Allowing Theo to set the pace, Darcy and the Colonel let him walk on ahead for a while, his enjoyment in his release from Rosings apparent in his face and his step.
“Darcy.” The Colonel slowed his pace and spoke quietly. “You do realize, I trust, Aunt Catherine wishes to draw up the settlement.”
With a sigh, Darcy nodded. “Aunt Catherine wishes to draw up the settlement every time we visit. I have no intention of permitting her any such license.”
“And one day, you will have to tell her this!” The Colonel hesitated. “What of our cousin? Now the Anne of our youth returns to us… will it alter your intentions?”
“Not now, Richard.” Darcy nodded towards Theo who had stopped just ahead of them. “Naught has changed with me, and I doubt very much Anne is that way inclined either. She certainly never was.”
“Yet she is now eight and twenty—and I suspect seeking a life free of the shackles of Rosings.”
“But not with me,” Darcy muttered as they reached his brother.
“How I relish being outdoors once more!” Theo held his face up to the sun, removing his hat and closing his eyes.
“You had best heed the dangers of walking blindfold outside, Cousin, else you will end up getting wet!”
Theo did as he was bid with a laugh, duly noting the stream as he replaced his hat, and they made their way under the boughs of the first trees. They had gone but a few paces further when the Colonel, who now led the way, stopped.
“There is someone up ahead.”
Darcy looked up quickly; he had hoped their paths might cross with the ladies at some point, but he was to be disappointed.
Theo narrowed his gaze and followed the direction of his cousin’s hand. “Oh, it is just Watling.”
“The old gamekeeper? Hah! So it is,” laughed the Colonel. “I forgot he was still retained despite his near blindness! He is well removed from the shoot!”
Darcy frowned. “He must have lost his way, though it is probably best for Farrell and his guns that he has.”
“I say, Watling!” The Colonel stepped forward to greet the elderly man, who turned in the direction of the voice hailing him.
“Is that you ag’in, Ma’am?”
Theo burst out laughing. “You must have need of changing your cologne, Richard!”
“Good morning, Watling,” Darcy said formally as he joined them, ignoring the rolling of Theo’s eyes. “You are not shooting, I trust, without your young assistant’s aid?”
The old retainer squinted up at Darcy, then shook his head. “No, no, no—not I, sir.” He waved his shotgun in the air. “Stray pheasants seen down yonder.” He pointed into the undergrowth ahead. “Them poachers will be at ‘em if someone don’ track ‘em down. Just tryin’ to rouse ‘em.”
“Good. Well, we will leave you to your duty.” They took their leave and returned to the path, soon entering a small clearing.
Though he knew his brother would not wish to own it, Darcy could detect some weariness in Theo’s gait now and, reluctant though he was to end their foray into the park, he did not wish his brother to face a setback.
“We have come sufficient distance for today, Theo. Let us turn back.”
Theo raised a hand. “Wait! I recognize this spot!” He turned to face Darcy and the Colonel. “This is where I first encountered the delightful Miss Bennet!”
Darcy’s interest was caught as Theo continued. “Yes—see there.” He pointed across the stream. “Those very branches caught her bonnet after it sailed through the air.”
Theo removed his hat with a flourish. “Shall I see if I can snare my own in such a manner? We shall have some fine sport retrieving it!”
Before Darcy could protest, Theo had flicked his wrist and tossed the hat skywards. It did not gain much height, but before it had chance to secure a perch or return to its master’s hand, a loud bang shattered the peace of the day, and the hat fell to the ground and rolled towards his cousin.
Laughing loudly, the Colonel stooped and retrieved the hat, now sporting a hole in its brim.
“Watling must have mistaken it for some sport! He will not make much of a meal from it!”
Theo found this highly amusing, and taking the hat from his cousin, he inspected the damage. “His aim is not half bad for one with such poor vision! He must have been a crack shot in his youth!” He held the hat out, ready to swing it skywards once more.
“Theo, no!” Darcy’s warning tone drew his brother’s attention. “Do not be so foolhardy. The man is a liability, even if the bullets are blanks.”
With a challenging look in his direction, Theo tossed his hat a second time, but with little regard for his recent injury. All of a sudden, three things happened in rapid succession: a shot rang out close by, Theo let out a yelp of pain and a lady screamed.
*****
Darcy rounded on Theo. “Are you hit? Of all the foolhardy stunts…”
“Not I,” said Theo coldly. “Merely wrenched my injured shoulder. Look to the ladies.”
He had not even finished the words before Darcy took off at a run in the direction from which the scream had come. Theo followed at his heels, disregarding the stabbing pain in his injured ankle as he dodged tree trunks and brush.
Georgiana’s voice cried, “Oh, help! Someone please help!”
Not his sister! Was he to lose her this time? Or would it be his cousin, or the lady he hoped someday to call sister? As Theo broke out of the copse, he could see the familiar shape of Georgiana standing on the stream bank a short distance away, her hands over her mouth staring at a shape on the ground, Anne de Bourgh kneeling beside her. So it was Elizabeth lying half on the ground, half in the stream.
But even as he feared the worst, she said in a teasing voice, “Although I am very sorry to cut short our walk, I must request that one of you return to the house in search of assistance. And quickly! This water is cold.”
A hand grabbed Theo’s arm. He tried to shake it off, but it held like a vise. Turning, he said, “Damn it, Richard! This is not the time…”
“Stop.” It was the Colonel’s commanding voice, and Theo instinctively obeyed. More quietly he said, “Miss Bennet is in no immediate danger if she is arguing with Anne and Georgiana. Let William reach her first and be her rescuer.”
“What is the point of that?” Theo demanded, then realized his cousin’s meaning. “Oh, yes. Right.” Stopping had its disadvantages, though. It gave him time to be aware of the throbbing pain in his ankle.
“Here, use me as a support,” said the Colonel. “Pretend your ankle is hurting again. That will slow us down enough to give William time to play the hero.”
“No need to pretend,” grumbled Theo. “Believe me.”
*****
This had to be the most utterly ridiculous position Elizabeth had ever found herself in, even worse than the time a farmer’s pigs had chased her up a tree near Longbourn. Lying half in, half out of the stream, her bonnet falling off, having been shot—shot! of all things!—right in the middle of Rosings Park.
Anne de Bourgh pressed a blood-soaked handkerchief to her shoulder. In a high pitched voice she said, “Please, Miss Bennet, do not panic! There is no need to worry, none at all. Someone will be here very soon, I promise you, and you will be perfectly well in no time!”
“I do not know why you think I am panicking,” said Elizabeth. Having been shot ought to entitle her to a little rudeness, and Anne’s terror was becoming tiresome, not to mention Georgiana’s sobs. “If I could think of a way to stand without using either this arm or that leg, I would simply get up and walk back to the parsonage.” A gratifying prospect, if not a terribly realistic one, given that her previous attempt had landed her in the stream.
“Oh, thank heavens!” Georgiana cried. “William is coming. He will fix everything! He always does.”
Elizabeth grimaced. Now the proper Mr. Darcy was also going to be treated to an exhibition of her ridiculous position. And just when she was beginning to think he mig
ht not be the ogre she had believed him to be! She raised her head to see him sprinting towards them, his brother and cousin right behind him. Naturally, if she was to look like a complete fool, it would have to be in front of all the eligible gentleman! It was deeply unfair that she could not simply vanish from embarrassment.
And now Mr. Darcy was wading through the stream to reach her, soaking his perfectly pressed trousers. Maybe if she just closed her eyes, this would all disappear. At least she would not have to see that look on his face, the one that always seemed to censure. He would find no lack of things to criticize this time.
Georgiana cried, “William! Thank God you are here! Someone has shot Miss Bennet, and when she fell, her ankle made a terrible noise and now she can’t move it. You must do something!”
“Elizabeth.” A firm hand clasped her wrist—the one on her uninjured arm, fortunately. “Elizabeth, you must wake up. Please wake up.”
She opened her eyes to find Mr. Darcy’s face only a few inches from hers, her hand in both of his. “I am perfectly awake. I was simply meditating on whether it is possible to sink into the earth, or, if not, whether it is actually possible to die of mortification.”
“Thank God,” he breathed. Closing his eyes, he bowed his head, his forehead resting on hers.
What in heaven’s name did he think he was doing? First calling her by her Christian name, and now this?
“Mr. Darcy, might I impose on you for some assistance in moving onto dry ground?” She decided not to add the part about remembering where he was and what he was doing.
He straightened immediately. “Of course. But first, you must tell me where you are hurt. I do not wish to injure you further.”
“On my shoulder, but ’tis not so deep as a well or as wide as a church door, but ’tis enough, ’twill serve. Ask for me tomorrow and you will find I have died of embarrassment, but not of a gunshot wound. It is hardly even bleeding now.” It did burn like the very dickens, but she was not about to admit that.
“Elizabeth, please.” His eyes were round with worry. Why was he so concerned—so frightened he was calling her by her given name? She would have sworn he would never forget propriety to that degree.
Colonel Fitzwilliam materialized on her other side. “Miss Bennet, I beg you to pardon me, but I must check your wound.” He was all business, as if this were a battlefield and she a wounded soldier. “Darcy, look away.” With surprising gentleness, he removed Anne’s handkerchief, then eased the shoulder of her dress a few inches down, making her desperately grateful the wound was no lower than it was. It was a good thing her mother was not here to make accusations of compromise.
Mr. Darcy sucked in his breath. Apparently he had ignored his cousin’s injunction to look away. What would her poor mother do if she were compromised by two gentlemen? Elizabeth was half-tempted to laugh.
The Colonel restored her sleeve to its proper position. “I imagine it must be quite painful, but I am happy to say it does not appear to be dangerous. The shot must have been partly spent by the time it reached you since it does not appear to be overly deep. Still, we must get that bullet out.”
Mr. Darcy spoke as if he had not heard him. “Richard, you must ride after Mr. Cox. He cannot have gone far yet. Take Theseus. He is the fastest.”
“I will ride after him, but I assure you it is nothing to worry about. I have seen far more than my share of bullet wounds, and this one is minor.”
“Richard!” Mr. Darcy snapped.
The Colonel held up his hands. “Very well. I am going.” He stood and dusted off his knees. “Theo, do try to keep your brother from making a fool of himself. If you will excuse me, ladies.”
He bowed and strode off. Elizabeth closed her eyes again. Apparently it was possible to feel even more embarrassed than she had before. For days now, everyone had been insisting, or at the very least implying, that Darcy admired her. Charlotte, Miss Darcy, Mr. Theo, even Miss de Bourgh just a few minutes ago. She had laughed at all of them. Apparently the joke was on her. Mr. Darcy, of all people? But after their odd conversation earlier, and now this, even she could not deny there must be some truth to it.
“Miss Bennet, we must get you to the house. Can you place your arm around my neck?” At least he had remembered his manners this time.
“There is no need to carry me, sir. I can wait for a cart to be brought.”
“It would take too long to harness the horses and bring it here.” Apparently Mr. Darcy was back to giving orders. This time he merely looped her arm around his shoulders, then slid his arms under her. “I will do my best to be gentle, but this is likely to cause some pain. I hope you can forgive me for it.” He smoothly swung her into his arms.
He obviously had no intention of allowing her to refuse, so she might as well give in with what little grace remained to her, given that his every step sent a stab of pain through her shoulder. “I promise you I shall only blame the man who pulled the trigger,” she managed to gasp out.
For some reason Mr. Darcy turned to glare at his brother. “Or the man who tempted him to pull the trigger.”
“That is ridiculous!” said Theo indignantly. “How could my hat over there induce someone to shoot over here?”
“Enough, Theo. We will speak of this later.” His tone changed completely as he glanced down at her. “I hope this is not too painful.”
She would look even sillier if she denied it. “I will be glad when we reach the Parsonage.”
“I am taking you to Rosings. It is much closer.”
At the moment, she did not care where they went, as long as it was close by. She bit her lip to keep from crying out in pain.
CHAPTER 9
Lady Catherine stamped her foot. “Fitzwilliam Darcy, put that young woman down this instant! I will not have it!”
Theo inquired, “Should he put her on the floor, or is it acceptable to take her as far as the fainting couch?”
Darcy glared at his brother, then headed for the staircase with Elizabeth still in his arms.
“Stop! Miss Bennet, I insist you tell him to release you at once.”
Elizabeth’s smile was bewitching. “Mr. Darcy, pray release me at once,” she said obediently.
“No.” He smiled back down at her as he started up the stairs.
“My apologies, Lady Catherine,” Elizabeth called. “Apparently he will not listen to me either.”
He paused at the top of the stairs. His first instinct was to bring her to his own rooms. That was where she belonged, even if society did not agree. Still, society’s rules must take their due. Unsure which rooms might be prepared for guests, he took her to Georgiana’s room and placed her gently on the bed, leaving his arms around her soft form a few seconds longer than necessary. Propriety demanded he leave the room immediately, but Darcy decided he had paid enough attention to propriety for one day. “I hope the doctor will be here soon. In the meantime, is there anything I can bring you for your comfort? Some wine, perhaps, or tea?”
She shifted to sit up, winced, and lay back again. “If the kitchens can produce some willow bark tea, I would be grateful for it. Although I dislike admitting it, a tiny bit of laudanum might not be unwelcome.”
He could see how much the admission cost her. He gestured to the maid who hovered just outside the door. “Some willow bark tea for Miss Bennet. And send someone to the parsonage as quickly as possible and ask Mrs. Collins for some laudanum.”
Elizabeth said, “I would be very surprised if Lady Catherine’s housekeeper does not have some laudanum among her supplies.”
He hated to think how much pain she must be in to request that. “I think it a poor idea to ask.”
“But…”
As if on cue, Lady Catherine bustled in, followed by a maid carrying a glass of the familiar dark liquid. “Darcy, you may go now. I will handle this from here. Miss Bennet, you must drink this.”
Elizabeth reached for the glass, but Darcy was there first, knocking it out of the maid’s hand so the c
ontents splashed across the floor.
“Fitzwilliam Darcy, what is the matter with you today?” Lady Catherine stormed. “You are not yourself. Perhaps you would benefit from a dose of Anne’s medicine as well. Well, do not just stand there, girl—fetch some more!”
Darcy spoke between gritted teeth. “Lady Catherine, with all due respect, I refuse to permit Miss Bennet to receive that so-called medicine.”
“So-called medicine? How dare you! You saw how quickly Theophilus was back on his feet, and you must admit Anne has been doing remarkably well of late.”
“Anne has been doing remarkably well because we have been watering down her medication, and Theo never had a second dose after the first one left him raving and conversing with dead people. That medicine is dangerous.”
“You have no idea what you are talking about! Anne has been ill for years, and she becomes worse when she does not receive her medicine on time.”
“That is because she is addicted to it, not because it is helping her. That medicine is full of opium. Theo said he could taste it.”
“I do not believe it!”
“Ask Theo yourself, then, and Georgiana, for that matter. They will verify what I have said.” Before he said even worse, he turned his back to his aunt and spoke quietly to Elizabeth. “I am sorry you had to witness that scene.”
“At least I understand your reluctance to ask for laudanum!” she said with a wan attempt at a smile.
*****
Theo should have known it could not last. William had somehow forced himself to be pleasant for a few days. And just when Theo had started believing perhaps their relationship might be changing for the better, the truth came out. How dare William blame him for Miss Bennet’s injury! All he had done was to throw his hat in the air. It was not even in the same direction! And then William had scowled at him the whole way back to Rosings Park when Theo had tried to take Miss Bennet’s mind off her injuries by teasing and making jests. He had been doing her a kindness by trying to distract her from her pain, and William had been angry at him for it. And the most damnable part of it was that it hurt.
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