Howard frowned. “I had handled the first part of my sister’s problem without detection. After the birth, we brought Amelia back to town to prepare for her season as we had always planned, so there would be no talk.”
Henry retrieved the letter. “This was written over the summer. When did your sister return to town?”
“Not long before the rumors began, around Michaelmas. I sent Wickham to Hertfordshire to see what he could discover about Darcy and to help us plan the compromise with Miss Bingley. The rumors began after he left. When the stories grew salacious, I sent Amelia to the country and prepared to follow Bingley myself. Wickham had failed in Ramsgate with his gentler approach. I would not allow that to happen again. I hired Henderson and Baker in the same seedy tavern in London that Wickham frequents. They spoke well enough to pass for gentlemen, like Wickham, but they had less . . .”
“Finesse?” Henry asked blandly.
Darcy squeezed his eyelids shut, his back still turned to Howard. “What was Wickham to do?” he asked stonily.
“Wickham wrote that you were charmed by Miss Elizabeth,” Howard explained. “He wanted to be paid to seduce her.”
Darcy spun around to glare at Howard, but the man would not look at him.
“He was displeased when I rejected the notion.” Howard took hold of a dry pen and tapped it nervously against the desk. “Amelia was in a delicate state. Her disgrace was drawing room fodder. And then . . .” His voice broke. “And then I received an express from Amelia’s companion. At one of the inns where they stopped to change horses, my sister had attempted to throw herself into the river.”
There was nothing to be said to that. Darcy’s fists unclenched.
“The staff kept Amelia sedated until they could get her home.” He wrapped his hands around his head and leaned forward, his elbows on the desk. “Oh, how I wanted revenge. Seducing a woman to whom Darcy likely had no intention of making an offer was nowhere near enough. Even the compromise now seemed too little, but it was not until Miss Elizabeth Bennet helped Darcy slip through my fingers again that I took Henderson and Baker off their leashes.”
Darcy might have felt more pity, knowing that Georgiana had been so close to succumbing and that Miss Howard had given in to her despair, but what Elizabeth had suffered snuffed it out. Miss Howard’s actions were not his fault, and they were certainly not Elizabeth’s.
Howard was speaking again. “Henderson was inside Netherfield during the ball, but I sent Wickham to London. I did not want him in the way. Baker waited at the inn for orders.”
“Did one of your men take the button from my coat?” Darcy inquired.
Howard nodded. “Henderson is very good at avoiding notice. It was nothing for him. His idea, in fact. Not the button, exactly, but something that could be identified as yours. He found all your other valuables already secured.”
Darcy blinked. It was a lucky thing he had not remained in those chambers overnight.
“When Miss Elizabeth Bennet interfered at Netherfield and you escaped again, I was furious.” Howard gazed mournfully at the letter in his hand. “I regretted sending Wickham away after all, for her reputation was unblemished and her neighbors would believe her.”
“A completely innocent woman who did nothing but tell the truth,” Darcy said, placing his palms on the desk and leaning over it until he was inches from Howard’s face. The man blinked owlishly.
“All I knew was that you had singled her out at the ball and that she had put her reputation on the line for you in the library,” Howard said. “She helped you escape, perhaps hoping to become the next Mrs. Darcy. But if Mrs. Darcy was not my sister, it was certainly not going to be anyone you might care for or who might care for you.”
Howard’s breath was foul, and Darcy leaned back. “Did your men mean to kill my wife the morning after the ball?” he asked bluntly.
Howard rubbed a hand over his eyes. “I cannot say. They meant to watch the house and hoped to take her away from it. Baker would not be able to stay in the area long—his looks are too distinctive. But Henderson could. They were prepared for a few days’ watch. But then Miss Elizabeth took a walk.” He sighed unhappily. “I thought at last chance was falling in my favor.”
“They carried laudanum on them?” Fitz inquired.
Howard shrugged. “Baker has a habit. Keeps a flask on him. I suppose they used that.”
“But Elizabeth escaped,” Darcy said, his voice hard but his pride evident.
Howard nodded. “So they said. Henderson and Baker had trouble with the coach. They took Miss Elizabeth’s bonnet and your button back to Meryton. Wickham apparently returned to town before the ball was even over and was on the lookout. He offered to identify the evidence, for a price. They paid him. Well,” Howard amended, “they were reimbursed, so I paid him.”
“And my home?” Darcy had to use every drop of self-restraint he possessed to ask the question.
“Your men traveled to London and set up watch on the house?” Henry inquired.
Howard nodded. “They came to me in London and explained what had happened. Henderson and some of his friends watched Darcy’s house to discover whether Miss Bennet might be there. But they saw nothing, and Baker was getting nervous. Badly wanted to get out of London. I refused to pay them until the two of you had been punished. I did not order them into your house, but they wanted to be paid, and I suppose they did not know where else to look.”
“You could not even give the order!” Fitz cried in disgust. “You hired the men. You knew what they were. You knew how they would interpret ‘punishment.’ Yet because you did not specifically tell them to kill Miss Elizabeth or my cousin, you believed your conscience was clear?”
Howard squeezed his eyes shut. “I did. And I was wrong.”
“You were a coward,” Darcy said flatly.