Page 131 of Mr. Darcy’s Diamonds

Her cousins were mad for the militiamen in Meryton, so she knew this would excite them. She had been making an effort not only to get to know her cousins better but to win them to her side in case they could have any influence with their father. Elizabeth did not think of it as manipulation, at least not after a few days of spending time with them. She found she genuinely liked these two cheerful girls, and she valued their freely given friendship, as yet untainted by their mother’s prejudice.

“A colonel? But he has gone to the north. Pooh! Have you even met him? Is he handsome? Is he likely to come back with Mr. Darcy?”

Elizabeth laughed at Lydia’s energy. “I have met him on several occasions, as have Aunt and Uncle Gardiner. He is kind and jovial, a good storyteller, a loyal friend.”

“She did not say handsome.” Kitty turned to Lydia.

“He is handsome enough, a few inches shorter than Mr. Darcy, of lighter coloring, and possessed of a ready smile.”

Lydia sighed. “But when will he come here? He will not come for your wedding, for you will elope⁠—”

“Lydia! I have no intention of eloping. Can you imagine the scandal that would bring on both of you? I would never wish to repay your family’s generosity in that way.”

“You say that now, but your beau has been gone only five days. What will you do if Papa will not give his permission for months and months?”

Elizabeth’s face fell at Lydia’s words, but her cousin had more to say.

“I am sorry, Lizzy. Papa let Mary and Henry wed far earlier than he said he would. He sometimes needs time to get used to an idea, but he will surely change his mind. We will encourage him to relent, and we will not tell him about your love letters.”

Elizabeth smiled and embraced both girls. “Thank you. I am so glad you are here. You know, you might tell your father that Mr. Darcy has informed me his estate has an enormous library. If Uncle Bennet will consider allowing me to marry Mr. Darcy, he would surely be invited there.” Fitzwilliam had mentioned in his latest letter that he had sent a note to her uncle already, inviting him to Pemberley to get to know him better.

“Will you walk with us into Meryton tomorrow? Having your footman follow us makes me feel important, like a London lady, and then I can almost forget Mr. Collins walks beside us.”

The girls chuckled. Mr. Bennet’s heir, a distant cousin, had arrived at Longbourn two days ago. He had wished to come a few weeks earlier, but Elizabeth’s precarious health and Longbourn’s impending wedding guests had prompted Mr. Bennet to put him off. Almost as soon as he had arrived this week, Mrs. Bennet had told him to steer clear of Elizabeth, but they all knew he had her permission to marry either of her single daughters. Lydia was set on an officer, but Kitty appeared to be considering the benefits of marrying the man who would inherit her home.

Elizabeth agreed that if it did not rain, she would go with them to Meryton the next day. After all, she would have letters to post by morning.

“Let me get this straight, Darcy. You think Mrs. Younge is actually French and as a young girl murdered a peer vacationing on the continent—near Antwerp, not in France—so she could steal his diamonds?”

What with devoting themselves to Georgiana’s comfort and thinking of Elizabeth every moment, Darcy had not told Richard about the items he had found in Ramsgate until two days before Christmas. He had forgotten all about the diamonds and letters, to be honest. While cleaning that morning, his valet had moved the red reticule containing the gems. Darcy was reciting the story to his cousin as they rode out in the snow to check on a tenant. They were to travel to the Matlocks’ country estate the next morning for the festive season.

“I do not know what happened two decades ago, but I know she is French, and I know she had suspicious diamonds in her possession.”

“And you assume these three or four diamonds are part of those in a lost-treasure story Miss Elizabeth’s uncle told you one wintry night?”

His cousin made his conjectures sound ludicrous, but Darcy could not let go of the idea that there was more to both Mrs. Younge’s story and Mr. Gardiner’s, or rather his mentor Mr. Green’s.

“When we return to the house, I will show you the letters and the diamonds.”

“Very well. What do you plan to do about your discovery? Possession of diamonds is hardly illegal. Even possessing a fake name is nothing you will do anything about, given Georgiana’s connection to the woman.”

“Yes, but does the government not keep records of the activities of peers traveling abroad? This was the relation of a duke, and maybe someone in your circle knows something.”

“Why do you not ask my father tomorrow? He may have known the man. What was his name?”

“Lord Rowe.”

“Ask my father, but it sounds like nothing more than Mr. Gardiner said. This Lord Rowe was likely trying to turn a quick profit before the French captured Antwerp and all its spoils. You do not even know whether he purchased the diamonds, so how can you implicate Mrs. Younge in any of this?”

Darcy could not. He had forgotten all about Mr. Green and Lord Rowe and the diamonds until that morning, but now they were all jumbled in his brain together with Mrs. Younge. He could have forgotten about them again, but they were serving a purpose.

“This mystery gives me something to dwell on besides Elizabeth, if you must know.”

Richard looked to him with understanding. “Does her uncle give any sign of softening toward you?”

“None. Elizabeth has worked on him, but her letters are not hopeful that we will be free to marry in the new year.”

“I am sorry to hear it. I will speak to my father with you, if you wish. If he does know anything of the matter or gives even a hint of truth to your imaginings, I will help you investigate further.” Richard’s tone was compassionate.