“Someone must.” Adrian rose to clasp his hand. ”And you are late. I have already claimed the most comfortable chair.”
“A tragedy. Princess Elizabeth,” Fitzwilliam said, turning to her with a slight bow and twinkling eyes. “You are looking considerably better than when last we met. Though that is a low standard, as you were recovering from being half-frozen and wearing a great many blankets.”
“How gallant of you to remind me, Colonel.”
“I am your humble servant.”
Mr. Darcy had taken a seat where he could see Elizabeth clearly, and she found his gaze upon her again. This time when their eyes met, her heart did a sort of flutter that made her forget, just for a moment, that she was still sore and tired and wrapped in her aunt’s shawl.
She looked away first, heat rising in her cheeks.
“We bring news,” Colonel Fitzwilliam said, growing serious. “Sir Reginald and Mrs. Hobart remain under guard. They will be questioned tomorrow, and we suspect, taken back to Thurnia by week’s end.”
“Grandfather will wish to handle the matter personally,” Adrian added. “He will be incensed when he learns what has occurred.”
Adrian grimaced. “My recollection is that Sir Reginald sought an audience with the royal treasurer to ask for assistance and was denied. Grandfather will remember that, too. Had we not dismissed the man out of hand . . .”
Elizabeth twisted her hands in her lap. “What will happen to them?”
“That depends upon many factors,” Mr. Darcy said quietly.
Elizabeth was quiet for a moment. “I overheard Sir Reginald speaking with Mr. Gregory. He was adamant he would never harm me, even if the ransom wasnotpaid, for he was still a Thurnian. I did not know whether I could trust him then, but perhaps . . . Will their years of service be considered in their punishment as well as the circumstances that led to their actions?”
The men exchanged glances.
“I shall make your concern known to the king and queen in my next letter,” Adrian said. “More than that I cannot do.”
Elizabeth thanked him. “And the creditors?”
“They have been located,” Fitzwilliam added. “With Sir Reginald’s cooperation, it was an easy thing. They and the men they sent to ambush you will face charges of their own, and as they are English, that will be done here.”
“And—” she hesitated
Papa reached over and patted her hand. “The Gregorys have lost their house. They were, however, released upon my agreement, and have gone to live with relatives. I hope that meets with your approval.”
She thought of Mrs. Gregory. “It does, Papa, I thank you.”
Mr. Darcy was watching her, she realised, as though her struggle to balance justice with mercy revealed something about her character that pleased him.
Her heart danced a little jig, and she looked down to hide the blush she knew must be blooming in her cheeks.
“I hear Anders and Johnson received quite generous compensation for their assistance,” the colonel said to Mr. Darcy, clearly changing the subject for Elizabeth’s benefit.
Mr. Darcy’s mouth curved in the smallest of smiles. “It was substantial. They earned it.”
“They did,” Fitzwilliam agreed.
There was a commotion in the front entryway. Mr. Darcy stood.
“I have taken the liberty of inviting my sister to meet us here,” he told Elizabeth. “She was most anxious to pay her respects, if you are well enough to receive her.”
“Of course,” Elizabeth said. “I should be very happy to meet her.”
Mr. Darcy disappeared for a moment, returning with a young lady who appeared about fourteen, simply but expensively dressed. She hovered at the threshold, trembling slightly, her eyes enormous.
“Your Highness,” she said, dropping into a curtsy so formal it belonged at court.
“Please,” Elizabeth said warmly, recognising Georgiana’s nervousness at once. “Call me Elizabeth.”