so when you ‘notice’ that I have no partner, you will be ‘forced’ to do the gentlemanly thing and condescend to partner me, so I do not sit out a set at my own coming out ball,” she locked their eyes, challenging him to gainsay her like he had seen his sister Lizzy give in the past.

“You are becoming a schemer like your brother’s wife,” he grinned, “however, I promise you that I will not allow you to miss dancing the final set, which I believe will be the Waltz!” Imagining being held closely by James as they twirled around the dance floor produced a deep scarlet blush that started at her hairline and disappeared under her dress.

“Georgie!” Loretta attempted to gain her cousin’s attention for the third time.

Snapping out of her reverie, Georgiana took a few seconds to recover her equanimity. Each time she envisioned dancing the Waltz with the man that she loved she felt more and more pleasure. “I am so very sorry, Retta,” she said sheepishly, “I was wool gathering.”

“Yes, I am sure you were,” Loretta replied archly, “and I will wager I know what, or more accurately who , was the subject of said reverie,” she teased good naturedly. Rather than answer, Georgie looked away and blushed deeply telling her cousin more than she possibly could have with words alone.

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

The guard reporting that the criminals were planning to demand an extra hundred thousand for the ‘Duchess’ after seeing the wealth represented by the house had just left.

“It sounds like the late Mrs. Younge was not the only insane one of the three,” Lord Reggie exclaimed, verbalising what all of the men were thinking.

“Not only will they not receive a penny,” Lord Thomas scowled, “but I seriously doubt whether Younge will have one to pay the executioner to use a sharp blade when his time comes.” The other men all nodded in agreement.

“All of us here miss our wives and family,” Andrew stated the obvious, “but correct me if I am wrong, Brother, that all the signs point to this coming to a head on the morrow, do they not?”

“Yes, Andrew,” Richard nodded, “that is what I believe too.”

“One more day,” William sighed with relief, “only one day more!”

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

At that very moment, Jones and the other two men who had watched from the tree stand returned to the cottage encampment. Jones was summoned to the cottage to meet with the two co-conspirators. “Well?” Johanna álvarez asked impatiently, “did we learn anything new today?”

“No, Mrs.,” Jones retorted, feigning deference to the woman. “Afte’ ‘er walk in t’ mornin, we dunna see ‘er agin.”

“She did not ride with her husband as she did yesterday?” Johanna grilled Jones while Younge sat back seemingly not taking issue with Mrs. álvarez conducting the meeting, and Jones shook his head in response to her question.

“And she commenced her walk at the same time as yesterday and followed the same route?”

“She did, Mrs.” Jones stated evenly.

“That will be all,” she said dismissively.

As he left the cottage Jones was pleased to see one of Barlow’s men in place below the open window. He was sure that Younge would soon share his final plan with them, but he would rather leave nothing to chance.

“It seems like she walks out every morning at the same time,” Mrs. álvarez said triumphantly. “Did I not say that they would relax at their home?” Younge had actually said just that, but he saw no need to correct her. “We take her tomorrow?” Johanna asked, the anticipation evident in her voice.

“Yeah, we does,” Younge responded. “We ‘ave four o’ our best men take ‘er and brings ‘er ‘ere to bung ‘er in t’ carriage.” Johanna understood that there was nowhere nearer to place the conveyance without it being detected. “We will ‘ave one o’ t’ men pay a boy in Kympton to take t’ note ta ‘is Grace.”

“We give him a week to deliver the ransom, or we kill his wife, correct?” Johanna said.

She could almost feel and smell the money in her hands.

Younge nodded, agreeing their plan was set.

The two pushed their chairs back and headed outside.

The man under the window had moved with great speed to fade into the group as soon as he heard them push their chairs back.

The two called all of the men around them as Younge revealed the final plan.

All of ‘his’ men reacted the way he expected, happy that they would soon receive their money and impressed it enough to swell their egos into complacent.

Once Younge and Mrs. álvarez had finished preening, they returned to the cottage.

As dusk was settling, Jones and Barlow knocked on the cottage door and were called inside.

Jones explained that they would like to go back to their hiding spot one more time and reconnoitre the gardens to find the best spot from which to kidnap the duchess.

Younge saw the sense in their request and blessed the operation.

As they were leaving, they asked what they should do with the lady’s maid.

Younge and Mrs. álvarez both callously stated that they did not care, saying that they should end her if she tried to raise the alarm or interfere with their actions.

Less than an hour later Jones and Barlow were standing in front of the men residing at Pemberley.

The plan was simple, the four men who were sent to kidnap the ‘lady’ would be issued pistols and then the fake duchess would be bound and a hood placed over her head then put across the back of Jones’s mount.

By the time that they returned, the encampment would be well and truly surrounded, and as soon as the two criminals took possession of their kidnap victim they would be arrested.

Not long after Jones and Barlow left to return to the encampment, a chaise and four was reported approaching the house.

It was not long after, that Tony álvarez was shown into the dining parlour where the men were enjoying their dinner.

It so happened that Mr. Elliot had joined the men that night so Tony would be able to hear all the news at once.

After he was shown to a room to wash and change, Tony joined the men for their meal.

After the last dishes had been cleared away, Tony was brought up to date on all of the developments. He was saddened but not surprised at the callous way the two had dismissed the life of the maid but was thankful that he would see the end to the madness on the morrow.