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“Send him in and tell Cook to send two dinner trays here as soon as possible.”

“Yes, sir.”

Whilst William was giving orders, Richard walked into the room and took the chair in front of his cousin’s desk. After Barnes left, he said, “Good Lord, Darcy! You look positively exhausted!”

“I feel positively exhausted, as well.”

“Would you rather we put off our talk until tomorrow?”

“No. I aim to call on Georgiana first thing in the morning and hopefully bring her back with me. I do not need anything else occupying my mind when I do, for I must explain why Miss Bennet is staying here and what I need her to say if anyone asks about it.”

“Miss Bennet is here?”

“Yes. It seems Lady Morgan forgot to tell her that Mrs. Bennet is now living under her roof. The moment she heard her mother howling about the number of servants, Miss Elizabeth declared she could not reside under the same roof as her mother. Lady Morgan suggested that she stay in the servant’s quarters, but I suggested that she stay here, with Mrs. Annesley acting as her chaperone. After all, Georgiana will be home tomorrow and if anyone gets curious, we will say that Miss Elizabeth and Georgiana are good friends; that is, if my sister will go along with the ruse.”

Richard let go a low whistle, as was his wont. “Since Poppet no longer trusts any woman old enough to contend for your hand, that may be easier said than done. I cannot see her eager to meet another prospect.”

“You forget that Georgiana was eager to meet Elizabeth Bennet when I mentioned her in my letters during my stay at Netherfield with Bingley. Georgiana is cleverer than I, for she had already realised I was in love with the lady.”

“I had forgotten, but I think it easier for anyone other than yourself to realise when you are in love. You were never very clever when it came to women.” William rolled his eyes as Richard continued. “Subsequently, I believe it would be hard for Poppet not to like Elizabeth Bennet, given the chance to know her.”

“I pray she will, but my main intent in having Georgiana play along is to give Miss Elizabeth relief from her mother’s criticisms. She has been through so much turmoil of late.”

‘Well, then. I suppose I should get straight to the point of what I wished to tell you.”

“I wish you would.”

“If what I have heard from Mr. Graves and from Lady Morgan herself is true, your hope of easily slipping out of the engagement is a lost cause, I fear.”

William closed his eyes and dropped his head back, sighing. “What have you heard?”

Richard related everything that Mr. Graves said Lady Morgan wrote when she informed him that her child had been born. Then he spoke of mentioning to Lady Morgan that either party could break the engagement and repeated her reply.

William shook his head as though finding it hard to believe. “She actually said that I would be ‘throwing over a widow with two small children and the ton might consider it a bigger scandal than Anne’s death?’”

“Her exact words.”

William stood and walked over to the windows to stare into the moon-lit gardens. Running both hands through his hair, he murmured, “I hoped she would be reasonable, which would, in turn, make Elizabeth reasonable. If Lady Morgan keeps to that attitude, it will be hard to break off the engagement without making Elizabeth feel she is to blame.”

Richard walked over to grasp his cousin’s shoulder. “I am sorry, Darcy. I just wanted you aware of what you are up against.”

Though seriously distressed, William tried not to show it. “I am glad you told me, for now I know how to proceed.”

Chapter 25

Matlock Townhouse

The next morning

When William was shown into the dining room at Matlock House, he found that his aunt was the only one at the table breaking her fast. She seemed surprised to see him.

“Fitzwilliam!” she declared as she stood. “The way Richard talked, your uncle and I assumed you would be busy aiding General Lassiter for at least a se’nnight, maybe more. That is why Edward felt confident he would not be missed when he left to meet Lord Fordham at their club only minutes ago.”

“That is just as well, for I am not here to see my uncle. As for helping General Lassiter, he informed Richard this morning that neither I, Miss Bennet nor Mrs. Wickham will be called in for questioning because we each provided him with a written statement detailing our experiences with Wickham and Lord Addison, something that I insisted upon. The general believes he has enough evidence already to find Addison guilty.”

“That is good to know. Where is Richard now?”

“He stopped by Darcy House just as I was leaving ... he needed to fetch a satchel he left there last night. By now, I would assume he has returned to his office.”