When she saw Mary slip a letter to Mr. Goode to post that was addressed to Georgiana, Elizabeth longed to know what her sister had written and if Georgiana would share it with her brother.
Was he behind her sudden success? Did he think about her at all?
CHAPTER 39
One glance at his battered cousin and Darcy knew he would not be keeping his appointment with the man at Sotheby’s.
“Send your man of business in your stead.” Richard reached for the decanter to pour himself another glass of brandy.
Darcy snatched the decanter away. “Is it not a bit early for this?”
“It depends on your perspective.” Richard lunged at the decanter… and missed. “If one has been up since the crack of day, it is late enough.”
Darcy glanced at Georgiana and controlled his tone for her sake. “Youchoseto go to St. Giles.”
“To keepyoufrom going! We both remember how well that turned out last time.”
For the second time that morning, Darcy altered his plans to accommodate one of his “helpers.” Until this morning, Georgiana and Richard had deserved everycommendation for their exertions in assisting him to find all fifty-three of Elizabeth’s paintings.
Now the pair seemed to be on a mission to slow the momentum they had worked so hard together to create. First, a messenger had brought Georgiana a letter, which she insisted on reading and replying to immediately, causing a delay for which Darcy had not factored.
And now, Richard. Darcy stared pointedly at his cousin and his newly acquired swollen eye. It was turning purple, and his nose was not as straight as it had been. “And you fared better?”
Richard grumbled and lunged at the brandy once again. This time, Darcy let him reach it. One more glass, and then Darcy would make him eat. Aunt Matlock would be sorely displeased to see her son in such a state when she had planned a dinner party for his benefit that same night. She would be doubly displeased if she saw he had been in his cups before the grand event.
Taking a sip, breathing in deeply through his nose and holding the spirits in his mouth, Richard took his time before he swallowed. “Only the best brandy can get that awful stench out of the nostrils.”
Georgiana rolled her eyes, her fingers gripping the arms of her chair. “Did the old woman have the painting or not?”
Richard scoffed, nodding at Georgiana and addressing Darcy. “Such impatience! She gets that from you, not me.”
They knew nothing of Darcy’s impatience. He had not seen Elizabeth in one month.
Georgiana snapped a ready retort. “If I hear either of you mention St. Giles again, I shall lock you in your rooms and bribe your valet and batman to prevent you from escaping. Now, did she have it or not?” She crossed her arms over her chest and stared intensely at Richard.
He looked between Darcy and Georgiana, one eyebrow raised. “The spitting image.”
“I thank you for the compliment,” she shot back, adding smugly, “I shall not tell you the news from my source at Longbourn until you tell us everything.”
With a laugh, Richard finally answered her question. “No. She sold it just yesterday, and now I am the miserable owner of a bronze statue I neither like nor need.”
Darcy could have teased him about that, but he was too eager to hear Georgiana’s news from Longbourn to ask anything that would delay its telling.
“Where is the painting? Did she say who bought it?” Georgiana asked.
“A washer woman with soft hands. Now, I told you my news. What is yours?”
“Mary Bennet sent another letter.”
Darcy narrowed his eyes. “Another? I did not know you two were correspondents.”
Georgiana shrugged. “When it became clear to me that you intended to quit Netherfield immediately, I asked her to keep me informed. Her first report wasnot encouraging, but”—she beamed—“her latest letter was very promising.”
Darcy leaned forward, needing to learn more, to hear that his efforts had not been for naught.
“Get out of there, you… you… intruder!” the butler called.
A blur of furry gray jumped out of the butler’s grasp. In the next minute, a mustached muzzle bopped against Darcy’s hand. “Hello, Archie.”
