She could not continue when the door burst open and an unexpected person walked through it.
Chapter 8
“William! What are you doing here?” Lady Anne gasped. “You are supposed to be at school! Is all well? What has happened to bring you to London?”
“I come with important news,” William responded but looked at Mrs. Jenkinson in surprise as he took a seat. “I... I heard something at school... I... Father, when will you be travelling to Rosings? What is Mrs. Jenkinson doing here instead of Kent? I am very confused. Is Cousin Anne well? How is Uncle Lewis faring?”
Mr. Darcy grimly replied, “Lewis passed away this morning, son. I arrived there early around ten in the morning and he passed shortly after. He had been further along than he had shared with me and Henry and I arrived just in time to say our farewells. We had begun to make preparations when we discovered that Catherine had absconded with Anne while Mrs. Jenkinson was sent on a fool’s errand, and we believe that Catherine still believes that Anne will receive Rosings if she marries and has come to London to find Anne a husband.”
William abruptly stood up and exclaimed, “So it was true!” He ran his fingers through his hair. “Father, John Knightley had come to me with a rumour when we were breaking our fast and I travelled all day to come to find out what Wickham might be up to. Wickham wrote to Bertram, who holds at least £500 in debts of honour, that he would be marrying a wealthy woman to gain her dowry. John thought the estate sounded like ‘Rosings Park’ and I left to track down Wickham and warn you of his plan in case he is scheming harm to our family.” He paced several more steps. “I thought Anne would be protected at Rosings but if her own mother is planning to have her married off, how are we to stop them? Lady Catherine can have her daughter legally wedded since Anne is only eighteen years old and will pay off someone for the license or even travel to Gretna Green. Without Mrs. Jenkinson by her side, Anne will not be able to refuse her mother and will do as she demands!”
Mr. Darcy stood and walked to the door to speak with the footman. “I am calling for my investigator, Mr. O’Connor, and we will be able to locate Wickham. I had the scoundrel followed after he was tossed out of Pemberley and Mr. O’Connor should have his exact location.”
“It is very late now,” Lady Anne interrupted. “Will you go out to search for them tonight?” She stood and called for the housekeeper for a repast for her son.
Mr. Darcy shook his head, “I will have the investigator look into it first and obtain more information before barging out into the night. Anne has been gone for hours and we may not be able to prevent...” he looked at Georgiana and paused, “any irreparable damage now, but if Mr. O’Connor finds that she is safe for the night, we will retrieve her tomorrow morning. Thank you for coming, Fitzwilliam. Your information has been more than helpful and along with Mrs. Jenkinson’s recollection, and of course,” he beamed at his precious daughter, “Inspectress Georgiana’s invaluable input, we will be able to rescue Anne and take her to safety.”
William raised his brow, “Inspectress Georgiana?! That is quite an accomplishment for a young lady. I know ladies can do anything they set their minds on and I am proud of you!”
Georgiana beamed, “I have you and Lizzy to thank for it, William!”
“Me? What did Lizzy and I do?” William laughed as his eight-year-old sister wiggled her brows up and down and sat next to him.
“You gave Lizzy your copy of Tom Jones and she could not put it down all summer. She thought of different ways to use logic and science to investigate crimes and she and I talked about becoming the first female crime inspectors in England.” Georgiana grinned.
William chuckled, “Of course she did, that girl. I am glad I have been of use, Inspectress Georgiana.” He kissed his beloved sister’s head.
The reassured group finally relaxed and Georgiana retired to the nursery soon, while the rest waited for Mr. O'Connor to arrive with news.
~*~
“I apologise for the lateness of the hour, Mr. Darcy, Lady Anne, young Mr. Darcy.” Mr. O’Connor greeted the group. “I know it is nearly midnight but I sent in a man to talk to a few servants to gather some information this evening so I could report back to you. It was fortunate that you were already having this man tracked in London, sir, otherwise it would have been an impossible feat to locate two women in that part of town. According to my sources, Lady Catherine de Bourgh is staying in a boarding house and gave their names as Mrs. and Miss Jones. They had a maid with them and the lady that runs the place, a Mrs. Younge, said Mrs. Jones paid upfront for a week. George Wickham has been residing at the same boarding house for the past two months and has been very... friendly with the mistress.” The investigator cleared his throat and continued. “It seems Mr. Younge is a frequent patron of the tavern nearby and Mrs. Younge takes that time to get to know certain male customers more intimately. Mr. Younge is a drunkard and spends the entire night telling stories to other customers and keeps out until early morning after he is stays with one specific tavern maid, if he makes it home at all. Wickham is lodging at the boarding house at very little cost, for obvious reasons, Mr. Darcy.” He coloured as he looked at Lady Anne.
William and his parents sat silently as they absorbed the information. They were confounded on how Wickham could fall
