Page 48 of The Cheapside Runners
“We could debate this all day, but you must have a reason to come all this way.”
She said it with a bit of an impertinent tone that reminded Darcy ofanotherBennet lady, which did not hurt her cause at all.
“It is my understanding…” began the colonel. “…that you are presently raising my niece. Is that correct?”
The couple looked to each other, but Mr Turner finally nodded. “We are! We obviously do not expect any Fitzwilliam to acknowledge her, but she does carry your blood.”
“I will most certainly acknowledge her,” the colonel said emphatically. “I am not my brother!”
“We both will,” Darcy added.
The Sergeant shrugged. “Your private acknowledgement willdo her little good and may do her harm if she starts getting lofty ideas when she is older. Your public acknowledgement would more likely bring the ire of the earl down on our heads, so I see little point in it.”
Darcy stepped in. “Hence, the purpose of this call. I will acknowledge her to any level you feel comfortable with, but I had a moretangiblebenefit in mind.”
“Such as?” Mrs Turner asked. She did not sound grasping, but no sensible mother would turn away anything that might benefit her children.
Darcy sighed. “Money cannot solve all the world’s problems, Mrs Turner, but it can ease some of them. She will grow, and you will have to decide how you want her to do so. I have no say in that matter, but with my help you may have avenues opened that are presently closed. Do you want her to be educated? If so, at her present class or a higher one? Do you want her to marry up, and if so, would she want it? Should she have a governess? A school? A better dowry? Connections to the gentry, even if public acknowledgement might do more harm than good?”
The lady had been staring at him hard enough to make him flinch, and he was certain she was absorbing every nuance of his offer.
She finally asked, “Are you offering this, Mr Darcy?”
“I am. She is my cousin, and niece to this man, who is closer to me than any brother. I cannot fix everything, but I can help.”
Mr Turner finally asked, “What do you expect in return?”
“Nothing,” Darcy said.
The colonel added, “Weexpectnothing, but I would like to humbly request we be allowed to know her as she grows.”
The couple looked back and forth and finally nodded.
“I cannot promise if or when you might see her, but we shall accept your help for the others. We can discuss more as time goes by. We presently do not plan to enlighten her as to herparentage, and that seems unlikely to change.”
The colonel said, “I understand your reasoning, and it all makes perfect sense. Perhaps, we need notknowher per se. When she grows a bit older, perhaps you can simply arrange to have her here when we coincidentally stop by for coffee.”
“That seems reasonable,” Mrs Turner said quickly enough that Darcy suspected she wanted to keep her husband from reacting without thinking it through.
Darcy said, “That seems a reasonable way to begin. If all goes well, perhaps we could be engaged in some sort of business, or we could be distant relatives. There is plenty of time to work that out later.”
Darcy thought things had gone well thus far, so he reached into his pocket for a bank draught he had already written out.
“I took the liberty of making an advance of £500. You may use it as you choose, for your daughter, any other children you may have, or whatever you like. If you run out, here is my card. You need but ask.”
“That seems… overly generous, Mr Darcy,” Turner stated. “Might you have some ulterior motive?”
“A man ought not try to judge his own motives, Sergeant. Honour or guilt are sufficient to explain my actions, so I shall leave it at that.”
“Once you have worked out your motives, sir, you might tell me her name,” Mrs Turner observed with a level of impertinence thatdefinitelyreminded Darcy of someone.
The colonel burst out laughing and slapping his thighs and was joined by the others, even including Darcy.
“You have the right of it, Mrs Turner. I told him he has it bad.”
“We shall see,” was all Darcy was willing to say.
“I am curious,” the colonel added. “You seem to be well-situated here. Would I be too nosy if I asked how you went fromthe disagreeable state my brother left you in, to this?”
