“I do. Naturally, in his diplomatic roles, he could have access to any number of ‘gifts’ such as this, as well as the right people kept silent. Lesser known pieces, ripe for scavengers to scrape up and scatter while Parliament deliberates and Elgin himself is starving.”
“Indeed! How many has he let go? Sold off to the black market, I shouldn’t wonder.”
Matlock nodded and puffed on his pipe. “Word is he parted with two or three last year, but I cannot verify it. He was very cagey with me. Cannot have it widely known that the collection Parliament would buy is not complete, you know? That is why I sent for you.”
I gave the sculpture one last admiring glance, then shot my cuffs and squared my shoulders. “Of course. My agent is connected to various networks, some of which are legal—certainly, you take my meaning.”
Plumes rose from the pipe as my uncle walked behind his desk. “Yes, yes, I have the same connections. I’ve no need of runners and thugs. What I want is a fellow who can wander into drawing rooms and casually admire the decor. You’re a bachelor in high demand; no doubt full up of invitations to just about every grand house in the country.”
I lowered myself into the chair opposite Lord Matlock’s grand desk. “What makes you think someone who had bought such a contraband masterpiece would display it?”
“Display it? Come, come, Darcy. They cannot help it. Everyone simply must have his Greeks and his Romans to adorn his house, and if they cannot find or afford an original, they have someone like Flaxman or Sergel create modern masterpieces after the old style. Some of them dashed convincing if a man did not know his sculptors. Most would not give it a second thought. But you’ve an eye for the right sort of thing, and that is what I am after.”
“You are asking me to pretend to court a dozen noble daughters in whom I have no interest, merely to spot potential missing pieces of the Elgin collection, which are only rumored to exist.” I shook my head and laughed. “Insupportable.”
“Not a dozen. Not even five.” Lord Matlock opened his drawer and withdrew a piece of paper. “Two, for the present.”
I glanced at the paper. “Lady Catherine? Surely not!”
Matlock grunted. “My sister has an eye for quality and few scruples regarding where she obtains it. Fear not, for I have sent Richard to her. He can wander Rosings with greater impunity than you can. It would not do for your activities to arouse Lady Catherine’s scrutiny.”
I nodded, my stomach uncoiling in relief. “And the other? I do not recognize this name. Is he of the House of Commons?”
“Hardly! No, Bennet is a small holdings gentleman, barely of any account. But he was said to be a fair classic at Oxford. Educated in archeology and spent several years in Greece before his elder brother died, and he had to return to England to inherit. They say he was so put out over the affair that he married the most ridiculous woman he could find and produced only daughters, just to spite his dead ancestors.”
“And he knows Elgin?”
“It is possible. All I truly know is that Bennet is rumored to sell pieces from his own collection rather frequently—one would saytoofrequently for a man of his means. Where does he get them all? And last year, he went to Scotland, close to where Elgin has his miserable abode, with his brother-in-law, a merchant named… there it is. Gardiner.”
I stroked my thumbs together, contemplating what Lord Matlock was asking of me. “If my ‘casual’ perusal of this Bennet fellow’s household results in raised expectations for one of his daughters, I place the blame on your head.”
My uncle grinned around his pipe. “I’ve no fear. You’ve slipped many a noose already, Darcy.”
Two
Elizabeth
“HisnameisBingley,and he comes from the North. They say he has a large fortune, and he is bringing a party with him of seven gentlemen and two… my dear, are you even listening to me?”
Papa raised his listening trumpet to his ear and squinted. “Oh, indeed, Mrs. Bennet. Seven ladies, and how many gentlemen did you say?”
“I did not say! Rather, you have got it quite backward. Oh, I do not know why I even bother! Jane, you heard me properly, did you not?”
Jane hid a smile. “Indeed, Mama. Seven ladies and two gentlemen.”
“Far too many ladies,” I added.
“Sevengentlemen!Can no one hear a word I say?” lamented Mama.
“It’s this dratted paraffin in my ears,” Papa said, too loudly for the size of the room. He twisted his listening trumpet as if screwing it into his ear. “There, that is better. What is this you say about Ringling?”
“Bingley,”Mama shouted at him. “B-I-N-G… Oh, what is the use? You will forget it the moment I say it.”
“Would that I could, my dear, but tragically, I recall everything you tell me. Why, just the other day, you described to me the great excess of lace on Mrs. Purvis’s daughter’s friend’s sister’s wedding gown. After that, I had the pleasure of learning everything there never was to know about Lydia’s newest embroidered handkerchief.”
“My dear, you underestimate the importance of a well-embroidered handkerchief. It is a lady’s first signal to her amour that she… Mr. Bennet! You are not listening again!”
“Quite so, Mrs. Bennet. And if you will excuse me, I intend to not listen from my library, where my chair is comfortably worn, and the walls do not shout at me.”
