A powerful rage coiled in Darcy’s chest, a burning desire to punish those responsible. “What steps would you recommend to challenge this?”
The solicitor ticked off points on his fingers. “First, gather evidence. Question the intermediaries and anyone who was aware of this so-called contract. If they do not cooperate, they can be threatened with arrest for extortion. Once that is done, Miss Merton’s father and his solicitor should meet with Lord Matlock to propose a private settlement.”
Elizabeth made a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob. “There is no point considering it, then. My father will not do it. He would simply tell me to get married.”
He turned his stork-like gaze on her. “That is unfortunate. As a single woman, you have no legal standing, so someone must act in your stead. Mr. MacLaren could do it as your intended husband, or your widowed aunt as your guardian, although Lord Matlock would likely take a man more seriously.”
Darcy asked abruptly, “What if I do it?” His interest in her had started this. It was his duty to put a stop to it.
The stork-man blinked at him owlishly. “You have no legal standing to press charges on Miss Merton’s behalf, but that does not preclude a private settlement. I would advise you, though, to consider what you would hope to gain.”
What would he hope to gain? Everything that Elizabeth had suffered, nay, everything he himself had suffered since discovering her disappearance, all the hours and days and weeks and months of frantic worry, the time lost to hunting for her, and the ongoing pain of his injuries were all thanks to the selfishness of Lord Matlock and Lady Catherine. He wanted to see them suffer.
No. He wanted Elizabeth to be free. Now he understood why her attitude towards him had lurched from warmth to anger and back again so often. If he could remove this obstacle, he might have a chance to win her heart.
Or perhaps too much damage had already been done.
Elizabeth’s hand was over her eyes, hiding her expression from him. MacLaren still crouched beside her, his hand resting on her arm, his attention exclusively on her. Why had he revealed this? He needed Elizabeth’s inheritance desperately. Was there some other reason he did not want to marry her?
“MacLaren, why did you bring this to light? It is not in your best interest.” Darcy watched him carefully.
The Scotsman rose slowly and rocked on the balls of his feet. “You simply cannot imagine that a Highlander might have a sense of honor, can you?” he said bitterly. “’Twould be far easier to have said nothing, and the clan will pay dearly for my decision, but I canna trick a woman into marrying me. How would I teach my son to be an honorable man, knowing he had only been born because I hid the truth?” There was pain in his voice, the pain of a man forced to choose between his honor and his future.
Darcy could not bring himself to reply. Instead he asked softly, “Miss Elizabeth, what do you want?”
She made no answer apart from a fractional shake of her head, her hand still over her eyes.
MacLaren crossed his arms. “Dinna tell me you are fretting over whether she will choose the penniless Highland barbarian over the wealthy English gentleman,” he said angrily.
“No!” Elizabeth uncovered her eyes and grasped at MacLaren’s sleeve. “I will make my own decisions, but first I want to speak to my aunt and to Jasper. And I definitely wish to hear how Colonel Fitzwilliam explains his part in this.”
“Aye, I would like to hear that, too,” growled MacLaren.
It took a moment for Darcy to comprehend her words. “Richard had no part of this. I am certain of that.”
Her eyes flashed. “He appeared without warning in Scotland in the dead of winter a month after you told people you had seen me here. And who do you suppose told Lady Catherine of your interest in me in the first place?”
“Not Richard. He would not do that.” But even as he said it, a sick feeling came into his throat. Not Richard, too. If he could no longer trust Richard, he had nothing. Richard, his childhood hero, his protector from bullies at Eton, his closest friend at Cambridge and after. But Richard had never been quite the same since he returned from India. Doubt began to twist inside him.
When he was finally wheeled back into the drawing room, he found Elizabeth in Mrs. MacLean’s arms, with Jasper rubbing her hand. Georgiana and Richard looked baffled and embarrassed.
“Georgiana, I will thank you to go upstairs,” said Darcy.
“No.” Elizabeth detached herself from her aunt’s embrace. “She will be on the marriage mart soon enough, and she should learn what her family is capable of. They might try the same thing with her someday.” Her voice was brittle.
It was not worth fighting about, and he had bigger battles ahead. “Richard, Jasper, I have just learned that your father has been threatening Miss Elizabeth in order to keep her from marrying me.” He watched Richard closely, praying for some sign of shock.
“You must be joking.” Richard sounded uncertain.
“No, he is not,” said Jasper. “Lizzy told me about it when I first arrived, before she knew he was my father. Sorry, Darcy, she swore me to secrecy.”
Jasper had known all along, while Darcy had been torturing himself wondering why Elizabeth had engaged herself to MacLaren?
Richard looked stunned. “I do not believe it.”
Darcy held out the papers. “Read it for yourself.” Dear God, if Richard had known of this, he could not bear it.
Eyeing him suspiciously, Richard took the papers to the window and began to read. A scowl grew on his face. Finally he simply shook his head. “What are you going to do?”
“I have not decided. Some will depend on Miss Elizabeth’s wishes.” Conscious of Elizabeth’s eyes on them, Darcy added, “This is unforgivable behavior on their part, though. Whatever the outcome, I will be breaking with both your father and Lady Catherine.”
“I cannot blame you for that. It is the least they deserve. Threatening an innocent girl who had done nothing worse than to catch your eye! It is hardly surprising my father would have disapproved of the match, but that he would go this far...” He sounded lost.
Darcy forced himself to continue. “We have another problem. Miss Elizabeth believes you are part of this plan. She took your arrival to be a sign that she had been discovered. Assuming you would betray her presence here, she became engaged to MacLaren to prevent her father from being arrested.”
Richard turned a bewildered expression on Elizabeth. “You thought I was part of this? Good God, I have my faults, but this? God, no!”
Jasper added, “He would not, Lizzy. Richard can be harsh, but I will not believe this of him.”
Elizabeth raised her chin. “I do not know what to believe, and I find it difficult to trust the word of anyone in your family, but this can be proved one way or the other. The very day of your arrival you wrote a letter to your father.”
Richard’s brow furrowed. “Yes, telling him I had found Darcy.”
“Or, perhaps, telling him you had found us together,” Elizabeth said evenly. “I could not afford to risk your alerting your father to my presence, so I intercepted your letter. I intended to return it to you after I was safely married and the threat was over. I have it upstairs, still sealed. Shall I read it and see if you told him about me?”
Richard’s eyes flared, but then he subsided. “I suppose I cannot blame you for your distrust,” he said heavily. “You may read it and show it to whomever you like.”
Elizabeth inclined her head and left the room.
Turning to Darcy, Richard asked plaintively, “Surely you do not believe I knew about this?”
“Of course not, but I do not wish to put you in a difficult position of having to take sides between your father and me.” And Richard had seemed so unhappy since his arrival here, but he could not say that in front of everyone.
“I cannot believe he did this! Lady Catherine, perhaps, since she wants you to marry her daughter, but my father? Why should he care? You are not his son,” Richard said fierc
ely.
“He cares about the power it gives him,” said Jasper in a low voice. “And he does not hesitate to use threats to get what he wants. I have heard him do it often enough.”
“Then why have I never heard him do such a thing?” demanded Richard. “You must have imagined it.”
“You never heard it because you were never dragged to those blasted political soirées with him,” said Jasper bitterly. His voice dropped into a lower tone. “‘I hope you will see your way clear to voting for the bill. It would be such a shame if the government turned its attention to what you wrote in that foolish pamphlet.’” It was a dead-on imitation of Lord Matlock.
Richard shook his head angrily. “Why would he take you to political soirées? You care nothing for politics.”
Jasper’s mouth twisted in disgust. “Because he uses me as a bribe, hinting that I might marry the daughter of a man whose vote he wants. He does the same with our sister, and he even bandies about Georgiana’s name. But Darcy is his biggest bait, and that is why he would be against this marriage.”
Richard’s eyes narrowed. “Then why has he not involved me?”
Jasper threw up his arms. “Because you are not a bargain. Frederica and Georgiana have large dowries. Darcy has Pemberley and a huge income. I have a pretty face plus Grandmama’s estate coming to me. Wait until I am declared dead and you become heir to that, and you will see what it is like to be offered up for sale.”
“I don’t want your damned estate!” Richard roared.
Jasper rounded on him. “Now you say that, after all these years of blaming me because she chose to give it to me?”
MacLaren stepped between them. “Enough. There are bigger problems at hand.”
Richard sank into a chair, his expression bleak. He pulled out his pocket watch but did not open it, simply holding it instead, rubbing his thumb absently over the engraved case.
Elizabeth returned and handed Richard a slim letter, the seal still intact. With a grimace he broke the seal with his thumbnail and handed it back to her.
She glanced at Darcy and began to read it, biting her lip. Finally she looked up. “It makes no mention of my presence. My apologies for suspecting you, Colonel. For what little it may be worth, I have paid a high price for my false suspicions. Mr. MacLaren has suffered even more so, and it is to him I owe my deepest apologies.”
MacLaren stood up. “You owe me no apologies. You were perfectly frank as to why you entered into the engagement, and anything I did since then, I did of my own accord. Whatever the outcome may be, you have my best wishes. I assume you do not wish to proceed with our engagement, but if I am incorrect, you need only tell me so. For now, since the discussion here no longer seems to be a matter I should be involved in, I will return home.” He bowed. “I will ask one thing. While it mortifies me deeply to make such a request, Mr. Hollings’s services do not come cheap. Since I am once again in financial straits, I would not refuse any offer to assist with his fees.”
“I will cover them,” said Darcy. “You have my thanks for what you have done, and my respect.”
“Wait!” cried Elizabeth, hurrying to MacLaren’s side. “I... I must thank you for your generosity and understanding, especially when it comes at such a cost to you. There is little I can do to help you, but at such time as I inherit, Kinloch House will be yours.”
MacLaren’s brow was furrowed. “It is a kind thought, Miss Merton, but I will likely be living in America by then. I would be pleased if you would keep it as refuge for those clansmen who live here.”
Elizabeth nodded jerkily. “As you wish.”
Darcy tore his attention away from the document to study MacLaren. An hour ago, he had wished a hundred painful deaths on the man. Now he was the one who had freed Elizabeth and helped Darcy at the cost of his own future. “MacLaren, what is the situation of yours?”
MacLaren shook his head. “It is a problem that rests only on me. I bid you all good day.”
“No!” Georgiana’s soft voice broke in. “He is in desperate straits. He told me about it. The bank called in their mortgage early because a rich Englishman wants their land. He will evict all the tenants and destroy their houses so he can graze sheep there instead. Mr. MacLaren has done everything he can to raise the funds to pay off the mortgage, selling everything of value he can find, all his family heirlooms and silver, and it is still not enough. His clansman will be left with nothing, so he will have to lead them to America to start a new life. It is not right!” Her voice shook.
MacLaren almost smiled. “And that is not even counting illegal stills, highway robbery, and fortune-hunting among our desperate measures to raise money. Miss Darcy, you are very kind, but it is not your brother’s problem.”
“It should be! William, can you not help him?” Georgiana’s eyes filled with tears.
Darcy frowned. “How much is left on your mortgage?”
At first it looked as if MacLaren would refuse to answer, but finally he said reluctantly, “Over twelve thousand pounds.”
“Twelve thousand pounds?” Darcy asked. “Is that all?”
MacLaren stiffened. “I assure you, sir, that when one has nothing at all left, twelve thousand pounds is an impossibly large sum.”
“That is not what I meant,” said Darcy irritably. “MacLaren, I will loan you the money.”
The younger man caught his breath. “I cannot accept your charity.”
“Then I will loan it to you on the same terms as your original mortgage, and you can pay me interest.”
The Scotsman eyed him dubiously. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.” Darcy could say no more as Georgiana threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek repeatedly. When he could speak again, he added, “All I will ask is that you sit down with me to go over the plans I have drawn up with the Kinloch steward for improving crop yields and making more profitable use of grazing land. It is similar to improvements I have made to my own estate. I think you will find it interesting.”
“Does it involve displacing tenants?” MacLaren asked suspiciously.
“Not at all. It improves their ability to support themselves so they can actually pay their rents rather than constantly being in arrears.”
MacLaren held himself very still, as if he dared not let himself hope. “I would be very grateful to meet those terms, and I thank you on behalf of the entire clan.”
“I believe my sister is doing an excellent job of expressing her appreciation,” said Darcy wryly. He owed MacLaren something that went far beyond money.
“Perhaps we could discuss this more tomorrow,” said MacLaren uncertainly.
“I will be here,” Darcy said. It was understandable that the man would be doubtful.
“I will see you out, Mr. MacLaren.” said Elizabeth determinedly. MacLaren, with a bow, followed her from the room.
Silence fell in the drawing room, as if no one knew what to say. It left Darcy free to worry about what Elizabeth might wish to say privately to MacLaren.
At least she returned quickly.
Darcy cleared his throat. “Miss Elizabeth, I have some questions about how all this happened. Would you be willing to tell me how this contract came to be?”
She took a deep breath, her face still pale. “After you left Rosings Park, I stayed at the parsonage for another week as planned, and went to my uncle’s in London afterwards. Two days later, I had an unexpected visitor. Mr. Collins asked to speak to me privately. I could not imagine what he wanted, since I had just left his house. He offered me an agreement. He would give me a large sum of money in return for my promise never to see you again.” She appeared to be struggling to keep calm.
Darcy clenched his fists. “Lady Catherine must have guessed about my sentiments towards you. I should have been more careful.”
“At the time I found it amusing. She clearly did not know the truth of how we had parted. I laughed at him and told him I never expected to see you again, and I would not take a bribe for doing what I alread
y planned to do.” She folded her hands together carefully. “Your aunt must have taken that to mean I was set on having you, because he came back the very next day offering a much larger sum. I said the same thing.”
“So he came back with threats,” said Richard darkly.
Elizabeth nodded. “I was naïve enough to think that was the end of it, but he came a third time after I was back at Longbourn, with that contract.”
Darcy frowned. “Miss Elizabeth, there is one thing I do not understand. How could your father be charged with sedition?”
She flushed and turned away to look out the window. Reluctantly she said, “He has some Jacobin beliefs, although he has never acted on them. Sometimes he says things, even exaggerates his own beliefs, in order to shock people for his own amusement. If you heard him holding forth like that, it could sound seditious.”
“Has he published any pamphlets or spoken to large crowds?”
“My father? That would involve work.” A sad smile crossed her face.
“Who has heard him say seditious things?”
Elizabeth shrugged. “Some of the neighbors, the ones that are more informed. The others have no interest. My uncle, of course. I remember my father trying to shock a group of militia officers by questioning the king’s authority.”
“Do you know if he spoke that way to Mr. Collins?”
“He might have, but I doubt it,” she said slowly. “He is not the sort of man with whom my father liked to talk politics. He preferred to listen to Mr. Collins’s foolishness and laugh at it.”
“What about Mrs. Collins?” asked Richard.
“She would know about it, but I cannot see her mentioning it. She might have let something slip, I suppose, but who would have paid attention?”
Richard frowned. “Those militia officers – were there any of them who might have been in communication with Lord Matlock or Lady Catherine?”
A Matter of Honor Page 29
