Thanks for all of your comments.

Sorry to have posted this so late. So, to make up for it, I am posting a twofer. Actually, the content that I had originally planned for chapter 8 ballooned beyond the number of words that I normally allow for a regular chapter. So, I split them up into chapters 8 and 9. Thus, I present a twofer for this week.

Thanks for reading. This is unbeta'd. All the mistakes are my own. Please review.

Chapter 8

London

Darcy saw Charles enter the dining room at Whites, stopping at practically every table to exchange greetings with the other club members. As he watched Bingley's progress through the room, he gave the servant his drink order and then waited for his erstwhile friend to see him. As expected, Bingley approached the table with his habitual, jovial grin on his face.

"Darcy, it was a pleasant surprise to get your note."

Darcy suppressed a grimace, forcing himself to respond normally to the traitorous man. "Bingley, good evening. I am happy that you were available for dinner."

As they sipped their drinks, Bingley rattled off the soirees and dinners he had attended since they last met. "I have not seen you this last week, Darcy. You have missed all of the most celebrated events of the season thus far. What have you been doing with yourself?"

Before Darcy could reply, they both noticed Richard step through the door. He greeted several other gentlemen before catching sight of them. With a look of surprise, he began to wind his way over to their table. "Darcy, Bingley, well met. It has been an age. Mind if I join you?"

Darcy motioned to the empty chair across from him and replied sardonically, "Always a delight, Cousin."

Bingley beamed his customary smile at the Colonel. "Yes, delighted. It has been a while, Colonel. As I was just commenting to Darcy, I have not seen much of him lately. I can say the same for you."

Darcy responded according to the script that he and Richard had agreed upon. "I spent a few days at Rosings. My Aunt Catherine needed my assistance with an estate matter."

Richard added, "As for my whereabouts, my commanding officer has kept me busy these past few months. I have barely seen Darcy or any of the rest of my family."

Bingley, again, expressed his joy at the circumstances that brought them all together, and then, they continued to converse on several trivial topics while they were served their meal. Darcy found himself amazed at Bingley's casual air. He could perceive nothing of a nefarious nature in his expression or address. As always, his countenance seemed engaging and open.

Richard proceeded to throw out the first lure in their fishing expedition. He lowered his voice and said, "Darce, you seem rather upbeat despite your unfortunate nuptials."

Quietly, Darcy responded as they had agreed, "Actually, I have found great satisfaction in taking on the trappings of a married man. I am finding that I enjoy the experience of not being hunted in society. Bingley, I believe I told you much the same thing when I last dined at your house." He sighed in satisfaction. "Richard, you cannot imagine how freeing it is to be off the market. I owe the Vixen my thanks for entangling me in her net."

A fleeting frown could be seen on Bingley's face. He asked softly, "What of your bride? How does the Vixen fair in her country cottage?"

Darcy grimaced, "She actually seems to have adapted quite well. I receive reports from the housekeeper regularly and Mrs. Darcy appears to not be suffering overmuch. If it had been a woman more attuned to London society, she might have been suitably miserable as I had intended for her to be. But she has made the best of it and seems quite content. I suppose it attests to her country upbringing."

Bingley looked surprised, "Perhaps you should isolate her more to ensure that she rues the day that she compromised you."

Richard chuckled slyly as he interjected, "No, no, no. My mother is already making preparations to introduce her to society. Darcy is, of course, fighting it, but the Countess is determined. I would wager that Mrs. Darcy will be in London within the month."

Darcy shrugged, "I admit that, initially, I was against it. But Aunt Eleanor is starting to wear me down."

Bingley shifted uncomfortably, "I understood that you were determined to leave her in the country in retribution for entrapping you."

Richard responded, "Bingley, you have no idea how determined my mother can be. If she says jump, we jump. If she insists that we bring the Vixen to town, we bring the Vixen to town."

Wryly, Darcy nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, and it will probably cost me a small fortune to outfit her to the Countess's satisfaction."

Bingley said with more asperity than was warranted, "B-but you said that she would not be rewarded for her duplicity. I remember it very clearly. Those were your exact words."

Richard laughed, "Darcy was very angry at the time. He is much more sanguine now." Then turning to his cousin he asked, "Cousin, mon mére wants her here in time for her ball next month. Are you making preparations?"

Bingley sputtered, "B-but, you said…"

Ignoring him, Darcy began to detail the list of tasks that Richard's mother had assigned to him. As the two cousins discussed bringing Elizabeth Darcy to London, Bingley sat in silent perturbation that was barely concealed.

Moments later, they moved on to more mundane subjects. Then as they were finishing their port after the meal had been consumed, Darcy asked nonchalantly, "Last we spoke, Bingley, you mentioned that Miss Bingley was on the verge of matrimony. Has that come to fruition?"

Bingley frowned for a moment, then pasted a more cheerful expression on his face. "Yes, in fact, she just arrived in town yesterday to purchase her trousseau."

While Darcy could not mask his surprise, he managed to hide his scowl of displeasure.

Richard took this as his cue and smiled in what could have been interpreted as a snarl, "Ah, so you found someone who needs the shrew's dowry. Good work, Bingley."

Bingley's countenance changed quickly from amiability to anger, "Colonel, I do not appreciate your jest at my sister's expense. Your joke is in poor taste."

Richard, pleased to have rattled the untrustworthy ne'er-do-well, waved his hands in defense, "You are absolutely right. I withdraw that comment. Your sister is a fine lady. I have been around coarse soldiers too much, and it must be this superb port talking. Please forgive me."

Charles gave him a grudging nod, "Fine. Do not let it happen again."

At that, the two cousins and an only slightly mollified Bingley rose to depart.

Darcy addressed him, "On Friday evening, you should come to dine at Darcy House. It will be a gentleman's night of dinner and cards. The stakes will not be too high. Bring Hurst."

Charles, regaining some of his normal cheer, said, "Thank you. It sounds like a splendid evening."

Darcy promised to send round an invitation that would include Bingley's brother-in-law. Then, they chatted as they stepped out onto the street before they said their farewells.

Darcy and Richard speedily returned to Darcy House and sequestered themselves in the study to review the evening.

They had spent the last week since their return to London, planning their attack and marshalling their forces. Upon locating Bingley, Darcy had found it interesting that he was not staying at Hurst's townhouse as was his habit but had taken rooms at Grenier's. He hoped that it indicated that the Hursts were not involved in the conspiracy and were, in fact, distancing themselves from Charles. Four men had been hired to keep tabs on his movements. The meeting at White's had been the cousins' first approach to the man himself.

Darcy shook his head in disbelief and said, "If we had not read the letters in Bingley's own hand and heard Wickham's testimony, I probably would not have seen anything amiss in his reactions to our conversation. Has he always been so adept at disguise? Was he simply pretending to be my friend all this time?" Darcy paced in agitation, for the betrayal was still hard for him to accept.

Richard poured himself a brandy and went and sat by the fire. "I do not know. If his amiability is all just an act, then what Mr. Bennet says is true. We need to delve into his past, to learn how far back his treachery goes. His motivation could be much more than revenge for your treatment of his sister. Your men stationed at Bingley's hotel and Hurst's home should have alerted us to Caroline's return to town."

Darcy stepped over to his desk and rifled through the papers and correspondence before holding up a scrap of paper. "Here it is. This report must have come after I left for dinner. She is staying with Albert and Louisa."

Straightening the havoc that he had just created, he walked over and moodily stirred the coals in the grate and then turned to his cousin, "Do you suspect Charles has inflated the value of his fortune?"

"That, or he could have money problems. Perhaps an investment has gone poorly, or he has gambled some of his wealth away."

"I would never suspect him of having a weakness for gambling. But I do believe that he would be susceptible to risky investments. He has always been impulsive."

"How is that investigation into his fortune going?"

"The man I use for this type of thing is very good at ferreting out financial matters. I expect to hear back from him in the morning."

They fell into a brooding silence, each considering what they had learned during dinner.

Finally, Richard spoke, "I expect that Bingley will send off another letter to Wickham right away. We gave him much to think about. Now that he has learned that you will be moving her to London soon, he will probably push Wickham to act. He needs to see you punished. So, it will be interesting to see what he comes up with. We shall know something in the next day or two."

Darcy responded, "In hindsight, we are fortunate that he never circulated rumors of the compromise. He must have realized that it would reflect poorly on his own family since it occurred in his home. Before learning of his perfidy, I trusted that his discretion was due to our friendship. More fool I." His lips thinned in anger, before he continued, "The men tailing Bingley will alert us if he hires someone else to come against me or mine. If he becomes impatient with Wickham, he may go in a different direction entirely."

"That is wise. Forewarned is forearmed." Richard stood, "I will impose on your hospitality and claim my usual bed. It is fortunate that things are slow at the war office and that my general has allowed me more time away from my duties. For, we have much to do in the coming days."

After they retired for the night, Darcy mulled over the betrayal of Charles Bingley. He had always considered him to be a friend with no guile. His noble relations had all abhorred his friendship with the tradesman's son. But Darcy had defied them all, choosing to maintain the relationship. He had considered himself to be liberal-minded in fostering an association with someone below him in society. In fact, he had smoothed the way for Bingley, making sure that he was accepted by the Ton, and had secured invitations for him to attend events from the upper circles. In turn, Darcy had assumed that Bingley held him in high esteem, for he had appeared to understand and accept Darcy's reticence in society, making social engagements more enjoyable for the shy master of Pemberley. The stab of betrayal was painful. But righteous anger was beginning to usurp any pain he might feel.

Before preparing for sleep, he sat down at the writing desk in his bed chamber to pen another letter to Elizabeth. He had initiated a correspondence with her on the night of his return to London. Although he did not understand why he felt a need to connect with her, it had become a pleasurable way to end his day. He reasoned that it was the correct thing to do. For she had a right to know how the investigation was progressing. It also served to aid him in organizing his thoughts. In that first letter, he had made it clear to her that he did not mean to assume that she would welcome his letters, and that if she did not want to receive them, she could have her father let him know. And if that was her wish, he would, henceforth, communicate with her through Mr. Bennet, and he would leave her in peace.

However, she had sent a hesitant acceptance of his overture. Thus, a daily correspondence had ensued. He had begun with nothing more than a report of their day's activities, but each of his letters had grown in length and detail. Likewise, her first responses were understandably cold and brief. Nevertheless, those, too, had lengthened and become less impersonal. Her replies were still not necessarily friendly, or even wordy. Yet, increasingly, they included insightful observations and astute interpretations of what they were learning about the Bingleys.

Over the past week, he had come to depend on that correspondence, both the writing and the receiving of each letter. Most evenings, penning this daily report had proven both comforting and cathartic in purging his mind of the bitter feelings and angry thoughts that, at times, robbed him of sleep.

ppp

Darcy took the express from his butler, noting that the postage indicated that it came from Basingstoke. He resumed his seat at the breakfast table and read the missive. Passing the note to Richard, he said, "You were correct. He must have sent this last night by express. He directs Wickham to expedite his efforts to ruin Elizabeth since he has heard that she will be moved to town soon."

Richard read the letter and then tossed it back onto the table. "Well, at least we can predict that much of his behavior. Any news from your men who have been following him?"

"Not yet. However, my man of finance is coming by this morning to relate his findings. I am curious as to whether his fortune weighs into his motivation for attacking me. Also, it would aid us immensely if we could discover something else that we can use as leverage against him. At least we have these letters. I just wish I knew in which direction he would strike next. Given the uncertainty, I have taken added precautions for Georgiana's safety." He swore under his breath. "This situation is deplorable."

They continued to discuss their strategy until it was time to meet with the financial investigator.

The man hired by Darcy proved to be a nondescript middle-aged man with an intelligent air about him. He quickly divulged what information he had been able to discover. Fortunately, there was much that they could surmise from what he had found. At the time of Bingley's father's death five years ago, his wealth was reported to be close to one hundred and ten thousand pounds. The Bingley sisters, Caroline and Louisa, each had dowries of twenty thousand pounds and those funds appeared to still be intact. And until two years ago, Charles had been a diligent steward of his finances. However, at that point in time, things had changed rather dramatically. For inexplicably, the state of Charles's personal wealth had begun to show a steady drop to the point now where it was below sixty thousand pounds. The investigator was able to determine that Bingley had foolishly invested in a shipping company that had subsequently suffered a serious setback. Another ill-conceived investment had resulted in irrecoverable losses due to factory riots in the north. Additionally, after the death of his father, an uncle had taken over the running of the Bingley businesses. Charles, in that same two-year time-frame, fell out with said uncle, and thus, failed to be in a position to negotiate well in order to receive a fair share of the business profits. Exasperating the situation, he and his sister Caroline had spent with wild abandon on extravagant luxuries. The lifestyle that they had adopted had become unsustainable. On the other hand, there were no indications of gambling debts or debts with businesses in town. Bingley's financial woes seemed to stem purely from poor wealth management.

After the investigator left, Darcy and Richard spent the remainder of the morning perusing the report and speculating on his financial woes. It was a mystery to them both as to what had transpired in Bingley's life to bring about this change in his behavior, but it appeared that everything had undergone a radical shift at that point two years ago.

As they were in the midst of their discussion, Darcy's butler, Roberts, knocked and entered at his invitation. "Sir, Lady Matlock has called. She awaits you in the Blue Parlor, and I took the liberty of having tea sent in."

The cousins exchanged puzzled glances before making their way to the parlor. Lady Matlock gave them a stern look and proceeded to prepare them a cup of tea.

"Aunt Eleanor how delightful to see you. I hope you are well."

She cast a gimlet eye on him. "Yes, I am well. However, you seem intent on embroiling us all in scandal, again." She thrust the newspaper at him causing Darcy's stomach to clinch in trepidation. "Here, I have marked the offending article." Richard came closer and read over his cousin's shoulder.

When he finished reading, Darcy swore under his breath, and then quickly apologized to his aunt.

She ignored his ungentlemanly outburst and said, "William, I encouraged you to be seen in society, not to dally with the first young widow that you encountered." She plucked at her gown and then pointed her finger at him. "You should have been more guarded. What were you thinking?"

Darcy ran his fingers through his hair in agitation. "I have done all that I possibly could to treat that Lady with the strictest of propriety. Why would anyone who has witnessed our interactions conclude that there was anything more than a mere passing acquaintance? Nothing untoward ever happened between me and Lady Felicia."

Lady Eleanor held up a hand to stop his flow of words. "I apologize. I did not mean to sound as if I was accusing you, but I am simply frustrated that this has been broadcast so indecorously. Of course, I realize that you did all that you could to avoid this. I suppose that she needed very little encouragement on your part to rouse her interest. In fact, I suspect that she is the person who leaked this story to the gossip rags. She was probably miffed that you had not succumbed to her charms. Thus, she passed these lies to the paper in order to embarrass you. You should know that widows do not mind if their own name is linked to handsome, wealthy men. They think that it makes them appear all the more alluring. On the other hand, it may not have been her at all. Instead, it could be due to this nonsense with that Bingley fellow."

Richard tried but could not suppress the smug grin on his face. "Darce, if it had been any other gentleman in society, no one would have even raised an eyebrow. Rather, because you have always been unsociable and withdrawn, it is the most salacious of parlor gossip."

Darcy glared at him and shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

His Aunt spoke. "Well, before coming here, I made several calls to my most trusted friends. They have agreed to help us to mitigate the rumors. Furthermore, when your uncle saw the article, he proceeded to drop a line of his own to the gossip rags. His version will be somewhat effective in casting a more innocent light on your interactions with Lady Felicia."

"Thank you, Aunt. I do not deserve your generous efforts on my behalf."

"Certainly not. However, these efforts will help but will not be enough to silence the rumors. More will be required. Namely, you must bring your wife to London, and I mean, immediately."

Darcy stared at his aunt in dismay. "I am aware that the curiosity of the Ton surrounding my wife must be satisfied. And I have been writing to her since I returned to London. In each of those letters, I have begun to hint at the necessity of her being introduced. At the very least, I would like your family to come to know her. In addition, once I have this situation with Bingley resolved, I want to bring Georgianna to town and introduce her to my wife. However, you must realize that we are speaking of the woman who probably hates me for treating her so poorly for the past four months. I doubt that either one of us is capable of convincing anyone that we are in any way convivial."

"You are correct there, Darce. I saw their interactions, Mother. They are like chalk and cheese."

She looked at them in exasperation. "That is most understandable. You were both forced into a marriage against your will and suffered under a great deal of misapprehension concerning the circumstances that threw you together. She has every reason to resent you for the poor way that you have treated her. Nevertheless, we will have to present you as a happy couple. With the rumors circulating we have no choice in the matter."

The cousins both scoffed. "Aunt, it has not been a week since she was injured most grievously. I am sure that her bruising is still quite visible. In addition, her voice was severely strained."

"That is of no matter. She is a country girl and of hearty stock. A short trip to town is of little concern. The important issue here is for the Ton to know that she is in town. It will not be required that she move in society right away. We can give her additional time in seclusion by claiming that she needed time to recover from the trip. In the meantime, it is essential that I begin to work with her as soon as possible to ensure that she is capable of withstanding the scrutiny of society."

"Mother, Darcy has given her little funds. Her wardrobe is abysmal based on what I saw." Richard's observation, caused Darcy to flush guiltily.

His mother dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand, "I have already begun to address that situation. As soon as you informed us of what had occurred in Chilton and that you had found that she was not the conniving hussy that we all assumed she was, I wrote to her. I welcomed her into the family and let her know that I intend to sponsor her in town. I insisted that she send me her measurements so that I could begin to order her some suitable clothes. Using as much imperious language as I could borrow from your Aunt Catherine, I insisted that she comply, or I would be seriously displeased." She stopped to chuckle at her own joke, before proceeding, "Therefore, several dresses have been ordered and can be fitted once she arrives. I had the bill sent to you, Darcy." She finished her monolog with a self-satisfied smile. Darcy and Richard were both rendered momentarily speechless.

Then they discussed in earnest all that would be involved in relocating Mrs. Darcy. And finally, after some back and forth between Darcy and his aunt, they agreed that nothing could be done until Bingley was dealt with.

When that subject had at last been resolved, Richard proceeded to tell her of their plans for Bingley and the card party scheduled for the following Friday. She stated, "Come to dinner tonight and I will send round an invitation to Judge Darcy as well. You will need his support when you finally drop the net on that faithless man. In the meantime, Darcy, you need to prepare the mistress's suite for its new mistress"

"Yes, Aunt, I will do so. However, more immediately, Richard and I will visit the offices of the London Times to investigate who planted this story."