by Massey, Beth
Lydia was given a look of appreciation by her betrothed for her words. “When I look upon Lydia I forget she is but fifteen. I fear asking for permission to take her halfway around the world?”
As Darcy pondered this couple’s bold plans, he realized his first impression of Miss Lydia had hardly done her justice. There was a depth to her that he had missed and Colonel Bledsoe had seen. Elizabeth had told him that though young and impulsive, her values were admirable. He came out of his musings to hear Colonel Bledsoe say, “My regiment is leaving for Canada within a fortnight. You have been privy to our talk and know war with the United States is imminent. There are even rumours they plan to invade and take over the Canadian territories. Your aid will allow me to marry Lydia before I depart.”
Darcy made a decision not to tell Colonel Bledsoe that Miss Lydia’s father found great pleasure in verbally unsettling his opponents. A military man should be able to withstand Bennet’s barrage.
The Colonel outlined a straight-forward no-nonsense approach. “Mr Darcy, in order to receive Mr Bennet’s permission, I must explain the real reason for such drastic action. Lydia says he is not a silly man.”
Darcy chuckled to himself as he remembered his interview with the man in question. “No, silly is not a description I would use for Mr Bennet.”
Colonel Bledsoe explained one of the things he and Lydia had decided. “In the interest of the appearance of normalcy, Sarah will stay with Lydia at Longbourn until after the weddings in September. In early October, they will sail to join me in Canada. I will not be able to breathe easily until both are out of the country and safe from any suspicion about involvement in Lord Wolfbridge’s murder.”
Lydia spoke and again Darcy’s admiration grew. Would she have been the same if she had not had the benefit of Elizabeth’s counsel? “I have put Miss Bledsoe under strict orders to tell no one at the Gardiner’s of either the impending wedding or to indicate anything unusual happened in Brighton. That includes my mother, Jane and Kitty who will also be staying in Gracechurch Street. Ronald and I have agreed that the arrival of Papa and Lizzy will be when we disclose our wedding plans.” For the first time, Lydia allowed herself to gush with romantic sensibility. “As much as I have stressed it, propriety is not our main concern, Mr Darcy. If for some reason Papa does not agree, Ronald has promised we will flee to Gretna Green. He called me his ‘brave girl’ and said nothing will keep us apart. We are determined to start a new, exciting life together in the wilds of Canada.”
Mr Darcy felt a surge of pleasure when he heard he would see Elizabeth again, but that thought also caused anxiety—he must protect her from the horrific circumstances of what had happened. “I am certain once Mr Bennet knows the particulars, he will agree. But, he must be the only one in the Bennet family to whom the full truth is revealed. Miss Elizabeth must not be told.” He saw that Colonel Bledsoe seemed confused that one sister was being singled out. That must mean Lydia had not told him the real reason she had stabbed Lord Wolfbridge. “We must maintain tight control over who knows what happened. It is necessary for the protection of Miss Lydia.” Although he did not say it, he added to himself—and Miss Elizabeth and Bethany.
As the couple left the room, Lydia lingered a moment and whispered. “He believes I was defending myself and Sally from your cousin. The whole truth will be told to him once we are in Canada. Certainly you agree, it is proper to have complete honesty between a man and his wife. I promise I will not divulge the particulars to Lizzy, as you have requested.” She gave him a mischievous grin he had seen before from another—was it more like Elizabeth’s or Bethany’s. “But, you should once you have married her.”
A startled Mr Darcy said, “She told…
Lydia raised her hand to stop his words. “I am an observant creature, Mr Darcy.’’
Elizabeth’s time since arriving home had been filled with preparations for the three weddings. Mrs Bennet did not allow, even her daughter who was not getting married, much leisure time. In early June, Becky and Sir Walter had returned to Bath, with the promise they would return the middle of August.
The first wedding would be John and Kitty on 9 September, followed by Rebecca Trent and Sir Gareth Hughes a week later on 17 September, and then finally Jane and Mr Bingley a fortnight later on the last day of September.
For close to a month, Elizabeth heard nothing more from Will. There was not much news from Brighton either. Lydia had sent one very hurried note, proclaiming that she was so busy she did not have much time to write. She had thought her sister had improved in her thoughtfulness, but then she reminded herself that she was but fifteen. Charlotte had sent a letter that seemed very evasive to her friend. Georgiana had written several times telling of her return to Derbyshire and then she had stopped communicating as well. Will had said he was wanted by Colonel Fitzwilliam. Her fears for all in Brighton became uppermost in her thoughts. If she were a man, she could travel there and determine what was happening.
Jane, Kitty and her mother left for London to stay with the Gardiners, and to buy wedding clothes. Mr Bingley had also left the neighbourhood for London, and John had gone to Derbyshire to plan for his family’s trip in September. Lizzy and her father were quite alone. While the quiet was welcome, she found it gave her far too much time to brood about what was happening.
The following morning, when she arrived for breakfast, her father asked her to read a newspaper article his brother Gardiner had sent in a letter.
Lizzy noticed that the piece was more than a se’nnight old. She began reading, but shortly her scream pierced the silence followed quickly by sobs. Her father’s arms were soon around her in comfort. When she was composed, she communicated to her father that the Viscount Wolfbridge had been found murdered in Brighton. It was suspected that one George Wickham, who seemed to have vanished, had been the perpetrator.
“Oh, Papa, I do not know what to make of this. I fear for Mr Darcy. It is public knowledge he hit his cousin. What if they accuse him of this murder? I will not be able to bear it.”
“Lizzy, I did not know you cared so for Mr Darcy.” Mr Bennet gave his daughter a thoughtful look. “I suppose I might have assumed there was something more—your mother did. His letter to me from Kent only told of your need to go to London and that you would stay with his sister. Mary’s letter had much more detail, but she spoke most of your panic at Jane’s plight. Her most important piece of information beyond that was to assure me that Miss Darcy’s companion was in residence. Your mother and I decided to overlook the hint of impropriety at your staying at Darcy House. I expected if there was something I should know, you would tell me upon your return.”
Lizzy accepted her father’s handkerchief and dabbed at her eyes. “It is true I was very angry with him when he left Netherfield, but then we met again in Kent. As you know, he helped to reunite Jane with Mr Bingley. I owe him much gratitude.”
Mr Bennet’s look of disappointment was not lost on her. She shook her head in disgust. “Oh, why am I once again not telling you the entire truth? He proposed… I rejected him with great anger, but then we talked… I love him, but feel I am unable to marry him… he has vowed to pursue me until I agree. Papa, I need to know what is happening. I am worried about Lydia as well. Lord Wolfbridge was found dead in Brighton. What if he hurt her… and… ?”
Mr Bennet was soon worrying almost as much as Elizabeth about Lydia’s well being. While they discussed their fears, a carriage with the Darcy crest arrived at Longbourn. A muscular man with dark hair, wearing regimentals, a colonel, Mr Bennet thought, was brought to the breakfast room by Mrs Hill. The man turned to Elizabeth and said, “You must be Miss Elizabeth. I am Colonel Bledsoe. If you will pardon us, I must speak to your father privately about a most urgent matter.”
Her father and Colonel Bledsoe retired to his study and shut the door. Elizabeth was beside herself with anxiety, and resentful she was not allowed to know what Colonel Bledsoe was telling her father. The two men were together for over an hour.
Finally her father opened the door and asked Lizzy to get Hill and return with her to his study. When they entered, he asked Mrs Hill to prepare his and Lizzy’s things for a trip to London. He assured her they only needed clothes for three days at most. When the housekeeper left, he turned to Elizabeth and told her that Lydia was to marry Colonel Bledsoe in two days time. He instructed her to go with Hill and ensure the right types of clothes for the occasion were chosen.
Within four hours, the three were on their way to London. It was impossible to get Colonel Bledsoe or her father to engage in any meaningful conversation about the suddenness of this wedding. Any query was pushed aside, and the conversation was returned to mentions of the weather and the scenery. Finally she drifted into thoughts of Mr Darcy. She touched the letter in her pocket and wondered if she would see him. When they arrived, Colonel Bledsoe dropped them at Gracechurch Street and he continued on to Darcy House.
Darcy, Colonel Fitzwilliam, the Countess and Lady Wolfbridge had travelled to Derbyshire from London. A wagon had been sent ahead from Brighton with Edmund’s body. The funeral was planned for the day after they arrived.
Eleanor was now more than six months into her confinement. Thoughts of her baby’s conception threatened to unleash inappropriate emotions. Never before had she held a baby this long during any of the other times she had been with child. Most of her time during the journey to Elderton had been spent apprehending how to maintain the appearance of grief.
When they had arrived, the Earl had been livid and demanded his son and nephew explain how Edmund had come to be murdered. Richard spoke first. “I was unaware Edmund was even in Brighton. It was completely by accident that I learned of his death. We were at breakfast in the militia camp when a constable came to question Colonel Forster. Imagine my surprise when he asked Lawrence whether any of his men might have been in the company of the Viscount Wolfbridge.” Richard did not falter as he continued the explanation for his father. “Edmund had leased a house for the summer and his body had been found by the couple who took care of the property. They had been away and returned from Lewes to find his Lordship lying on the floor of his bedroom…. dead several days. The constable shared with me that he appeared to have been stabbed through his heart with a sword.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam allowed his father to digest that gruesome bit of information before he continued. “Mr and Mrs Mason, the couple who found the body, had informed the authorities that the Viscount had been visited several times by a lieutenant from the militia. Lawrence said that the only one of his men who he knew to be acquainted with Lord Wolfbridge had gone missing. I added that the man’s name was Wickham and that he had been a friend of the Viscount since they were children.” Richard spent some time assuring his father that Wickham was nowhere to be found in Brighton and that he knew nothing more about what would have caused the breach between his brother and the lieutenant.
The Earl had then turned his rage on his nephew. “Why were you in Brighton? If I find that jealousy drove you to once again fight with your cousin—I will get revenge and not care that you are my sister’s son.”
Darcy, who like Lady Wolfbridge had spent much of their journey to Derbyshire putting his emotions under good regulation, answered his Lordship calmly. “Uncle, I was in Kent with Lady Catherine. Because I was close by, Richard asked me to help with preparing and transporting the body while he was devoting his time to aiding the authorities in their investigation.”
The Earl of Elderton retired to his rooms and only appeared again to his family on the day of his eldest son’s funeral.
One day after Edmund was buried, Darcy was once again on the road to London. He was exhausted from the strain of dealing with this calamity but allowed himself to indulge in some hope. Now that his cousin was dead, his greatest wish was that Elizabeth would realize that a major hurdle to their marriage was gone forever and agree to his proposal. He could almost taste the quiet, mundane routine he craved with her at Pemberley.
Several days after the funeral, Colonel Fitzwilliam informed his family that he was returning to Spain. The demands of the Peninsular War could not excuse soldiers for bereavement leave. He had received permission to stay until Lady Wolfbridge gave birth. If the child was male, he would become the heir to Elderton and Richard would leave for war immediately. If the child was female, he would sell out and assume the title of the Viscount Wolfbridge. His father had glared at his second son’s announcement and promptly left for a bruising ride.
Richard Fitzwilliam knocked softly on Eleanor’s door. Once inside, he sat before the fireplace in her room. Today there was no need for a fire, but it had been a favourite spot last November and seemed the appropriate location. “I hope it is a boy.”
“Oh, but Richard you could die. You told me many who lost their lives at Badajos were men you had commanded, and two were fellow officers and dear friends.”
“Yes Ellie, before this war is over whole aristocratic houses could be wiped out—Elderton among them. But, the part of the report I received that gives me nightmares is of all the Spanish civilians who were killed and raped. Here in the safety of England, most are spared from knowing or acknowledging the agonies of this war until one of their sons is lost.” He looked at her, eyes still glistening with unshed tears but also filled with great love. “A title and an encumbered estate is hardly the life I want. The only way I will have even the remotest chance of achieving my heart’s desire is to distinguish myself on the field of battle. Maybe then, we would stand a chance of being forgiven for breaking the Church of England’s law. If I live through this hell, I will marry you.’’
Lydia chose Elizabeth to stand-up with her, and she held her sister’s hand tightly until the time came to give it to Ronald. Lizzy knew something was unusual about this wedding, but no one was forthcoming to reveal what it might be. The looks the couple exchanged convinced her it was a love match, but still that niggling doubt was ever present. Mr Darcy was there, but he seemed very subdued, as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. His forced smile seemed filled with pain. What had happened in Brighton?
The only time she was able to talk to him was during the breakfast at the Gardiners after the ceremony. They sat next to each other, and she took his hand under the table. There seemed to be emotion in the squeeze he returned, but he remained silent with no words of any kind. This seemed at odds with the sentiments he had expressed in his last letter. It was true, the room was filled with well-wishers, and privacy was non-existent, but they could at least speak of things as though they were common acquaintances. Despite his silence, she knew mindless chatter was not what she craved and she asked very quietly, “Were you called away to Brighton because of the murder of Lord Wolfbridge?”
He seemed a bit startled that she knew, and his tone was evasive. “Yes, Richard needed help arranging for the transportation of Edmund’s body.”
For the duration of the breakfast, Elizabeth was only able to elicit a few responses from him, and nothing substantive about what happened. He seemed exhausted, and the aloof Mr Darcy was in attendance, as he told her of his plans to return to Pemberley. With a face that displayed no emotion, he said, “Richard will return to Spain as soon as Lady Wolfbridge gives birth—that is if the baby is a boy. If she has a girl, he will resign his commission. My family has gone into mourning for Edmund, and the midsummer picnic has been cancelled. We will make an exception and travel to Hertfordshire for the three weddings, but I will not be able to participate in any balls that might be planned.”
As he told her of his plans, Elizabeth became increasingly annoyed. Why did they have to observe mourning for that disgusting man? When he explained about not being able to attend any balls, her natural tendency to throw barbs like her father took control, and she said, “Well, it is lucky you do not plan to astound Hertfordshire, once again, by dancing a waltz with the well know recluse.” She was immediately sorry when finally an emotion registered in his eyes, and it was despair.
She was e
ncouraged when as they parted, he captured her eyes and smiled, and she saw a hint of an indention in his cheeks, as he whispered the now familiar refrain, “Until September, my love.”
The residents of Hertfordshire remarked that they could not remember such a September… a September when the weather was glorious and the grass was still so green and the grain was so yellow. It was perfect for the weddings of three of the county’s most beautiful and distinguished daughters. The populace gave over the entire month to celebration.
The Derbyshire contingent arrived early in the month. She had only a few moments to spend with Jamie, but at least they had had time together in London. Elizabeth wished she was at leisure for long conversations with Mr Davies, Mrs Wilder and Mrs Reynolds as well. She had missed all three, and letters had only scratched the surface of all that she wanted to know of their lives.
She particularly wanted to be able to speak candidly with Mrs Reynolds about accepting Will and becoming Mistress of Pemberley. The fact that she was still too conflicted to agree to his proposal held her back. It would be very indiscreet to reveal his feelings for her and her misgivings to an employee—even if that was not how Elizabeth felt about her.
The murder of the Viscount Wolfbridge had not smoothed the way for her acceptance, as it should. She was left with many questions, and those questions became convenient excuses. After Lydia’s wedding, several letters had arrived from Will over the summer, but they had been newsy, and never rose to the level of the great emotion he had displayed in May. Was he having second thoughts?
Elizabeth had confirmed with Georgiana that his birthday was September 8. Her Uncle Gardiner had been instructed to buy a book. She wanted to give him a first edition of the combined volumes of Songs of Innocence and of Experience with Blake’s own illustrations. She knew from Georgiana that he did not own this work. The poetry of both volumes had given her comfort over the years, if for no other reason than it gave her an awareness that she was not alone in her remembered feelings of the joy of innocence and her despair at those things which had come with experience. She hoped he would love the poetry despite its reputation as containing the radical message of free love.
