“Darcy? Is that why I keep hearing that name?”
With a nod, Richard bowed. “Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, at your service.”
Blackburne looked at him askance. “Why’re ye here, Colonel?”
Richard shook his head, trying to find a starting place when nothing made any sense. “I do not know how it happened, how a secret of this magnitude could be kept this long, but there is no other logical explanation. You are the mirror image of my cousin Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire.” He watched Blackburne for a reaction, not expecting his laughter.
“Ye can see that through this filth and all this hair?”
“You have the same height, same build. You even sound like him.”
Pulling his shirt down to expose his shoulder and chest, Blackburne asked, “Does he have this scar, too?” His tone was mocking.
“No, but he has a similar one lower on his ribs. If you are a Darcy, you have family—a powerful familywho shall offer you their protection.” Pirate or not, Richard could not let Blackburne hang until he knew why he had been taken away from Pemberley.
How he wished his aunt Lady Anne were still alive. Or Uncle George. But neither of them could have known there had been two Darcys born that day. They would have hired every enquiry agent and investigator in the country, searched every house, and talked to every family until they found their missing son. With their influence and wealth, their search would have met with success.
But they had not known. Nobody had known.
Blackburne glowered at him. “What’re ye about, Colonel? I’ve yet to meet a man who’d not rather betray me for a profit.” Under his breath, he mumbled, “Blast that infernal female.”
Richard ignored his comment. “Clearly, you have not met your brother.”
“I have no brother. And if I did, where’s he been all these years?”
“He is as ignorant of your existence as you were of his. Darcy will want to meet you.”
Blackburne looked like a dog backed into a corner. He did not trust easily.
Richard reassured him. “Darcy is the most honorable man I know. He will want to know what happened. He shall track down the person or persons responsible for your exile, and he shall ensure matters are dealt with justly.” Richard could dono less either.
Was it a coincidence Darcy should disappear days before his identical likeness showed up at Newgate? The two events did not seem related, but the timing was too close.
He needed to talk to his father. The family needed to know. Father could use his influence to convince the magistrate to let Blackburne free under his charge.
Richard eyed the man. As easily as he had snatched the knife from his boot, Blackburne would find a way to escape unless Richard made haste.
He knocked on the door to let the guards know he was ready to leave. “I shall be back,” he told Blackburne.
“I’ll be here … probably.”
“See that you are.” Richard stared at him, conveying his severity to the charge.
“It’s me nature to escape. It’s how I stay alive.”
“Fair enough, but you shall always be escaping, always on the run and never free. I can offer you my family’s—your family’s—protection.”
“Sorry, Colonel, but I’ve a hard time believing that. Nobody does anything unless there’s something in it for them. What do ye want from me?”
Something more immediate, then. Pirates sought pleasure, luxury. Richard knew just the thing. “I can promise you a bath and a shave.”
Blackburne stilled. “A change of clean rags?”
Richard’s gaze flickered down to Blackburne’s bare feet. “And a pair of boots.” He had the advantage, andhe pressed it. “If you agree not to disappear until after I find Darcy.”
“Ye mean ye lost him?”
“He was kidnapped … I think.” Richard gritted his teeth. How could he find Darcy and discover why his brother had been separated from him at the same time? He sensed many long days and nights ahead of him. “Do I have your word?” he asked instead, eager to get somewhere he could discover some answers.
