“Then arrest him,” Darcy said flatly.
“We have nothing with which to charge him at this time.” Richard sat forward. “The bounty he has placed on you is a thing of rumor, lurking about in the back alleyways of London, not something spoken of in respectable parlors with witnesses who might testify. It is our hope to send in an agent with fabricated proof, get Wickham to incriminate himself, and then arrest him.”
“W-what would the penalty be?” Georgiana whispered.
Suspecting she already knew, Richard said, “Transport or…death.”
Without another sound she brought her knees up to her chest and dropped her face to them, curling into a ball on her end of the sofa. Her shoulders trembled.
Darcy reached out to her, hesitated, and dropped his arm. Shaking his head, he turned back to Richard. “And this pretense you have here with Bingley? This is, I assume, your effort at keeping me safe?”
Richard pulled his gaze from Georgiana. “Yes.”
“Well, then, end it. It is unnecessary. I am perfectly capable of keeping myself safe.”
“I wish it were that simple. I am afraid my superiors seem to feel this threat to you is the perfect opportunity to remove some of the less savory elements that pollute London.”
Darcy’s mouth twisted into a disdainful smile. “I see. Keeping me safe is but one goal. You are here as bait.”
Richard nodded. “Bingley and I made a production of him letting this place, and inviting Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy as his first and only guest. I wager everyone in London knows where Mr. Darcy can be located. At least, that was the goal.”
“Bingley,” Darcy reiterated flatly.
“Do not blame him. He was browbeaten into this.” Richard hoped his cousin would ask no more on that, as he did not care to reveal Bingley’s family shame, even to one of his close companions. His uncles’ treachery was Bingley’s secret to keep or to tell, not Richard’s.
Fortunately, Darcy only nodded, obviously finding it easy to accept that Richard could bend Bingley to his will. “And Miss Bingley? Are the Hursts not here as well?” They’d featured in Bingley’s letters. “Are they not in danger? Should they not return to London?”
“They are aware, obviously, that a scheme is afoot and that there is some danger. They accept that.”
Darcy’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean, that there is some danger? What have you told them?”
“They believe there is a conspiracy to abduct you. They do not know that the real threat is more severe.”
“I see,” Darcy said, the lack of inflection in those two words giving Richard no hint at his cousin’s feelings. “And the local population? The staff? Or do they not matter to your superiors?”
“The staff here are in the employ of the Crown, and yours are safely on their way to London.”
Darcy stared at him for a long moment. “The staff here are…what? Soldiers? You cannot make me believe that of the maid who lit the fire.”
“Do you imagine the Crown incapable of seeing the value of employing women in an operation such as this?”
That earned him a flat glare.
Should Richard mention that he had protested this plan? Hollow words, as his protests had obviously done no good. He could point out that he was under orders and had little choice but to go ahead with the scheme but that, likewise, seemed pointless. The quite evident truth, right before Darcy’s eyes, was that Richard was here in Hertfordshire with Bingley, pretending to be Fitzwilliam Darcy.
“I understand you are doing this at least somewhat for my benefit, but I must insist you end this charade,” Darcy said with all the firmness of his lineage and upbringing. “You have placed Bingley, his sisters, and Mr. Hurst in danger. As well, you are perpetuating a lie to an entire community, and drawing unsavory elements here.”
Richard suppressed a sigh. He’d expected little else from Darcy. “I am afraid I cannot do that. I am under orders to play out this ruse.”
Darcy’s posture stiffened. “You need do nothing. I will disseminate the truth.”
“And I will contradict you.”
“Which will not matter. I am Fitzwilliam Darcy.”
“Oh?” Richard met Darcy’s gaze without blinking. “By whose word? They already have mine that I am Fitzwilliam Darcy. They have, as well, Bingley’s word, and those of his relations. They know and respect Bingley. He has let the largest property in the community. He has called on the people here. Dined with them. Danced with their daughters. All Bingley and I need do is put out that my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, has a very odd sense ofhumor and that they should all simply ignore you. You will look a fool. We will be sympathized with. Nothing will change.”
Muscles rippled along Darcy’s jaw. “You are putting me at the center of a lie that encompasses an entire community.”
