Page 141 of Near Pemberley

“Before what?” he asked, more quietly. “Before we found another course?”

“You found another course.”

She shifted in her seat. “I beg you will forget I spoke of it. I must have grown too comfortable among you all. The thought occurred to me naturally enough; I believed my family ruined.”

“I wish I could undo everything,” Lydia whispered.

“There is no longer any need to speak of it,” Georgiana said gently. “Brother, tell them. Everything will be well now.”

“It is a new opportunity for all of you,” Darcy agreed.

He, perceiving that Elizabeth wished the subject ended, turned to practicalities. “I promised that we would inspect the place and report upon it. Your mother will wish to know what ought to accompany the family and what may safely remain behind.”

“We are to the seaside?”

Darcy turned to Georgiana. “You do not have to come.”

She glanced at Elizabeth uncomfortably. “No, it is all right. I will be glad to go.”

The conversation lapsed into a comfortable silence.

Darcy, meanwhile, rested a hand against his coat. Several folded receipts lay safely inside his breast pocket.

Elizabeth noticed the unconscious gesture. “Everything went well in town?”

He looked across at her. “Better than I expected. They proved remarkably willing to part with Mr. Wickham’s obligations.”

Lydia leant forward. “You really bought them?”

“I did.”

She stared. “I never imagined debts could be bought.”

“Almost everything may be bought,” Darcy replied. “Provided one pays the proper price.”

Elizabeth smiled. “I suppose Mr. Wickham will discover that one day.”

“I hope so.”

There was something in the quiet certainty of the answer that made Lydia shiver with satisfaction.

“I should like to see his face.”

“I confess,” Darcy said, “that image has occurred to me as well.”

That surprised a laugh from all three ladies.

Elizabeth wondered. It was probably the nearest Mr. Darcy ever came to admitting he intended revenge.

After a few moments, he added, “I had one unexpected encounter.”

“Indeed?” Elizabeth asked.

“I met Sir William Lucas.”

“Oh?”

“He seemed delighted to meet me.”