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Having declared that, Elizabeth quit the room and shut the door so hard that the portrait on the wall next to the door rattled

Darcy House

Later that day

As William shuffled through the papers on his desk, Richard stood to pour himself another brandy. “Will you join me, Cousin?” he asked. “I understand it is the finest France has to offer.”

“I do not need you to tout the quality of my liquor, Richard. I pay a premium for it, so I know exactly how it tastes. If you would only slow your rate of consumption, I may even be able to enjoy a glass of it myself.”

“Now, now, Darcy! No need to get testy! I am merely trying to keep you from drinking yourself to death by consuming so much of your stock.”

“You are too kind,” William said, leaning back in his chair, closing his eyes and running his fingers over his tight forehead.

“Are you suffering another headache, Cousin? It seems to me that you suffer from one every day now. Perhaps you should stop and have something to eat before continuing.”

“It is nearly time for tea. I shall take a short break then.” Suddenly, William sat up and started to go through another stack of papers. “I know I saw a copy of that will when we were going through the papers at Netherfield Park.”

“What will do you speak of?”

“Old Lord Morgan’s. I want my solicitor and Mr. Graves to study it alongside a copy of the new will James Morgan produced for Lady Morgan—the one that purportedly names him the new heir.”

“What if James Morgan will not provide you a copy of the new will?”

“I will petition the court to make him produce it. Hopefully, it will not come to that.”

“What, may I ask, do you hope to gain by obtaining Lord Morgan’s files from Mr. Humphrey’s associate?”

“I have no expectation of finding anything, but I must cover every base in case there is something hidden amongst the files … a reason for his being killed alongside David.”

“You do not believe that do you? Surely no one would go to such lengths to kill a solicitor.”

“At this time, I do not know what to believe.”

“Do you expect Humphrey’s associate to hand the files over without protest?”

“Surely, he will not mind if I take them; after all, Mr. Humphrey is dead.”

“So, tell me. Do we call on Humphrey’s associate first thing tomorrow or go to Lady Cargile’s townhouse to contact Miss Elizabeth? I was going to go straight there when I left the Gardiners’ residence but thought better of it. I figured you would want to go with me in case we encounter that self-centred rogue Lord Addison, which is why I put it off until you could decide if you wanted to accompany me.”

“Since Lord Addison has shown such an interest in Miss Elizabeth, I would like to be there in case he is in residence. We shall call at Lady Cargile’s townhouse and then stop by Mr. Humphrey’s office. In the meantime, I sent a letter to James Morgan asking for an interview when he has the time and requesting a copy of the new will. Moreover, we are slated to meet with my solicitor and Mr. Graves in two days.”

“Excellent!” Downing the last of his brandy, Richard sat back down in a chair in front of Darcy’s desk. “Hand me another stack of papers and I shall help you go through them.”

Chapter 7

London

A Charity House

Elizabeth was weary from carrying the two carpet bags that contained all she had brought to London as she walked to the charity house where Lydia lived. Dreading having nothing concrete to tell her sister regarding the bakery in Lambton, she wished now that she had never broached the subject with her youngest sister. She had tried not to raise Lydia’s expectations, but her sister had grabbed hold of the vision of owning a bakery when first she mentioned it and had placed great stock in seeing it come to pass.

She had written to Mrs. Potter regarding the bakery over a week ago regarding not being able to pay the deposit and was worried that she had not received a reply. Perhaps the elderly woman would not … or perhaps could not … agree to sell her the bakery without the large deposit requested; however, without the jewellery stolen when her brother was killed, she had no hope of coming up with anywhere near that sum. As she reached the gate to the fence surrounding the charity house property, she stopped to observe those in the small park that had been created for the occupants of the house and noticed that Lydia was sitting under a tall shade tree holding Emma.

Unable to suppress a smile at the sight, she stepped inside the gate and hid her bags behind several hedges that ran along the fence, rather than be burdened with carrying them another step. As she neared the bench where Lydia sat, her sister caught sight of her and smiled. “Lizzy! What are you doing here? In your last letter you said you were expecting Lady Cargile to return in a week or so, and I did not expect to see you until after she had.”

Pasting a smile on her face, Elizabeth reached down and picked up Emma, nuzzling her soft, wispy hair before giving her a kiss thereon. Placing the child on one hip, she replied, “Unfortunately, things did not turn out as I hoped. I learned today that Lady Cargile has passed away and I no longer have a position.” At Lydia’s quick frown, she instantly added, “Not to worry though, for I shall have no problem getting another position once I have time to search for one.”

Lydia’s smile reappeared. “I wish I had your attitude. You always see the bright side of everything. And speaking of the bright side, has our brother had time to see what the jewellery Lady Cargile gave you is worth? I have been praying it would be enough to buy Mrs. Potter’s bakery outright. Would that not be a blessing?”