Alexandra would either be a helpful ally leading them to a brilliant victory or a perilous adversary inducing a disastrous defeat. Elizabeth moved closer to either witness her success or intervene if she failed.
CHAPTER 32
Darcy looked up in horror as Alexandra walked up to Mr. Bennet and blurted, “No matter what Darcy says, he’s not to blame for this. Not for any of it.”
Mr. Bennet pinched the bridge of his nose. “Are you saying he has been lying to me, then?”
“It was me idea to kidnap yer daughter, Mr. Bennet. I’m a selfish wretch, not at all like Miss Elizabeth, ye see. When I learned how ardently Darcy loved her, I wanted to know what she’d done to him to win such deep affection.”
Darcy felt his stomach plummet to the floor. If only they made muzzles for people like her. He felt Mr. Bennet’s gaze on him, inspecting him, and it was all Darcy could do to meet his eyes when he wished the ground would swallow him whole.
“How could you possibly have learned such athing?” Mr. Bennet asked, his expression changing to one of immense shock. “He did not mention my daughter while he was on your ship, did he?”
It was the angriest Darcy was ever likely to see Mr. Bennet, and he could not blame the gentleman. Darcy blamed himself, too.
“Not at all, sir! I asked him in as many ways as I could think; tried to trick him, even. But Darcy isn’t an easy one to trick. He’s too clever. It weren’t ‘til I slipped a little sleepin’ powder in his grog—”
“That is enough,” Darcy warned.
“Ye weren’t talkin’. So I helped ye along, knowin’ how some men speak more freely in their stupor, sayin’ things they’d never say when they’re alert. It must’ve been a pleasant dream. Ye smiled through the whole—”
“Enough. That is quite enough.” This was Darcy’s worst nightmare come to reality. He covered his burning cheeks with his cold hands, hating how that woman could make him lose his composure where so many others had tried and failed.
“So you are the outstanding intellect behind both vanishings?” Mr. Bennet responded with his usual amusement, graciously turning his attention away from Darcy and toward Alex.
Unfortunately, Alex was relentless in her intent to clear Darcy from blame. “I wouldn’t call meself outstandin’ in anything polite and proper, but I can tell ye that Darcy’d never expose yer daughter to danger.”
“Not knowingly perhaps, and yetthat is what has happened … repeatedly, I might add. Sword fights, cannon balls, sinking ships, and pirates…”
“We aren’t pirates no more, sir,” Alexandra interrupted. “Nick’s determined to be a proper privateer and help His Majesty’s Navy take down the Frenchies.”
Mr. Gardiner gave her an odd look. “Are you not a Lafitte?”
“Me father was French, but the origins of me mother aren’t exactly known. I might be Portuguese … or Spanish … or—”
“Please stop,” Darcy begged.
“Not ‘til I’m done helpin’ ye.”
“Believe me, you have helped enough.”
She rolled her eyes, then continued talking, ignoring his supplications completely.
“Look here, Mr. Bennet, yer daughter’s been teachin’ me how to be a lady, and while I’ve a way to go yet, I’ve learned enough to understand that a gentleman worth his salt always places the welfare of his lady above his own. That’s what I want to tell ye. From the moment I brought Elizabeth aboard, Darcy did everything he could to return her safely to ye. He even agreed to fight me with the sword—nearly beat me, too. He’d have done ye proud.”
Darcy dropped his head into his hand, massaging his temples. If Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner did not think him a complete scoundrel, they would now. Fighting a woman … and with swords, no less.
“Really? He almost bested ye?” Nick asked. At leasthesounded impressed.
Alexandra continued. There was nothing Darcy could do short of clamping his hand over her mouth to shut her up. “The thing is, sir, I’m alive and the captain of me own ship because of me keen instincts. And while me instincts have always been selfish—puttin’ Darcy and Elizabeth in danger and worryin’ ye and yer family is proof enough of that—I’ve seen with me own eyes the firmness of Darcy’s character. He’s a gentleman through and through. He’s defended and protected yer girl from the start. He’d give his last breath to make her happy. The danger to yer daughter was my doin’, and for that, I … I…” She swallowed hard, speaking rapidly, “I’m sorry.”
Nick started clapping. Only then did Darcy realize how quiet the room had been. Even his uncle must have been listening to their conversation. Darcy’s mortification was complete. He squared his shoulders and raised his chin, ready for the blow. Ready for Mr. Bennet and Mr. Gardiner to tell him never to travel within five miles of Longbourn or Gracechurch Street.
Elizabeth poured more tea into her father’s cup. “Are you up for an intellectual challenge such as you have never experienced, Papa? A real mystery to solve?”
He looked at her, intrigued. As did Darcy. How had he not considered that angle?
“We are near the first clue, the place Nicholas was deposited after being taken fromthe Darcys at Pemberley. The delay to our return would be insignificant, and you would have a worthwhile riddle to ponder.”
