Lawrence crossed his arms over his chest. “I am sure that Mrs. Darcy saw the advantage of marriage to you.”

Darcy barked out a laugh. “Oh, yes, Mrs. Darcy expressed herself quite well. When I proposed the first time, Elizabeth told me that I could not have made the offer of my hand in any possible way that would have tempted her to accept it. Adding insult to her injury, she told me that I was the last man in the world whom she could ever be prevailed on to marry.”

“The lady refused you?” Lawrence’s eyes lit with mockery.

“Definitely. I had thought that Elizabeth Bennet lacked the proper connections and would seek the opportunity to better her situation. She, on the other hand, thought me devoid of feelings. From her, I have learned to value what is really important in life. When we met again by chance, I used every civility in my power to show Elizabeth I was not so mean as to resent the past, and I hoped to obtain her forgiveness and to lessen her ill opinion, by letting her see that her reproofs had been attended to.”

“You changed your ways to please a woman? Good God, man, they are meant to please us.”

Darcy gestured toward the house, and they began their return to Pemberley’s warmth. “It seems to me, Stafford, that you have gone out of your way to please Miss Donnel.Yet, even if that were not true, with God’s grace, someday you will meet a lady who will see you for the man you want to be. Pleasing Mrs. Darcy makes me a better man. I would attempt anything for the woman. Do not speak to me of brick and mortar. Any concern you detect is for the people I affect.”

The viscount said nothing for several minutes. “I always knew you to be a rich man, Darcy; I just never knew the extent of your wealth.”

Darcy smiled and nodded.Then he continued,“What I mean to say, Stafford, is if Miss Donnel is of importance, then do not allow your pride to keep you from happiness.”

“I care deeply for Miss Donnel, but the lady is not my future countess, and it has nothing to do with our current relationship. Cathleen stirs my senses, but I have never known someone whom I could love. However, I assure you that if I meet such a woman—whether she be a fine lady or of genteel birth or a commoner—I will attempt anything to make her mine. Maybe then I might become the kind of man my father thinks I should be.”

Darcy accepted the man’s words as truth.“For what it is signifies, I need your strength and your intelligence to solve this mystery.”

Lawrence chuckled. “That is something, I suppose, although I am sure that the earl would disapprove somehow. My father reeks with disapproval, and I have perfected the art of disappointing him.”

Darcy thanked his lucky stars that he and his late father had rarely argued about his position in the world. He even thought that his father would approve of his choice of Elizabeth Bennet as his wife. “You are young, Stafford. The responsibility of a title weighs heavily on you.You will find your way. I see a greatness in you.”

The viscount looked sharply at Darcy, trying to read the sincerity of his remark. After a moment, he said, “Listen to us discussing our legacies as if we knew the dates of our own demises. I appreciate your confidence in me, Darcy, especially after I so out-and-out accused your wife’s sister.”

“Ah, Mrs.Wickham. If you made the acquaintance of my wife’s mother, Mrs. Bennet, or her aunt, Mrs. Phillips, you would understand the source of the lady’s boldness, as well as her need for attention. However, despite my constant dismay at Mrs.Wickham’s self-absorption, I do not believe the lady possesses the kind of evil needed to orchestra Mrs. Jenkinson’s death or Miss Donnel’s accident.” They reached the main entrance; Mr. Baldwin held the door for them. Neither man spoke of their search before the servants. Handing the butler their outerwear, Stafford followed Darcy into his study before they returned to their conversation.

“Is it possible that Mrs. Wickham is an accomplice?” Adam could not shake the feeling that somehow the mystery involved the lady.

“Anything, I suppose, is possible.” Darcy knew Lydia to be easily misled and knew her blind loyalty to a man that Darcy despised. Still, he could not imagine her participating in murder. “Yet I remain far from convinced of Mrs.Wickham’s involvement.”

Darcy gestured to a tray, and Adam poured himself brandy. “I will bow to your assessment, Darcy.”

“No,” Darcy demanded sharply.“I want to hear every motive—every possibility. I want no stone unturned.”

Adam had no response to his host’s insistence. What would his father do if this was Greene Hall? Everything Fitzwilliam Darcy had said to him swirled through his mind. He paused for several long moments before saying, “I believe I will check on Cathleen and spend some time in my room.” Stafford moved toward the open door. “I will see you at luncheon, if not before.” A few moments later,Adam Lawrence climbed the stairs to his quarters. He had told Darcy that he would call on Cathleen first, but Darcy’s earlier question about Adam’s regard for Cathleen still rang in the viscount’s ears. He was indeed protective of Cathleen.Yet, it was not the same feeling that Darcy held for his wife. He did not know Fitzwilliam Darcy’s financial worth, but Adam suspected that he was to inherit a fortune comparable to Darcy’s. But Darcy had found true happiness, which outweighed the financial gain either of them would attain. Adam wished that he had the focus—the control—his host possessed. Even though Darcy had said he needed Adam’s help, the viscount wondered if the truth was not the reverse.


“Murray, I have not spoken to Lawson. Did you not tell him I wished to see him?” Darcy had summoned his footman to his study.

Murray looked about, in real concern. “No one has seen the lad today, sir. I have checked the boy’s quarters, the house, and the stables.”

“Mr. Steventon?” Darcy did not need to ask the question. Murray would understand.

“The steward reports not seeing Lawson since late yesterday afternoon.”

Darcy nearly groaned with frustration. He did not need another mystery. “Let me know the moment Lawson returns to the house, Murray. In this weather, he could not have gone far.”

“Yes, Mr. Darcy.”The man bowed and exited the room.


“Mr.Worth, I wondered where you were!” Elizabeth had found the solicitor sitting in a darkened library corner.

The man rose slowly to his feet, his mind engaged elsewhere. “I apologize, Mrs. Darcy. Did you have a concern I could address?”

“I thought that you might need some company.”

Worth gestured to a nearby chair. “I am afraid that Mrs. Jenkinson’s fate has affected me more than I anticipated.The lady was so happy when we last spoke. Now, she is no more. I am beyond distraction.”

“Mrs. Jenkinson seemed content to reunite with her husband and child. Her only concern seemed to be Miss de Bourgh.” Elizabeth watched the man’s expression. “It might be comforting to Miss Anne if you shared your feelings of loss. I barely knew the woman, and even though yours was a short acquaintance, you and the lady seemed to have an affinity for one another.”

Mr.Worth spoke softly.“I would have liked to have known Mrs. Jenkinson better.”

Elizabeth sat forward to press her point. “Miss de Bourgh spent the past ten years in Mrs. Jenkinson’s company. It might help Mr. Darcy’s cousin to speak of her friend with someone else who appreciated the lady.”

“You are very wise, Mrs. Darcy.” Worth seemed to relax a bit. “Does Mr. Darcy realize what a find he has in you, ma’am?”

Elizabeth stood to leave. “I remind Mr. Darcy of that fact daily, Mr. Worth.” She smiled. “I believe Miss de Bourgh hides in the music room, sir.”

“I will seek her out, Mrs. Darcy. Thank you for being so perceptive.”


“Miss de Bourgh.” Worth came quietly into the room. He paused upon seeing the hunched figure of Mrs. Jenkinson’s friend. He finally forced himself to approach the distraught Anne de Bourgh. “I thought it might help both of us if we could speak of Mrs. Jenkinson. Of course, if you prefer to remain alone, I will understand.” He edged forward, coming to where she sat curled up in the chair.

Anne quickly wiped her eyes and looked up in surprise. “Mr. Worth.”

He bowed low. “I apologize for disturbing your privacy, Miss de Bourgh.”

“You are not disturbing me, sir.” Anne thought of sitting up properly in the chair, but she rejected that automatic response. She was in mourning and needed to follow the promptings of her heart, not the stilted rules of etiquette.“I would appreciate your company, sir. Mildred Jenkinson meant the world to me, and I would like for you to know my friend as I did.”

Worth pointed to a nearby chair. “May I?”

Anne de Bourgh nodded her agreement.

For two hours, they sat together. Some tears came, but laughter also peppered the conversation. When a servant brought tea and cakes, compliments of Mrs. Darcy, neither seemed surprised.

“Mrs. Darcy thinks of everything,” Worth remarked as he took the tea she offered.

“My cousin chose the perfect woman for himself,” Anne observed. “I am afraid that I could never handle an estate the size of Pemberley. I am too faint-hearted.”

Worth looked disturbed. “Mildred Jenkinson believed in you, Miss de Bourgh. Although I knew that lady only a short time, I came to value her opinions. If Mrs. Jenkinson thought you capable, I would have the same opinion.”

Anne blushed. “I have had few opportunities to exercise my will over any situation. Speaking to the whole group this morning was the first time I can ever remember addressing more than two people at one time. Is that not the most ridiculous assertion to ever come from a woman’s mouth?”

Worth looked on in feigned amusement. This woman knew Lady Catherine’s censure always pressing upon her, holding her down. Yet he had brief sightings of the capable woman whom Mildred Jenkinson described so tenderly. “I would like to see you honor Mrs. Jenkinson’s memory by no longer hiding the real you. I believe the lady would smile down from heaven if she knew.”

Impulsively, Anne touched his hand. “Do you believe I can be that person, Mr.Worth?”

He brought her soft hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it. “I do, Miss de Bourgh, and while we are at Pemberley, I am going to make it my personal mission to help you find that woman.”


As his staff cleared the last course, Darcy looked up to see a very agitated-looking butler standing beside him. Darcy nodded, and the man leaned in to whisper his news. Darcy’s heart lurched, and he instinctively gripped the chair’s arms. His eye caught Elizabeth’s, and he told her with a nearly imperceptible shake of his head that they had more trouble.

Elizabeth rose to her feet. “Ladies, might I have the pleasure of your company in the drawing room. Let us leave the men to their port and cigars.”

The men saw the women to the drawing room and then retired to Darcy’s study.The door had barely closed before Darcy told the others what he knew.“Gentlemen, I need your assistance.The body of one of my younger footmen has been found outside. I would like for you to accompany me to where he lies and then to a room in the east wing. The light grows thin, and we should examine the scene first.”

They made haste, choosing to exit the house through the servants’ entrance rather than signaling trouble by leaving through the front door. It took only moments to find the body. The boy lay spread-eagled, face down, in the snow—his face buried in at least six inches of damp whiteness.

“Who found him?” Darcy asked Murray as he slowly turned the body over.

“Lucas saw something from the ballroom window. He was cleaning the wall sconces in there. When he investigated, this is what he discovered.”

Adam Lawrence knelt beside Darcy. “When was that exactly?”

“Less than a half hour ago, sir. Mr. Baldwin thought it best to handle this as discreetly as possible.”

“Thank you, Murray.” His footman stepped back to await other orders.

Worth walked back and forth along the edge of the house, examining the bushes and window casements. Meanwhile, Darcy and Lawrence took note of the young Lawson’s injuries. “He has some broken bones, but if he fell from the open window above, that would be consistent with his fall,” Lawrence mused aloud.

“As would the contusion on his forehead.”

They found nothing at the scene to tell them what had happened, so Darcy led the men to the room above. “These are the chambers where I thought I saw someone when we returned from Lambton that first night.” He held the door wide for the others.