Page 35 of Such Low Connections

Darcy nodded slowly. Bingley disdained most subtleties, but he could be unerring in his nose for the truest explanation, guided by his social instincts and vast intuitive knowledge of people. Darcy thought again of George Wickham but hung back from naming his suspicions aloud until he had some evidence.

“You may well be right, Bingley. Anyway, I was not in sufficient control of my own feelings this afternoon to stay much longer in that room after Mr Pinnock departed. I am to return tomorrow and discuss the matter further with Mr Moreton and Mr Deringham. I must see what they advise, but I anticipate being here in London for some weeks yet.”

“I will be here too, Darcy, although I cannot advise you on the law or the newspapers. Call on me if you have need of a friend. You have defended me enough times in the past, and I shall not desert you now, no matter what happens.”

Bingley spoke staunchly, and his unqualified support warmed Darcy’s heart, even though he could think of nothing practical to suggest to his friend.

“I shall,” Darcy assured him. “But I would also understand if you wished to return to Hertfordshire. It will be Christmas soon, after all. Did you not hope to see Jane Bennet again at the assembly rooms on Christmas Eve and at the home of Sir William Lucas after Christmas?”

“I shall ask Caroline to write to Jane Bennet again and let her know that our absence will be more prolonged, although not desired,” sighed Bingley. “A few more weeks cannot hurt, can they? No, I shall stay here for Christmas, and the house shall be opened properly tomorrow.”

“You will be very welcome at Darcy House on Christmas Day,” Darcy offered, conscious of Bingley’s disappointment. “It will be a small Christmas with only myself, Georgiana, and Mrs Annesley. Your sisters are obviously welcome too, if you would extend the invitation.”

“Thank you, I shall,” Bingley answered, although his eyes looked doubtful at the mention of his sisters. “As we are not returning to Netherfield Park for Christmas, I expect Caroline and Louisa will remain at Grosvenor Square, however. Personally, I shall not be sorry to miss Hurst drinking himself into oblivion.”

“No,” Darcy agreed shortly, having nothing else to say on a matter previously discussed many times between them. “Nor shall I.”

∞∞∞

The following morning, Darcy once again sat down at the dark oak table in Mr Moreton’s office at Moreton and Belling. Both his agent and old Mr Deringham were already there as promised, their faces both grave and compassionate.

“Do you have any doubts at all about the authenticity of those letters, Mr Darcy?” white-haired Mr Deringham asked as soon as the necessary greetings and pleasantries were exchanged.

“That is my father’s signature, and that was his seal. I do not think that even a master forger could have created such convincing counterfeits,” Darcy admitted, even while shaking his head. “Yet the story they tell cannot be true. I cannot believe my parents capable of such wrongdoing, of such deceit. I cannot believe that I am…”

Darcy paused and swallowed, unable to say the words.

While both the square-jawed Mr Moreton and elderly Mr Deringham frowned with sympathetic concern, Darcy could discern none of the distaste and revulsion he was struggling with personally. He supposed that his own birth was of no real consequence to his agent or lawyer, as long as he continued to pay their bills. The same could not be said for the denizens of theton, however.

Despite the evidence his eyes had seen and his hands had touched yesterday, in his heart, Darcy could not believe that his mother or father would have conceived a child out of wedlock and then concealed the truth.

“Is there really no hint as to the identity of Pinnock’s anonymous client?” Darcy changed tack. “It seems to me that this person is the only one from whom I might receive any real answers.”

The other two men answered in the negative.

“I have made what enquiries I could,” old Deringham spoke up, a hint of apology in his voice that warned Darcy to limit his expectations. “The letters were provided by a third party acting for an anonymous source, but no one at Pinnock & Sons is willing to say more than that. Likely no one knows but Mr Pinnock himself, who says he is not at liberty to name his client.”

“Do you think I might be able to sue for the return of the letters, or even for defamation of character?” Darcy asked next.

“I would strongly advise against either course if you wish to keep your reputation,” answered Deringham immediately. “Nothing has actually been published against you, as far as I know, and courts cannot rule on mere gossip and hearsay. Even suing for the return of your father’s property would only publicise those letters and their unfortunate dates. Would that not make matters worse?”

Darcy nodded gloomily.

“There has been this,” put in Mr Moreton, pulling out a folded paper from a drawer and putting it in front of Darcy and his colleague. “You should both be aware of it. Although it is only a few lines, this is one of the more popular scandal sheets. I picked it up in Covent Garden yesterday.”

The agent’s thick finger indicated a small story in the middle of the page which referred to the“dubious descent of a certain proud gentleman of Derbyshire…” Reading this, Darcy flushed red with anger and might have screwed up the paper if Deringham had not already picked it up for closer examination through his gold-rimmed spectacles.

“This is not nearly strong enough to merit any legal action,” the lawyer pronounced, putting the paper back down on the table as though it were something very heavy. “My previous advice still stands, Mr Darcy. Unless you are truly and demonstrably defamed, the courts are no remedy in this case.”

“Is there any way of tracing the source of the story?” Darcy asked.

“I made inquiries at the publisher’s office. The answer I got was that they never reveal their sources, but that all stories must be considered credible. If I had to guess, I would say that the writer might have had sight of those letters from Pinnock’s anonymous client but wasn’t yet confident enough of their authenticity to publish your name.”

“This is intolerable!” Darcy burst out in frustration. “Every way I turn, I find a new provocation, but it seems I can do nothing. All the while, someone is working against me.”

“You must wait for your moment, Mr Darcy,” the old lawyer counselled him. “Sooner or later, whoever is behind this must make some mistake or leave us some clue. Once we can ascertain who is at the root of this, we can work on them privately.”

“You speak very sensibly, Mr Deringham,” agreed Darcy, “but in the meantime, my reputation is being destroyed. What of Georgiana, too? If I am named, then her name will be out in public too, and I must think of the impact on her future prospects.”