So, each night he welcomed the dreams of the unknown woman. She sustained him during his waking hours because the woman was the one constant in his life.The daylight hours brought him new realities, but the night brought a familiarity—a need he could not fill during the day. He saw her eyes—a pair of fine eyes—and an enigmatic smile, along with a raised eyebrow. Darcy felt the heat of her mouth on his—a love that devoured his reason. He imagined himself taking her into his arms along walkways, deserted paths, gardens, conservatories, and in his bed. She smiled at him, and he wanted her in a breathless desire. Darcy knew Elizabeth Donnelly could never meet such needs—not in a million years.
Georgiana Darcy first saw the familiar figure from the window of her bedchamber, and her heart leapt into her throat. She grabbed her pelisse and hurried down the central staircase.
“Where are you off to?” Elizabeth called to her.
“I believe I need some fresh air,” she returned the call, but she did not stop. She was out the door and heading toward the rise behind Pemberley.When she crossed the second clearing, the figure stepped from a copse of Spanish oaks and pulled her within the secrecy the trees offered. “I feared you would not come.” He looked deeply into Georgiana’s eyes.
“Mr. Harrison, you should not be here; I should not be here,” she stammered, feeling his closeness.
Harrison instinctively moved in closer. “I had to see you; I heard about your Mr. Darcy.”
“Elizabeth is devastated; Fitzwilliam went to Hull, but he never made it to his destination.” Georgiana dropped her eyes, not wishing to tell Mr. Harrison the real reason for her brother’s botched trip.
“Miss More wrote to me; that is why I am here,” Harrison told her.“I had to see for myself that you and Mrs. Darcy were all right.Would it be too much if I offered your sister my help until her husband returns?”
“What about Hines Park?” Georgiana’s eyes did not leave his face.
“Indirectly, your brother’s disappearance is my fault. I wish to be of service to you and Mrs. Darcy in some manner.” By now, Harrison could feel the heat of his need for Georgiana Darcy.
“Elizabeth would never accept such self-censure from you, Mr. Harrison. She would offer you no blame in Fitzwilliam’s disappearance.”
He asked softly,“Would she accept my help?”
Georgiana could no longer look at the man without touching him. “You may come to the house and ask my sister yourself.” Georgiana dropped her eyes.
An elongated silence hung between them. “Miss Darcy, please look at me,” he whispered. Georgiana slowly raised her eyes to gaze lovingly on his face. “I like the man I see in your eyes.” Harrison caressed her face. “A man could get lost in your eyes.”
Georgiana’s smile grew with the knowledge he was close to her after so long a separation.“Let me return to the house before you call on the estate. It is best if we are not seen together.”
“I am happy you said seen together rather than be together.” Harrison offered her an unsure look.
“Definitely seen together,” Georgiana giggled. “I will greet you properly in my home, Sir.” She turned to go, but in looking back, Georgiana impulsively mimicked his earlier caress and traced the outline of his lips.
CHAPTER 11
“What wild imaginations one forms where dear self is concerned!
How sure to be mistaken!”
Jane Austen, Persuasion, 1817
Kitty Bennet waited for Mr. Ashford’s daily visit but was surprised when a maid showed Lydia into the drawing room. “Lydia?” Standing immediately, Kitty gasped, “What are you doing here?”
Lydia Bennet Wickham untied her bonnet. “Well, is that any way to address me?” she protested.“Do not tell me you are taking on Lizzy’s uppity airs. I came here to see you and Lizzy. Is that not acceptable?”
Kitty shifted nervously. “Of course,” she began, “I am sure Lizzy will be happy to see you. Let me go tell her. Have a seat, Lydia; I will ask the maid to bring us some tea.” Kitty started for the door.
“Are you not the be all and end all—that is right, Kitty, have a maid bring us some tea. I will have a seat and wait on you and Lizzy, but please hurry. My journey was long, and I would like some rest.” Lydia strolled over to a chair and collapsed into it. “Well, Kitty, do not just stand there. Find Elizabeth.”
Kitty rushed from the room. She knew Elizabeth would not be happy to see Lydia, especially an unannounced visit and with everything else going on at Pemberley. Truthfully, Kitty did not want to see Lydia, either. Kitty developed an identity separate from the flouncy, inconsiderate girl sitting in Pemberley’s downstairs drawing room, and she definitely did not want Clayton Ashford to meet Lydia. He would see how poor her connections really were, and he would withdraw his affections from her.As far as Kitty knew, Lydia would mess up everything!
Georgiana Darcy rushed through Pemberley’s front hallway, planning to be at the pianoforte when Mr. Harrison made his call on Elizabeth, but as she hurried by her brother’s study, an ominous figure brought her to a complete stop outside the door. Mustering her courage, she stepped inside the room and addressed the man. “Mr. Wickham, why are you in my brother’s study?” Her voice shook as she spoke, but Georgiana’s countenance did not change.
A smirk overspread George Wickham’s face as he made her a proper bow. “Miss Darcy, how nice to see you.” He allowed his eyes to drift slowly down Georgiana’s body.
His steady gaze created a momentary uneasiness in her, but Georgiana resolved long ago some day she would face Mr. Wickham full force as a Darcy.“I will ask you again, Sir, why I find you in Fitzwilliam’s study? He will not be happy you assume liberties in coming here.”
“Your brother is more than likely dead,” he said as he stepped closer to her,“so any liberties I may take will be of little consequence to him.”Wickham gave her a look of intimacy.
Georgiana took a step toward the desk, but Wickham moved in front of her. His smile told of a familiarity he should not be taking. “You certainly grew up, Georgiana; upon seeing you again, I regret leaving you so suddenly at Ramsgate.” He reached out to caress her face, and Georgiana repulsively contracted, stepping back and closing her eyes to block out his presence.
“Mr. Wickham,” Elizabeth’s voice echoed through the study, and both he and Georgiana flinched with the sound.
“Miss Bennet,” he stammered.
“You, Sir, know that is no longer my name.” Elizabeth stepped to Georgiana’s side and gracefully maneuvered the girl a few steps away from Wickham’s presence.Then she stepped behind Darcy’s desk. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company today, Mr. Wickham?” Elizabeth’s voice held true contempt.
“Elizabeth.” Wickham offered her an affable smile. “Your mother wrote of your distress. Of course, I grieved at your loss as my sister and of the loss of my brother Fitzwilliam.”
“I will kindly ask you to refrain from referring to either my husband or me in such familiar terms. I warned Lydia of that fact prior to my marriage to Mr. Darcy. I instructed Lydia to tell you, specifically, we would never welcome you in this house,” Elizabeth asserted.
“Now, Mrs. Darcy, we cannot allow past transgressions to affect our current relationship. As I was just ready to explain to Georgiana, I came to make my apologies and to offer my assistance. My father served this estate faithfully for over twenty years.The least I can do is offer my help to you, my wife’s sister, in her time of need.” Wickham carefully avoided referring to Elizabeth or Darcy as immediate family.
Elizabeth laughed.“Can you really possess such gall to think I would accept an offer from you after the betrayal you offered to my husband?” During this speech Elizabeth’s hands slowly pulled Darcy’s desk drawer open enough to grasp the gun he bought her shortly after bringing her to Pemberley. Darcy took such delight in teaching her to shoot it. “Now, I will kindly ask you to quit this house and never return.”
“Mrs. Darcy, surely you do not mean what y
ou say.” Wickham took a step toward the desk.
“I would not do that if I were you.” Elizabeth pointed the gun at him.“At this range, I will not miss.”
Wickham’s eyes grew larger, and he stammered as he said, “Mrs. Darcy—Elizabeth—you must see the foolishness of this action.” He tried to edge to the side.
Elizabeth cocked the gun. “If one lies down with a dog, he is likely to get up with fleas. I do not choose to be bitten by fleas today, Mr. Wickham. Now, turn around and leave this house. I will not ask again.”
Wickham offered her a smile while saying,“Of course, Elizabeth, I only thought to be of some service to you.” He began to back away, but in order to exit the room,Wickham crossed Georgiana’s path. The girl had not moved since Elizabeth placed her where she currently stood.Wickham could not give up his plan so easily, and, impulsively, he reached out to grab Georgiana’s arm.When the girl screamed, Elizabeth fired.
In a blaze of smoke, the bullet grazed Wickham’s left shoulder and lodged in the bookcase behind him.A curse filled the room as he advanced on Elizabeth, dragging Georgiana with him. Yet, before the smoke from the gun cleared, and before Wickham took more than a few menacing steps, he found himself held tightly in a stranglehold and the point of a stiletto resting beneath his chin. Mr. Harrison’s voice hissed with anger as he tightened the hold.“If I were you, Sir, I would release Miss Darcy’s arm immediately unless you would prefer to die on this spot.”
Georgiana gasped, but Elizabeth calmly stepped from behind the desk and looked up at Mr. Wickham and smiled. “Mr. Harrison.” She offered him a proper curtsy. “How pleasant to see you again.” Her voice became sugary as she looked through Wickham as if he did not exist.
“I am sorry to intrude on your little party.” His voice softened some from his initial appearance in the room, but Harrison had not loosened his hold on George Wickham.
“Mr. Wickham,” Elizabeth said as she went over and removed his fingers from around Georgiana’s wrist, “I will ask Mr. Harrison to let you live only because you are Lydia’s husband.”As she said the words, both Kitty and Lydia appeared at the door. “Lydia, your husband has a flesh wound to which you must attend,” Elizabeth called out to her. “I will have Mr. Howard and some of my men escort you two back into Lambton; I expect you shall want to return to Newcastle as soon as possible.” Elizabeth’s tone offered her younger sister no choice in the matter, and, for a change, Lydia did not protest.
“Mr. Harrison, will you show Mr. Wickham to the door?” Elizabeth never looked at the man again as she turned her back on Wickham and Lydia.
“Gladly, Mrs. Darcy.” Harrison’s voice was pleasant, but then he menacingly whispered in Wickham’s ear,“If you touch Miss Darcy again—in fact, if I hear you even mentioned her name, I will finish this. Stay away from this estate forever. Do you understand me?”Wickham nodded his head in the affirmative as best he could under the restraint of the hold Harrison had on him. Harrison released the throat hold, but he pointedly placed the stiletto to Wickham’s back. “This way, Sir.” He motioned for Wickham to move to the door.Wickham, nearly doubled over from a lack of oxygen, gasped and rubbed his throat, but he moved past Lydia to exit the house. She chased after him, trying to help his progress, but Wickham shoved her away. As if by magic, Mr. Howard and two other riders appeared to follow the unhappy couple back up Pemberley’s lane toward Lambton.
No one in the study moved until they heard the main door slam shut, and then Georgiana felt her legs buckle under her as both Elizabeth and Kitty rushed to her side. “Come, Sweet-heart,” Elizabeth spoke softly as she led Georgiana to a nearby chair. “Kitty, get her a drink,” Elizabeth demanded quickly.
Georgiana smiled sheepishly, “Did you just shoot Mr. Wickham?” Her voice shook with glee.
“I believe I did.” Elizabeth joined in the ambiguous laughter. Kitty looked at them both and began to giggle also. Within a few seconds all three stood together in each other’s embrace, laughing playfully.
When Mr. Harrison returned to the study, he stood mesmerized by the scene. “I thought I might offer my assistance,” he mused, “but I see you three are quite capable of handling situations in your own special way.”
“Oh, Mr. Harrison,” Elizabeth said as she came forward, wearing a look of utter abandon, “I must admit next to my husband, I was never so pleased to see someone as I am you today. How much you were missed—words cannot explain.” She extended her hand, and he kissed it lightly as he bowed. Elizabeth took Harrison’s arm as she turned him toward the drawing room. “Come, ladies,” she called over her shoulder. “This house has been solemn too long. Mr. Ashford will be here momentarily, and I think we need the companionship of close friends.That is what makes Pemberley strong.”
Within minutes, Mr. Ashford joined the group in the drawing room. As Georgiana and Kitty filled him in with the details of why he passed an obviously agitated man and woman walking toward Lambton and followed by Pemberley staff members, Elizabeth with her eyes indicated to Harrison for him to join her by the window.
“Mr. Harrison,” Elizabeth began in hushed tones,“although I am truly happy to see you, may I ask why you came here today?”
Harrison mimicked her casual manner in case anyone watched them too carefully. “Mrs. Darcy, I received news from Hannah More regarding your husband’s disappearance. I am astute enough after the last conversation I had with Mr. Darcy to realize he traveled to Hull because of what I shared with him regarding Captain Rutherford. I came to beg your forgiveness and to offer my assistance to you in any way I may be of service.” His eyes searched Elizabeth’s face for her reaction.
“You need no forgiveness from me; you did nothing. I honestly believe God sends us no more than what we can handle. At least, that is what my dear Fitzwilliam assured me after my announcement of delivering an heir for Pemberley. If Captain Rutherford was not the problem, another issue would take Fitzwilliam away. It is part of our life’s journey.”
“You are so wise, Mrs. Darcy; it is obvious why Mr. Darcy knew he needed you in his life.” Admiration showed on Harrison’s countenance.
Elizabeth blushed with his praise and then touched his arm lightly before adding,“I am going to offer you one reprimand, Sir, if I may.”
“Of course.”
“Please do not entice my sister to join you in the woods again,” she teased.
Harrison chuckled lightly. “It was not my intention, but I will not lie and say I was not pleased to see Miss Darcy. I came to see if you would accept my help, but I held back knowing of my promise to you and your husband regarding your sister. Plus, I felt guilty about Mr. Darcy’s disappearance.”
Elizabeth smiled largely. “At least you sent her back to the house quickly.”
Harrison allowed his eyes to drift toward Georgiana. “One of the hardest things I ever did.” His lips turned up in the beginnings of a smile as he watched the woman who inspired him. Looking back at Elizabeth, he asked, “May I inquire as to why your brother caused such chaos today, or have I overstepped my bounds in doing so?”
“It is not something I readily share,” Elizabeth hesitated. “Mr.Wickham spent a lifetime trying to exact revenge on my husband. He was once a favorite of the Darcy family, but he chose to let his jealousy control his fate. My husband’s father educated the man and offered him a living. Instead, Mr. Wickham chose a more nefarious lifestyle—he took a settlement instead of the living. Then he came back to seek additional funds from my dear Fitzwilliam. Mr. Darcy refused.” At this point, Elizabeth hesitated, not sure if she should share Georgiana’s shame.
Finally, she began again. “Considering your admiration for my sister, I will tell you something of what happened, but she must trust you herself and tell you the specifics.” Mr. Harrison nodded his agreement. “Mr. Wickham once played on Georgiana’s innocence. That is why Fitzwilliam and I are careful about with whom she associates. She was not compromised, but Mr. Wickham is quite persuasive; he even once tried to entice m
e from Mr. Darcy.”
Harrison looked a bit shocked, but he said nothing. Elizabeth continued, “The fact Georgiana faced Mr. Wickham today tells me how she matures.” Harrison’s eyes returned to Georgiana’s face. “Mr. Wickham eventually compromised my youngest sister Lydia. Needless to say, I would prefer this did not become common knowledge.” He nodded again, assuring her of his secrecy. “Mr. Darcy arranged Lydia’s wedding in order to save her, my other sisters, and me. He did it because of his love for me, keeping it a secret and not wishing just my gratitude. Mr. Darcy is such an honorable man—the best man I have ever known.”
Elizabeth let images of Darcy play across her mind. “Mr. Wickham’s commission is a gift from my husband. It is a long way from here to Newcastle.” Elizabeth laughed lightly. “Mr. Wickham saddled himself with the least of my sisters—my mother’s darling girl whose head is filled with balls and military officers. I warned them before my wedding never to come here, but Mr. Wickham tried to take advantage of Mr. Darcy’s absence to insinuate himself back at Pemberley.That is why I sent him packing.”
“That is quite a story!”
“The truth is stranger than fiction,” she mused. “Yet, it could make a great novel, could it not?”
“Maybe you could suggest it to Mrs. Radcliffe.”
“I do not think it has enough drama for her taste—it would all have to take place in a darkened castle.” Elizabeth allowed herself to laugh again.
Harrison returned to his mission in coming to Pemberley. “Then I will ask again, Mrs. Darcy, how I might be of service to you.”
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