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“Then he’s hardly at death’s door.”
“Father, it was a near run thing. Mr Trevor did not wish to unnecessarily alarm us with his communication as we were far away, but Darcy was gravely ill. By the time I got there they had performed two operations on him to preserve his life.”
“What! What kind of operations?”
“They had to drill into his skull and amputate several of his toes.”
“Are you telling me he has lost his mind and is maimed to boot?”
“No, Father. He is compos mentis, but he is blind and there is some doubt as to whether he will walk again.”
The earl looked incredulously at his son who returned his gaze steadily. Lord Geoffrey’s face seemed to bloat as it became empurpled. Suddenly he thumped the overmantel in a fit a temper, making his dog flinch. “How could this happen? Who gave permission for these operations?”
“Father, it is immaterial. Darcy almost died. I firmly believe these operations saved his life.”
“Rubbish! You are covering for Mr Trevor. That over-particular little worm! It is all his fault!”
“Father, Darcy had brain fever. The contagion killed most of those infected. He is truly lucky to be alive.”
The earl paced and swore while his bulldog watched him askance, ready to flee the warmth of the hearth should the earl’s boot head in his direction.
Finally, Lord Geoffrey heaved a sigh. “One thing after another! What now?”
“I gather you managed to keep the news from Georgie,” replied his son. “Let me go break it to her now. Then we should go over to Darcy’s townhouse together.”
Despite taking the countess aside and enlisting her support, the aftermath of the revelation to Darcy’s sister had been truly terrible. Georgie had collapsed in a heap on the carpet and cried inconsolably for almost half an hour. Richard had thought they might need to dose her with laudanum. But when Hilda saw the countess’s sympathy was only exacerbating Georgie’s emotional outburst, she took matters into her own hands.
“Miss Darcy, you need to be brave. Your brother needs you to be strong.”
“Hilda is right,” added Richard, taking his cousin by her arms. “Darcy is depending on you now.”
“Very well,” sniffed Georgie after a series of hiccups, “but I cannot contemplate coming out this season now that brother is ill. I should stay home to nurse him.”
“But don’t you see, Georgie?” cajoled Richard. “You must come out as planned. Darcy is depending on you to make a good marriage. It is very likely you will have to bear the next heir of Pemberley.”
Georgie blushed scarlet and looked at her aunt for verification.
The countess nodded. “We need to go ahead with our full program of balls and morning calls, Georgie. Even if you do not make a match this season, you need to be seen, and Brunhilda’s company can only lend you consequence.”
Richard left the women to manage Georgie while he escorted his father across the square. He had decided that the initial visits to Darcy needed to be handled carefully for everyone’s sake. Things did not start auspiciously when they ran into Mr Trevor in Darcy’s vestibule. The earl’s secretary had just finished supervising the extraction of Darcy’s luggage from the fourgon and taken his leave from Darcy and Mr Finn.
“You!” yelled the earl when he spotted Mr Trevor descending the stairs. “I trusted you to look after my nephew during this voyage and you have failed me dismally! You are dismissed!”
Mr Trevor turned white as a sheet, despite the fact he had half-expected this outcome.
“Yes, my lord.”
“And don’t ask for a reference because you won’t get one!” snarled the earl as he stomped up the stairs.
Richard gave the earl’s former secretary a sympathetic glance and followed his father. Short of giving Mr Trevor a character surreptitiously, there was little he could do.
Outside, Mr Trevor walked slowly across the square to where Greaves was already supervising the unloading of the princess’s baggage. Retrieving his carpetbag, he entered Matlock House to gather the rest of his belongings. In his cramped private room on the upper floor, he piled everything into his father’s old campaign chest. Leaving by the servant’s entrance, he set off in the direction of St James.
The earl’s visit to Darcy was short and confined to the practical. Shocked by Darcy’s appearance and uneasy with displaying sentiment of any kind, Lord Geoffrey merely squeezed his nephew’s shoulder before enquiring of Finn whether Darcy’s physician had been summoned. This annoyed Darcy who was perfectly capable of answering his uncle himself. It was as if his uncle assumed his blindness made him deaf and dumb as well. Then, satisfied he had done his duty, the earl retired, requesting of Mr Finn at the door that Darcy’s physician call upon him at Matlock House after he had visited. Darcy ground his teeth at that also.
After advising Darcy that he was about to fetch Georgiana, Richard accompanied his father back downstairs.
“What a dammed business!” swore the earl after they stepped out into the brisk winter air to retrace their steps across the square. “Now how are we to get on?”
