“Ha!Were you in love with hertoo?You should be fighting Darcy in that case.You’ll get to watch her hang as well.”
“Lachglass, let me be clear.”Colonel Fitzwilliam’s voice was quiet and far more menacing for not being raised.“If you are too much of a spineless coward to meet me, I will not be able to fight you in a duel, but I will tell every man in London about your worthless cowardice.If you pursue this deceitful and ridiculous charge against the lady, I shall also testify as to every evil fact and story I have ever heard regarding your character in the court.And I shall testify to Miss Bennet’s good character, and your vile and evil one.When I am done, everyone will know to despise your name, and she will be free.”
“Your old man would cut off your allowance if you defamed the family name in court.Besides, you’ll be back in France and unable to testify.”
“Cousin.” As General Fitzwilliam spoke, he stepped again and again into Lachglass’s physical space, pushing him until he was pressed into the wall, cowering away from his shorter relation.“I despise myself for not acting to curb your propensities before.I was stopped because you are family, and your actions were, by the standards of most in Britain none of my business, and your rank is superior to mine.I despise myself for knowing of the crime, and doing nothing, but let me say this clearly: If Ieverhear about you abusing one of your servants again, or any other woman, I will splatter your brains apart.You can refuse to fight me, but I will find an opportunity someday when you are by yourself to splatter your brains with a pistol anyways.Do you understand my words?”
He sneered back, but he was clearly rattled by the calm and composed voice of General Fitzwilliam.“You would not dare.”
“I pity the girl who will be the reason that you discover Iwilldare.But you, I pity you not at all.Now fucking leave.I never want to see your disgusting face again.And if you say anything against Georgiana, if any information about what occurred between Wickham and her finds light and air after all of these years, I will assume you released the information and I will shoot you dead for it whether you show up for the duel or not.Get out, and damn yourself to hell.”
With a pale parting sneer, Lord Lechery retreated from Darcy’s house.
Jove, he’d been tense.
Darcy let out a long shuddering sigh.Everything in his room looked nicer, sharper, cleaner now that Lachglass was no longer in the same room.
General Fitzwilliam paced vibratingly from one side of the breakfast room.
“Good show,” Darcy said admiringly to his cousin.“That was a deuced good threat.It chilled me.I’ll also tell everyone the coward refused to face you.”
“Eh, that’s not the important issue right now.”General Fitzwilliam smirked at Darcy.“Apologies for rather impolitely sending a guest away fromyourhouse.”
“He was not precisely an invited guest.”
“Lech never is.Never is.”General Fitzwilliam pierced Darcy with a hard, questioning look.“Isshe?”
Darcy paused.“What do you mean?”
“Don’t pretend to be dense.We both know you aren’t.”
Darcy sat down at the table and frowned at the geometrical pattern inlaid underneath the glass surface.Should he trust his cousin with the information?
He glanced up and sighed.General Fitzwilliam was grinning lopsidedly.
“I would have,” Darcy said in a disgusted voice, “immediately denied the question if she were not here.”
“I’m only impressed by how quickly you lied to our Lord Lechery.Not much more than a second of hesitation.Ihadthought you abhorred all deception.”
“One can only be dishonest when deceiving a fellow human.Lachglass does not deserve such an appellation.”
“When?When did you make an offer to Miss Bennet?”
“At Rosings.When we all three were there.”
“At Rosings!”General Fitzwilliam chuckled.“I am not surprised by the outcome.”
“For myself,” Darcy replied with a wry smile, “I have never been so shocked — no, I have now received an equal shock.The evening I found her in my drawing room with the story that she believed she had killed your cousin.”
“But why on earth did you tell her about Wickham and Georgiana, and in details?”
“It seemed like the proper idea at the time.”
“Oh?”Fitzwilliam tilted his head to the side, and then, consciously untensing his body, he sat back down to the table, and began to eat Darcy’s fine sausage again.
A soldier’s stomach, able to eat anything, anywhere, no matter what had just happened, because you never knew when the rations might run out.That was what Richard told Darcy about his appetite.For his part, Darcy could not eat more.
“She had thrown at me a variety of accusations,” Darcy replied a little defensively.“One of which was the story Wickham had given her.I… well I was heartbroken at the time.And I now have come to see my manner, and the rudeness with which I treated her, and her family, and all of her friends gave her little reason to trust in my words.”
