The colonel straightened, shaking his head. ‘Not at all, old man. Just at a loose end and wondering how things were going. Did you manage to find anything out about Wickham yet?’
‘No.’ Darcy frowned. ‘I thought you were going to ask Miss Latimer to go riding this afternoon?’
‘So did I!’ The colonel grinned. ‘Best laid plans and all that. Bingley beat me to it!’
Darcy blinked. ‘Bingley?’
‘I see I must own the truth. Bingley did not try to usurp me; it seems Miss Latimer sought him out, asked him to accompany her.’ He sighed dramatically, placing a hand on his chest. ‘I was wounded, of course. Quite unfathomable to have been so overlooked, but such is life.’ Then, he grinned again. ‘I passed the empty carriage on its way back to Pemberley, then saw Bedivere tethered outside and thought I would call to pay my respects to Mr Bennet.’
Darcy narrowed his gaze. ‘And it is not your impatience to pin Wickham to the ground which prevails?’
‘It is long overdue, Cousin! So,’ eying Darcy keenly, the colonel folded his arms across his chest. ‘Shall we do this? It is not an easy subject for Miss Elizabeth to raise with her father alone’
‘Indeed. She is gone to retrieve the letter; I gave it to her earlier.’
‘Good afternoon, Colonel Fitzwilliam.’
They both turned as Elizabeth came down the remaining few stairs and walked over to join them.
‘Miss Elizabeth.’ The colonel bowed, then smiled as he straightened. ‘We were sorry to lose the company of you and your sister this morning. Life at Pemberley simply will not be the same without you.’
Elizabeth smiled in return. ‘You are too gallant, sir. With such a houseful, I am certain we will not be overly missed.’
‘If it were considered acceptable to disagree with a lady, then I would contest the matter hotly. Suffice it to say,’ the colonel leaned towards her, then sent a sly glance in Darcy’s direction. ‘If being insensible to all around one is indicative of feeling the loss of certain company, then in at least one quarter, your absence has already been noticeably regretted today!’
Colour rose in Elizabeth’s cheeks as she threw Darcy a quick glance, and he cleared his throat.
‘Shall we enter, then?’ He gestured towards the library door and stepped forward to open it, Elizabeth preceding them into the room.
Mr Bennet had left his fireside chair and was studying the nearest shelves when they came in, and acknowledgements were soon exchanged. Elizabeth began to busy herself tidying away the tea things, but before Darcy could summon an opening, the colonel turned to Mr Bennet.
‘There is something of importance we wish to discuss with you now you are returned, sir. I trust you have no objection to us seizing the moment?’
Mr Bennet’s gaze moved from the colonel to his cousin; then, he frowned. ‘Not at all. Please, gentlemen; take a seat.’
Before anyone could move, however, Elizabeth spun around.
‘Papa, what is it Wickham holds against you?’
Mr Bennet’s face became wary. ‘I am not sure I understand...’
Elizabeth walked over to where he stood by the desk. ‘He is extorting money from you, Papa.’
‘How could you know that?’ Mr Bennet grasped Elizabeth’s arm. ‘Has he approached you? Did he harm you in any way? If I find out he has...’
‘Mr Bennet. Please, sit down.’ Darcy stepped forward and placed a hand on the gentleman’s shoulder and slowly he released his daughter, but he remained standing. He had gone disturbingly pale after his rush of anger.
‘Forgive me, child. I have been worried about you.’
The colonel and Darcy exchanged glances; then, Darcy looked to Elizabeth, who produced the crumpled piece of parchment, placing it on the desk, and Mr Bennet leaned down to read it.
For a moment, he said nothing, nor did he remove his gaze from the letter. Then, he sank suddenly into the chair beside the desk and raised stricken eyes to his daughter.
‘How did you come by this?’
‘Forgive me, Papa. I know I should not have opened it. It was delivered here and was sent on to Pemberley on Monday. Once I had learned the hand was Wickham’s, I could not rest without knowing his purpose in writing to you. I then passed it to Mr Darcy and his cousin, who have vowed to help us.’
‘Then you have seen all my shame, sir.’ Mr Bennet met Darcy’s gaze before dropping his own to the letter again; then he looked up quickly at the clock. ‘It is too late! I cannot get to Buxton for four o’clock, for the hour is upon us!’ He looked from Darcy to his cousin, consternation filling his countenance. ‘He will have to give me more time.’
The colonel shrugged. ‘Wickham is not into the giving of anything; only taking, and quite often what is not his to grasp.’
Mr Bennet turned to his daughter. ‘Lizzy, you had best leave us.’
‘Papa!’ Elizabeth threw Darcy a pleading look but he had no right to overrule her father’s edict, especially in his own home, and she knew it.
She turned back to her father, but then there was a loud crash from above their heads, and Mr Bennet rolled his eyes. ‘I think Jane may be in need of your assistance, my dear.’
Darcy watched as Elizabeth left the room, regretful to see her go, but knowing it was for the best. It was not fitting for her to be privy to their on-going discussions over Wickham.
Silence settled upon them as the door closed. Mr Bennet’s gaze had dropped again to the letter, but Darcy’s curiosity was at its height. ‘Sir, in what condition was Wickham when you saw him?’
‘Wickham?’ Mr Bennet shook his head. ‘I saw little enough of him. He emerged from the shadows of an archway at the given time, demanded I hand over the funds and leave directly without looking back.’ His brow creased. ‘He was suitably dressed; outwardly looked the gentleman. I paid it little mind; all I could picture on the way home was his smug countenance as I handed over the money.’
Darcy met his cousin’s gaze, who shrugged before turning to address the gentleman at the desk.
‘It is perhaps for the best, sir, that you were unable to make the appointment today.’
Mr Bennet looked up at Colonel Fitzwilliam. ‘How so?’
‘Wickham will not let go of an opportunity to wring money from a situation. This should draw him out, bring him in search of you.’
‘You mean he will come here, to The Grange?’
‘I would say it highly likely he will make the attempt on the morrow after your not showing this afternoon.’
Darcy frowned. ‘Cousin, we must exercise caution; be on our guard. You know the way Wickham’s mind works; it would not do to make him desperate.’
‘I care little for how desperate he becomes.’ The colonel flexed his shoulders. ‘The more he provokes me, the better my aim will be!’
Mr Bennet sighed. ‘I fear his coming here.’ He reached for a set of keys, quickly found the one he sought and opened the desk drawer, from which he withdrew a further flat box, also locked. From within he extracted a piece of parchment and Darcy was unsurprised to see the same hand liberally spread across it.
‘This was the first? The first time you heard from him?’ The colonel pointed to the letter, and Mr Bennet nodded, his gaze drifting over the text before he raised his head.
‘He bragged of knowing Lydia survived the fire—well, of course he did; he had thrown her out, for which I am exceedingly thankful, with what befell that poor young girl we found there.’ His gaze dropped to the letter again. ‘He makes no mention of Lydia beyond this, and I doubt he knew where she was or what had become of her, but he did know the body buried in Longbourn churchyard was not hers, and he claimed himself more than happy to share that intelligence with whomsoever would listen if I did not satisfy his demands.’ His shoulders slumped. 'The girls... I have strived to give them a new life, one unstained by the past. He is threatening to destroy it all by revealing things here in Derbyshire which will taint them anew.'
Darcy frowned. ‘In the
second letter, he made mention of a daughter being at risk if you did not comply. If he knew not the whereabouts of Miss Lydia Bennet, then...’
Mr Bennet sighed wearily, pointing to the first letter. ‘He hinted at the harm he would bring to Elizabeth should I not deliver what he asked for; spoke of her being easy prey, with her love of solitary walks.’
‘May I, sir?’ Darcy held out his hand, and Mr Bennet passed the letter to him as his cousin leaned over to read it too.
‘It came about ten days ago; I managed to raise some funds quickly and made the appointed time last Thursday. As you can see, it was delivered by hand, unlike this second.’
‘Then he must have been here before.’ Darcy’s temper was rising, and his cousin placed a calming hand upon his shoulder before turning to Mr Bennet.
‘How did he find your address here in Derbyshire? Was it some sort of chance?’
The gentleman shook his head. ‘I have no notion; it was one of many things I wished to ask him when I saw him—except I did not get the chance.’
‘Have no fear, Mr Bennet.’ Colonel Fitzwilliam handed the letter back, as Darcy walked over to the window, trying to calm his rising anger. ‘Drawing Wickham here is our best chance; he has no notion of your having shared your situation, and thus he will not expect you to have any supporters.'
~o0o~
Frustrated at not being privy to what the gentlemen were discussing, Elizabeth had paced noisily up and down in the hallway for a few minutes, hoping her father would hear her and relent. Then, a further crash followed by raised voices had come from above, and muttering under her breath, she took the stairs two at a time and hurried along to the end of the landing where the spare rooms were located. There were definitely voices coming from inside the first one, and she tapped lightly before peering around the door.
Lydia stood against the far wall, and Jane managed a smile as her sister entered and closed the door before turning back to continue picking up pieces of broken china.
‘Lizzy, tell Jane she is wrong. I have no need to apologise to... to him for anything.’
‘There is often fault on more than one side when things go wrong.’ Elizabeth eyed the mess on the floor. ‘And throwing ornaments to express your disapproval was something I thought you had grown out of!’
Lydia ignored this and flopped down onto the bed. ‘Then he must apologise to me for everything he has put me through.’
Jane and Elizabeth exchanged a glance. ‘I will fetch a broom, Lizzy.’ Jane left the room, and Elizabeth walked over to where Lydia sat.
‘He sacrificed me, Lizzy!’
‘No; I think he tried to protect as many of his daughters as possible.’
Lydia held her sister’s gaze for a moment, then her shoulders sagged as some of the aggression left her. ‘I do not think he understands the concept of protection.’ She snorted. ‘He sanctioned my going to Brighton, did he not? I heard what he said to you, Lizzy: it was my one chance to show myself at little expense to him. I was too poor to be an object of prey, that being there would teach me my own insignificance.’
Elizabeth walked over to the window and stared out. She had not realised Lydia had heard snippets of her conversation with her father when she had begged him not to let her sister go with the Forsters to Brighton.
‘All I sought was a husband; to marry, and to do so ahead of you all.’ She stopped, and Elizabeth turned about to look at her. ‘Mama doted on Jane for her beauty and the prospects she might draw down upon the family. Papa doted likewise on you, Lizzy.’ Lydia sighed. ‘If I were to marry first, I would have taken precedence, gained some importance in everyone’s eyes.’ She raised her chin. ‘Shown my father I was not insignificant.’
There was a sudden rap upon the door, and they both looked over as Alice came into the room holding a pan and brush. She walked over to eye the broken china before turning a keen look on Lydia.
‘I do not know who you think you are, young lady, but you need to learn how to behave when you are a guest in someone’s house.’
Lydia stared at her, her mouth slightly agape, and Elizabeth hurried forward. ‘That will do, Alice.’
She held the housekeeper’s gaze for a moment. ‘As you wish, Miss Lizzy. I will attend to this mess.’ She turned her attention to the remaining pieces of china in silence and soon left the room.
Elizabeth looked over at her sister who had sunk back against the pillows. ‘I do not know who I am. Am I a guest? Is this my home? Am I to be sent back to that—that place?’
‘Ly-,’ Elizabeth stopped in frustration. ‘Sarah. If you wish for any sort of future within your family, then you must see your way to forgiving our father. You both have allowances to make; can you not tell he has affection for you yet, is thankful for your safe return?’
Elizabeth held Lydia’s gaze, willing her to understand she too had been at fault. With her sister's moods swinging erratically between anger through calm to distress, however, she was unsurprised when Lydia burst into noisy sobs.
‘I wish I could see Mama; I miss her so.’
‘You must calm yourself or you will make yourself ill.’
Lydia grabbed one of Elizabeth’s hands. ‘Do not leave me, Lizzy. I have been without a sister’s comfort for so long, I cannot bear to see you go.’
With a resigned sigh, Elizabeth sank onto the bed and drew Lydia into her arms.
Chapter Seventy-Three
Spent by her tears, Lydia eventually fell asleep, and Elizabeth eased her hand from her sister’s grasp and got to her feet, stretching before walking over to the window. She stared out over the gravelled driveway, then leaned forward to peer over at the railing against the hedge. Mr Darcy’s mount was no longer there and, her disappointment all-consuming, she turned away and hurried from the room and down the stairs.
In the hallway, she wavered, then walked over to the library door and tapped lightly. Her father was fast asleep beside the fire, and she closed the door softly.
‘How is she?’
Elizabeth turned around; Jane had come out of the drawing room. ‘Asleep at last.’ She smiled ruefully as she crossed the hall to where her sister stood in the open doorway. ‘As is Papa. When did the gentlemen leave?’
‘About half an hour ago.’ Jane smirked. ‘I do not think Mr Darcy wanted to go.’
‘Nor did I wish him to.’ Elizabeth sighed. ‘Jane, I need to take some air. I am going for a walk.’
‘You cannot, Lizzy!’
‘Why not? The restriction was placed because of what we thought was a poacher or similar in the woods. We now know the person watching us was Lydia.’
Jane looked uncertain, but Elizabeth was adamant. She needed exercise for her body and her mind, time to think. ‘I promise I will not go too far.’
‘You must not go to Curbar Edge, Lizzy.’
Elizabeth sighed regretfully. ‘No—and I would not go there, not at this time of day, though I do miss it so much.’ Then, she smiled as she turned to reach for her Spencer and a shawl. ‘Do not worry, Jane; I shall return directly.’
~o0o~
On their return from The Grange, Darcy and the colonel left their mounts in the hands of a willing groom and walked over to the estate office to speak to Rivers, setting before him the need for everyone to be on guard for any sighting of Wickham from first light.
Once satisfied, they crossed over to the gate into Pemberley’s grounds, silence prevailing as they trod the path towards the rear of the house. Wrapped in his thoughts, Darcy tried to reconcile his disappointment on there being no sign of Elizabeth before they left The Grange with his anxiety for her well-being. Not only were matters clearly unsettled between her father and her youngest sister, but now there was the looming menace of Wickham and when he might present himself at her home to accost Mr Bennet. He wanted Elizabeth to remain under his own protection; he had to do something about it, and...
‘Darce?’ The colonel stopped and placed a hand on his cousin’s shoulder.
‘Wh
at?’
‘I have spoken twice to you; you are in a brown study. It will not answer.’
‘It may not answer, Fitzwilliam, but neither will it cease.’
‘You must put aside your speculation over Wickham, at least until the morrow. Rivers will instruct the men of the estate to keep an eye out from dawn, and we are in need of the manpower, are we not? We cannot afford to let him get away from us.’ He paused. ‘Though you were wise to caution your steward on the need for discretion. It will not do for Wickham to think anyone but Bennet expects him.’
‘It is fortuitous Rivers is not of an inquisitive nature and did not question our purpose in wishing to know of any sightings.’
The colonel grunted. ‘What is fortuitous is there being many who will remember Wickham by sight. After all, it is but two years since he was last poking his unwelcome nose into the affairs of Pemberley.’
Recalling Wickham’s intentions towards Georgiana prior to, and during, her establishment in Ramsgate stirred Darcy’s anger towards the man. ‘I will wring his neck with my bare hands if I am fortunate enough to come across him first.’
The colonel studied him for a moment. ‘As soon as we return to the house, I must send an Express to my commanding officer.’
Darcy eyed him warily as they both fell into step again. ‘I have yet to commit the crime, Cousin. Surely it is premature to send for the troops?’
‘I am due to report back and resume my duties, Darce. I will request a short extension to my leave, that I may remain here until Wickham is apprehended. I have had my senior’s back on more than one occasion on the battlefield. He owes me.’
Though he had long known his cousin’s value as a friend, the wave of relief sweeping through Darcy took him by surprise, and he closed his eyes briefly as they reached the door to the boot room. Then, he stayed the colonel with his hand.
‘Richard, we will resolve this, will we not?’
‘Without question, Fitz. It is time Wickham was locked up once and for all, and I shall take the greatest pleasure in throwing away the key!’
‘And if it goes to Court? Will he not sing to the rafters, thus revealing all we seek to conceal, including his attempt to ruin Georgiana?’
A Quest for Mr Darcy Page 48
