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Mr. Humphrey’s Office

William and Richard stood on the pavement before the address Jane had given them for David Morgan’s solicitor, Cecil Humphrey. The two-storey building was nondescript with nothing to distinguish it from the buildings on either side, each carrying other proprietors’ names engraved on plaques over the main doors.

Shoving the paper with the address back in his pocket, Richard proceeded to open the door, making a bell overhead ring. Once inside, they noted that several chairs occupied a waiting area, as well as a young man who was sitting behind a desk. On either side of the desk was a door, one labelled with Mr. Humphrey’s name and the other with Mr. Smith’s.

Before they could speak, the young man asked, “May I help you?”

“Yes,” William replied. “We would like to speak to Mr. Smith.”

“Certainly. May I tell him who is calling?”

“Fitzwilliam Darcy and Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam.”

After they explained the reason for their presence, Mr. Smith agreed to open Mr. Humphrey’s office and show William and Richard where his former partner kept his client files. As he was doing so, he cautioned, “I fear you will find nothing here of import, for I was talking with Cecil the morning he left for Netherfield Park and, as I recall, he was trying to fit a rather large file into his satchel. In fact, to make it fit he pulled out several pieces of paper and left them behind. He had mentioned he was travelling to Derbyshire with Lord Morgan, so I had every reason to believe the file he took contained that man’s information.”

Once in the room, he unlocked and opened a cabinet drawer in a closet behind Mr. Humphrey’s desk. Rifling through the files under the letter M he found an almost empty file with Lord Morgan’s name upon it. Pulling it out, he opened it to reveal only a few pieces of paper inside.

“There, you see! Only a few scrapes of paper are left, which means the majority of the file was with Cecil.”

William took the meagre file and stuck it under his arm. “Did he happen to confide anything regarding what he was to undertake in Derbyshire?”

“No, but Cecil was often called upon to evaluate properties. He had an uncanny sense of what would need extensive repairs and what was insignificant. Unfortunately, the day he left for Derbyshire, we were discussing the latest laws proposed that might affect our clients should they pass.”

“We appreciate your assistance,” William replied as he, Richard and Mr. Smith walked out of the office and closed the door.

“Certainly. Have you any word on what is being done to find the people who murdered Cecil? I pray that someone will be held accountable for his death. He was good man and did not deserve to die so cruelly.” Then he quickly added, “Of course, I am certain you feel the same way about Lord Morgan, whom I never had the pleasure of meeting.”

“Yes, we do. We shall be glad to pass along any information we learn about the investigation. Also, like you, I pray that whoever is responsible is found and prosecuted—preferably hanged,” William said. “Again, thank you for your time and assistance.”

“My pleasure.”

Darcy House

Later

William had no more than got settled in his study, along with Richard, when there was a knock on the door.

“Come!”

Mr. Barnes opened the door. “Sir, Mr. Banks is here to see you.”

“Banks … your solicitor?” Richard repeated. “I thought we were to meet with him Friday of this week. Why is he here now?”

“I have no idea,” William replied. To Barnes he said, “Send him in.”

Soon afterwards Mr. Banks entered the study. Though he had been William’s solicitor since before George Darcy died, William noted that he appeared much younger than his years suggested. His dark brown hair had not a hint of grey, and he wore clothes as fashionable as most of the ton, which spoke well of his ability to create income. Remaining silent as these thoughts went through his mind, William was stirred from his contemplation when Richard took the lead and addressed the man.

“Mr. Banks, Darcy said we should expect you later this week.”

“I am aware of that, Colonel Fitzwilliam, but I have just today learned that Mr. Graves will be off to Scotland on business the day after tomorrow. I thought you might wish to speak to him before he leaves, for he says he will not return for at least a se’nnight. And, since I was in the neighbourhood, I decided to speak to you about it in person.”

“Yes, I had rather speak to him before he leaves,” William replied. “And thank you for making my task of handling Lord Morgan’s affairs much easier.”

“No thanks are necessary! I knew from the content of your letter that it was of paramount importance to Lady Morgan’s welfare that an answer be had immediately. To that end, I requested he meet me here tomorrow afternoon at two. I hope that meets with your approval.”

“It does,” William replied.

“Excellent. Graves has certainly been of service to me in several cases that were argued before the courts, and all but one went in our favour.”