Page 43 of The Engagement at Longbourn

Darcy said, “I am coming.”

“No.”

“I can be carried to the carriage.”

“No.”

“Richard.”

“You have one functioning leg and a physician who has threatened to tie you to furniture.”

“I have experience with Wickham.”

“And I have a commission in His Majesty’s army. Sit down.”

Darcy looked murderous.

Elizabeth placed a hand on his sleeve. “He is right.”

Darcy turned the murderous look on her.

She smiled sweetly. “How fortunate you are to have so many sensible people to direct you.”

Lydia giggled.

Darcy shut his eyes.

Richard grinned. “I begin to understand why you proposed.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Colonel Forster Sets a Trap

Colonel Forster read Wickham’s letters in silence.

Richard watched his face harden line by line. They sat in the colonel’s office at the militia quarters, a plain room smelling of wax, damp wool, and smoke. Outside, boots struck the yard in regular cadence as a company drilled in the cold. When Forster finished the fifth letter, he laid it flat on the desk. “How old is Miss Lydia Bennet?”

“Sixteen.”

Forster swore. “My wife likes her.”

“I know.”

“She is a child.”

“Yes.”

Forster stood and walked to the window. “I should have watched Wickham more closely.”

Richard did not offer comfort. “Yes.”

Forster looked over his shoulder.

Richard’s expression remained steady.

After a moment the militia colonel nodded. “Yes. I should have.” He returned to the desk. “The pay arrives Thursday afternoon.”

“So Wickham says.”