Change of Heart

by Tina Marie Noel

  When he spotted Lady Catherine, anger sprang into his eyes, “Who invited the old harridan?”

  “Young man,” Lady Catherine found her voice, “You should watch your language. “ She pulled herself up and sputtered, “Who do you think you are to be addressing me in such a shameful manner?”

  “You are nobody to me.” Wickham insisted cruelly and pointed toward Elizabeth, “I only want her, and I plan on having her with no interference from anyone.”

  Chapter 13

  Wickham dragged a struggling Elizabeth into a barn. The structure was in disrepair and had been neglected, “Grab the old bat and gag her.” He yelled to his unseen companion. “I do not need to hear her grumbling. Make sure you take her out of here so I can spend some time alone with the delectable Miss Bennet.” His lips curled in a foul smirk as he held Elizabeth roughly by the arm.

  “Why are you doing this, Mr. Wickham?” Elizabeth asked in a shaky voice, “What have I ever done to warrant being treated in such a manner?”

  “I thought you were an intelligent woman.” Wickham snickered, “I am surprised you have not reasoned this out yet.” His voice was malicious and cruel, “I was supposed to be old Mr. Darcy’s heir. Pemberley should have been mine, not his.

  Elizabeth’s lips quivered with fear, “Mr. Darcy is his father’s eldest son,” Wickham snorted with derision, “and as so he has the right of inheritance.”

  Wickham’s face was twisted manically, and he snarled savagely, “It is my right because…” Wickham paused. Elizabeth watched as he closed his eyes and clenched his fist. He tightened his grip on Elizabeth’s arm until she cried out with pain. He released his hold slightly. When he opened his eyes again, he had plastered a wicked grin on his face, “I am the one who worked hard to gain old Mr. Darcy’s trust and approval. Pemberley should have been mine. Not some paltry living I could never have wanted.” His lips turned into a sneer, “How could anyone have ever thought I would be suited to giving sermons? I have no intentions of ever taking orders from anyone.”

  “Why did you think old Mr. Darcy would give you Pemberley instead of his son?” Elizabeth wanted to keep the man talking until she could figure out how to handle this situation.

  “I was his son, in everything but name, and the old man loved me.” Wickham pronounced vehemently, “I was more of a son to him than that pompous idiot who calls himself Mr. Darcy.

  “I still do not understand why you would seize me, I never met Mr. Darcy’s father.” Elizabeth tried to hide her nervousness with false bravado.

  “My actions toward you have nothing to do with old Mr. Darcy. I just intend to have everything that belongs to Darcy. You are now included in his possessions as you are his beloved. I once thought I would be content with Darcy’s sister Georgiana and her dowry. However, I shall only be satisfied once I have obtained everything of his now,” Elizabeth shivered with disgust, “but most of all, I want his money.” Wickham’s lips curled in a sly smile, “I admit I never thought the proud Mr. Darcy would settle for a little nobody like you.” Wickham studied Elizabeth with a calculating appraisal, “If he truly loves you, than the loss of you to me will be all the more devastating for him.”

  “He will never lose me to anyone, especially you.” Elizabeth was enraged and did not even try to control her temper any longer. “You are disgusting and not worthy of my attentions.”

  “There is no doubt, you shall be mine, and I will enjoy every moment of despoiling you.” Wickham leered at her with an air of assessment. He studied her in a way that made Elizabeth feel dirty.

  Wickham grabbed Elizabeth and jerked her to him. She clawed at him and tried to push him away. This did not deter him as he mocked her, “Fight me all you want, the chase will only make everything more exciting, and my pleasure will be even greater when I take you.“

  “Keep your hands off me.” Elizabeth cried as he pulled her roughly against his body, and with a steely grip bent to kiss her.

  Elizabeth kneed him in the groin. He doubled over with pain before he snatched at her hair and pulled her head down at an angle to face him. “Do not ever do that again or I will have to bruise this beautiful flesh of yours. Make no mistake, I will enjoy hurting you.” The twisted cruelty showed on Wickham’s face as he leaned over her. Elizabeth pushed at Wickham, caught him off balance and slapped him on the side of the face with a resounding whack.

  Wickham’s compatriot, Mr. Denny dragged a gagged and struggling Lady Catherine into the barn. Wickham glanced up and shouted, “Why the hell are you bringing the old bat in here again?”

  “This old witch has been kicking and scratching me since I left with her.” Denny was impatient, “This is not what I expected when I agreed to help you.”

  “You are an idiot.” Wickham sneered and opened mocked the other man, “Just tie the harpy up so the little frail old lady cannot hurt you anymore.”

  Denny pushed Lady Catherine down onto her knees and tied her hands behind her back. She managed to work the gag out of her mouth and began screaming, “You do not know whom you are treating so offensively. I am Lady Catherine de Bourgh. My family is of the highest rank. I insist you do not treat me in this foul manner. I will not stand for this kind of discourteous conduct.”

  Wickham had enough of Lady Catherine and reached for a shotgun. “I do not care who you are. You are of no concern to me, and your death will just be another blow against Darcy.”

  “You are not to treat me in such a deplorable manner. I am a woman of good breeding and of the highest rank in society.”

  “Lady Catherine, please stop, you do not understand. He is insane, and he seriously does not care about your place in society.” Elizabeth’s voice quaked with fear, “Your rank does not mean anything when you are staring down the barrel of a shotgun.”

  Wickham aimed the gun at Lady Catherine’s head and pulled the trigger. Elizabeth took advantage of Wickham’s inattention and moved swiftly. She stepped in front of Lady Catherine to protect the older woman. Elizabeth felt a searing pain as the bullet struck her. She fell to the floor as the pain overwhelmed her.

  Wickham’s rage took over, and he put the gun against Elizabeth’s head. Before he could shoot, Wickham was struck on the back of the head.

  “Do not dare touch to her again you filthy bastard or I shall kill you.” Darcy voice was furious as Wickham fell to the ground unconscious.

  Colonel Fitzwilliam captured Denny before the man could flee. He removed the ropes from his aunt and tied Denny’s hands behind his back. “The authorities will have fun with the two of you. I believe they will consider you deserters.”

  Darcy ran to Elizabeth, picked her up and shouted at Bingley and Colonel Fitzwilliam, “Get Aunt Catherine into the carriage, and tie Wickham up before he wakes.” Darcy issued orders, “I am going to get Elizabeth and Aunt Catherine back to the house and call the doctor. I shall send the carriage back for these two.”

  As Darcy raced with his bleeding Elizabeth to the carriage, he prayed, “Please God, do not let her die. I cannot live without her.” Elizabeth moaned in pain, “Elizabeth, talk to me. How do you feel?”

  “Fitzwilliam.” She breathed weakly due the loss of blood, “Is Lady Catherine alive and well?”

  “She was not harmed. Please, do not worry about her.”

  Elizabeth lost consciousness as Darcy gulped back tears. His voice cracked with emotion. “You shall be well.” He told her because he needed to convince himself as well as her. He placed her into the carriage and was horrified by the amount of blood that was staining Elizabeth’s dress and his shirt. Bingley helped Lady Catherine into the compartment, and Darcy jumped into the driver’s seat.

  He returned the ladies to Netherfield with great haste. He worried the whole time he was jostling, injuring and hurting Elizabeth. When they arrived, he carried her into the house and noticed Georgiana, Anne and Jane waiting at the door. When they saw Elizabeth was unconscious and bleeding all colour drained from the three ladies faces.

 
“She has been shot, send for the doctor.” He rushed her upstairs to the room she had occupied during her previous stay at Netherfield.

  Bingley assisted Lady Catherine from the carriage and entered the room just after Darcy had disappeared upstairs. After a servant was sent to bring the doctor, Jane asked, “What happened?”

  “She saved my life.” Lady Catherine stammered incredulously, “After the way deplorable way I treated her, she saved my life.” Sobs issued from her throat, and Anne went to her mother. She put her arms around the lady to comfort her.

  “You need to lay down.” Anne insisted as she went to find the housekeeper to arrange a room for her mother.

  “I shall check on Elizabeth.” Jane and Georgiana declared in unison.

  Jane smiled gently at the young girl who seemed very upset, and whom she knew had begun to look upon Elizabeth as a sister already. Jane motioned for Georgiana to ascend the staircase first.

  When the two ladies arrived at Elizabeth’s room, Darcy was sitting by her bed with her hand pressed against his face.

  “How is she, Brother?” Georgiana asked.

  “I do not know. She was hit in the side and has lost a great deal of blood.” He kissed her hand, “I cannot lose her. She is my life.”

  “Who did this to her?” Jane asked, “Lady Catherine mentioned that Lizzy saved her life. You must tell me how this happened?” She motioned Darcy away from the bed.

  “It was Wickham.” Darcy answered with a shudder. He moved aside for Jane to check on her sister, “He was going to shoot Aunt Catherine. However, Elizabeth stepped in front of the bullet.” Darcy placed his head in his hands, “If I had only managed to get there a few minutes earlier. I could have prevented her from being shot.”

  “Mr. Darcy, you must leave now.” Jane told him gently, “I need to clean her wound.”

  “I shall not leave her.” Darcy was racked with guilt and grief.

  Georgiana put her hand on her brother’s shoulder, “Please, you need to leave so Jane may help Elizabeth.” She placed her hand in his, pulled her brother to his feet and led him out of the room.

  Once Darcy and Georgiana left, Jane removed Elizabeth’s dress. With hot water and soap brought by the maid, she sponged the blood off her sister and found the wound on Elizabeth’s waist. She had the wound cleaned when the doctor arrived.

  Darcy paced outside Elizabeth’s bedchamber and would not be persuaded by Georgiana to go downstairs. “I cannot leave her.”

  When the doctor came out of Elizabeth’s room, Darcy asked apprehensively, “How is she?”

  “The bullet grazed Miss Bennet’s waist, so I have cleaned and bandaged the wound. With the proper care, she should make a full recovery.” The doctor told Darcy, “Miss Bennet is awake, and that is an incredibly good sign.”

  “May I see her?” Darcy asked anxiously.

  “Yes, but do not stay long.” The doctor stated, “I shall be back in the morning.” To Jane he added, “If the wound becomes infected, or if she develops a fever contact me immediately. She should not be moved until she is stronger.”

  Elizabeth was lying back in the bed when Darcy entered the room. He rushed to her side, “I am sorry. I should never have let this happen.”

  “This was not your fault.” Elizabeth told him weakly, “I love you, and I prayed to come back to you.” Her eyes glazed over, and she started to drift to sleep. “I am so tired.”

  “I will see you in the morning, my love.” Darcy’s heart was full of emotions.

  Darcy refused to leave Elizabeth’s door and did not even change the shirt stained with Elizabeth’s blood.

  Jane sent word to the Bennet family, and they came to visit her while Elizabeth slept. Mrs. Bennet brought clothes for Jane and Elizabeth. After checking on their sleeping daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Bennet were in the hallway when Jane brought out the dress Elizabeth had worn during her ordeal. Mrs. Bennet began to cry after seeing the blood-stained garment. She threw her arms around Mr. Bennet’s neck, and he embraced his wife. He could not stop himself from glancing back and forth between Elizabeth’s blood-drenched dress, and Mr. Darcy’s shirt stained with his daughter’s blood. The shock and grief were etched on Mr. and Mrs. Bennet’s faces as Elizabeth’s parents clung to each other for emotional support.

  Georgiana upon seeing the reaction of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet unobtrusively retrieved her brother a clean shirt and made sure he changed.

  When Elizabeth’s parents had spent their grief, Mr. Bennet asked, “Mr. Darcy, pray tell me what happened to my daughter?”

  “Mr. Wickham stole the carriage with her and my Aunt Catherine inside,” Darcy explained to Elizabeth’s parents with an aching heart. He imparted the story one more time, “My cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam discovered Wickham’s deception within minutes of the carriage departing with Elizabeth and Aunt Catherine.” Darcy’s voice was deep with sorrow, “We were lucky it rained yesterday. It enabled the three of us follow the carriage tracks. However, we went off course once to follow the wrong set of tracks. Once we backtracked, we found the barn where Wickham was holding Elizabeth and Aunt Catherine. We ascertained the situation and surrounded the two partners. Wickham had already tried to shoot my aunt. However, Elizabeth stepped into the path of the bullet to protect her.” Darcy angrily wiped tears from his eyes as he finished telling the story to Elizabeth’s parents.

  Mr. Bennet pulled his future son-in-law into an embrace, “Thank you for our daughter’s life. How can we ever repay you?”

  “You have nothing to repay. Elizabeth’s life would never have been in danger if not for me.” Darcy knew in his soul that he spoke the truth. “I love Elizabeth with all of my heart. It would kill me if something were to happen to her.”

  Jane interrupted at the first opportunity. “Mama, Papa. You should both return downstairs and inform Mary, Kitty and Lydia that Elizabeth is going to live. I am sure they are distressed and frightened.”

  Mr. and Mrs. Bennet agreed and walked downstairs to apprise their younger daughters of the situation before they took the girls home.

  Jane stayed by her sister’s side during the night while Darcy had kept a vigil in the hallway.

  The next morning, Jane had just dozed off in a chair next to the bed, when Darcy came in to check on Elizabeth.

  He bent down next to bed, and took Elizabeth’s hand while he spoke from his heart, “Sweet Elizabeth, you cannot leave me. I am nothing without you. You are the joy in my life.” He brushed a stray lock of hair from her eyes and placed a kiss on her forehead, “I love you, dearest Elizabeth, and I never want to live without you.”

  “I cannot live without you either.” Elizabeth told her beloved, “I could never leave you.”

  Darcy’s head snapped up at her voice, and he asked, “How do you feel?”

  “I would probably feel better if I had been run over by a whole stable of horses.” Elizabeth laughed gently. However, the movement hurt, and she grimaced with the pain.

  Darcy’s face showed his concern, “Are you well? Can I get you something for the pain?”

  “I am as well as could be expected,” Elizabeth reassured him, “It only hurts when I laugh.” A smile curled her lips, “Although not being able to laugh is going to be extremely hard for me.”

  Darcy smiled, “You should not joke about such things.”

  Jane woke up when she heard voices, “Mr. Darcy, you must leave so I can change the bandages.”

  Darcy kissed Elizabeth on the cheek and left the room. He strode downstairs and informed everyone that Elizabeth was awake and seemed to be well on her way to recovery. He sent a note to the Bennets notifying them of Elizabeth’s health. Once that was completed, he went upstairs to bathe and change his clothes. After his bath, Darcy lay down on the bed and instantly fell into a fitful sleep.

  Chapter 14

  Darcy did not know how long he had been asleep, but it was dark when he awoke. The first thing he did was to check on Elizabeth. He did not give a damn about propriety. He needed
to see her, and he walked into her room, she was all alone and asleep. He just sat on the bed next to her, and held her hand as he watched her sleep. He was so lucky she was alive. He did not know if he could have tolerated living a life without the one he loved. He kicked himself for wasting so much time denying his feelings for her. Darcy, you were such an idiot. Thank goodness you had the strength to change the course of your life.

  “Fitzwilliam is that you?” Her voice was weak and sleepy.

  He moved closer to her, “I am here.”

  “Hold me, please.” Her voice was so tiny that he obeyed. He slid into the bed beside her and pulled her against his chest. He listened to her even breathing until he fell asleep beside the woman he loved.

  Elizabeth woke up to find herself enveloped in Darcy’s arms and sighed with a feeling of well being. It took her a minute before she understood the implications of being caught in bed with her intended.

  “Mr. Darcy…” She tried to pull herself out of his arms and winced with pain, “Mr. Darcy.” She shook his shoulder, but he just moaned and pulled her back to him, “Fitzwilliam.” She kissed him and ran her fingers across his face.

  “Elizabeth.” His voice was heavy with sleep. “I love you.” He nuzzled against her neck and drank deeply of her womanly scent. He claimed her lips with fierce passion and rolled her onto her back as he deepened the kiss until he heard her gasp of pain.

  In an instant, he was completely awake and asked with panic in his voice, “Elizabeth did I hurt you?”

  “It was not you,” Elizabeth assured him, “It hurts every time I move.”

  “I am sorry.”

  “It is not your fault, you were still asleep.” Elizabeth brushed a lock of hair out of his eyes, “I was trying to wake you. You need to go back to your own room before someone finds us this way.”

  “What would you say if I told you I did not care?” Darcy was sincere, “I want us to marry right away and with the special license, should you agree, we will be able to marry as soon as you are well enough. He looked into her eyes, “What do you say?”