“I thought you’d never ask.” Georgiana slid her hand into his, and he placed it on his arm. Before Elizabeth, they’d attended the Tenants’ balls together.

He placed her at the line’s head — a place of honor such as she would always hold in his heart. “I’ve missed you, Sweetheart. I feel you’ve grown up overnight,” he whispered close to her ear before stepping backward to assume his place in the line.

“But I have not, Fitzwilliam,” she said softly. “I’ve suffered all the humiliations of a green girl. Now, I wish to claim a different life.” They’d come together for the dance’s first pass.

As they circled one another, Darcy asked, “And Edward can provide that life?”

“The colonel is what I seek,” Georgiana said with a tilt of defiance to her chin. He recognized it as one of Elizabeth’s traits. Did his sister mimic his wife or was it an innate female trait?

They wove their separate ways through the opposing line. When they came together again, he said, “Elizabeth says you’ll carry our mother’s quintessence into the world, and Edward will nourish that lifeblood in you. I know that’s true, but as your brother, I’m forlorn with the possibility of losing you.”

“You’ll never lose me, Fitzwilliam. Your influence and love have molded me into the person I’ve become.” On the next pass, she added, “As much as I wish to remain at Pemberley forever… ” They parted again, and it was several more dance turns before she could finish. “…a woman must leave behind her parents and her loved ones to join her husband.”

With resignation, Darcy murmured, “At least, Edward means you’re still close.”

Chapter 20

“Explain the letters.” Edward and Southland questioned Manneville. Darcy’s party had returned to the main house an hour earlier, but the colonel, taking his aide aside, had excused himself immediately.

Manneville lounged casually against the pillows propped behind his head. “What letters?”

Edward paced the area at the foot of the man’s bed. “Damn you! You know what letters. Those found in this box.” He tossed the slender box onto the bed beside Manneville’s leg.

“Is it now a crime to possess letters in England? What a country this has become!” Manneville said sarcastically.

Edward braced his hands on the ornate footboard. “It’s not a crime unless those said letters belong to Princess Charlotte, and one plans to use them against her.” He watched as his accusation registered on the man’s face.

Shifting uncomfortably, the American said, “The letters don’t belong to the princess.A gift has an owner different from the giver.”

“Then you refuse to explain how you came in possession of the letters and the other items given to Captain Hesse?” Edward demanded.

“I found the box when we landed in Liverpool,” Manneville asserted. “I had no idea it would cause such strife. If so, I would’ve left the items where they rested in the snow.”

Edward threatened, “You have no idea what trouble truly is. Come, Southland. Let Manneville consider his choices overnight.” The colonel strode from the room. In the corridor, he turned to the lieutenant. “I want you to stand guard. I’ll relieve you in a bit. We’ll allow Darcy’s staff some time to enjoy the Boxing Day celebration. No sense in punishing them. It’s not their faults that the princess’s advisors duped us.”

Southland looked about nervously. “Will our escorting Manneville to England be held against our future service?”

“Recovering the letters and other gifts might save our careers,” Edward confided. “I’ve had a bad feeling about this man from the beginning. I wish I’d listened to my instincts. I would just like to know who cut our orders.We were specifically given the task to see to Manneville’s safety.”

“Then your intention is to escort Manneville to London and turn him over to the Regent’s agents?” Southland took another step away from the American’s door.

Edward drew his aide yet further away. “The message I received from the Regent indicated that recovering Hesse’s letters would free the princess to form a proper alliance with Saxe-Coburg.”

“Mercy!” Southland shook his head in disbelief. “How did we become so entangled in State affairs?”

“God only knows,” Edward moaned. “Women in love control the pulse of a country, and we men are only along for the ride.”



“I wish you didn’t have to leave tomorrow,” Georgiana whispered. She and the colonel stood apart from the others in the main drawing room. Most of those in attendance played the usual assortment of parlor games.

Edward smiled at her. “As do I. Even though we’ve known each other your entire life, I suddenly feel we’re strangers.”

“We’ve moved into a different phase of our relationship,” she observed. Georgiana paused before adding, “I must ask again if this is what you want. No one knows other than my brother and Elizabeth. We can continue as before.”

With tenderness that caused her heart to beat erratically, Edward said, “We could never return to ‘as before.’ We are joined, Georgiana, but I do need for you to think on what picture you have for our future. Do you wish to take up residence at Yadkin Manor? Would you prefer to remain at Pemberley while I finish my service? There are many details we must settle between us, but I wish our joining most ardently. When I returned to England and you, my heart finally knew contentment.”