A Matter of Trust #2
“Leave that to me. Several have been in service since leaving the regiment — good positions in respectable houses. As for the rest, we will need an explanation simple enough to survive repetition; Bingley is a good fellow, but he is not known for his discretion. Perhaps that Father is particularly interested in helping him establish himself properly in his first estate. A compliment to his good sense in seeking your advice.”
“That would appeal to his modesty while flattering his consequence,” Darcy agreed. “And Miss Bingley would be eager to spread word of the Earl’s particular notice of her brother.”
“Precisely. Better that Wickham hears only that the Earl of Matlock is taking an interest in your friend’s establishment. Nothing about Pemberley or its management at all.”
Darcy set his glass down. “I do not like misleading him.”
“Better a small deception than leaving you unprotected. Besides, these men will serve Bingley well. They understand discipline and loyalty in ways most servants never will. By the time I join you for the shooting, they will be so well established that even Miss Bingley will not find fault with them.”
He paused, then added quietly, “Georgiana’s dowry, her name, the children, Thornton Hall. He has anchored himself so deeply into the family that even scandal would not shake him free easily.”
“That helps with Netherfield,” Darcy said at last. “But I cannot hide there indefinitely. Sooner or later I must return to Pemberley. Wickham is still my guardian until August.”
Richard leaned forward, his voice dropping despite the study’s privacy.
“Then we need to discuss what happens when he summons you back. You will need a strategy in place before then. First thing on Monday, I will contact a Bow Street Runner I know. Discreetly, of course. We need to determine exactly how deep Wickham’s influence runs among your staff.
“And Father must be informed immediately. He has connections in the House of Lords who might be persuaded to take an interest in how certain guardianships are being managed. Not openly, mind you, but enough to make Wickham careful about any… further accidents.”
Darcy’s hand strayed to his throat. The crack of splintering wood when the bridge gave way, the icy plunge into the stream below. If Miller had not heard his horse’s panicked whinny… “You think he will be that desperate?”
“I think that a man who has had five years to become accustomed to controlling Pemberley’s resources will not simply step aside.
And a man capable of tampering with your saddle will not become less dangerous as your birthday approaches.
” His jaw tightened. “But this time, you will not be facing him alone.”
“I could not prove Wickham was behind any of it,” Darcy said. “Each incident so carefully arranged to appear accidental. Even the bridge. Rotted timber, the steward said. Natural wear that no one had noticed.”
“That is why we need Father’s influence. And why my men at Netherfield will be documenting everything they observe. By your birthday, we will have enough evidence to act, one way or another.”
Darcy stared into his glass. “Fletcher I trust completely. And Mrs Reynolds. Miller too. But the others… I do not even know when most of them were hired. Wickham handles all the household management with the steward.”
“That is what the Runner will investigate. Men like Wickham do not work alone. They need others to carry out their schemes, and those others expect to be paid for their silence. The accounts might be carefully managed, but money changing hands in taverns, unexpected new purchases by servants, sudden gambling wins… those are harder to hide.”
“You think he is paying them directly? Not through the household accounts?”
“Of course. That is how men like him operate. The official books might be perfect, but there is always a trail of coin somewhere else. We just need someone who knows how to find it.”
Darcy frowned. “Thompson and Harris came with recommendations from…” He stopped. “From Wickham. Both of them, within the past year. And Thompson was the one who saddled Caesar that morning, before Miller intervened.”
He rose abruptly, crossed to the sideboard, and poured himself a measure of brandy.
His hand was not quite steady. “Harris was on duty the night before the bridge incident. He would have been the last person patrolling that section of the estate. God, how many more of the staff answer to him? How long has he been placing his own people around me?”
“That is what we will find out,” Richard said quietly. “The Runner will be particularly interested in any staff hired since your father died. Especially those working closest to you, or with access to the stables.”
“And those with opportunities to tamper with things,” Darcy said. He sank into his seat again, the brandy untouched. “And they are the ones Wickham always insists should attend me when I travel. For my own comfort and safety, he says.”
Richard’s expression sobered. “Father will need to hear everything tomorrow. Not just the accidents and the accounts, but every incident, every suspicion since Wickham became your guardian. There may be a pattern we have missed, or legal options we have not considered.”
“And if Wickham realises we are moving against him?” Darcy asked quietly.
“Then we will need every bit of Father’s influence, and more besides. But we will be ready for him this time.”
Nearly eleven months until his majority. It seemed both impossibly long and dangerously short. The silence stretched between them, broken only by the tick of the mantel clock.
Finally Richard rose. “Try to get some sleep, lad. Tomorrow we begin planning our campaign in earnest.”
“Hardly a lad any more,” Darcy muttered, though without heat. Richard had been calling him that since the days when his greatest worry had been his Latin declensions, not surviving until his twenty-first birthday.