“Money?” Innocently, Georgiana looked at the two men. “Why would we need money? My husband covered all the costs of our journey to Scotland and back. Once we have my dowry, we will never need to be concerned about expenses again.”
“Tell her the truth, George,” Darcy refused to look away from his former friend. “Tell her why you tied yourself to a fifteen-year-old girl.”
“Brother! I am a woman now.”
Darcy ignored her ridiculous outburst.
When Wickham stepped closer to Georgiana, the adoration on her face as she wrapped her hands around his arm, leaning into his side, sickened him.
Covering her fingers with his own, Wickham replied in the same manner he always used when charming barmaids to hand over more than a mug of ale. “I love her. She is my future and my hope.”
“Then you are in no hurry to collect Georgiana’sdowry? I am surprised. Where do you plan to live? How will you support my sister in the interim?”
Wickham’s mouth curved with dark satisfaction. “There is no need for you to concern yourself with your sister, for I have plans in place that will make me a man of means shortly.”
Frequenting gambling dens, no doubt.
Before a growl erupted from Darcy, his sister interrupted.
“By the bye, Fitzwilliam, I have already spoken with Mrs. Price about our rooms. I asked her to prepare the Yellow Room for us since the bed in my chambers is too small for two.”
Had someone taken a sledgehammer to his chest, Darcy would not have felt more pain than he did at hearing her speak so offhandedly about the intimacies of marriage in his house.
“Brother, perhaps you and my husband can discuss our plans later. Presently, I am famished after our travels. The journey was arduous. Mrs. Price will have a tray delivered.”
Before Darcy could reply, the two of them sauntered from the room with no thought of the enraged man they left behind.Brokenhearted for Georgiana’s lost innocence and her prospects, he immediately set about controlling as much damage as possible.
Georgiana’s dowrywas separate from Pemberley’s assets and Darcy’s account. Thus, his first order of business was to request Simon Cole.
Darcy’s father hired Simon Cole to oversee the family accounts as Pemberley’s man of business. During the economic upheavals of wars, rebellions, and financial disasters, Cole’s steady guidance proved his value many times over. His ability to foresee potential threats and take evasive actions made him singularly important to the family. Mr. Cole was an exceptional man, the highest-paid amongst the hundreds in service to the Darcy family.
The Darcy family estate in Derbyshire contained ten miles of rich fields and several grand structures that required almost two hundred workers and servants to keep the property running smoothly. The main house was more than a century old. Maintenance was constant.
A month prior, Darcy and Cole had discussed how the roof over the guest wing should be replaced, the fencing around the northwest pastures needed shoring before the winter storms arrived, and a school for tenant children was ready to be built. Cole suggested and oversaw the transfer of most of Darcy’s funds to Pemberley’s accounts to prepare for major repairs.
After Darcy paid a year’s worth of typical expenses for his Derbyshire estate and London house, a few thousand pounds remained. Neither man worried as they projected a vast revenue from the annual harvest, due in November, to replenish and increase Darcy’s accounts before the quarter ended.
Darcy thought about his young sister in the clutches of Wickham while he waited for Cole…Blast!The tight reins Darcy held on his anger threatened to slip. Grabbing a small stone horse from his desk, carved for him by the son of Pemberley’s stable master, he weighed it in hispalm, pondering how much damage it would do if he hurled it against the wall.
Not nearly as much damage as Georgiana Darcy…or, rather, Georgiana Wickham had done by marrying the fool.
Except Wickham was no fool. He was lazy, greedy, and ambitious, but he was far from ignorant. His survival skills were legendary at Cambridge. Certainly, he honed those skills during his adult life as he sought pleasure at the expense of others, now to include Georgiana.
Clenching his fist around the carving, his hands quivered, his intense wrath taunting him to follow the Wickhams to the yellow suite of rooms and pummel George until he took his final breath.
Instead, Darcy returned the horse to his desk and considered the repercussions of the elopement on the Darcy family name. This was a disaster affecting not only his household but his mother’s family, Lord and Lady Matlock, their sons, his aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and her daughter, Anne. All of them would be a laughingstock because of Georgiana’s actions. And what would his great uncle Darcy say? Russell James Darcy was a bishop for the Church of England. His staunch religious views allowed for nothing to tarnish the Darcy name.
Oh, lord!And Richard would need to know.
His favorite cousin, Colonel Richard Malcolm Fitzwilliam, was the most honorable man of his acquaintance. And he was Georgiana’s co-guardian. He loathed Wickham as much as Darcy did. Unfortunately, for the past eighteen months, Richard was on the continent embroiled in battle against Napoleon. By the time hecould respond, the Wickhams would be months into their marriage.
But what could any of them do? She was wedded and bedded.
Unless…
No, he could not allow himself to…
But lord!Wickham never applied himself to developing skills with a sword or a pistol. If Darcy challenged him…
