Page 38 of The Same Noble Line
“While that is interesting, it does not help us with our current concern,” Georgiana said, her smile growing. “But this does. Miss Elizabeth said that her grandfather Bennet was fromWarwickshire, near where four counties meet: Warwickshire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire, and—”
“Derbyshire,” Darcy finished, his voice quiet.
Georgiana nodded. “Precisely.”
Darcy sat back, digesting this new information. “And how did you learn all this?”
His sister’s smile turned positively mischievous. “I listened.”
Fitzwilliam burst out laughing. “You listened? That is your grand strategy? You sit there, looking angelic, and people spill their secrets?”
“Apparently, it is far more effective than your approach,” Georgiana retorted, her tone sweet but pointed.
Fitzwilliam placed a hand over his heart, feigning injury. “Watch your tone, runt. I have been learning strategy since before you could walk.”
“Pity you are not better at it, then,” Georgiana replied, her smile widening.
Darcy chuckled. “I must concede, Georgiana, you were the most effective investigator tonight.”
“Thank you,” she said with mock solemnity. “Perhaps next time, you will allow me to workwiththe two of you. This is important to me as well, you know.”
“Perhaps we will,” Darcy replied, his tone dry.
“It is a shame we cannot take her into the men’s smoking room, is it not, Darcy?” Fitzwilliam said as he bent low over Georgiana’s hand. “I should dearly love to hear what she would make of Sir William’s ode to roast beef.”
Georgiana cocked her head to one side. “Surely you can enlighten me?”
“It was a terrible thing,” Darcy said with a little laugh.
Fitzwilliam leaned back, a wicked grin spreading across his face. “Ah, the ode. Allow me to recite it for you.”
“Youmemorisedit?” Darcy asked incredulously.
“Know thine enemy, Darcy,” Fitzwilliam replied seriously.
Georgiana dissolved into laughter. “Your enemy is roast beef? I shall be sure to alert the cook.”
Fitzwilliam stood dramatically, raising an imaginary goblet. “Long may the English table bear the proud roast, its juices flowing as freely as our devotion to the Crown!”
Georgiana clutched her sides, laughing so hard tears glistened in her eyes. “Stop! I cannot breathe!”
“That was only the prelude!” Fitzwilliam cried.
As the laughter subsided, the atmosphere in the room softened. Fitzwilliam resumed his seat, his grin lingering, but his tone soon grew more thoughtful. “In all seriousness, Darcy . . .”
“The proximity to Derbyshire is significant,” Darcy said.
They all glanced at one another, thinking the same thing. If Mr. Bennet’s father had been residing near the very northern tip of Warwickshire when his grandmother gave birth to twins, it would have been theoretically possible to move an infant from Pemberley to that neighbouring county. And then, having been informed of his inheritance, the elder Mr. Bennet might move that child to Hertfordshire.
“It could be,” Fitzwilliam admitted. “But it is not proof. We need more before we accuse Mr. Bennet’s much beloved father of having committed such a crime.”
The room grew quiet as the weight of Fitzwilliam’s words settled over them. Georgiana sat forward in her chair, her expression pensive, while Darcy leaned forward, his forearms resting on his thighs and his thoughts racing. “Why would the elder Mr. Bennet do such a thing? What would compel a man, by all accounts entirely respectable, to kidnap a child from a family of wealth and standing? Even for a criminal, the risk was extreme.”
Fitzwilliam tilted his head, his brow furrowed in thought. “Desperation, perhaps. Or a debt that required settling? Wasthere some connection between the Bennet family and the Darcys that we have not yet uncovered?”
Darcy shook his head. “There is no record of it. The name Bennet has never appeared in any of my family’s accounts or correspondences of which I am aware. If there were any financial dealings, they have been deliberately obscured.”
“What if he believed the child’s life was in danger? Or that he would be better cared for elsewhere?”
