Anders stammered. “He never told me his name. But he’s a smallish man, built similar to Mr. Bennet, who has far more hair on the side of his head than on top. The gent looked like a strong wind would topple him from his horse. He knew little about riding them or about the animals themselves. One thing we had in common was that he agreed Wickham needed to die.” He spat the name.
Darcy was unsurprised. “If you could remember one thing about him that stands out, what would it be?”
When Mr. Anders thought for a moment, the sailor yelled, “Ye got five minutes! If ye don’t leave before then, the next time ye will set yer feet on land will be the sugar plantations of the Carolinas.”
Anders said, “The night was clear and the air crisp. This fella you know, if it was him, mumbled almost constantly beneath his breath, not knowing how the sound carries on a night like that.”
“What did he say?” Richard asked.
“It made no sense to me, nor did I care, but he went on and on about how Mr. Darcy thought he was so clever, but he proved to be shrewder, that the fall of Mr. Darcy meant the rise of… Oh, he said it!” Anders excitedly proclaimed. “He said his name. It was Simon Cole. I heard it clearly. All that happened left me numb, I fear. My daughter…my daughter was my life. Hatred for Wickham burned in me, even after I saw him dead.”
“Time’s up, gents,” the sailor chanted. “We’ll be droppin’ the lines before ye can say yer name.”
They hurried toward the gangplank, Anders accompanying them.
“Did Cole give you any money?” Darcy asked.
“He did not. He said that my life was all I deserved.”
“Send me your location once you arrive.”Frustrated with the lack of time, Darcy surreptitiously pulled his purse from his pocket, along with a calling card. But then, a thought occurred to him. “One question that might seem odd at this stage. Did you actually kill Wickham?”
“I did not. Though, whoever did him in did me a favor. The least I could do to pay them back was to suffer the consequences of not protecting my girl. With my Abigail gone, I couldn’t stay in Meryton. The memories would be too much.”
“Good lord!” Darcy snatched the purse from Anders, then tossed a few coins at the sailor. “Today is your luckyday. We are taking you with us.” Leading Anders from the ship, they headed to Haggerston's law office. If anyone could get information out of Mr. Anders, it would be the attorney.
Elizabeth watchedthe snow through the window of her bed chambers. Alderwood was elegant and comfortably furnished on the inside. Outside it looked miserably cold. Down below, the flakes were piling on top of each other, coating the estate in a thick blanket of white. Rarely did her former home in Hertfordshire receive this level of snowfall where quiet fell over the land and movement stilled. Other than a hare, she saw not one sign of life in the hours she spent waiting for her husband’s arrival. She missed him terribly. When she could not reach for him in the night or snuggle against him in the cold, she ached. Not having him available to share her deepest thoughts, for the first time in her life she felt loneliness. Elizabeth did not like that feeling at all.
Her discussion with Lady Matlock went a long way to gaining a better understanding of Darcy. His aunt was far more perceptive than she was. Along with Georgiana, she was learning about being a capable wife, about being the quiet authority in a grand house, and about dignifying their husbands.
Watching Lord and Lady Matlock was Elizabeth’s new favorite activity. To the extent Darcy’s aunt genuinely praised her mate’s attempts to rise above his weaknesses, he made a more valiant effort. One incident that stood out was when Lord Matlock received news that his eldestoverspent his allowance…again. Viscount Smithton, though a grown man of thirty-five years, was not yet married, so there was no hope of an heir. Instead of putting firm limits in place like they did with Richard, his father and mother indulged him. Where Lord Matlock denied him nothing, Lady Matlock made excuses for his poor behavior. Because the family and likely others knew this, they freely discussed the situation in front of Elizabeth and Georgiana.
“Helen, we need to do something about our son,” Lord Matlock bellowed.
“I can hear you easily enough, Hugh. In fact, those living in the neighboring shire can probably hear you.” Lady Matlock echoed the complaint many times each day. “What do you suggest we do about Harry? He is a good boy who, unfortunately, chooses his friends unwisely.”
“Well, you see, that is just it. He is no longer a boy. Look at Darcy and Richard. They are both younger and accomplish more in five minutes than our eldest has done in his whole adult life.”
“Darling.” Darcy’s aunt clasped her husband’s hand, resting her other palm on his chest. “I have every confidence that you know best how to bring Harry around. Repeatedly, you argue against the brightest minds in the nation at the House of Lords. Almost single-handedly, you run this country. With the help of the monarchy, of course.” She leaned into him, smiling. “I suspect that you already know the steps we need to take to halt his spending until he learns to manage his assets better, do you not?”
His chest puffed. “Of course I do. I will strip him ofhis access to Matlock’s accounts. In fact, I will write to him…no, I will go to Town as soon as the roads are clear enough to make the journey safely. Once he realizes I mean business this time, I will sit him down and clearly state our expectation that he change his course immediately, laying out the steps one by one. Encouraging him as he goes, he will learn what it means to be the future earl of Matlock, or my name is not Hugh Fitzwilliam.”
She kissed his cheek. “As I expected, your plan is sound. I hope that you remind him of the values held by the responsible Fitzwilliams, my dear man. Do we not want him as happy as we are?”
“Absolutely!” Lord Matlock instinctively kissed his wife’s temple. “I will inform my valet to pack for a lengthy stay in Town. Elizabeth, if you would like to join me, you would be welcome. I suspect that will remove your gray clouds hovering over Alderwood.”
“I accept your offer, Uncle Hugh. I am eager to see my husband.”
“As I would be.” Lady Matlock smiled.
Georgiana patted her rounded belly. “I would like to go with you too, but I fear I would take up far too much room in the coach.”
Elizabeth clasped her sister’s hand in hers. “Soon enough, you will do so much more than you can now with a little companion who will trail behind you for the next several years, wanting to do everything you do.”
“I hope so.”
Georgiana had made great strides under the direction of her aunt. She rarely mentioned her husband, though when she did, she considered what she would share inthe days to come with her child and what she would keep to herself.
Elizabeth was proud of her, realizing that Georgiana was not the only one who was changing. She could not wait to see Darcy, hoping he would notice how mature his wife was becoming. She giggled at the joy of seeing him soon. Well, perhaps not so mature after all.
