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As soon as Jane learned Richard had arrived, she insisted on going downstairs to receive him. In truth, she dearly wished to know if he had heard from Mr. Darcy and could say when he might return to London. She addressed the maid who had come upstairs to alert her.

“Letty, ask the colonel to wait in the front drawing room. Tell him I shall be down shortly.” As the maid turned to do her bidding, Jane recalled her desire to have Colonel Fitzwilliam on her side regarding her engagement; thus, she added, “Oh, and be sure to have Cook fix a tray with tea and an assortment of sweets for the colonel. I know he will appreciate something to eat. He always does.”

Richard was pacing the floor with his hands locked behind his back when Jane entered the drawing room. For just having birthed a child, he noted that she looked very well wearing a gown like those he imagined she had worn before her pregnancy. In addition, her hair was styled atop her head, with two pearl combs holding it in place like a proper lady.

While these thoughts were going through the colonel’s mind, Jane walked over to offer him her hand. “Colonel, I am so pleased to see you again. I wished to thank you once more for asking your mother to come to my aid in my hour of need. She was a godsend, both to me and David, and I shall never forget it.”

“Mother was glad to be of help. In truth, I believe she enjoys directing others and being useful ... and in precisely that order.”

“Well, she certainly was a blessing.”

Recalling what Mr. Graves had told him, Richard said, “I have information I need to pass on to you before I forget it entirely.”

At that moment, a maid walked into the room holding a tray with a pot of tea and refreshments. Jane instructed her to place it on a small table before motioning to one of two chairs around it. “Please do be seated, Colonel.”

Richard immediately obliged, and Jane took the other chair. Then she proceeded to pour a cup of tea for him and one for herself. “Sugar or cream?” she asked.

“Both, please.”

After placing the cup in front of the colonel, she slid the plate of lemon tarts and ginger biscuits nearer to him. Richard selected a tart and took a bite, saying, “Hmm ... so good.”

Having prepared her own cup of tea, Jane took a sip and a selected a biscuit. “Now, you were saying?”

Richard began relating everything Mr. Graves had said regarding the upcoming meeting with the judge. He omitted the fact that he knew she had notified the barrister of David’s birth. For some reason, he wished to know how frank she would be about that information.

“I see no reason to attend,” she said. “And I doubt Mr. Darcy will, either. He trusts Mr. Graves to handle the case without our input.”

“There is one thing that bewilders me, however. Mr. Graves knew about David’s birth before I told him. Given that he was born only days ago, do you not think that odd?”

Jane did not meet his eyes when she replied. “I-I do not think it odd. After all, if Lady Matlock mentioned it to her friends—the leading gossips I was introduced to at the dinner party for our engagement—I imagine most of London knows by now.”

Acting as if he accepted her explanation, Richard replied, “Of course. That would explain it.”

Quickly he finished the tea in his cup and stood to leave. “I really should return to Darcy House. My cousin asked me to open any important correspondence whilst he was away. I fear that with all the commotion surrounding David’s birth, I fell behind in my duty. In fact, that is why Mr. Graves went to Darcy House to see my cousin. I had failed to open his letter.”

“You have not said. Have you heard from Mr. Darcy?”

“I received a note last evening saying he was on his way back, but I am afraid that my letter informing him of David’s birth likely crossed with his in the mail.”

Jane stood. “As soon as Mr. Darcy returns, please tell him I shall be waiting anxiously for his call. I especially want him to meet David. After all, once he becomes David’s father, it would be nice to tell my son that they met soon after he was born.”

Richard had been about to say goodbye when Jane mentioned Darcy becoming David’s father. Completely unprepared for such a declaration, he ended up coughing to cover his shock.

At length, he cleared his throat to proclaim, “You speak as though marriage is inevitable, though I think that hardly the case. Surely, you recall that Darcy can call off the engagement, just as well as you can.”

Jane smiled serenely. “Of course, I do; however, Mr. Darcy is a gentleman, and gentlemen do not take their obligations lightly. Can you imagine how ‘throwing over a widow with two small children’ at this stage will be received by respectable members of the ton? Some might consider it an even bigger scandal than his late wife’s death.”

Not prepared to reply to what could be seen as a threat, Richard quickly said his farewell and departed. As he walked down the steps to his waiting vehicle, a dreadful thought stuck in his mind.

If you believed Lady Morgan could easily be persuaded to end the engagement, Darcy, I fear you are in for a shock!

Jane had secrets of her own to keep. She would never tell Richard or his mother that one of the young maids, Lucy, had overheard them discussing Mr. Darcy’s need to have her release him from their engagement. Lucy had instantly shared that information with the housekeeper, who instructed her not to tell anyone else. For her part, Mrs. Harris wanted the engagement to lead to matrimony, which would provide her with a more secure position. After all, Mr. Darcy was rich and could afford to keep her on. For that reason, she went straight to her mistress to share what Lucy had overheard.

Since she was now aware that Mr. Darcy’s relations were plotting against her, Jane decided to do everything in her power to convince her fiancé to make her his next wife. After all, even if he still had feelings for Lizzy, her sister did not want him. Moreover, she felt she was qualified for the position of mistress of Pemberley since she had been married to a lord and had some knowledge of how to run an estate. Furthermore, she had borne two children, proving that she was fertile, and she felt certain that what Mr. Darcy desired most were children of his own.

Suddenly recalling what she had said to Richard about the gossips of the ton, Jane thought of another way to forward the rumour that she and Mr. Darcy planned to marry soon. After all, the person who wrote the gossip column in the daily newspaper encouraged people to share anonymous rumours. A good many did, and a goodly portion of the rumours turned out to be true. Reaching for the newspaper that had been delivered early that morning and lay unread on a nearby sofa, Jane perused it until she found the address to send letters to the newspaper.

The inn