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Darcy bit his lips before continuing: “I would not be averse to marrying Miss Elizabeth if the situation demanded it, Finn. In fact, I think I would like it very well.”

“Yes, sir,” said Finn, having noticed the direction of his master’s thoughts some time ago.

“Finn, I would like you to go to Hertfordshire and discover if any rumours circulated regarding myself and Miss Elizabeth after the Netherfield ball. Then I shall know how to reply to Mr Gardiner.”

“Yes, sir. When would you like me to set out?”

“As soon as you are able, Finn, and take whatever time you like. It is important to be thorough but discreet.”

By this Finn understood he was to leave no stone unturned in finding a rumour.

Borrowing some street clothes from Farley, who was larger than himself but about the same height, Finn set off for Hertfordshire in a hired chaise soon after Miss Gardiner returned to Cheapside.

When Miss Gardiner walked into his bedchamber on Saturday morning, Darcy became aware that he was uncomfortable about the propriety of the situation. Now that his valet had departed, Clara’s presence as chaperone did not seem enough. Miss Gardiner started off reading another chapter of the book on arithmetic series. Although Darcy could picture the mathematical exposition in his head, he found the lavender scent she was wearing very distracting. Handing the wax tablet back and forward between them as they deciphered the text seemed terribly intimate. After morning tea, their hands accidentally touched as they exchanged the stylus. Once again, Darcy found himself aroused.

This is abominable! Just when he had determined to proceed with Miss Elizabeth, he was having errant thoughts about his lectrice! Darcy decided he needed some breathing space. When Miss Gardiner finished the chapter, he announced he would like to take lunch alone.

Having been informed that Mr Finn had gone off for several days to visit his sister, Elizabeth was determined to fill the gap during the valet’s absence. She was very pleased with her progress in reading mathematics, needing far less intervention from Mr Darcy with the second chapter than she had on her first attempt yesterday. When he asked to have some solitude, Elizabeth was all compliance and offered to plump his pillows for him as she had often seen Mr Finn do, so that his master could sit up straighter in bed. Leaning around Darcy to arrange the pillows, Elizabeth was struck again by the wonderful earthy scent of him. Thoughts of the Netherfield ball intruded.

Darcy, meanwhile, was holding his breath, determined to dampen the feelings Miss Gardiner’s proximity was generating. As she stood up, he felt something slide into his lap. Thinking it was his glasses, which he had taken off to rub the bridge of his nose, he grabbed for them lest they should fall to the floor. His hand closed on something smaller that he could not place.

After Miss Gardiner departed, he turned it over in his fingers. He could feel a ribbon and an oval object with a patterned edge and immediately realised it must have fallen off Miss Gardiner when she was adjusting his pillows. At first, he thought it was a locket, but he soon realised it was a cameo. Was there a fashion for cameos? Ladies did not seem very good at keeping them round their necks! His fingers worried at the pattern, trying to determine its nature; but unlike the straightforward symbols on the wax, it defeated him. It seemed less complicated than the classical figures typically depicted, much simpler—like the owl cameo Miss Elizabeth had been wearing at the Netherfield ball. As soon as this notion entered Darcy’s head, the bas-relief under his fingers seemed to magically transform into an owl. But Darcy had no sooner convinced himself that he could feel its claws and its wing, then he heard steps in the hallway and Farley announced himself with lunch. Reflexively, Darcy pushed the cameo under the covers.

“I cannot find my glasses, Farley.”

“They are here on the nightstand, sir,” replied the footman, passing the spectacles after setting the tray on the commode and positioning the small table at the bedside.

“That is all right, then,” said Darcy, waving them aside. “I was merely worried I had set them down on the bed and might crush them inadvertently. I shall put them back on after lunch. They are pinching my nose a little.”

Farley poured the tea and positioned the cup near Darcy’s right hand before settling the tray in his master’s lap.

“I should be all right, Farley,” said Darcy, sensing the footman hovering.

“Not a problem, sir. Hobbes is back on his feet and is manning the front door.”

Darcy ate his lunch largely in silence, only questioning Farley about the fillings of his sandwiches so that he could make his selections. His mind was preoccupied with the cameo. His fingers burned to touch it again, to confirm it was indeed an owl. He briefly considered asking Farley to describe it, as he would not have hesitated to ask Finn to do, but he decided against it. Farley was an old family servant. He would think it wrong to withhold the cameo from Miss Gardiner. She might have already noticed that the cameo was missing and asked Farley to keep an eye out for it.

Only after Farley left with the tray did Darcy dare to take it in his hands again. It certainly felt like an owl, and if it was an owl then how many owl cameos were there in England? Was it possible that Miss Gardiner was in fact Miss Elizabeth Bennet? She claimed she was not related to Mr Gardiner, but the congruencies seemed more than coincidence. And then there was the lavender scent...

Darcy’s thoughts were interrupted when he heard his lectrice ascending the stairs, chatting easily to Clara. Hastily pushing the necklace under the covers again, he listened carefully to her voice. It was definitely deeper than Miss Elizabeth Bennet’s.

Elizabeth had been ready to tackle another chapter of the mathematical text, but Darcy was eager for her to continue the novel. Pleased for Georgie’s sake that her brother seemed to be enjoying the book, Elizabeth opened the third volume at her bookmark and continued.

As soon as she voiced Marianne, Darcy’s suspicions firmed; but to his chagrin, Marianne fell ill and spoke nary a word for him to examine during the following chapters. Deuced woman! Why did she have to go running about in the rain? Darcy was reduced to parsing the utterances of Eleanor, whose voice and demeanour did seem to recall Jane Bennet to him. On the other hand, Darcy did not hear a word that the colonel spoke. Colonel Brandon could not be of use to him. During those speeches, he was too busy imagining Elizabeth Bennet sitting in Miss Gardiner’s chair. Would she have read mathematics to him? Been able to read Greek, Latin, and Spanish to him? Yes, yes, yes! But what reason could there be for her to suddenly transport herself to London? No, it could not be her! This lady was older; had several years’ experience as a governess.

By the time he heard Georgie’s carriage pull up outside as expected at three, Darcy was lost in a sea of self-doubt. His mind soon took a different direction, however, when he caught a snatch of a familiar voice in the vestibule mixed with that of his sister. He heard Farley’s footsteps ascending the stairs.

Darcy froze.

“You see!” said the voice from the threshold. “There can be no impropriety! We are old family friends and there are two servants here! We shall keep the door open!”

“Yes, your grace. The Duchess of Wingham to see you, sir!”

Darcy blushed to the roots of his hair.

Chapter 34: Mistress of mayhem

Elizabeth reasoned afterwards that she had been too fascinated by the lady who had hurled the dreaded epithet of ‘servant’ at her to feel its blow. She had watched, dumbstruck, as the duchess with her copper curls and her stylish but outmoded gown appeared at the door. After a fleeting appraisal, Elizabeth had only just decided that the duchess’s hair colour could not be natural and begun to appraise her toilette when her pronouncement of being ‘an old family friend’ caused Elizabeth to glance at Darcy. His blushing reaction was sufficient to fix her interest.