Page 25 of Under Such Circumstances (Desperately Seeking Elizabeth #1)

Elizabeth turned to look at him, but his horse was there, and she shied back from the beast.

Darcy moved around the horse, apologizing, so that now he was standing next to Elizabeth. He was on one side and Richard was on the other, and the horses flanked the three of them.

“And you know all of this, too,” she said, not sounding pleased. She looked back at Richard. “Oh, of course you two are in this together, are you not?”

Darcy caught Richard’s gaze over Elizabeth’s head. “Yes, well, I realize I forgot that you were not apprised of our, erm, apprisal of the situation, Miss Bennet. Or were you? It seems you’ve been speaking to the colonel here, and he hasn’t told me about that.”

She laughed, a low, bitter laugh. “Yes, he wishes to conceal all manner of things.”

“Does he.” Darcy’s nostrils flared.

Richard sighed heavily. What should he expect here?

She was a young woman who’d just been seduced by a man who wouldn’t marry her.

She was going to be angry. She was going to try to hurt him.

She was going to do exactly the opposite of what he asked her to do.

“Perhaps, Miss Bennet, you’d like to hear what Mr. Darcy knows about a certain vicomte. ”

“What?” She turned back to him. “He does have a title? He is from France?”

“There’s no confirmation,” said Mr. Darcy. “I know of the theory that he may have been a French ex-patriot, that is all, and I looked for one who might be readily nicknamed Eddie and who would have been here around the time of your conception. I found only one who seemed the right age.”

“Oh,” she said. “Well, it could be, then.”

“It could,” said Mr. Darcy, “but he was not married at the time, and if he was not married, we aren’t certain why he wouldn’t have married your mother.”

Elizabeth knitted her brows together, thinking about that. “Well, we should go and speak to him.”

“It would be easier if I did that,” said Mr. Darcy. “I don’t know how I get you into a carriage with me unless I can provide some sort of chaperone, and we don’t wish to bring anyone else into the circle of knowledge.”

“Yes, I didn’t mean for you to come into the circle of knowledge of my shameful parentage, truly, sir,” she said, glaring at him. “You can’t simply go around listening at my windows without my knowledge. It isn’t right to do so.”

“We would never hurt you, Miss Bennet,” said Mr. Darcy. “The colonel and I have only your best interests at heart.”

“Oh, is that so?” She turned to Richard. “Never hurt me, would you?”

The colonel flinched.

Darcy saw. He was silent for a time. “Well, I’m going to go and see him, Miss Bennet.

If he is your father, and he wishes for some connection with you, perhaps it can be easily facilitated.

He has a wife now, however, and wives are not often pleased to know about their husband’s dalliances, so it may go badly.

But I shall let you know what I discover, either way. ”

“You could take me with you. I can contrive to be alone at Weythorn—”

“Yes, but you should not contrive to be alone so often,” said Richard. “It is not good for your reputation.”

“I am going to live there, all on my own.”

“Well,” said Richard, “you shouldn’t do that either.”

She eyed him. “You seem to feel quite free with giving me orders, sir. But if you wish to take possession of me, you have an odd way of showing it.”

DARCY FORCED HIS cousin into a sitting room and shut the door. A servant asked if they needed any refreshment and he called back what they chiefly needed was privacy.

Richard was antsy, tapping his fingers nervously against his thigh.

“You went to speak to her without me. Deny it.”

Richard looked up, eyes wild, nostrils flaring. He gestured above his head with both hands, taking a deep breath, as if readying a long speech of some kind, something that promised to be a confession.

Darcy steeled himself for whatever it was. He wasn’t going to like it, and he was certain of that.

But then Richard let out all the air in a whoosh, saying nothing. He bowed his head.

“I charge you to speak,” Darcy said through clenched teeth.

Abruptly, Richard lifted his head, a gleam in his eye. “All right, here it is. I do know something, and it’s something you should know as well. But I didn’t go to speak to her, I swear it. I went to watch her, as we’ve been doing, and I didn’t hide myself well enough, and she discovered me.”

Darcy looked him over. He’s lying, he thought. He could tell. But what was he lying about? “Go on,” he said, deciding to let his cousin dig whatever hole he wished to dig.

“We got to talking about everything,” he said. “It was quite a discussion. It got… inappropriate.” He jammed his hands into his pockets and wouldn’t meet Darcy’s gaze.

“Inappropriate in what way?” he asked severely.

“We spoke in some detail of what Wickham did to her. It is not as we thought.” Richard raised his gaze now.

Darcy was confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean, he didn’t… she is not… her virtue is intact, Fitz.”

Darcy took a step back, shaking his head. “No, no, she said to me that she had worked to try to clean all of his seed out of her, she said—”

“His seed from her hand, Fitz. He spent on her hand . And he told her that this meant that she could have gotten with child, and she was too innocent to know any better.”

Darcy looked up at him, stunned. “Oh, God. He’s a liar. He’s just—he was just a liar.” He was once again glad that Wickham was dead. “He must have done something similar to Georgiana.”

“Yes, I think someone needs to speak to her about that, actually.”

Darcy grimaced, not relishing that conversation.

“I can do it,” said Richard. “I don’t mind.”

“No, no, I’m quite capable of it.” He smoothed at his lapels, trying to gather himself. “So, she is…” He smiled a small smile. “She is not ruined.”

“I don’t know,” said Richard. “Likely, if anyone knew she’d been forced to frig him off like that, she’d not be considered entirely pure, but it’s much better than we had thought, and she is… when you marry her, it will be her first time, and you—”

“When I marry her? You said to me, just now, at the promenade, that you wished—”

“I can’t marry her, Darcy, for the sake of all that is holy. Where would we live?” He threw up his hands.

“She has a house.”

“I’m not living in that hole of a place,” muttered Richard.

Darcy was quiet.

Richard was quiet.

“Why is she angry with you?” said Darcy. “Or… I don’t know. She couldn’t take her eyes off you. Why is that?”

“She’s angry at me because I’ve been spying on her, of course!”

Darcy considered. No, he’s still lying, he thought.

But Darcy did not think that Richard was lying about the fact that Elizabeth had not been ravaged.

That was the truth. He was lying about something, however, and Darcy could think of only one way to discover what it was. He would have to ask Elizabeth.

Of course, he shouldn’t simply go to her and ask for her to give him information. He should have something to give to her in return. He would go speak to Larilane first, and then he would find out the truth of Richard’s tale, when he had information to give her in return.