“I been lyin’ to you all along. I jest thought the man had given up and there was no need to sink myself. Yer and the general givin’ me a second chance and all—I was determined to make good. My mother needed me. But when you an’ Colonel Fitzwilliam returned home without knowin’, I had to come back too. Jest in case.”
“What do you mean, Vaughan?” Fitzwilliam asked sharply. “What have you lied about?”
“The general . . .” The younger man’s voice trailed off.
Slowly, things fell into place. “It was not an accident?” Darcy asked.
Vaughan could not look him in the eye. “Itwerean accident. I wasn’t meant to shoothim.”
The statement hung in the air for a time.
“You meant to shootDarcy,” Fitzwilliam snarled, stepping forward and grabbing Vaughan by the lapels on his coat.
“I were told to,” Vaughan agreed, his breaths coming hard. He made no move to defend himself. “But I jest couldn’t. I weren’t a good shot anyway, so I jest . . . waited fer someone to stop me.”
“Which General Bennet did,” Darcy said coldly. “And was wounded for his trouble.”
“That was a little more than three years ago,” Fitzwilliam said quietly. “The will was changed some months before that. It might have taken that long to find you.”
Darcy sighed and looked at the private. “Was the man who hired you Mr. Theophilus Darcy?”
Vaughan’s face clouded over. “It weren’t like he hired me. He said even I could hit a man standing right before me, but I was a bad enough shot you might believe it were accidental.” He closed his eyes. “He threatened me mum. And I never knew his name, sir. It was Corporal Evans who told me to do it, or his master would make sure my mother would starve.”
“Evans,” Darcy muttered. “He did not even change his name.”
“Evans from the tavern?” Fitzwilliam asked in a hushed aside.
“I will wager you a hundred pounds that they are one and the same,” Darcy replied. “Where is your mother now, Vaughan?”
“Dead, sir, two months past. I dinna’ find out till I arrived.”
“So it was safe to tell the truth then?” Fitzwilliam asked, giving Vaughan a shake and pushing him away.
Vaughan looked up at them from where he had fallen on the floor. “I were plannin’ to tell you anyways, sir. It’s why I left Spain, only it is hard fer enlisted to jest up and leave, and London’s a big place. When I found yer house at last, I was turned away, so I jest kept showing up. Then two days ago, a bunch of men started hanging about ’ere. They likely followed me back from yer ’ouse, ’cause I never seen ’em before. I figured they was meant fer me, so yesterday I went to yer front door, thinkin’ I might not be able to come again.” He ducked his head. “I made such a fuss that the butler took my direction jest to be rid ’a me. I suppose I don’t look too good on yer front steps.”
Fitzwilliam glared at the man. “If you had not helped me save Darcy when he was trampled, I would run you through right now, Vaughan.”
The younger man did not look up. “Evans jest disappeared after, never even stayed to see what happened to me or the general. Suppose he thought I was done fer. Never heard from ’im again. Once we were fightin’ regular, I thought maybe they’d let Colonel Darcy be, thinkin’ the war would take care of him. I never knew what they was after, only that they had threatened me mum.” He raised his head to meet Darcy’s gaze. “Still, I made it my business to see you as safe as you could be. To make it up, somehow.”
It was true. Vaughan had always been underfoot, next to him on the field of battle whenever possible, hovering nearby when the officers ate, bringing the post. And just now, Fitzwilliam had finally revealed how he had been able to remove Darcy from the battlefield when the Spanish horse had knocked him down and left him senseless. Vaughan had helped him.
Vaughan just shook his head. “I’m sorry, sir. So very sorry.”
“Well, we cannot leave you here,” Darcy said thoughtfully.
“What?” Fitzwilliam asked angrily, turning to face him. “Are you joking?”
“My great-uncle’s latest scheme has failed, Fitzwilliam. We have his men, but he might try to reach Vaughan again. No, he should come to Darcy House. Mrs. Yardley will put him to work.”
“You have become exactly like Bennet,” Fitzwilliam said.
“I thank you,” Darcy replied.
“It was not a compliment.” Fitzwilliam stood abruptly and exited the room.
“Vaughan,” Darcy warned, “you will never lie to either of us again, not even by omission, or you will find no friends in all of England. Do you understand?”
Vaughan nodded. “Yes, sir.”