Mr. Darcy's Refuge (34 page)

Jane looked away. “He
is
very amiable. I can see why you liked him so much.”

Elizabeth began to suspect that more than one of her sisters was developing a
tendre
for the colonel. She hoped Jane at least would know to protect her heart this time.

Chapter 17

Darcy had debated whether to send Mr. Gardiner a note requesting a private meeting instead of calling on him. The latter carried the danger of encountering Mr. Bennet and revealing Mr. Gardiner’s connection to him, but when he attempted to take the wiser course of writing, he found he could not bring himself to put pen to paper. Why should he have to avoid Mr. Bennet as if he were the villain of the piece? If Elizabeth’s father wanted nothing to do with him, well, there was nothing to stop him from walking away.

Thus it was almost three hours after he had received intelligence about Wickham’s location that he rapped on the door of the house on Gracechurch Street. The manservant there recognized him from his prior visits, taking his hat and gloves even before telling his master of Darcy’s arrival.

The house was compact enough that Darcy could hear him at the door of Mr. Gardiner’s study saying, “Mr. Darcy is here to see you, sir.”

There was an almost imperceptible pause before he heard Mr. Gardiner say, “Show him in.”

When Darcy entered the study, Mr. Gardiner rose to his feet from one of the pair of red leather chairs in front of the hearth. The other chair held Mr. Bennet, who sat frozen with a glass of brandy raised halfway to his mouth.

Mr. Gardiner came forward to shake his hand. “I am glad to see you, Darcy. I was just thinking that your ideas might be helpful in deciding our next course of action. Have you been able to learn anything yet?”

Darcy bowed slightly in the direction of Mr. Bennet, taking in his narrowed eyes, then turned all his attention back to the more approachable face of Mr. Gardiner. “I have had some success. I have located them, and I plan to make contact with Wickham tomorrow to discover his plans.”

Mr. Bennet put down his brandy snifter none too gently. “Where are they?” he growled.

Darcy said evenly, “They are staying in a shared room at a boarding house whose reputation leaves much to be desired.”

“But on what street, what is the direction?”

Darcy paused, glancing at Mr. Gardiner. “I prefer to deal with Wickham alone at this point. If good fortune is with us, Miss Lydia may be prepared to return here, in which case the direction is unimportant.”

Mr. Bennet heaved himself up from his chair. “How dare you waltz in here and then refuse to tell me where
my
daughter is?”

Mr. Gardiner reached out a restraining hand to his brother-in-law. “Darcy has offered his assistance in this matter. He is acquainted with some of Wickham’s former associates.”

“How does he even know what happened?” Mr. Bennet said through gritted teeth.

“That is hardly important now. What matters is that he can help us.”

“Help us by refusing to let me see my daughter? Lydia is
my
responsibility, not his. I will talk to Wickham, and if necessary, I will fight him.”

Darcy felt his calm slipping. “If anyone fights Wickham, it will be me, since I have the better chance of winning. The point is moot, though; if challenged to a duel, Wickham will not appear. This is not the first time the situation has arisen. He has no honor to defend.”

“Then I will talk to him and try to make him see reason.”

That was the last straw. “You will have to pardon me, Mr. Bennet, if I have some doubts as to whether you are the best person to speak to a potential son-in-law. You may have failed to drive
me
away, but Wickham is a different story. He is looking for an excuse to flee, and all you will be left with this time is a ruined daughter.”

Mr. Gardiner stepped between them. “That is enough from both of you! We all share the same goal, which is to rescue Lydia from her present situation. We cannot afford to squabble among ourselves. Now, let us leave your disagreement about Lizzy aside and concentrate on what needs to be done. Come now, I want you to shake hands.”

Neither man moved, and finally Darcy shook his head slowly. “I will agree to put other matters aside for the time being, but that is all I can do. Because you are Elizabeth’s father, I have forgiven you for your behavior toward me in Kent, for refusing to hear me out, and for separating me needlessly from Elizabeth. For Elizabeth’s sake, I have even chosen to overlook your repeated slights to my honor. You can do what you like to me, secure in the knowledge that I will accept it. But this is not only about me. You have hurt
Elizabeth
, hurt her badly, and
that
I cannot forgive.”

“I have been
protecting
Lizzy, and I have no need of your forgiveness for anything I do!”

Mr. Gardiner held up his hands. “I think it is safe to say that both of you feel you are trying to protect Lizzy, even if you disagree on the means. In the meantime, we need to work together if we wish to resolve Lydia’s situation.”

Darcy drew in a deep breath. “My apologies, sir,” he said tightly, aiming his comment toward Mr. Gardiner. He ignored Mr. Bennet’s snort in the background.

Mrs. Gardiner bustled in, her good humor a relief in the dark study. “Mr. Darcy, I just learned of your arrival. I hope your journey was unremarkable. No, do not answer that now. Please come to the sitting room where we may all sit down and share what we have learned.”

Darcy followed her gratefully, aware of Mr. Bennet stalking on his heels. Instead of selecting the sofa he had used on his previous visits to the Gardiner home, he chose to sit beside Mrs. Gardiner, who inquired about Georgiana’s whereabouts. By the time he had finished his reply, the others had joined them.

Mr. Bennet continued to glower. “I am desolated to be obliged to interrupt this charming reunion, but I find myself in need of an explanation of how Darcy comes to be acquainted with both this matter and with you.”

Mrs. Gardiner looked delighted at the opportunity. “You are no doubt already aware that we had travelled no further than Lambton, where we had planned to spend several days visiting friends from my childhood, when Jane’s letters reached us, informing us of Lydia’s plight. But I am getting ahead of my story! I had longed to visit the grounds at Pemberley again, and as chance would have it, despite reassurances we had received that the family was away, it turned out that Mr. Darcy had arrived ahead of schedule. When he discovered our presence, he naturally wished to speak to Lizzy, and my husband and I decided it was an excellent opportunity to see what sort of man he was. He introduced us to his sister, a charming young lady, and we met on several occasions. The matter of Lydia, when it arose, could not be hidden from him.”

Darcy leaned back in his chair, impressed at her ability to create a misleading tale without once telling an untruth. “Miss Bennet was quite distraught, and naturally I could not rest until I knew the cause.”

Mr. Bennet’s narrowed eyes focused on Mr. Gardiner. “How very
interesting
that you should choose to disregard my wishes.”

“Thomas, this is neither the time nor the place,” said Mrs. Gardiner sharply. “Mr. Darcy has offered us his assistance, and I for one am grateful for it.”

Darcy decided that the better part of valor was to say his piece before Mr. Bennet had the chance to go on the attack again. “As I have already told the gentlemen, I have located Wickham and Miss Lydia. If all goes well, I will speak with them tomorrow. Wickham, of course, is well known to me, but I hoped you might have some suggestions as to how I should approach the matter to Miss Lydia, since I have no significant acquaintance with her.”

Mrs. Gardiner passed a tray of pastries to her husband. “Perhaps I should go with you. Lydia might be more inclined to attend to my suggestions.”

Mr. Bennet snorted again. “As if she listens to anyone.”

Darcy accepted a pastry to be polite, then set his plate aside. The prospect of food had no appeal at the moment. “I will need to negotiate a settlement with Wickham. He is likely to be more reasonable if he believes I am working on my own, since he would expect me to be more disinterested than her immediate family. His demands might well escalate if he knows you are involved.”

“His demands?” said Mr. Bennet sharply. “You seem to be assuming he will need to be bribed.”

Darcy inclined his head. “Wickham never misses a chance to improve his own situation at the expense of others. I wish I could say otherwise, but the fact that he has located himself in a part of town unsuitable for a gentleman’s daughter strongly suggests that he has no honorable intentions toward her. If so, he will not change his mind without a significant incentive.”

Mr. Bennet leaned forward. “All the more reason I should be the one to negotiate with him. Any payment will come from me.”

Darcy opened his mouth to reply, but Mr. Gardiner spoke first. “There is no point in discussing who will foot the bill when we do not yet know if there will be one. There will be plenty of time for that later.” He shot Darcy a warning glance. “I hope you will keep us informed of your progress.”

“Naturally.” He rose to his feet. “Thank you for your kind hospitality.”

Mrs. Gardiner pointed back to his chair. “Oh, please do not go yet, Mr. Darcy. We had so little time to get to know one another in Lambton.”

Mr. Bennet shifted in his chair, looking as annoyed at this blatant manipulation as Darcy felt. Nevertheless, he followed her instructions. “It would be my pleasure, madam.”

“I hope your journey to town was not unpleasant.”

“Not at all. I arrived before the rain began, so I made excellent time.”

“I just arrived yesterday, since I travelled with Lizzy to Longbourn. I fear that the children were not at all happy to see me; they had hoped for an extended holiday with their dearest Aunt Jane!”

“I hope you found Miss Bennet in good health.”

“Apart from a natural concern for the situation and for her family’s distress, yes, she was quite well. Is any of your family in town at present, Mr. Darcy?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mr. Bennet sit up straighter. “I cannot say. I have kept to myself since my return, but I imagine that any of them who have the ability have moved to the countryside for the summer. London loses much of its appeal in the warm weather.”

Mr. Bennet laughed shortly. “Is that why I have seen so much of your various relatives at Longbourn? It certainly was not for the charm of
my
company.”

Darcy regarded him quizzically. If the visitor had been Lord Matlock, he doubted Mr. Bennet would make a joke about it. “My relatives do not keep me informed of their whereabouts, but I have heard nothing about travels to Longbourn.”

“Am I to believe that your charming cousin in the red coat has not been carrying messages to you from Lizzy? I am not quite so gullible, young man, as to believe that he is suddenly so enamored of my eldest daughter that he cannot stay away above a fortnight.”