Page 4 of The Same Noble Line
Miss Elizabeth might be a Darcy. It was the only thing that could hearten him in all of this. Of course, that meant her mother and younger sisters were as well. He frowned.
Fitzwilliam leaned forward, his tone quieter but still very solemn. “You have to consider what Pemberley would become.”
“I do not know what that is, and neither do you.” Darcy closed his eyes when he recalled his sister was listening. She ought to be able to depend on him for decisive action, not this weakness, this uncertainty.
She stood and moved toward him, her small hand resting lightly on his arm. “Whatever happens, Brother, we will face ittogether. If Mr. Bennet allows me to keep my fortune, you can invest it, perhaps, and we can live comfortably on the interest.”
He would never take the interest from his sister’s fortune—that money was hers. He had some investments of his own from before he had inherited, but it would not support them in anything like the comfort they now enjoyed. And he doubted that any man would release so much money from his inheritance to support a niece he had never met, particularly when he had five daughters of his own to dower. Still, Georgiana’s words were a balm to his troubled mind. He placed his hand over hers, drawing strength from her loving gesture.
They all remained silent for a time. Then Fitzwilliam stood. “Let us not act hastily. We need more information before you turn over everything and everyone currently under your protection to a stranger. I would normally send one of my men to investigate, but the utmost discretion is required in this matter. So, if you are certain you wish to pursue this course—” He stopped and looked at Darcy.
Darcy met his cousin’s eye and nodded slowly. “Then I must return to Hertfordshire.”
“And when you do, we will accompany you,” Georgiana said, standing.
“Wickham is there,” he told her, and cursed himself when she paled. He could have delivered that bit of news more gently.
Fitzwilliam’s eyebrows rose, and the corners of his mouth turned up. “Is he, now?”
Darcy nodded. “I only saw him once, but he has joined the militia that are stationed in Meryton.”
“That offers the perfect reason to return then,” Fitzwilliam said. “But Georgiana, it would perhaps be best if you did not accompany us.”
Georgiana considered Fitzwilliam’s warning for a moment before shaking her head. “I am not out, so we will not be incompany. However, I would like to meet the Bennets. They may be my cousins, after all.”
Darcy wanted to insist she remain at home, but Fitzwilliam was already nodding.
“Of course. We cannot allow your brother to face the fearsome Bennets on his own, can we?”
Georgiana smiled, but Darcy understood the message behind Fitzwilliam’s light tone. He wanted Georgiana present to remind Darcy what was at stake. He was coming to ensure Darcy did not let his sense of honour drive them both to ruin.
Chapter Two
Darcy stared down at the paper before him, the ink from his pen still wet as he considered the message. They could not move forward without permission from Bingley to stay at Netherfield, and the request had to be handled delicately. Georgiana remained seated, her posture now more relaxed, but the slight wrinkle in her forehead betraying the tension beneath the surface.
Fitzwilliam stood by the fire, arms crossed, his expression thoughtful. “If you truly mean to do this, and I still think you need not . . .”
“I cannot let it go.”
“Then we cannot afford any missteps,” Fitzwilliam said. “If anyone suspects we are there to investigate Mr. Bennet, we will have to explain, and we will lose our advantage. If that happens, things could turn ugly.” He hesitated. “You cannot tell Bingley.”
Darcy nodded, placing the letter carefully aside. “I did not. The only difficult part was implying that he should not bring his family or anyone else along. But Bingley is likely to be agreeable.He has an interest in the eldest Miss Bennet and will not mind returning to the country.”
“That is to our benefit,” Fitzwilliam replied. “It will allow us to accompany him on calls and spend time with the Bennet family.”
Georgiana raised her eyebrows slightly. “Do you think Mr. Bingley will ask any questions about your desire to return, Brother?”
Darcy shook his head. “Bingley will not press for details. He understands I would not ask unless it was important.”
Fitzwilliam chuckled softly. “Which makes him the best sort of person to have along in this situation. He will go along with anything, as long as it keeps him from London and Miss Bingley’s relentless matchmaking. Not that I blame him.”
Darcy suppressed a smile. After the ball at Netherfield in November, Miss Bingley and Mrs. Hurst had asked for help persuading their brother to remain in London and away from Miss Bennet, but Darcy had been too distracted by his own nagging suspicions to give them much notice. He was grateful for that now.
“Miss Bingley will be visiting her friend Miss Grantley after Christmas. There is a house party and a ball for Twelfth Night, so we will not need to worry about her presence until at least a week afterward.”
“How came you by that knowledge?” Fitzwilliam asked with a lopsided smile.
Darcy grimaced. “Miss Bingley related it all to me. Somehow, she seemed to be proffering an invitation to me on Miss Grantley’s behalf.”
