Darcy asked the butler to inform his valet and the stables that he would leave within the hour. “If you are with me, we will take my carriage to London tonight and ride to Cambridge on the morrow.” Darcy mentally cataloged the arrangements that would be necessary. Fortunately, he had a competent steward and man of business. “I shall need more details before I make a final decision.”
“Now,thereis the Darcy I know. Always cautious. Always overthinking every opportunity.”
Darcy met his cousin’s knowing gaze.
“Ah.” Richard’s grin was insufferable as he nodded.
Explaining their abandonment to Lady Catherine took longer than desired. As it was, they did not make London until nightfall.
Early the following morning,the two men were on their way to Cambridge, and Richard spoke easily over the rhythm of their horses’ hooves. “Convenient timing, do you not agree? Miss Bennet receives an urgent summons home the very day you get an invitation that will take us through Hertfordshire. And could this Mr. Bennet be her father?”
Darcy kept his gaze on the road ahead. “Coincidences happen.”
“Hmm. Yes, they do.” Judging by Richard’s tone, he found this coincidence highly amusing. “Miss Bennet was a refreshing change from the artful misses one usually encounters in Town. I was charmed by her during our time at Rosings, you know.”
A cold, piercing dread twisted in Darcy’s stomach. “Were you?”
“Oh yes. We had a delightful conversation while you were trapped by Aunt Catherine’s lecture on hedge management. Miss Bennet has the most engaging laugh.” Richard glanced sideways at his cousin. “I could easily see myself falling for such a woman if circumstances were different.”
“Circumstances?”
“Well, she has no romantic interest in me. Friendly, certainly…but nothing deeper.” The colonel’s voice held disappointment. “Besides, I suspect her affections lie elsewhere.”
Where?The question burned on Darcy’s tongue, but he could not ask.
“Still, if I were to court her properly, I wonder…” Richard paused. “She seemed to enjoy my company. And I have certain advantages, you know. A cheerful disposition, ease in company, and the ability to make her laugh.” He fixed his cousin with a meaningful look. “Unlike some people who stand about, glowering.”
“Are you saying you intend to court her?” His words were sharper than he had intended.
“That would depend on whether I have competition.” The colonel’s grin said he knew exactly what he was doing. “Hypothetically speaking, of course.”
Darcy stared straight ahead, his jaw working silently. He could not lie outright. He had never been capable of such deception. But he had no desire to confess his feelings to another before sharing them with Elizabeth. Even worse, he would have to suffer his cousin’s relentless teasing if he did.
“Miss Bennet is…an unusual woman,” he answered carefully. “Her mind is uncommonly keen.”
“And…?”
“I find her company less tedious than most.” He wished he could bite off his own tongue.Less tedious?Was that truly what he had just said?
Richard laughed outright. “My dear fellow, that is the most passionate declaration I have ever heard you make about a lady. ‘Less tedious than most.’ Be still, my beating heart.”
“I merely meant…”
“Oh, I know exactly what you meant.” Richard was enjoying himself far too much. “I believe the great Fitzwilliam Darcy, master of Pemberley, has met his match. And you have not the faintest idea what to do about it, do you?”
“Enough,” Darcy said through gritted teeth. “Can we not discuss Professor Drye instead? You remember him?”
“Old Phineas ‘Dry-as-Toast’ Drye? Oh, I remember him well. Brilliant scholar. Terrible teacher. He made ancient history feel positively ancient, if you catch my meaning.” Richard shook his head. “I cannot imagine what has possessed him to organize a treasure hunt at his age. The man must be approaching one hundred and twenty by now.”
“Eighty-five, I believe. But his mind remains sharp.”
“Sharp enough to lure respectable gentlemen away from their comfortable lives with promises of riches.” The colonel spurred his horse forward. “Come on, then. Let us go hear what sort of madness he plans to ensnare us into joining.”
As they raced toward Cambridge, Darcy wondered if a measure of madness was not exactly what he needed.
3
Professor Phineas Drye cut a figure that seemed assembled from spare parts belonging to various centuries. When the octogenarian spoke of the lost manuscripts of Alexandria, he projected the fervor of a man who had spent decades piecing together fragments of ancient puzzles. His “master plan” bore all the hallmarks of his brilliant mind. Meticulously researched, yet audaciously ambitious.
