by Wendi Sotis
“But Papa… what if it does? What if the letters become public?”
“Darcy knows the risk better than anyone, including you, Elizabeth. If he does not care, why should you?”
“He spoke of it with you?”
“There was no need for a discussion on that subject.” He kissed her on the forehead. “He is in the sitting room.”
“Will you wait for us to return to announce Jane’s engagement? I would like to be there.”
“You know that Jane would have it no other way.”
Her father left her alone in the corridor.
CHAPTER 35
Elizabeth froze, staring at the door to the sitting room for a moment.
She could do this!
She took a deep breath and opened the latch.
Mr. Darcy was at the window looking out. He turned quickly at the sound of the door closing behind her. Without hesitation, he crossed the room.
“Miss Elizabeth. This morning, perhaps as a result of the events preceding it, or mayhap it was the audience, or…” He stopped and let out a shaky breath. “Earlier today, I did not express myself as well as I would have liked.” He stopped and blinked. “Nor just now, for that matter.”
Elizabeth stifled a smile.
He closed his eyes for a moment. “Please, Miss Elizabeth, you must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.”
He removed a sheet of paper from his breast pocket and handed it to her.
Good heavens, it was the page from her journal! So that is where Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam had gone.
Her face heated, and she kept her eyes on the paper. “There was nothing else with this?”
“Just an invoice that Richard is looking into.”
As Elizabeth let out a breath, she could feel a slight release of tension. Wickham had not left anything else, like another letter to her, with his belongings.
Mr. Darcy continued, “Elizabeth, I was not looking to find love. I did not even believe love existed. I heard ladies speak of love at first sight, but I assumed it was fictional. Infatuation, yes. Obsession, perhaps. But certainly, the idea was ridiculous. I only trusted that, in the long term, I would not end up disliking the woman with whom I eventually chose to spend my life.
“And then I saw you. From the moment I first saw you in the cornfield with the Johnson children, I could not get you out of my thoughts.
“I met you, and I could not help falling deeper at every encounter. In my mind, the situation was ridiculous. I tried to stay away, allow you to spend time with Ana without my presence, but even though I trusted you more with Ana’s well-being than I did most of the people I had known all my life, I kept finding excuses to join the two of you. Just to check on you both, I told myself. It would be rude if I did not. But those were not the true reasons. I wanted to know more about you, and that need was stronger than any other in my life. I wanted to ease your worries so much that I put into motion the purchase of Netherfield. I resisted the power you held over me, but at the same time, I was helpless against it.” He paused for a moment. “It was terrifying to me, at first.
“One day, I came across the physician in the village of Lambton. He told me he would soon be releasing the Johnstons from his care and that you and the Gardiners would soon leave Pemberley. I felt as if I could not breathe. I knew I would regret it if I did not spend as much time with you as I could before you returned home.”
He gestured to the page that was now crumpled in her hands. “I must disclose to you that I read what is written there. It was an invasion of your privacy, I know, but at the time, I felt it necessary to find out why your maid chose that page.” He swallowed hard and cleared his throat. “At the tree, you thought you were in error in the way you understood what I said.” He shook his head. “You understood my implication perfectly. I admit it was a slip of the tongue to say it aloud, but I was imagining carving our children’s names on the tree — our children — yours and mine.
“When I began to look into purchasing Netherfield Park, I had no intention of coming to live here and overseeing the work myself. However, as Ana and I watched the carriage take you away from Pemberley that last day, I could not fathom the idea of never seeing you again.
“Now, I cannot imagine one day of my future without spending the greater part of it in your presence.
“Please, Elizabeth? Please, tell me, will you accept my hand? Will you marry me?”
He loved her!
She wanted to say yes, even more than she had this morning, but...
Her voice trembled when she began. “You have not addressed the one issue of which I am most concerned. Though I have done nothing to deserve it, there may be a scandal if Sally or Wickham speak of the falsehoods he wrote in the letters that were found in my rooms.”
Mr. Darcy raised his chin. “I am confident that will not happen. The letters have been burnt.”
“What if there are copies of his letters somewhere that have not yet been found? Or what if—”
“If any of that happens, I believe anyone who knows you will be certain it has been fabricated. I will stand by you. Colonel Forster holds a high opinion of you, and though he does not know about the letters, he has vowed he will keep your name, and Ana’s, out of the investigation, if at all possible.”
He took her hands in his. “Besides, as to your character, who would take the word of a thief of a maid, and a man who is a kidnapper, deserter, and one who ignores his debts, over the word of the Bennets, the Darcys, and Colonel Fitzwilliam? I would not be surprised if my cousin Anne spoke up, as well.”
“But what if people do believe them? Your character would be questioned.”
His brow wrinkled. “Is it conceit if I say that people who are aware of my reputation would know that I would never marry the woman I imagine those letters described?”
“Perhaps a little.” A smile tugged at the corners of her lips. “And what of those who are not aware of your reputation, sir?”
His thumb made circles on the palm of her hand, sending a shiver up her spine. “When we make up our guest lists and accept invitations, we will make certain to socialize only with those who are.”
“What of Ana and her future?”
“Ana would not wish to marry into any family that would snub her favourite sister.”
“If I became your wife, I would be her only sister.”
“Ah, but when we marry, she will gain your sisters as her own, as well. And yet, I am certain you will always be her favourite.” He paused. “What are you afraid of, Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth closed her eyes for a moment and took a deep breath before opening them again. His scent made her dizzy and did strange things to her insides.
She strived to inject all seriousness into her tone when she said, “If all does not go well, I fear you will regret our union. At this moment, I cannot think of many things that could be worse.”
He placed a hand gently on her cheek. She raised her gaze to meet his.
“I could never regret marrying the woman I love, no matter what trouble comes our way, as long as we are together.” He paused. “For better or for worse, Elizabeth. I will be true to my vows.”
In his expression, she saw all the love she had ever wanted from a husband… and more. Tears overflowed her lashes. He brushed them from her cheeks, caressing her skin. She wanted him to hold her the way he did this morning.
Heaven help her, she should tell him no, but he believed every word of what he said.
He loved her. They could weather any storm.
She leaned closer to him. How could she refuse this man?
“I love you, too, Mr. Darcy.”
She heard his breath catch. Had he not been certain?
“Elizabeth, please. Call me by my given name.”
She smiled. “Fitzwilliam.”
He leaned in. She inclined her head back to look him in the eye.
His breath tickled her skin. “Marry me, Elizabeth?”
&nb
sp; She angled her neck and raised her chin so that his lips were barely a breath from hers. “I will marry you, Fitzwilliam.”
He closed the gap. His lips brushed gently against hers, again and again.
Just when she thought her heart might burst from beating so forcefully, he pulled back slightly. Inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes and laid his forehead against hers.
Elizabeth loved him! She would become his wife.
She could have no idea what she did to him. He should move away from her… in just a moment. He revelled in her scent, the sensation of holding her close. Just one more kiss!
A door slammed in the corridor, startling them both. His eyes snapped open. A voice shrieked in the entry hall immediately outside the room. Though he could not understand the words, he knew that voice.
Elizabeth pulled away and looked up at him. “It seems Lady Catherine has lowered herself to step foot in a residence of Hertfordshire, after all.”
New voices sounded out. Darcy cocked his head to the side. “It is Richard… and Simons, as well.”
Their gazes locked as another voice rose above the rest, yelling, “Stop pushing me!”
Elizabeth and Darcy said at the same moment, “Wickham!”
Darcy rushed to open the door. As they stepped into the entry hall, he made sure to keep his body between Elizabeth and Wickham.
The entire group of Bennet ladies were crowded around the open doorway of the parlour. He noted that Ana was safely tucked behind Jane Bennet.
Packed into the small entry hall were Colonel Forster, a soldier Darcy did not recognise, Mr. Bennet, Bingley, Richard, Simons, Aunt Catherine, Wickham, and a boy.
No! This was not a boy. It was Mrs. Younge dressed in men’s clothing.
He should have guessed she would be involved.
Simons held Wickham whose hands were tied behind him. Blood trickled from a rather large lump in the centre of the cur’s forehead. Mrs. Younge’s hands were tied in front of her with some sort of material which looked oddly familiar.
“What are they doing to Lieutenant Drake?” Miss Lydia cried out. “Poor Drake is bleeding!”
Mr. Bennet surprised Darcy by shooing the ladies back into the parlour and closing the door.
Wickham gawked at Elizabeth, crudely taking in every inch of Darcy’s betrothed.
Unbidden, a sound came up from somewhere deep within him. It was practically a growl. He stepped forward to block Wickham’s leer.
Wickham laughed, almost hysterically.
Ready to give him another lump, Darcy stepped forward, but Elizabeth took hold of his arm.
“Do not give him the satisfaction of a response,” she said softly.
Oblivious to everything else going on around her, Aunt Catherine, who was brandishing her cane almost like a sword, spoke up. “They attacked my coach!” She roughly stabbed at Wickham’s chest with her cane, sending him stumbling backwards into Simons. “They threatened to rob me, steal my coach, my jewels — everything — and take me hostage! Then he dared to tell me he was going to ask for ransom from you, Darcy.” She raised her nose in the air and glared first at Mrs. Younge then at Wickham. “If I am ever abducted, I will pay my own ransom.”
She said the last as if that was the most important part of her statement.
Darcy ignored his aunt’s histrionics. “Did you come across them on the road, Simons?”
Simons snatched his hat off his head. “A couple hours ago, sir, me and Lieutenant Saunderson there…” He gestured to the young soldier. “We were searchin’ the woods between Longbourn and Lucas Lodge. Finally picked up a fresh trail and found Wickham in a shack. We knew there was another person thereabouts when we saw the smaller footprints, just like the ones near the getaway carriage, but Wickham was alone. The soldier left to see what Colonel Forster wanted us to do. I waited to keep watch.” He pointed to Mrs. Younge. “That woman there — except we thought she was a boy — joined him, and they left together. I didn’t know what kind of trouble they were headin’ for, but I knew it was somethin’ since they were movin’ so fast. Kept at a distance so they wouldn’t know I was followin’. Caught up to them at the road. They’d already stopped the coach, so I moved in to see if I could help whoever was inside it, but your aunt, sir, she already had everything in hand.”
Darcy’s eyebrows rose. He looked at Aunt Catherine then back to Simons. “My aunt?”
“Yes, sir,” Simons answered.
Richard guffawed. “I was on the road returning from Bragton, where I had already realised Younge was involved from the description I obtained of the woman who had posed as Miss Elizabeth when hiring the coach to take them to Scotland. When I came upon the scene Simons described, Wickham was already unconscious, and Younge was tied up with Aunt Catherine’s scarf. It seems our aunt disarmed Wickham by knocking him in the head with her cane and then used it again to bowl over Younge.”
Aunt Catherine nodded with great satisfaction.
Colonel Forster joined in. “We will take them both into custody. I thought you’d want to know what happened, so we stopped in on our way back to camp… also to bring your Aunt here to rest—”
Aunt Catherine bellowed, “I have told you and told you, Colonel Forster, I am not missish in the least. I have no need to rest, and I want nothing further to do with the Bennets. I only want an armed escort so I can safely leave Hertfordshire forever, where apparently highwaymen run rampant, among other reasons.” She narrowed her eyes and directed a glare at Elizabeth. “If you require a statement to convict these bandits, you will have to send someone to me. I shall be staying in London, at the residence of my brother — the Earl of Matlock. After a few days, I will journey to my home, Rosings Park, in Kent.”
She rounded to face Darcy. Speaking softly, but in a threatening tone, she said, “And do not imagine that I was so distracted when I came in that I did not notice you sneaking out of that room.” She pointed to the sitting room. “You were alone with her.” Aunt Catherine aimed her cane at Elizabeth.
Afraid she might try to poke Elizabeth with her weapon of choice, as she had done to Wickham, Darcy grabbed hold of it and gently pried it out of her hand.
“Mr. Bennet kindly allowed us to use the room.” Darcy allowed every bit of the joy he felt in the proclamation to show in the smile that slowly spread across his face. “I decided to follow your suggestion from earlier today. I must thank you.”
His aunt’s complexion reddened. She huffed, which sounded almost like a grunt. “We shall see what my brother has to say about that!” She turned on her heel and hurried out the door.
Colonel Forster cleared his throat. “Excuse me, Mr. Darcy. Did you have anything to say to either of these prisoners before we take them away?”
Elizabeth tugged at his sleeve. When she turned to look at her, she mouthed, “Ana?”
“One moment, please.” He went over to the door to the parlour and opened it a bit, then waved Ana closer. “Do you wish to say anything before they take him away?”
Ana’s eyes opened as wide as saucers. Darcy began to think the suggestion a mistake when his sister looked as if she would shrink into herself.
“You do not have to, but Elizabeth thought you might.”
Ana stared at the door and blinked once. Twice. Three times. A sudden light of determination shone from her eyes.
She straightened her shoulders and said, “I wish only to stand with you and Lizzy as they take Wickham and Mrs. Younge away.”
CHAPTER 36
Ana came from the parlour, escorted by her brother. Mr. Darcy offered Elizabeth his other arm, and she gladly wrapped her hand around it.
Not Mr. Darcy; Fitzwilliam.
It is so agreeable to think of him in that way.
Colonel Fitzwilliam came to stand behind Ana.
Fitzwilliam spoke, “We have nothing to say to either of your prisoners, Colonel, and we would appreciate your removing them from our sight.”
Ana added, “And from our lives.”
Elizabeth was proud of her friend for speaking up in the presence of these two, who had betrayed her so horribly.
Colonel Forster met Ana’s gaze, saluted her, and then did the same to Elizabeth. After Elizabeth nodded, he gave the order to load Wickham and Young into their wagon.
Disorder ruled the scene as the soldiers hauled their prisoners away.
Fitzwilliam looked at his sister with so much satisfaction, words were not needed.
“I am so proud of you, dear friend,” Elizabeth said to Ana.
Colonel Fitzwilliam held out his hands to Ana, who took them. “You are so brave.”
Elizabeth took the opportunity of the chaos in the entry hall to gaze lovingly at Fitzwilliam.
Her father cleared his throat loudly and then approached, as did Mr. Bingley.
Her father said, “I believe I should distract everyone from this unpleasantness and announce the engagements.”
“Engagements? Plural?” Fitzwilliam asked, looking quite confused.
“Yes.” Her father held up two fingers. “Today, I am well on the way to losing both my eldest daughters, but I could not have selected better husbands for them than they have chosen on their own.” His voice cracked a bit at the end of his speech. He cleared his throat.
Mr. Bingley’s smile was brilliant. Fitzwilliam’s matched it.
The two friends shook hands.
“I must warn you both,” her father continued, “Mrs. Bennet has been looking forward to the engagement of one of her daughters since the moment Jane was born, and her anticipation doubled with every new birth. With two in one day, well, she may be a bit… shall we say, worked up for the remainder of the evening.”
Elizabeth said quietly so only Fitzwilliam could hear it, “That is putting it mildly.”
“Hill brought in your mother’s salts a few minutes ago. They are on the mantelpiece if they are needed.” Mr. Bennet wiggled his eyebrows at Elizabeth. “Let us go in.”
“Do not fret, Elizabeth,” Fitzwilliam said. “All will be well.”
