Chapter Thirteen #6
“And you shall write to the solicitor, my dear,” Anne agreed, stepping closer to him and resting a hand lightly upon his sleeve—a gesture of profound, quiet intimacy that immediately commanded his full attention.
“But before you do, you must consider what is to be done if Mr. Slater should return unexpectedly. If the ledgers are indeed correct—and I have no reason whatsoever to suppose they are not—you will require more than a solicitor’s written opinion.
You will need the authority of a magistrate and, perhaps, a constable prepared to act on a formal complaint.
Therefore, keeping Mr. Bennet here for legal support would improve our chances. ”
Darcy’s attention sharpened instantly, and he placed his hand over hers, acknowledging the undeniable wisdom of her practical foresight.
Anne continued in the same quiet, deliberate tone, her logic flawless.
“Mr. Bennet has personally examined the accounts and helped you uncover the discrepancies. If a formal complaint must be presented to the court, he is undoubtedly the person best equipped to explain the comparison of figures that revealed the fraud. It would be highly unwise to send him away to London before we have determined how the matter ought properly to proceed.”
Darcy regarded Elias Bennet for a long moment, studying the young man with the thoughtful, piercing concentration of a master revising an earlier, perhaps lesser, estimate of a subordinate’s worth.
Elias stood quietly under the scrutiny, neither pushing himself forward with false confidence nor shrinking from the assessment.
“That may very well be true,” Darcy conceded, his tone reflecting a newfound respect.
Anne inclined her head slightly, as though acknowledging a point that had now become entirely obvious to them both, before introducing her final, and most delicate, argument.
“And there is, I believe, another consideration to bear in mind. It is not every day that one discovers a gentleman who can read three separate, deliberately obfuscated registers and discover, in the space of a single afternoon, what has been successfully concealed within them for years. If the son of a country gentleman possesses such a remarkable talent with figures, Fitzwilliam, one might reasonably wonder whether Pemberley itself could make permanent use of such skill, as an administrator of the estate, perhaps.”
Darcy followed the subtle direction of her glance, which had moved past Elias toward the grand archway leading to the music room.
Miss Georgiana Darcy had entered the hall without anyone noticing precisely when she had arrived.
She had paused near the tall windows, a volume of music clutched in her hands, listening to the exchange.
The expression she wore when her brother looked at her was one of composed attention, yet it entirely failed to conceal the bright, nervous, and deeply hopeful interest that lay just beneath the surface.
When her eyes inevitably met Elias Bennet’s, a faint, lovely blush rose to her cheeks, and Elias—though ordinarily master of his own countenance—suddenly found the intricate plasterwork of the hall ceiling to be an object of profound and absorbing fascination.
Darcy looked slowly from his sister to Mr. Bennet, and finally back again to his wife.
Anne’s eyes held a gentle, unyielding insistence.
She saw the attraction between the two young people, pure and undeniable in its sudden clarity.
She silently asked her husband to see it too—and, more importantly, to allow it the necessary room to breathe and develop.
The observation required no spoken comment between husband and wife. Fitzwilliam Darcy, who loved his sister above almost all others in the world, and who trusted his wife’s heart and judgment entirely, let out a slow, yielding breath that released the last of the afternoon’s tension.
“Very well,” Darcy said at last, a faint smile touching the corners of his mouth.
Anne’s answering smile was a luminous expression of triumph and love, meant for him alone.
“Mr. Bennet will dine with us,” Darcy continued, his voice regaining its usual steady authority, though entirely stripped of its former severity.
“And afterwards, we will sit down together and consider exactly what must be done regarding Mr Slater. And, perhaps, we may also find time to discuss other matters of interest.”
Georgiana quickly closed the book she had been holding, having not read a single note of the music upon the page, her heart suddenly light. Anne released her husband’s arm and turned back to their guest with the gracious satisfaction of a hostess whose plans have perfectly aligned.
“Then the evening will not be entirely devoted to the dry business of ledgers,” she declared, which I believe will be a relief to everyone concerned.
Elias Bennet bowed deeply, his eyes briefly but unmistakably finding Georgiana’s once more before returning to his hostess. “I am entirely at your disposal, Mrs. Darcy.”
He had arrived at Pemberley that morning on a matter of dry accounts, expecting nothing more than the exacting, unromantic work of a solicitor’s clerk.
It appeared increasingly, wonderfully possible that he might eventually leave it on rather different, far more permanent terms. And Anne Darcy, observing the quiet, profound understanding that had already begun to form between her husband’s clever guest and her beloved sister-in-law, thought that this unexpected outcome might prove, in the fullness of time, the most agreeable result of the entire difficult business.