‘It is a privilege and a pleasure, sir,’ she said, meaning it.
‘I apologise for the intrusion, Mrs Darcy,’ he replied. ‘But the missives I have been receiving from my son excited my curiosity to the point that I just had to come and see for myself what is afoot. I was told at Hillgate House that I would find you here, James, so I took the liberty…’
‘Your timing is impeccable, as always, sir.’ James proceeded to relate all that had happened that morning. ‘And so, you see, Miss Darcy is the heroine of the hour.’
Lizzy watched with growing awareness as James bestowed a lingering smile upon Susie that made her blush to the roots of her air. She glanced at the elder Tyrell and could see that he was watching the developing situation with interest too. Then Lizzy recalled the lovely Miss Fleming and her fledgling hopes evaporated. Men, especially those with artistic flair, valued aesthetic beauty above all other considerations, did they not? Susie was lovely in her own way—educated, lively, opinionated and, as recent events had demonstrated, remarkably tenacious when the occasion called for it. To Lizzy’s biased way of thinking, those attributes would make for a far more interesting wife than a spoiled and indulged vision of loveliness.
‘I am glad you are here, sir,’ James said, tearing his gaze away from Susie, ‘because we can more easily decide now what to do about this situation.’
Tyrell rubbed his whiskered chin. ‘Mannering is keen to make amends, you say.’
‘I am sure of it, sir,’ Susie replied. ‘I am absolutely convinced that he really did mean to blow his brains out because he couldn’t live with his conscience. It was his weakness for gaming that got him into trouble. Bevan and Covington were in league. They met in Italy, I understand, and clearly realised they were kindred spirits. Bevan knew of your protégées, sir, picked up on Mannering’s perilous financial situation and brought up his vowels.’
‘At which point he and Covington effectively owned Mannering,’ James added.
‘Well then, I suggest we hit back where it hurts them the most,’ Mr Tyrell said briskly.
‘In the pocket?’ Will asked.
‘Precisely so, Mr Darcy. It would be very hard to prosecute this case successfully. So what I suggest is that we discover to whom the forgeries were sold, explain to those gullible souls that they have been duped and have Covington and Bevan return the purchase prices with interest. If they do so they will retain their freedom. If not I will find a way to discredit them both, within the bounds of the law or outside of them.’
‘It will ruin the Covingtons anyway since the particulars are bound to emerge,’ Lizzy said pensively. ‘I don’t mind for Mr Covington. He has brought this upon himself. But I do mind for Verity’s sake.’
‘Covington will have to sell his estate and purchase or lease something more economical,’ Will replied briskly. ‘There is no help for that. However, I think Tyrell has hit upon the right solution. He can start again where nothing is known of this sorry business and the villains will not have profited from exploitation.’
The luncheon gong sounded and their guests accepted Lizzy’s invitation to join them at table.
‘Well, sir,’ Tyrell said, rising to his feet and addressing his comment to Will. ‘It seems we are in complete accord. I look forward to helping with the interrogation of the rogues, which ought to be a highly satisfactory experience.’
Chapter Sixteen
James and his father didn’t get the opportunity to sit down and discuss matters between themselves until the following morning. The events of previous day had precluded any possibility of private discourse. They had remained at Pemberley for dinner, having quizzed a stunned Covington at length about his activities, extracting from him a list of purchasers of the forgeries and a written promise to make full restitution of the monies spent.
‘Well, my boy, I’m impressed with the manner in which you got to the bottom of things so rapidly,’ Father said.
‘So impressed that you felt the need to come up here and lend a hand?’
‘That’s not why I came.’ His father lifted one had and waggled it from side to side. ‘Well, not precisely.’
James flexed a brow. ‘Then why?’
‘I hear Beatrice ran after you.’
James tried not to wince. ‘She’s still here, even though I have given her no encouragement to stay.’ He sighed. ‘Sorry, Father. I know what’s to be done and will declare myself when we return to London. It’s just that I cannot abide having her cling. I didn’t realise quite how much attention she requires.’
‘Is that what you want?’
‘Beatrice?’ James shrugged. ‘I’m the luckiest man in London.’
‘James?’
‘What choice do I have? You require Fleming to finance your academy.’
‘Damn the academy! Look how Mannering repaid me. Makes you see things differently. Oh, I know he’s sorry and all that, but he was a weak man driven by jealousy and a habit he couldn’t control. I should have anticipated something of this nature.’
‘I never did like Mannering and am not entirely convinced that he’s dicked in the nob. Half the time we were talking to him I felt he was as sane as you or me which, I grant you, ain’t saying much.’
‘True enough.’ His father guffawed. ‘Anyway, he will be residing at Bedlam for the foreseeable future, so we will have no further trouble from him.’ He scratched the side of his face. ‘Did you know that Mannering was Fleming’s choice? He foisted him upon me.’
James permitted his surprise to show. ‘I was not aware that he involved himself in the selection of young artists who benefit from your tutorials.’
‘Ha, you don’t know the half of it. The man interferes at every turn. Thinks he’s a real patron of the arts but in actual fact he’d be hard pressed to distinguish a portrait from a landscape.’
‘He thinks his money and his connection to you will accord him the acclaim in the art world that he seeks?’
His father nodded. ‘That’s about the size of it.’
‘I thought you and he were friends.’
The pater simply shook his head.
‘Well, regardless of how Mannering came to be a part of your academy, no one could have anticipated what he was forced to do.’
‘No one forced him. He should have come to me when he was approached.’
‘That wouldn’t have solved his money problems.’
‘Which will occur again; you just mark my words. Men with Mannering’s addictions don’t overcome them.’
James shrugged. ‘Most likely not. But at least Bevan and Covington won’t try their hand at forgery again anytime soon.’
‘Never mind all that. We were discussing Miss Fleming, but we appear to have strayed from the point.’
James winced. ‘So we have.’
‘You would prefer to wed the beguiling Miss Darcy, I dare say.’
James’s head shot up. ‘Whatever makes you say such a thing?’
The pater chuckled. ‘I am not so old that I don’t recall being in love.’
‘Love? Good God!’ James elevated both brows. ‘Is that what afflicts me?’
‘No question of it. It shows in the way you look at her.’
‘Even if that’s the case…well, your ambitions.’
‘I don’t need Fleming’s money. Damn the man, I say. I find him overbearing and rude. Don’t much care for his chit of a daughter either. She seems to think that her beauty accords her special privileges. Worse, as you’ve discovered the past few days, she demands constant attention and sulks if she doesn’t get it. She’d drive you demented.’
James sat upright. ‘Are you absolutely sure you want to offend such a powerful benefactor, Father?’ he asked.
‘Sure that I want you to have your heart’s desire?’ He reached forward and slapped James’s shoulder. ‘Never more so, but I would advise against delay. I have seen the way that young steward looks at her.’ James frowned, earning a chuckle from his father for his trouble. ‘Don’t supp
ose she would lower herself but, well, better safe than sorry.’
James felt as though a burden he had borne for too long without being aware of it had suddenly been lifted from his shoulders. ‘Do you think she’ll have me?’
His father roared with laughter. ‘Never seen you half so unsure of yourself before. A little humility is good for the soul.’ He pushed himself to his feet. ‘We are invited to dine at Pemberley again this evening. You’ll never have a better opportunity to find out.’
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Susie, unaware how much longer James was likely to remain in Derbyshire, dressed with special care for dinner that evening. She wore a gown of deep pink sprigged muslin that was a favourite of hers, and had Mary pay particular attention to her hair. She told herself that she would be glad when he was gone. She had lost her heart to him, there was no denying that fact, but it was also a sad reality that she couldn’t compete with Beatrice Fleming’s beauty and…well, her sense of helplessness. Susie had never been prone to helplessness but knew gentlemen found such vulnerability desirable. All well and good, but Susie wouldn’t pretend to anything that she wasn’t, not even for James’s sake. That being the case, the sooner he left the district, the sooner her heart would mend.
At least her presence at the fight had not been revealed to Mama and Papa. Nor, it seemed, had Tobias’s part in organising those fights. Marc obviously felt that Tobias had proved himself. He also accepted that he had become involved with Covington’s machinations unwillingly and no profit could be made by distressing Papa with details of that involvement. Susie heartily agreed with that sentiment.
Dinner passed quickly and pleasantly, but for the fact that Mama and Papa kept sending her assessing looks. She was at a loss to understand why. The mood was celebratory and James’s father was a lively and interesting addition to Mama’s table.
When the gentlemen had taken sufficient port and rejoined the ladies, Mama took up a seat at the pianoforte. James wandered across the room to join Susie and invited her to take a stroll with him on the terrace. Surprised by such a public request, she nonetheless acquiesced.
‘This, I assume, is so that you can say goodbye,’ she said, striving for a lightness of tone at direct variance to the weight that dragged on her heart. ‘You feel you owe me some sort of special treatment because I calmed Mr Mannering until you could get there. Well, I can assure you that you do not. I felt sorry for the poor man, truth be told, and was glad to do my part. Oh, I realise he brought much of it upon himself but even so, it is quite insufferable how—’
‘If you would allow me to speak.’ Laughing, James raised a hand to cut off her flow of words. It was only then that Susie realised she had been babbling in an ineffective attempt to hide her sorrow at his departure. ‘I have something to say to you.’
‘Then I am ready to listen,’ she replied, unable to hide her curiosity
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James led her down the steps and steered her towards a sheltered bench he had noticed on a previous visit. She sat and gave him her full attention. She clearly didn’t have the first idea what was in his heart. Her modesty almost caused his courage to desert him. Despite his father’s assurances to the contrary, he had seen no indication that her feelings were engaged. He was convinced that she didn’t look upon him with half the affection or easy familiarity she manifested in her dealings with Porter. Thoughts of that presumptuous cove drove him on. He was not to be trusted, despite his recent demonstration of loyalty, and Susie deserved a great deal better.
‘Susie,’ he said, clearing his throat. ‘I speak to you with your father’s consent.’
‘Papa?’ She elevated both brows. ‘What have I done now?’
Her astonishment was genuine and she clearly thought that James had taken it upon himself to chastise her for some perceived wrong-doing. Any doubts about his love for this unassuming, opinionated and highly individual female evaporated at that moment. His thoughts briefly drifted towards Beatrice. Given similar circumstances, there would be no misunderstanding on her part, genuine or contrived.
‘My sweet,’ he said, claiming her hand in a firm clasp. ‘I sit beside you a chastened man in the face of your bravery, your courage, your determination, your compassion.’
‘Good heavens!’ She looked at him askance. ‘You do?’
‘I do. Dare I hope you will do me the very great honour of becoming my wife?’
‘You wife?’ Her eyes widened to an impossible degree as she snatched her hand from his grasp, looking angry and upset. Facing down a dangerous man armed with a pistol did not anger her. Being drawn into a mob of drunkards yelling for blood at a prize fight did not upset her. A proposal of marriage from him, on the other hand, clearly did. ‘Have you taken complete leave or your senses or do you seek to amuse yourself at my expense?’
‘I have never been of sounder mind, thank you, and I am not amused. Merely a bundle of nerves until I hear your response.’
She canted her head and eyed him quizzically. ‘You seem genuine.’
He chuckled. ‘I do not make a habit out of proposing, you know. But then, I have never been in love before.’
‘Love?’ She shook her curls. ‘You have no right to speak to me of love.’
‘Why ever not?’
‘Why not, you ask?’ She sighed with impatience and averted her gaze. ‘You are engaged to Miss Fleming.’
‘Ah, I see.’
‘Perhaps with all the excitement you had momentarily forgotten that rather important particular.’
He placed a finger gently beneath her chin and tilted it upwards, forcing her to look at him. He was devastated to see tears sparkling on her thick lashes.
‘Beatrice and I are not engaged.’
Her mouth fell open. ‘But, I thought—’
‘Yes, so did I,’ he replied glumly. ‘I have never loved her. I suspected it before, but now that I have fallen so passionately in love with you I know it for a certainty. But it was a complicated situation. My father relies upon Fleming’s support for his artistic academy, upon which he places so much stock.’
‘I see.’
‘I doubt that you do. I did not see clearly myself until Father and I discussed the matter this morning.’ He paused, wondering how much more to tell her. In the end he decided upon complete transparency. If they were to be married, if there was any hope of her accepting him, there should be no secrets between them. ‘Some years ago, just after I left university I ran rather wild for a time.’
‘How shocking.’ But there was a hint of amusement in her tone. ‘Is that not a rite of passage for all young men?’
‘Perhaps, but I landed myself in a lot of trouble. There was a fire on the family estate of one of my friends. I did not have anything to do with it but blame was placed at my door. I had been in the pavilion where it started shortly before flames were seen, and could not prove that someone else, someone with a grudge to bear against my host, had been there after me.’ James sighed. ‘It seemed probable that I would be arrested, tried and found guilty of a crime I had not committed. My father stepped in and without hesitation offered to pay for the damages and paint the portrait of the estate’s owner…we shall called him Lord X.’
‘That was generous of him, but I suspect that my father would have behaved in a similar fashion if one of my brothers got into trouble.’
‘Very likely he could afford to. The same could not be said of my father. He was at the height of his fame but his work didn’t earn him anything like the amount it does nowadays and it had cost him every last penny he had to save my hide.’
‘Ah, now I start to see.’ She nodded emphatically. ‘Your guilt drives you and you feel that you must somehow make restitution.’
‘Guilt, certainly. Every hour of every day. But at least it brought me to my senses and I knuckled down to my own art after that.’
‘And because your actions set him back, you felt obliged to repay him by marrying Beatrice and securing her father’s financial backing fo
r the academy.’
‘Precisely so, but this morning Father astonished me by convincing me that he couldn’t abide Fleming, was not that pleased with Beatrice and released me from all obligations in that regard.’ He sent her a soft smile. ‘So, my love, is there any hope for me?’
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Susie wanted to pinch herself. This could not be happening. Her secret, most dearly held wish was on the brink of becoming a reality. No wonder her family had been sending her encouraging looks throughout dinner. Papa had given James his consent to address her. Presumably Mama knew it and her brothers did too. Equally obviously they approved.
‘Oh,’ she said offhandedly. ‘I think I could put up with you.’
‘Not good enough. I need to know that you love me.’
She leaned towards him and placed a chaste kiss on his lips. The urge to turn it into something more demonstrative of his burning passion was hard to resist, but resist it he must, until he was sure of her complete and total adoration. Nothing less would serve.
‘Don’t try to distract me, little vixen, and answer the question.’
‘I didn’t dare to admit to my feelings for you, even to myself. I knew I could never compete with Beatrice, you see.’
‘Ha, you are ten times the woman she will ever be!’
‘Hardly that. I was anxious for you to leave so that I wouldn’t have to see you every day and regret what could never be. I thought I was too sensible to fall in love with unattainable men, but it seems I was wrong about that.’
James took her hand and kissed each gloved finger in turn. ‘What of Porter?’ he asked softly.
‘I like him very much,’ Susie replied, not pretending to misunderstand him. ‘But he and I both know we could never marry. Oh, not because he is a steward but because there is too much bad history between our families. I would have to choose between him and my parents. I would never be permitted to have both.’ She sent him a sweet smile. ‘Besides, since meeting you, I realise that what I felt for him was not love but admiration.’
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