Chapter 1 #2
The Earl rubbed his face with both hands.
“I fear our family is doomed. My nephew who is next in line would destroy whatever is left of the Earldom. I can try to entail it, but that would not persuade our creditors. One of them will call in the loan on either Matlock or Rosings eventually. It would not make much difference which, and it would all fall. Catherine and I would die in debtor’s prison, and you would be left to support the rest of the family or abandon them to their fates.
We are in a position where our reputation must be kept pristine enough to keep the ship afloat long enough for Richard to retrench and dig it out.
Pemberley is perfectly solvent, but Matlock and Rosings are not.
It will take Richard a decade to make it right. ”
Darcy got up once again and paced back and forth in the room like a caged tiger with his mind going around in circles.
After ten minutes of this, the Earl demanded, “Sit down, son! You are making my head hurt. Let us hear about this compromise of yours. I have more unwelcome news for you, but you are due a fair chance at the lash.”
“There is not that much to tell, Uncle. I danced with a lady, with whom I was slightly acquainted, at a ball.”
The Earl raised an eyebrow in surprise, since he well knew his nephew had mostly given up on women entirely. “So how did this dance turn into a problem?”
“We quarrelled on the dance floor—if you can believe such a thing. George Wickham is in the area, spreading the usual lies. She seemed like an intelligent woman, but she swallowed his tripe without question.”
The Earl slammed his fist on the table and yelled, “Wickham!”
Darcy nodded and sighed.
The Earl calmed only slightly. “Why not either disabuse her of his lies or ignore her? She would hardly be the first or last woman to fall under his spell.”
“She got my blood up! I know it is supposed to be impossible, but she made me angrier than I have been in some time.”
“What did you do?”
“I was tired of her questioning my honour, but there are things about Wickham that cannot be said in the middle of a dance floor. In fact, they should not be spoken anywhere in the company of a lady—at least a nominal lady. I fear I lost my temper and dragged her over to a quiet corner to set her straight—well, not dragged precisely—I led her over politely and she went along willingly enough.”
“Pray tell me you did not get her alone.”
Darcy looked shamed. “I was not quite as stupid as all that. I led her to a quiet corner, but we were still perfectly visible to a half-dozen guests. I was speaking to her for a couple of minutes, when suddenly, all the people in the area left like rats from a sinking ship, which is what it became.”
“Go on.”
“Her mother came along right on schedule, dragging a half-dozen prolific gossips, and started screaming that I was kissing the young lady.”
“Were you?”
“Of course not! She is nowhere near handsome enough to tempt me into that sort of thing, but the hue and cry went up. Her father appeared within a few minutes demanding I act as a gentleman.”
The Earl groaned. “Ah, the classic setup—the perfect trifecta. I imagine the so-called lady was denying the whole thing by then.”
“They always do.”
The gentlemen took a bit more brandy. They thought they should be getting a bit tap-hackled, but both were far too discomposed for the liquor to have much effect.
“So, what did you do?”
Darcy sighed, frowning ferociously. “I dragged the gentleman off to the library and argued with him for a half-hour. He would not even acknowledge that his wife made the whole thing up out of whole cloth.”
“Of course not! His wife and daughter trapped him as neatly as they trapped you. I imagine they keep his stones on a jar on the fireplace in case of need. Then again, who am I to cast aspersions on a man who cannot control his offspring.”
Darcy grunted assent. “Who indeed, Uncle? In the end, I stormed out of the room and returned to London. I think my reputation can stand the hit, so I am inclined to walk away and let them reap what they sow.”
“How bad will that be?”
“Very bad! They threw the dice all on one very risky bet. It is a family of five daughters and no sons. The estate is entailed on a ridiculous cousin and—oh! you will not believe this.”
“Pray, enlighten me.”
“The heir is Lady Catherine’s rector, and quite possibly the stupidest man I ever met—and this is from a man who grew up with your eldest son.”
The Earl chuckled, not the least bit offended at the slight on his son, since it was only common sense.
“So, if you leave them to their fate, all five will end up in service, living with relatives, or starving in the hedgerows. It is tough to descend from the gentry because ladies seldom learn anything of value, so they have no marketable skills. I suppose they could go work in the mills, or something; maybe work as governesses or companions if they are lucky.”
“I suppose so. The two youngest seem particularly stupid. They will likely end up as maids, married to farmers, or Cyprians. The middle one is so invisible I cannot say a thing about her.”
“Which did you dance with?”
“The second eldest. The two eldest must have spent time with relatives, since I cannot fault either of their manners— aside from ruining my life, of course, which was hardly polite.”
“Any chance the lady you danced with was not a part of the scheme?”
“I suppose it is remotely possible, but the whole thing was awfully neat: Mother, gossips, father—all right on schedule as precise as any play, and how likely is it for a lady to goad me into answering questions on a dance floor? Have you ever heard of such a thing?”
Both men nodded a bit more, and the Earl finally sighed resignedly.
“It is a difficult thing leaving five ladies to starve, particularly since you really do not know if four of them are guilty or innocent.”
Darcy growled but nodded. “Six if you count the mother, though starvation may well be what she deserves.”
Both men sat in silence for a minute, but then the Earl stirred himself enough to say, “I hate to pile one more thing on, but I have heard whispers that the selfsame George Wickham was in town a couple of nights ago, and he started spreading rumours.”
Darcy sat up with a start. “What kind of rumours?”
“An elopement, foiled by her brother.”
“And you did not start with that?”
The Earl sat forward in his chair and glared. “We have three estates and an earldom at risk. Forgive me if I started at the top. We all know he just made the whole thing up, so it should be easy enough to disprove it definitively and squash him like a bug.”
The Earl watched his nephew carefully and was distressed to see his shoulders sag.
“He did not make it up. It happened—last summer in Ramsgate.”
The Earl sighed. “Were there witnesses? Did he take her virtue?”
“He did not get her virtue, though there may have been some touching I am unaware of. He had a confederate—Georgiana’s companion, if you can believe it.
The worst hiring failure of my life. I kept Mrs Younge quiet with threats, but she could be induced to talk, and if the rumours are out there anyway, she can confirm without saying anything.
There were also the servants, though they only have suppositions.
I buttoned it up as tight as I could, and spread around some funds, but it could come out, and it would devastate her. ”
The Earl sat back and thought long and hard. “I hate to tell you this, but I think you need to marry the little adventuress—for Georgiana’s sake, if nothing else. About time for you to start thinking about an heir anyway.”
“I agree,” Darcy said with a resigned sigh.
“I do not see how our family name can take very many more hits, and Georgiana would absolutely be harmed by even a hint of impropriety, not to mention your fraught relationship with the bankers. Right at this moment, I do not have enough money to pay out Georgiana’s dowry without selling some investments I would rather keep after what I loaned you last year. I suppose that money is long gone?”
“I can get it back, but it would start the bleeding. I do not think it would stop if I pulled that much out of the estate right now.”
Both men sat and stared at the fire for a minute, and Darcy finally got up to restock it just to give himself something to do.
After a while, the Earl asked, “Is she tolerable? Is she reasonably intelligent? Is she at least good stock? Do you think you can make a life with this woman?”
Darcy sat down and sighed in resignation.
“Maybe I could—eventually. I must admit I was feeling a bit of an infatuation for her before all this started. Believe it or not, I actually thought I could be in some danger—not much, of course—but some. That is why I was dancing with her. It seemed harmless enough since I would never see her again and it was only one last dance.”
“Famous last words, son. Famous last words.”
“Her mother is a shrill, ruthless mercenary—a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. She bet big without understanding the stakes. I suppose if she wins, she can boast of being smart or lucky. Of course, if she loses, she would be the opposite, but I doubt very much she would ever take responsibility.”
“Big bet for an uncertain outcome. I would suppose she did not understand how easy it would be for you to walk away.”
“If our family was not in such a precarious position, I would.”
The Earl nodded, knowing that Darcy’s reputation would be fine, and Georgiana’s would recover in time—or at least it would have without the attempted elopement.”
“Do you think you can stand her long enough to produce an heir and a spare?”
“I suppose I can forgive her the part she played in the debacle—eventually.”
“Are you sure she was in on it?”
Darcy gave it some deep thought for a few minutes, and his doubts from earlier resolved themselves in his mind.
“Yes! Absolutely!”
The Earl nodded, assuming his nephew was in the thick of it and would at least understand all the players. “You need to fetch Richard. That will take three months or more. These things always do. Your ire should cool by then.”
“Where would I go?”
“Paris. You need to give your steward excellent instructions. I will help where I can, and Napoleon will guarantee your safety, as much as such can be guaranteed in these perilous times. You do not want your personal business going through the French postal service. Post to England is blocked, so you must use privateers. They either leak like a sieve, lose your letters, try to sell them, or all three.”
The Earl thought deeply for a while.
“Do this! See if you can manage some sort of irregularities in the marriage settlement—something you could use later to annul the whole thing with claims of fraud if you must. When you come back, you can try that route, or just put her in a country house, keep her busy with babies, and otherwise ignore her. Think she can produce children that are at least instructible?”
“I suppose so. Her mother, silly as she is, still has her looks with five children over fifteen, as long as you do not have to listen to her. She should be able to at least do that.”
“Considering what an idiot my eldest son is, that does not sound like such a bad thing. We could use some new blood. If you cannot stand her, you need only visit her as often as necessary. Prime the pump occasionally so to speak.”
“I always wanted to marry for love, silly as that notion sounds for people in our position,” Darcy sighed. “I somehow thought it possible I could find someone that was more impressed with me than with my purse and my estate.”
“My boy, I suppose such things are possible, but they are far more the exception than the rule in our circles. Your father lucked out, since nothing short of affection would make the well-dowered daughter of an Earl choose a gentleman over readily available peers. Catherine was never going to marry well, but Anne could have had the pick of the litter.”
Both men nodded in grim understanding, then tucked their chins into their hands to contemplate the dismalness of their situation.
Finally, the Earl broke the silence with a suggestion.
“Here is the least bad course of action I can think of. Leave Wickham to me. A man like that always has debts with people that do not like them. I will have my men find some and ensure they meet. That should get rid of him without dirtying our hands, and Georgiana will not suffer overly much, so long as you can keep the companion quiet.”
“I suppose he will likely end up dead?”
“He will reap what he has been sowing since he was a boy. Never knew what your father saw in the little weasel. Your conscience will be clear, as will mine. He dug his own hole, and it is not our fault if it serves as a grave.”
Darcy nodded in resignation. “If it is a choice between him and Georgiana, he will lose every time. Richard wanted to call him out in Ramsgate. I should have let him.”
“Leave it to me. That just leaves this other matter. An annulment will be messy and expensive, but we can introduce some type of fraud as justification. Keep her settlement stingy to ensure she stays out of trouble. You will not be able to guide her, so I suppose you must park her in Pemberley until you return and clean up the mess. Write the marriage articles carefully to make sure she does not overstretch your resources. She should not be allowed to go on a redecorating binge or degrade your reputation in the neighbourhood. You know how women love to redecorate their homes and their bodies. Keep a lid on it. Lean on the obey part of the vows.”
Both men took another brandy and continued their deep (though mostly pointless) cogitation, until a servant found sound asleep and thoroughly tap-hackled when he came in to lay the fire just before dawn.