Page 143 of The Long Road Back to Yesterday

Fitzwilliam continued before she could pursue the matter any further. “Charles Bingley has been considering the lease of an estate in Hertfordshire. He has never managed landed property and has asked me to help him examine the estate before he decides. I expect I shall spend some time there this summer if he takes it.”

“Then you mean to leave London before Ascot.”

“Quite possibly.”

“That is too bad of you, Nephew. The Ashcombes have invited us all to a house party, including Phillip and you, and I had hoped you would attend. There will be several eligible young women among the guests.”

“My dear aunt, I am sorry to disappoint you, but I have no wish to attend a house party in search of a wife.”

Lady Helen gave him a long look. “You are soon to be eight and twenty, Fitzwilliam. You cannot avoid marriage forever.”

Georgiana lowered her eyes.

Fitzwilliam pressed his sister’s hand. “At present I have other matters requiring my attention, and I have no intention to leave Georgiana behind. Did she tell you that I dismissed Mrs. Younge this afternoon?”

Lady Helen looked immediately at her niece. “Georgiana, you never said a word to me.”

“No, Aunt. I did not know whether Fitzwilliam wished to tell you himself.”

The countess considered this before reaching for Georgiana’s hand. “You were right to defer to your brother, my dear.”

She looked back at Fitzwilliam.

“There was something in Mrs. Younge’s character I could no longer trust,” he said. “I should have made more careful inquiries before engaging her. I thought it better to dismiss her than risk Georgiana’s welfare.”

“Of course. One can never be too careful where a young girl is concerned. But what caused you to distrust her?”

Fitzwilliam glanced at Georgiana before answering.

“I asked Mrs. Younge if Wickham had sent her to us to obtain the position of Georgiana’s companion. She did not answer me, Aunt. She looked away, left the room, and within the hour, had left my house.”

Lady Helen’s expression changed. “George Wickham? I have never trusted that young man.”

“No, Aunt Helen. He is not to be trusted.”

“But I understood that he had gone into the church. I am certain Richard mentioned something of the sort.”

“He refused the living my father intended for him and accepted three thousand pounds in lieu of it. He has since spent the money.”

“Three thousand pounds in the five years since your father’s passing?”

“Yes. I have reason to believe he is now deeply in debt.”

Lady Helen looked at Georgiana. “Has he attempted to contact you?”

Georgiana’s fingers tightened around her brother’s.

Fitzwilliam continued. “No, Aunt. Georgiana is safe, but I have learned that Mrs. Younge cannot be trusted where Wickham is concerned. I will not permit her continued access to Georgiana.”

“Then you were quite right to dismiss her.”

“I have asked my solicitor to call upon me tomorrow. I intend to have Wickham investigated and determine precisely where he is and what he has been doing.”

Lady Helen regarded him with concern. “Does Richard know?”

“Not all of it. That is one of the matters I wish to discuss with him tonight.”

“Then we shall leave you, gentlemen, alone before dinner.” She reached for Georgiana’s hand again. “And you, my dear, may stay with me whenever Fitzwilliam has business that takes him from home.”