Bing scratched the back of his neck. “Forgive me, but isn’t this the woman who accused you—on television—of kidnapping her sister?”
Darcy stared down at the damning papers. “Yeah, but she’s a kid. I don’t even think she’s twenty yet. Wickham used her. You know how he is.”
“You’re too nice.”
Darcy couldn’t meet Bing’s eyes. “It would kill her.”
“Lydia?” Bing raised an eyebrow.
“Elizabeth. She…and her family have suffered enough because of me.”
Bing shook his head and then blew out a breath. “Okay, let me talk to Jane.” He held out a hand to forestall Darcy’s objection. “I won’t say anything about the SEC, obviously. But maybe the family can get Lydia to come home without making her suspicious.”
Darcy considered for a minute. “Okay. She’s probably sick of Wickham by now. It might not take much of an incentive to get her to leave.”
Bing grimaced in agreement.
“Good.” Darcy nodded briskly. I’ll have Peter set up calls with McCray and Ramirez. They must be unhappy about the hearings and searching for a way out.”
Bing smiled as he stood. “That’s the Darcy I’d like to see more often.”
Darcy sat up straighter in his chair. “I try…but it’s hard.”
Bing pivoted to leave the room but turned back before he reached the door. “I think you should call her.”
“Lydia?” Darcy said, deliberately misunderstanding.
Bing’s eyes narrowed. “You know who I mean.”
“Need I remind you that she’s in Indonesia?”
“They have phone service there.”
Darcy gave his friend a cold look. “Not all of my problems have a ready solution. She made her decision, and it was probably the right one for her. I’m not going to second-guess her.”
Bing shook his head sharply. “I don’t think Elizabeth knows what’s best any more than you do.” Before Darcy could reply, Bing had exited the room, closing the door smartly behind him.
***
“So then Lydia decided she did want the hat after all, and she tried to grab it. Of course, Kitty ran away,” Jane said with a tolerant smile on her face. “Around and around the kitchen, living room, dining room. All the time Kitty is shrieking, ‘She’ll ruin it! She’ll ruin it for sure, Mom! Someone stop her!’”
Jane set down her tea cup, laughing a bit self-consciously. Elizabeth managed some convincing chuckles and then took a sip of tea to cover her absent enthusiasm.
Of course, she was pleased that Lydia had returned home. For five months, the youngest Bennet had refused all pleas from the family. Convinced that George Wickham was in love with her, she had dropped out of school and lived in his New York condo, no doubt expecting to become a kept woman.
However, it became apparent that most, if not all, of George’s wealth was illusory. Under the pretext of inviting Lydia to their father’s birthday party, Jane, Kitty, and their mother had gotten on the phone to declare their inability to live a Lydia-free life any longer. Lydia had agreed to return “for their sake,” but once she’d slunk back to their parents’ house, she’d proclaimed herself to be very ill-used and deceived by her one-time boyfriend. Hearing the saga long distance through emails from Jane, Elizabeth had breathed a huge sigh of relief. Their mother had supplied all the pampering Lydia believed to be her right, which soon renewed her previous state of extreme shallowness.
The timing had proved fortuitous; two days later it was revealed that George and his uncle were under investigation by the SEC for insider trading and other shady business practices. Thankfully Lydia had departed before the SEC raided George’s condo and carried away boxes of papers.
The congressional investigation into the USDA contract, which had already been faltering due to lack of evidence, had been dealt an additional blow by the arrest of a principal committee member. Although the hearings had not been formally disbanded, On-a-Stick’s lawyer seemed confident that it was only a matter of time before the contract was restored.
Elizabeth had welcomed the news, not only because she wouldn’t be forced to testify but also because Will’s approval numbers were finally rising.
However, not all voters’ opinions of him had improved; many still believed he had coerced Elizabeth despite her repeated denials. He still walked on thin ice politically, and it was by no means certain he would win the passage of his renewable energy bill. She hated that she was still being used as a weapon against him; however, there was no way she could help except to stay far away from him.
Nobody except her family and Charlotte had known she would arrive home for a month-long vacation, and Elizabeth planned to keep a low profile. The media had mostly left her alone in Indonesia, and she was happy to avoid their scrutiny.
Elizabeth had seen Lydia only once for an awkward dinner at their parents’ house. Although she loved her sister, she still found it difficult to forgive her. It had been easier to avoid Lydia by staying at Jane’s apartment during her visit.