Page 28 of Intrigue and Inheritance (Crime and Consequences #3)

Chapter Eleven

The carriages returned to Darcy House in a procession somewhat more subdued than their departure had been.

Elizabeth watched Kitty curiously, noting her sister’s unusual quietness.

The girl who had left the house bubbling with excitement about her drive with Viscount Shandly now wore a pensive expression.

It was the look of someone whose comfortable understandings had been suddenly and irrevocably disturbed.

“You are very quiet, Kitty,” Elizabeth remarked as the girls came into the hallway, where Harrison stood ready to receive their outer garments. “Did you not enjoy your drive with Lord Shandly?”

“The drive was perfectly pleasant,” Kitty replied, her tone lacking its usual animation. She handed her bonnet to the waiting maid with uncharacteristic absentmindedness. “Lord Shandly was all that is proper and entertaining.”

Elizabeth exchanged a quick glance with her husband, who had come out into the hallway.

His slight frown suggested he too had noticed the change in Kitty’s demeanour.

Anne and Mrs. Jenkinson had already started up the stairs, the older woman fussing about Anne requiring rest after such exertion, though Anne herself showed no signs of fatigue.

“Perhaps some tea in the drawing room?” Elizabeth suggested. “The afternoon has turned rather cool.”

“Actually,” Kitty said, glancing around to ensure they would not be overheard, “I would very much like to speak with you and Mr. Darcy. Privately, if possible.”

The unusual request, delivered with such seriousness, confirmed Elizabeth’s suspicions that something significant had occurred during the afternoon’s outing.

“Of course,” she replied smoothly. “Georgiana, would you be so kind as to check on Anne? I fear Mrs. Jenkinson may insist she take to her bed for a week after today’s adventure. ”

Georgiana smiled in understanding. “Certainly. I shall make sure Anne is not being overly coddled.” She departed with quiet grace, leaving Elizabeth, Darcy, and Kitty alone in the entrance hall.

“Shall we use the library?” Darcy suggested, his expression carefully neutral though Elizabeth could read the concern in his eyes. “We shall not be disturbed there.”

Once settled in the comfortable library, with its shelves of leather-bound volumes creating an atmosphere of contained knowledge and hushed confidences, Kitty seemed momentarily overawed by the seriousness of the situation she had created.

She perched on the edge of a chair, her hands twisting nervously in her lap, a gesture that reminded Elizabeth poignantly of the girl Kitty had been before coming to London, forever seeking the attention she had never received at Longbourn.

“What is it you wish to discuss, Kitty?” Elizabeth prompted gently. “You seem troubled.”

Kitty drew a deep breath, as though gathering courage. “I saw Lydia today.”

Elizabeth felt her heart skip a beat. Beside her, Darcy went utterly still, his face betraying nothing though she could sense his immediate tension. “Lydia?” she repeated, fighting to keep her voice level. “Here in London?”

“Yes,” Kitty nodded emphatically. “During my drive with Lord Shandly. We happened upon her in Bloomsbury. She was walking with a baby in a perambulator, a little girl she called Beth.”

“Did you speak with her?” Darcy asked, his tone carefully neutral.

“Of course I did,” Kitty replied, a hint of her former petulance surfacing.

“She’s my sister. But she was very strange, Lizzy.

Almost frightened to see me. And the baby.

..” She hesitated, her brow furrowed in confusion.

“The baby cannot possibly be as young as Lydia claims. Beth is clearly at least three months old, perhaps four. She can hold up her head and focus her eyes. She smiled at me.”

Elizabeth sat very straight in her chair, her hands folded in her lap to stop them from betraying her agitation. “And what did Lydia say about the child?”

“That’s just it,” Kitty exclaimed, leaning forward. “She insists Beth is only a few weeks old, that she was conceived after Lydia’s marriage to Major Wallace. But that’s impossible, isn’t it? I’ve seen enough babies to know Beth is older than Lydia claims.”

She looked between Elizabeth and Darcy, her expression increasingly troubled.

“And Lydia’s supposed to be in York. That’s what her letters say.

But she’s here in London, clearly hiding from us, and with a baby that cannot possibly be Major Wallace’s child if the dates are considered.

” Kitty paused, her voice dropping. “What’s happening, Lizzy?

Is Lydia in some sort of trouble? And why are you and Mr. Darcy looking at each other as though you already know all about it? ”

The directness of the last question caught Elizabeth by surprise. The old Kitty would have whined and pestered but might not have made such a perceptive observation about their reactions. This Kitty, however, was watching them with an acuity that made prevarication impossible.

Darcy turned to Elizabeth, his expression grave. “I believe we must tell her the truth; the entirety of it,” he said quietly. “It would be unjust to do otherwise, now that she has seen with her own eyes.”

Elizabeth nodded, feeling a curious mixture of dread and relief. The burden of secrecy, carried for so long, might finally be lightened, at least in this small way. “Yes, I agree. But Kitty must understand the seriousness of what we are about to share.”

She turned to her sister, noting the apprehension and determination that battled in Kitty’s expression.

“What we are about to tell you must not leave this room,” Elizabeth began, her voice steady despite her inner turmoil.

“Not just for Lydia’s sake, but for our entire family’s reputation and standing. Do you understand?”

Kitty nodded solemnly. “I understand. Is it... is it very bad?”

“It is... complicated,” Elizabeth replied carefully. “And yes, it would be considered very bad indeed by society, which is why such great care has been taken to conceal the truth.”

Darcy moved to stand beside the fireplace, his tall figure silhouetted against the dancing flames in a posture that Elizabeth had come to recognise as his way of gathering thoughts before addressing difficult subjects.

“Miss Catherine,” he began formally, “what do you recall of the circumstances surrounding Mr. Wickham’s death? ”

Kitty looked surprised at this apparent change of subject. “Well… I believe Mr. Burnley and Colonel Forster eventually concluded that some angry creditor had hunted him down for unpaid debts.”

“That,” Elizabeth said quietly, “was not entirely accurate.”

“Not entirely accurate?” Kitty repeated, her eyes widening. “You mean… do you know who killed him?”

Elizabeth saw confusion and the beginnings of real alarm in her sister’s face. “Kitty,” she said gently, “before Wickham compromised me, he had already…” She hesitated, seeking a delicate way to phrase what must be said. “He had seduced Lydia.”

Kitty’s hand flew to her mouth. “You mean…?” The innocence with which she asked the question reminded Elizabeth that for all her newfound maturity, Kitty was still very young in many ways.

“Yes,” Elizabeth confirmed, the single syllable heavy with meaning.

“Lydia discovered she was with child, and she attempted to ask him to do the right thing. He was already betrothed to me by this stage, and he refused to listen to Lydia, saying quite dreadful things to her, and threatening her with violence.”

Kitty’s face had gone very pale. “What happened then?”

“Lydia defended herself,” Darcy said quietly. “There was a struggle, which proved fatal.”

Elizabeth watched the calculation in Kitty’s eyes, the pieces fitting together in her mind. “So Wickham died because of this... struggle,” Kitty said carefully. “And Lydia was already with child when this happened.”

“Yes,” Elizabeth confirmed. “After his death, she was in a most precarious position. Darcy and Sir Richard chanced to see her entering the cottage of a midwife who is known for providing solutions to such problems, though Lydia did not know it was too late for such measures. They came to our father with the information, and Lydia admitted the truth.”

“A truth which would have been devastating not only to Lydia, but to your entire family, had it become known,” Darcy added.

“Your sister’s reputation would have been destroyed beyond repair, and that is if the law did not treat her far more harshly than she deserved.

Your father’s health might not have survived such a blow, and all of you would have been quite ruined by the scandal. ”

Kitty nodded slowly, her expression thoughtful. “So what happened?”

“We engineered Lydia’s removal from Longbourn to a place of safety, to have her child in secret,” Darcy said.

“Which was not Pemberley, incidentally. Lydia never came there, which caused us some consternation when the Bingleys arrived unexpectedly. Because they knew Lydia had not been there, it was no longer an option for Lydia to eventually return to Longbourn, pretending she had been at Pemberley all along. A respectable husband had to be found for her.”

“Major Wallace,” Kitty breathed, understanding dawning in her eyes. “You found him.”

“My cousin Fitzwilliam found him,” Darcy corrected her assumption.

“A good officer, but in need of advancement that my influence could provide. A marriage was arranged with the understanding that he would claim Lydia’s child as his own, conceived after their wedding.

In return, I provided a generous settlement, and a promotion shortly followed. ”

“An arrangement beneficial to all concerned,” Elizabeth added gently. “Lydia would have respectability and security. Major Wallace would have advancement and financial advantages. And the child would be born with a name and position that could never have been achieved had the truth been known.”