And I'm back! Really looking forward to the next few chapters, actually - they should be interesting to write.
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"Of course, anything you need," responded Charles. He wished he could offer Darcy a drink - he certainly looked like he could use it - but he and Caroline had just moved in and he hadn't managed to find a reliable source yet.
"I think..." Darcy trailed off, looking bewildered. He sat down heavily. "Do you remember George Wickham?" he asked.
Charlie puzzled over the name for a minute. "I think so. Didn't you know him in college?"
"I did. We...well, it doesn't matter now. I...he owed money, I guess. Gambling, drugs, I don't know. Take your pick. Women, too. He...I was following him today," Darcy said. He put his head in his hands.
"Darcy, I can't help if you don't tell me what happened," Charlie pointed out.
"I know. I'm sorry. I'm still trying to sort it all out." Darcy swallowed. "Let me start at the other end. Georgiana went missing a week ago. She left the house to go shopping and never came back."
"That's why you've been so distracted lately, then. Why didn't you tell me what was wrong?"
"There wasn't anything you can do, and I didn't like to speak of it."
Charles rolled his eyes. Darcy had a bad habit of keeping his troubles to himself, refusing to acknowledge it when he needed friendship.
Darcy sighed. If he'd noticed Charles's reaction, he didn't let on. "It took a while, but I found out that she'd left with Wickham. Georgiana had no way of knowing how rotten George has gotten. That's why I came to the party tonight: Wickham is working as an agent now, and the band that played is one of his clients."
"So you found Wickham. I saw you leave early."
Darcy nodded. "Tried to beat it out of him. Repulsive mongrel." He rubbed his face. "One of the band came out and knew where Wickham had taken Georgiana. He offered to show me."
"And she was there?"
Darcy nodded again. "A tiny rathole of a place, in the basement of one of the buildings in town. Wickham's sort of place. Georgiana was there, but in no state to talk to me. I had to talk to the chorus girls to figure out what happened.
"Wickham owed money to the owner of the place, a man named Joe Mineo. Apparently he made a deal - the debt would be forgiven if he delivered an heiress. The plan was to get her addicted to cocaine and then drain her purse."
Charles gasped. "And is she..."
Darcy shook his head. "She's been there a week, and I gather they were loading it on pretty fast. I talked to a doctor on the way here. There's no real treatment for cocainism. It doesn't do much physical damage, but the addiction affects the mind so deeply..." He covered his face again, and took a deep breath before lowering his hands. "We just need to wait. She needs time for the drug to clear, and then...we'll see what's left.
"I don't want to take her home like this. If this gets into the papers...you know how they tear people apart. Heiress Succumbs to Jazz-Age Drug, that sort of thing. It would be awful."
Charles nodded. "You want to keep her here?" he asked.
"Yes. If we can. A few weeks, maybe."
"Of course, stay as long as you like. There's plenty of room. But...doesn't she need a doctor?"
Darcy shook his head. "The doctor said there's not much to do. I'll need to find a nurse - someone trustworthy. Maybe pay her extra for her secrecy. But she can come here."
Charles sat up. "Jane Bennet."
Darcy looked up, puzzled. "Excuse me?"
"Jane could do it. She's a nurse, and she lost her job a while ago when the hospital closed the extra wing that opened during the war."
"That...might work. I'd ask her to sign something, promising not to tell...actually, if she pretended to be hired by you, that would be even better."
"Of course, Darcy, whatever you need. I'm sure she'd never expose Georgiana so cruelly, but do whatever you think best."
Darcy looked at his friend sardonically. "Your faith in her character is a beautiful thing, Charles. You've known her for all of five hours."
Charles shrugged. "Sometimes you just know what a person is like," he said. "In any case, you need to sleep. We'll speak to Jane in the morning."
Eight hours later, Darcy was finishing his tea at the heavy wood table in the dining room when the door opened and Charles and Jane walked in. He put down his cup. "Miss Bennet. Thank you so much for coming," he said.
She smiled gently. "It is rather early, but Charles said you needed a nurse, Mr. Darcy."
"I do indeed, for the next week or so. Are you available for that time?"
"I believe so. Charles also said you might have some...conditions?"
"I...Yes, I'm afraid I do. This is a matter of utmost secrecy, but I would pay well for your discretion. I will have to ask you to sign a document promising not to tell anyone, even your sisters, about your patient or even that I was the one who hired you. I'd like you to pretend that you are working for Charles."
"I...I'm not sure what to say, Mr. Darcy. You may be assured of my secrecy, of course, but I don't...I don't want to do anything illegal," she said, looking worried.
He smiled slightly. "I will not ask you to do anything that is illegal or immoral or against your own conscience, Miss Bennet. Just to keep my private affairs private."
"If that is all, then I would be happy to oblige, Mr. Darcy."
"Excellent! It would be simplest if you could just live here, I think."
Jane nodded. "I can do that. I've done a little private nursing before, you see."
Darcy stood up and reached for the contract he'd typed up in Charles's study earlier that morning. It would have been safer to have a lawyer draft it, of course, but Darcy needed it to be done quickly and wasn't certain he could find a local lawyer to trust. He thought he'd covered the necessary points. "If you would sign this, Miss Bennet," he said, pushing it across the table towards her.
Jane took it and picked up the pen to sign, but stopped when she felt Charles's hand on her arm. "You'd better let me read it over first, Jane," he said kindly.
"Of course," she said, blushing faintly, and handed it over to him.
Charles read it over. "Is $10 a day all right, Jane?" he asked.
"That's very generous, sir!" Jane said, startled.
"I know. I appreciate your confidentiality, and I feel you should be compensated accordingly," replied Darcy.
"Th-thank you," she stammered, staring at him.
"Everything else looks right," Charles said, and handed it back to Jane.
Once it was signed, Darcy took Jane up to see his sister. She was still asleep, and in the clear light of morning they could see how her dress was torn and her hair was dirty and tangled. Her arms were covered in healing bruises, and a cut on her shoulder appeared infected. Jane stepped forward and silently examined her left arm, where several of the injection sites were also infected.
Jane looked up at Darcy. "I'll need some supplies, sir, as well as my things. There's not much I can do until she wakes up, so if you don't mind I'll go and get them."
Darcy nodded, and Jane left to get what she needed.
A couple of notes:
- Alfred Mineo was one of the controllers of one branch of the New York Mafia in the 20s. I'm guessing Joe is a cousin or something.
- Cocainism is the older term for cocaine dependence. As far as I can tell from my research, cocaine actually has very few direct physical effects. Hiring a nurse for her is probably actually overkill, but I can't really blame Darcy.
- According to the Washington State Nursing Association, in 1919 they got the wage of a private nurse increased to $5 a day. I don't know how much variation there was across the country, but I'm guessing $10 was pretty generous.
Anyway, that's our chapter! Hit the review button and let me know what you think!
