Page 60 of Undone

“But what have I done to her to deserve such hatred?” Darcy asked, scarcely able to keep the bitterness from his voice. “I do not even know this woman.”

“I do not know.” Mrs. Younge shook her head more urgently. “I swear it. Perhaps Wickham knows, or Hale. Mrs. Vane never trusted me with the full design. I was useful because I could enter households and gain people's confidence. Nothing more.”

Fitzwilliam studied her for several moments before gathering the papers once more. “You shall put everything you have toldus into a written statement. Every name, every meeting, every payment, and every instruction. Conceal a single material fact, and Mr. Darcy's offer of leniency shall end.”

“I understand.”

“And you shall assist us in drawing Mrs. Vane into a meeting.”

The blood drained from her face instantly. Terror seized her so swiftly that Darcy knew the suggestion had struck its mark. “No. She will know.”

“Not if the message is one she expects to receive.”

Mrs. Younge stared first at Fitzwilliam, then at Colonel Forster, and finally at Darcy. Whatever she found in their expressions persuaded her there would be no retreat from the demand. Her shoulders sagged, and she suddenly appeared older than when she had first entered the room.

“What would you have me write?”

Darcy drew a slow breath. At last they possessed more than suspicion and half-glimpsed connections. Mrs. Vane had hidden behind servants, forged letters, and desperate people for six years, but the shield she had built around herself had begun to crack. Wickham and Mrs. Younge had entered the room believing their silence would preserve them. Instead, each had discovered how readily the other would sacrifice them when self-preservation demanded it.

Fitzwilliam selected a blank sheet of paper and placed it before Mrs. Younge.

“You are to request a meeting in person. Nothing more. Tell her Wickham would not trust such intelligence to a letter.”

Mrs. Younge reached for the quill.

“You are to request a meeting in person. Tell her you have just spoken with Wickham. Mr. Darcy has returned to Hertfordshire, and Wickham claims to have discovered information which, ifrevealed, would ruin the Darcy family for life. However, he refuses to commit such intelligence to paper.”

She hesitated only a moment before nodding.

“Tell her also,” Fitzwilliam continued, “that Wickham demands the money he is promised upfront before he will reveal what he has learnt. Say he believes the danger of dealing with the Darcys has become greater than either of them anticipated, and he will not proceed until he has the money.”

Mrs. Younge looked up. “She will be furious.”

“Precisely,” Fitzwilliam replied. “But she will believe it. Wickham has never been content with what he possesses, and I suspect Mrs. Vane knows that better than anyone.”

Mrs. Younge lowered her eyes to the paper. Without another word, she dipped the quill into the ink and began to write.

Twenty-Four

Longbourn

5th December, 1811

Elizabeth

“You will never guess whom I saw at the market this morning.”

Jane entered Elizabeth's room already loosening the ribbons of her pelisse, her cheeks still bright from the cold.

“Who?” Elizabeth asked, not looking up from her needlework.

“Mr. Bingley.” Jane laid aside her gloves before turning to her sister with a smile.

Elizabeth smiled in return. “It seems you contrive to meet wherever either of you goes.”

Jane laughed. “Perhaps we do.” She paused only a moment before adding, with studied carelessness, “He told me Mr. Darcy has returned to Netherfield.”

Elizabeth looked up so quickly that she betrayed herself before she had time to think. Her heart gave a sudden leap, followed by such an immediate rush of relief that she was obliged to compose her features before answering.