Page 87 of Mr. Darcy’s Diamonds

Elizabeth quickly turned to see Mr. Darcy.

“Good evening, Miss Elizabeth.”

“Good evening.” Her voice was not as strong as she would have liked. She had never felt so off-kilter around him before, but his recent goodness had disarmed her. She saw Mr. Bingley and smiled, relieved for one more person Mr. Darcy could speak to besides herself. “Mr. Bingley, it is a pleasure to see you.”

Within moments, Mr. Bingley was escorting her to the dining room, speaking to her of Jane. She scarcely noticed her aunt and uncle take their seats to each side of Mr. Darcy. Mr. Bingley then seated her beside her uncle and went around the table to sit by her aunt. She was grateful not to be directly next to their host. She glanced at him and saw he was watching her, so she looked at her place setting with great interest until the first course was served.

Elizabeth was able to quietly observe for much of the meal. Mr. Darcy acted as though her aunt and uncle were old friends. He and her aunt spoke again of Derbyshire, adding her recollections of his parents. The tenderness in Mr. Darcy’s voice when he talked about his parents and sister felt more sincere than Mr. Wickham’s dramatic speeches about his own parents had been. Elizabeth felt her cheeks warm as she remembered her poor judgment of a month prior.

When next she listened to the conversation, all three gentlemen were engaged in a lively discussion about her uncle’s Emporium and the goods he carried.

“Do you remember our conversation about diamonds when you visited my office, Mr. Darcy?”

Diamonds. Elizabeth’s stomach clenched at the memory of Mr. Wickham’s hair comb. She was looking at her uncle so saw Mr. Darcy glance at her again before answering. Was he thinking of the same piece of jewelry and that awful night?

“I do. Mr. Green gave you quite the cautionary tale.”

“One I have taken to heart. After you departed that day, I began to wonder about something, and I reviewed the records of Mr. Green’s diamond venture. I found a list of four gentlemen involved in the enterprise. One was the diamond buyer, a peer himself who was to travel to Antwerp to make the purchase. The other three were men Mr. Green had put in contact with the buyer. One of those was a George Darcy. Could that have been your father?”

Elizabeth looked fully at Mr. Darcy for the first time since sitting at the table. He looked surprised by her uncle’s revelation but also intrigued.

“Yes. My father’s name was George. What year was this? You said before that the diamonds were never delivered to Mr. Green. Do you know what happened to the diamonds or buyer? Were they ever purchased?”

“The details are unclear. Green’s records indicate the buyer spoke with him one final time before going to Dover to travel to the continent. All was in order then, in January 1793. Two weeks later, Green noted, ‘Rowe late.’ And less than a fortnight after that, he wrote, ‘Rowe dead.’ And a question, ‘Diamonds lost?’ Green had not yet collected funds from the gentlemen but was to receive a portion when Lord Rowe received payment.”

“This Lord Rowe was to purchase the diamonds with his own funds and then take payment upon delivery?”

“Yes. So you see, Green lost only the potential for income, and the three gentlemen lost nothing. Only Lord Rowe would have lost anything, assuming he ever purchased the diamonds at all.”

“Did the diamonds have something to do with his death?” Elizabeth was surprised to hear her own voice.

“We will likely never know, Lizzy. Green’s part in the affair had ended, so he moved on. His notes turned to plans for expansion into new markets.”

“What could the men have wanted with so much jewelry if they were not to sell it? These were gentlemen you said, not tradesmen?” Mr. Bingley asked.

“Gentlemen, yes. It was not jewelry but loose diamonds, purchased as investments that have been fairly stable for centuries.”

“I was only a child then,” Mr. Darcy said to her uncle, “but I believe it was in the early seventeen nineties that my father invested heavily outside of Pemberley. The estate was doing well, but he wanted to ensure the family had a constant income. It makes sense that he would have considered diamonds at that time.”

“Could diamonds not be purchased from London jewelers, though? Why would this peer travel to the continent, especially during a time of war?”

“That is an excellent question, Lizzy.” Her uncle looked up as though remembering the past. “London jewelers did import diamonds at that time, but as the source shifted from India to Brazil, the importation also shifted largely to smuggling operations. Legal Brazilian diamonds still arrived in London through Portugal earlier in the seventeen hundreds, but at the end of the century, I can think of a few reasons Lord Rowe may have gone to Antwerp.”

Elizabeth glanced at her aunt and noticed everyone at the table was focused on her uncle.

“First, the gentlemen may have preferred cut and polished diamonds, which Antwerp was known for. Even diamonds imported to London were sent to Antwerp for processing. Second, as I mentioned, smuggling increased about that time because Portugal was intent on seizing control of the Brazilian trade. It is possible these English gentlemen wished for legal investments.”

Uncle nodded respectfully at Mr. Darcy.

“Yes, but was not France at war with nearly all of its neighbors at that time? Why would this Lord Rowe take such a risky journey?”

“You know your history better than I, Lizzy. But if France was close to over-running the area, that would be all the more reason to go to Antwerp, risky or not.”

Elizabeth must have looked as confused as she felt because her uncle continued.

“If these gentlemen had understood the uncertainty of their time, they may have suspected that would be the last chance to obtain high-quality, legal diamonds. Antwerp was known for excellent craftsmanship at the time, but once France attacked, diamonds could no longer be obtained there.”

“So, a planned purchase of a large quantity of diamonds would have been an excellent investment, making all of the men involved quite rich as future supplies were interrupted,” Mr. Darcy said.