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“I threw a stone down the alleyway to disturb them, and I saw Miss Lydia go back to her aunt’s house soon after, but as I drove back to London, I became convinced there were more problems brewing from that quarter. I could not think that Mr Wickham’s fixing on Miss Lydia was by chance only. It bothered me so much that when I ran into the colonel at the posting house in St Albans, I told him how Wickham was blackening your name in Hertfordshire. He formed a plan very quickly and sent me off to a retired sergeant he knew who does this ‘crimping’ as a business. I accompanied the sergeant and his men back to Meryton to ensure they got the right man, notified the colonel, and arrived back here on Tuesday, as you know.”

Rubbing his temple, Darcy sighed and conceded that Finn had done as he ought in the service of the family, however much Darcy personally disliked the colonel’s plan.

Shortly afterwards, Sally arrived to ask whether Mr Darcy would like his afternoon tea on a tray or would take it in the parlour.

Richard deigned to take tea with his cousin and the Gardiners, or Miss Elizabeth and her aunt as he now knew them, before heading off to the barracks. He immediately warmed to Mrs Gardiner, who behaved very much like a lady of quality. It was with some reluctance that he went back to work, telling Darcy he would meet him at his townhouse for dinner.

When Mr Gardiner arrived home before dinner, he was quite dismayed to discover his unexpected houseguest intended to depart—he had greatly enjoyed their dinnertime conversation and had spent all day thinking of other ingenious devices to help Mr Darcy. He was very glad to discover the new machine was proving useful. He insisted Mr Darcy take the prototype with him while he worked on a sleeker device. When Darcy requested to see him privately for a few minutes they retired to the study.

“Mr Gardiner, in the happiness of securing Miss Elizabeth’s hand, I have neglected to tell you something important. I am not free to marry before I am thirty without my uncle’s permission.”

“Ah!” said Mr Gardiner, who had wondered when exactly he should broach the topic of a more formal arrangement with Mr Darcy. “Is it likely that he will withhold his permission?”

“He will not be happy with the match, but I hope to reconcile him to it and have enlisted my cousin’s help in gaining his permission. If I am unable to secure his endorsement, know that I fully intend to wed Miss Elizabeth as soon as I am able. In the meantime, I have sufficient funds at my discretion to settle something upon Miss Elizabeth immediately, to allow her to begin to purchase her trousseau.”

“Thank you, Mr Darcy, I must admit that some sort of interim formal arrangement would ease my mind, particularly if you are requiring Elizabeth to keep the engagement secret.”

“It is not secret, Mr Gardiner. You may tell as many of your friends as you wish. I am sure I can eventually sway my uncle before I turn thirty. Our relationship is rather complicated. While he does have vetoing rights on my major decisions, he is almost entirely dependent on me for financial advice. I have no doubt I will be able to get him to see reason.”

“I certainly hope so, Mr Darcy. But in the meantime, if you will allow me to tell my sisters, that should at least quash the nastiest rumours in Meryton. I only hope this Lieutenant Wickham stays away for good. His failure to reappear would certainly save me a few sleepless nights.”

“Yes, let us hope he is tired of Hertfordshire,” said Darcy obscurely, before pulling a knitted miser’s purse from his pocket. “One other thing, Mr Gardiner, I believe I still owe your niece some wages and possibly also a considerable sum for the purchase of several items for myself.”

“Do not worry about it, Mr Darcy. I questioned Lizzy about this earlier. Let us just pretend that my niece has been engaged to you for the last two weeks, and that during that time she purchased several items on your behalf. We are square.”

When Darcy held out his hand, Mr Gardiner shook it heartily. Finally, Darcy requested to spend a few minutes alone with Elizabeth before he departed. The study was made available to him.

Having not been able to talk to her betrothed privately since their engagement, Lizzy was a little shy at first, wondering if Mr Darcy would ask for another kiss, but their tête-à-tête was more practical in nature.

“I hope your uncle will permit you to visit me during our engagement, Elizabeth,” said Darcy. “Indeed, I would dearly love for you to visit every day. I will certainly miss you every moment that we are apart.”

“I will have to see what my aunt and uncle will allow. If my sister was available to accompany me, I think it would not be a problem, but she currently only spends Sunday with us.”

“Perhaps my own sister can be of use to us as a chaperone. Your aunt and uncle are also most welcome to visit at any time. Perhaps you could all take Sunday lunch with us in Mayfair.”

“Not this Sunday, I fear. Jane was very upset to be preceded into the marital state by my younger sister Mary who is to be married in three weeks’ time. I fear I will need this Sunday to break my own news to her.”

“Very well,” said Darcy sadly. “Then let me say au revoir.”

Giving her hand a chaste kiss, Darcy wheeled himself to the door, which Elizabeth opened for him. With the help of Farley and Finn, Darcy was soon seated in the carriage, with Mr Gardiner’s rowing machine on the floor and his wheeled chair in the boot.

Darcy waved to the Gardiners as his carriage set off for Mayfair. But whether his betrothed saw the gesture or returned it, he could not know.

Chapter 41: Least in sight

Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam returned to the barracks with his pockets to let. Not only had he paid £200 to Wickham for the privilege of sending him on his way to the Americas, but he had also disbursed £30 to Sergeant Bouker for his assistance in the matter. Then there was the £50 he had shelled out to the Bow Street runner last week to find his brother. Tired of haring all over the countryside in pursuit of Robert who always managed to get wind of him before he turned up, the colonel had tried to convince his father for over a week that the Bow Street runners were the way to go. Whether from pride or pecuniary considerations—Richard could not know—the earl had been steadfast in his refusal of outside assistance. Exhausted, Richard had hired the runner himself.

Richard made it back to the barracks in the nick of time to get ready for the extraordinary parade for the Prince Regent. Things would have been easier if he had a batman like all the other officers of his regiment, but he did not. The Honourable Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam’s finances did not stretch that far. But he had thought ahead—as he had left that morning, Richard had taken his best pair of boots to be polished by the one-armed retired corporal who sat outside the barracks. Fortunately, Richard’s helmet covered his overlong hair—for he had not had time to go to the barber recently either. At least he could keep his sideburns in check himself.

As he mounted his long-suffering horse, Totty, she gave him a welcoming whinny. His mare was named after an opera dancer he had briefly been involved with before someone with deeper pockets had come along. Had it been the Duke of Tedbury? Or did he take Florry? Whatever, the horse had lasted longer than that particular paramour, and Richard believed his mare held him in greater affection than any dancer ever had. Richard Fitzwilliam’s charming manners and his pedigree as the son of an earl were enough to recommend him to the green girls who came up from the country seeking careers as actresses, but it did not take them long to figure out that there were patrons with deeper pockets who could set them up in style, especially when it became obvious that their talent was not sufficient to allow them to graduate from the ranks of opera dancers.

The parade was dreadfully boring, and Richard could only be glad that Totty seemed to enjoy her outing—she had been stabled for three days in Slough while he posted to Bristol to send Wickham on his way. As one of Georgiana’s joint guardians, Richard was not leaving anything to chance—he had not left the harbour until the ship had set sail. Well, he mused as he saluted the prince, one less headache.

Finally, Richard was able to head over to Mayfair to have dinner with Darcy. He found his cousin in a pensive mood. After Farley wheeled Darcy to the dining table, Richard related some details of his recent adventures until the soup was cleared away. The main course was served directly on the dinner plates with two removes consisting of a partridge and a fish placed in front of Colonel Fitzwilliam. Richard saw that the food on Darcy’s plate was divided into neat quadrants with roast beef in the southwest, gravy in the southeast, mashed potato in the northwest and green peas in the northeast. Richard’s own plate contained the same food, more artfully arranged. He watched as Darcy began to systematically converge the west with east, alternating north with south. Once the servants had withdrawn, Richard could get to the topic of interest.

“So, Darcy, would you care to explain your romance with Miss Gardiner a little more? It seems to have come out of the blue.”

“I told you her name is Elizabeth Bennet, and I met her at Netherfield. Her father was the squire of a small estate nearby. I first noticed her when she came to Netherfield to tend her sister who became ill when visiting the Bingley sisters. Her wit and understanding are far beyond what one normally encounters in a female. She puts the Bingley sisters’ private school educations quite in the shade. Her father was a fellow at Oxford and, not having any sons, he seems to have taken his second eldest daughter as his intellectual heir, or perhaps his companion. Her sisters cannot hold a candle to her, and her mother is quite stupid, or wilfully ignorant might be a better description. Bingley was very taken with the eldest Bennet sister, who is the beauty of the county.”