Chance Encounters

by Linda Wells

  Relief crossed all four faces. After a quick meal provided by the skeleton staff on the estate and a much needed chance to freshen themselves before the trip, they entered the coach and made the journey home, this time taking note of the landmarks between the estates that would become familiar friends for years to come.

  Eventually, Elizabeth fell asleep in Darcy’s arms, and he soon joined her. Bingley and Jane could not help but study the pair opposite them and looked at each other. Bingley asked, “Do you think that they . . ?”

  Jane blushed at the suggestion. “Outside?” She whispered.

  He laughed. “It is a wonder they are not yet expecting a baby!” He smiled, but stopped when he saw Jane’s face. “Jane?”

  She sighed. “They were. Lizzy told me yesterday. Neither of them wishes to discuss it further. It seemed to have been a very difficult time, but she will not say anything more.”

  Bingley sighed, again looking at the sleeping couple. “No wonder they are so close.” He took Jane’s hand and kissed it. “I have found myself sometimes feeling jealous of them, not their experiences, but their depth of feeling.” She looked up to his warm green eyes. “I would not be averse to learning from them. Indeed, I would not be averse to repeating any of the behaviours we have seen Darcy and Elizabeth display.” He stroked her hand. “Are you?” Deeply blushing and staring at her feet, she shook her head. Bingley smiled. He now had her permission, but knew to go slowly.

  Chapter 35

  After returning from their morning walk, Darcy was approached by his steward with a question, and Elizabeth was told the post had arrived. She wandered into Darcy’s study to see if there was anything for her and found a letter from Longbourn waiting. She sat reading it in the chair before the fireplace. Darcy entered and settled behind his desk, watching her expression as he looked over his correspondence.

  She sighed and met his eyes. “Papa is disappointed that we will not be making the trip. He regrets that Mrs. Denny’s impatience to wed has changed our plans.”

  Darcy bit back the first words that came to mind, something along the lines of not regretting the missed trip at all, and instead asked, “Are you disappointed?”

  She leaned into a corner of the chair and regarded him. “Yes and no. I miss my family and the neighbours, but in all honesty, I really only want to be home, and experience peace for a good long while.”

  Darcy smiled and held out his arms. She rose and came to his side and he pulled her onto his lap, where she settled her head in the crook of his neck. “I feel the same way.” He murmured into her ear. His gaze fell to the letter she still held in her hands. He looked at Mr. Bennet’s handwriting, and saw his mention of the Dennys. The memory of his conversation with Denny at Bingley’s wedding came to mind and he wondered if his supposition could be true. Unconsciously, his musings made him clutch Elizabeth.

  She raised her head and looked at his pensive face. “What is wrong, William?”

  He startled. “Oh, nothing.”

  She shook her head. “No. That is not acceptable. We talk now. Tell me.” She met his gaze and was not going to back down.

  “Elizabeth . . .” He began to try to distract her but knew the mistake they made not immediately talking before. “Very well then, this may be painful, and I hope ridiculous, but at Bingley’s wedding, Denny said Wickham had intimated that he received a letter from someone petitioning him to separate us. He apparently felt it would be profitable, and hoped that it would also help him to win enough funds from the letter writer and me to make him able to quit the militia and live the life of a gentleman.” He looked into her widening eyes. “Denny said that everyone who heard this felt it was just Wickham spouting off nonsense as usual, but of course, I was aware of his attempt to extort funds from me . . .” He stopped. Elizabeth’s eyes were now full of tears and indescribable pain. “Lizzy?” He took her hands in his. “What is it?” He asked urgently.

  “It cannot be true! He said it was not true!”

  “What cannot be true? Lizzy?”

  “When Wickham . . . spoke to me . . . during . . .” He nodded, letting her pass over the description. “He said that Papa wrote to him, asking him to come and separate us. He said that it would have been very profitable, and that our marriage ended that possibility, and he then said that he looked forward to seeing how much I was worth to you.” Darcy stared at her, he had been correct. “I did not remember his words until the day I went to Longbourn and saw Papa for the first time. I asked him then if it was true. I thought it was a lie because everything that Wickham said to me had proved to be false, and you said that his words to you were false as well. When Papa denied writing to him, I accepted his word.” She sobbed, “Oh, William!”

  Darcy’s face darkened, and if it were not for the presence of his wife on his lap he would have jumped to his feet and begun pacing at a furious rate. Instead he clutched her to him and said fiercely, “Never, Elizabeth. Never will that man darken my threshold and never, ever will he see us again!” His grip tightened, his eyes were black with rage. “What he did is unforgivable. I was willing, for your sake, to come to a civil understanding with him, to tolerate his occasional company, and to accept your desire to reconcile, but I cannot do that now. His actions began a nightmare that we have only just begun to put aside. I will not ever allow him near us again!” His arms crushed her to him. “He is as guilty as Wickham.”

  Elizabeth’s body shook with her sobs. Darcy’s anger was terrible to behold, and she could not in any way blame him for it. “William . . . please.” She managed to choke out.

  His face pressed against her cheek holding his precious wife, he barely heard her, but her weak voice somehow broke through his anger. His voice shook. “What is it Elizabeth?”

  “I cannot breathe.”

  Darcy, realizing his tremendous grip on her body and arms, instantly let go. His fury was immediately replaced with his contrition and concern. “I am so sorry, Lizzy; I did not realize I was holding you so tightly.” He was dismayed to see the obvious mark of his hands on her bare skin, and began rubbing her arms, bringing back the circulation. “Oh darling, I am so sorry. Does it hurt? How can I help you?” He looked into her eyes, begging for her forgiveness and reassurance.

  Elizabeth stared at him, suddenly struck by what he said. “William, did you hear yourself?”

  Busily rubbing her arms, he looked at her with confusion. “What did I say?”

  “You said that when you were holding me so tightly, you did not realize you were hurting me.”

  “That is true, I did not; I just needed to know you were safe, that I would not have to let you go.”

  “Do you not see, William? You were doing the same thing that Papa was doing. He did not want to let me go. He was holding on tightly and searching for a way to keep me near. He did not mean to hurt me. I do not believe he ever knew what Wickham was, or had any idea that he would attempt what he did upon us.”

  “Lizzy . . .”

  “Nothing can change what happened, Will. You said the same thing yourself about your own father’s behaviour. We can spend our lives dwelling on the offenses of others upon ourselves, remaining bitter and angry, or move on. I am not asking you to forgive him, or even like him, but perhaps you can accept that what Wickham did was not sanctioned by my father.”

  “I do not know if I can. I might have been sitting here alone at this moment, because Wickham had succeeded.” His eyes grew bright.

  “But you are not.” She said softly and touched his cheek.

  “No.” He ran his fingers through her hair. “Please do not ask the impossible of me.” His hand fell to caress her face. “Can you forgive him?”

  She shook her head. “I do not know. But I imagine that he is punishing himself daily with the knowledge of what his actions have wrought.” She kissed him tenderly. “I wonder if Wickham would have found a way to terrorize us even without Papa’s letter. He seemed to indicate that his plans were thwarted when he learned of our wed
ding. What he did here was something that he formulated entirely on his own. Wickham seemed to come to you regularly either to demand money or in the case of Georgiana, hurt your family. Do you truly think he would have stopped after your confrontation at Ramsgate?”

  Darcy wound his fingers in her curls, and watched her expressive eyes. “No. In all honesty, I was half-expecting him to try to blackmail me when her presentation approached to remain silent on the affair. I expected him to claim that he had ruined Georgiana and would tell all of society about it to destroy her chances of a good marriage.” He took her hand and kissed it. “Thank God she at least was spared that.”

  Elizabeth considered telling him what had happened with Wickham and Georgiana, but decided against it. Instead she caressed his hair. “So what do we do now? You are my husband; I will follow whatever you decide.”

  He looked into her sincere eyes and a small rueful smile played on his lips. He saw her confusion. “Mrs. Darcy. When have you ever docilely followed anything that I decided?”

  Surprised at his unexpected levity she regarded him closely. “William?”

  He gave a resigned laugh. “Surely you know that I am putty in your hands, my dear wife. So you should tell me. What will we do now?”

  Smiling she kissed him. “Do you know how much I love you?”

  He kissed her back. “Yes, almost as much as I love you.”

  They held each other and sat quietly in their embrace, thinking over the situation. Elizabeth lifted her head from where it lay on his shoulder. “We were not going to see my family again until Christmas. That is over three months from now. Perhaps time and distance will be to our benefit. Perhaps we should simply continue as we have. After all, Papa was nowhere near earning your approbation now in any case. All that has changed is that perhaps we know what may have inspired Wickham, but in truth, only that man is culpable for what occurred.”

  “I doubt that I will ever accept your father, Lizzy, and if I had known of this news when you were attacked, I would have permanently cut off your relationship with him at that time.” His face and steady voice told her the absolute certainty of his words, and she knew that he would never have relented.

  “I understand, and I accept your decision. Perhaps then it is good that our knowledge of the truth was delayed.”

  “Perhaps.” They sighed. “How are your arms?” He looked at the skin, still reddened but thankfully not bruised. “I am so very sorry, Lizzy. I did not mean to hurt you. I do not wish you to fear me causing you pain, I . . .”

  “Shhh.” She touched his lips. “Stop. I know that you wished me no harm.” She raised and kissed the hand that was stroking her arm. “You are the best of men.”

  He shook his head, and stared at her arms. “You caught me on a good day.”

  Elizabeth laughed. “Mr. Darcy! Twice in one serious conversation you manage to surprise me! What has become of my taciturn, unendingly serious husband?”

  He sighed and smiled. “I am afraid that I am the victim of a pair of bewitching eyes.”

  THE WEEKS WENT BY and the Harvest Dance was held. Georgiana was, of course, not permitted to dance, but she found great enjoyment in playing with the children. Elizabeth was presented officially to the tenants and their families, although she already had met many of them through her weekly visits to the needy and at church. The dance was even more raucous than the ones she remembered in Hertfordshire, and her glowing smile and infectious laughter made the Mistress of Pemberley a much admired lady to Pemberley’s population. The story of her kidnapping was well known, and the people did not hide their curiosity to see her in person. Elizabeth took it all in stride, but Darcy naturally was extremely protective and never strayed farther than an arm’s length from her the entire evening. He did, however; find that he rather enjoyed a country dance.

  A few days before Bingley and Jane were to return to Hertfordshire, the two couples were invited to the nearby estate of the Drake’s, to meet and dine with the principal landowners of Derbyshire.

  Nathaniel and Julia Drake were an older couple, closer to their sixth decade than not, both quite short, quite round, and quite insatiably curious about their neighbours. They had been dying to invite the Darcys for dinner for some time, but as it was known that the couple had their own problems as well their obvious desire to be left to their own newlywed activities, they refrained from issuing an invitation. However, when Pemberley held its harvest celebrations, and word of the glorious Mrs. Darcy’s admired attendance as well as the elusive Mr. Darcy’s unprecedented dancing reached their ears, nothing could stop the delightful scheming and planning to hold a dinner to welcome the couple to the world of wedded bliss, and of course to the equally exciting world of Derbyshire gossip. The fact that Mrs. Darcy’s sister and her husband, soon-to-be new neighbours, were in residence as well, was an added bonus.

  An impeccably attired Darcy appeared in Elizabeth’s dressing room as Rosie put the finishing touches on her hair. His eyes raked over her form, dressed in a very enticing gown of ivory silk, her bosom well-displayed, and her figure flawless. “Why do you do this to me, Lizzy?” He moaned when Rosie retreated down the servant’s steps.

  “What exactly have I done?” She rose, knowing full well the effect she had on him, but a quick glance to the front of his breeches left no lingering doubt. She walked over and gave him a light kiss.

  He shook his head. “No, I am not going to be tempted. We must behave.” He seemed to be trying to convince himself.

  Elizabeth could not resist, and caressed the bulge, eliciting a low groan. “Hmm. Too bad, I was feeling quite like misbehaving.” She winked at him and turned away but not in time to escape his hand.

  “You, my dear, are a tease.” He said as he pulled her tightly against him.

  “Mmmm, and I intend to torture you all night.” She looked up at him, and tenderly traced her tongue along his parted lips.

  “Ohhh.” His low moan told her that she struck the mark. He grabbed her face in his hands and stared into her eyes. “Two can play that game, madam.” He crushed his mouth to hers.

  Breathless, she pulled away. “En garde!!” He laughed and let go.

  Despite their distraction, the Darcys were the ones awaiting the Bingley’s arrival in the foyer, but it seemed their delay was clothing related. Bingley began to compliment Elizabeth’s appearance, and was distracted by her very swollen lips; he cast a quick glance at his friend, whose mouth was equally affected, and meeting his raised brow, bit down his smile and finished his statement. Darcy equally admired Jane, who wondered at her sister’s heightened colour. Georgiana wished them a pleasant evening, and smiling, watched as her brother gallantly helped Elizabeth into the carriage, fortunately missing the slight caress of her bottom as she stepped up. Darcy took his place next to her and was met by pursed lips.

  “Touché” she whispered as he grinned.

  “I say, Darcy, I cannot remember ever seeing you so delighted to attend a dinner party before.” Bingley noted, watching their interaction. He had not yet been brave enough to be so publicly affectionate with Jane.

  “Ah, well, you have never attended such an event with me since I married, Bingley.” He took Elizabeth’s hand and kissed her gloved fingers.

  “Thank you, William.” She smiled.

  “It is my deepest pleasure, my love.” He replied.

  Jane blushed, watching their open affection, and feeling no small amount of jealousy interrupted their exchange. “How far is it to the Drake’s home?”

  Darcy straightened. “Not too far, I would say it is about six miles, just the other side of Lambton. It is not a very large estate, probably about the size of Longbourn. Despite that fact, Mr. Drake and his wife are quite comfortably ensconced as the resident busybodies of Derbyshire. I tell you this as a fair warning. They will wish to discover every secret of yours before the night is over.” His pointed gaze swept the faces in the carriage.

  His warning intrigued Elizabeth. Darcy rarely stated such
opinions. “How do they go about their discovery?”

  “It is hard to describe, they will simply cajole you to talk, and before you know it . . .”

  Bingley finished, “All of your dirty laundry and that of your closest friends is flapping in the breeze.”

  “Precisely.”

  “Oh dear.” Jane looked at Elizabeth.

  The carriage soon arrived at the brightly lit house. Many others were there, and various groups of people were milling about, shaking out skirts or greeting friends before ascending the stairs to the entrance. The Darcy party joined the throng, and Elizabeth and the Bingleys were introduced to the neighbours Darcy had known all of his life. Upon entering the hallway, Elizabeth spotted the two merry round people welcoming their guests and raised a gloved hand to suppress a laugh.

  “What is it?” Darcy asked, smiling into her dancing eyes.

  “Forgive me William, but I cannot help but think that the Drakes are very appropriately named.” He looked to his hosts who both had walked over to shake hands with some friends and noted their distinct duck-like waddle. He bit his lips.

  “Stop that sir!” He met her gaze, a question in his eyes. “Biting your lips is my duty.” She whispered.

  He blushed. “Touché, madam.”

  They finally gained a position before the Drakes. “Mr. Darcy! We have been waiting so many months to meet your bride, and at last she is here. Welcome to Derbyshire, Mrs. Darcy. I say, we had begun to despair that young Darcy here would ever find a girl to wed. Well, it just proves that he who waits wins the prize! You are quite remarkable, my dear! We have heard such intriguing stories! I am sure that if only a few of them are true we will be entertained for hours!” Mrs. Drake paused to draw breath, and before Elizabeth could remark on anything, Mr. Drake jumped in.

  “Darcy you sly dog, hiding away such a beauty in that stone mansion of yours, for shame sir!”

  Darcy smiled slightly. “Thank you for your concern, sir.”