“No doubt you believe every woman should be overjoyed at the prospect of motherhood, but I am not! And I am sure to feel Wickham’s displeasure too when I tell him.”
“Oh, my dear, I trust you are wrong there. The prospect of becoming a father is a very powerful thing; it can change a man.”
“Stop it, Lizzy!” Lydia said, pulling her hand away. “Stop trying to make out that there is a bright side to this disaster. Do you not understand me? I do not want it, the baby or any of the bother that comes with it. Could I but get the money, I would see someone and have done. I have heard there is a certain woman in Birmingham who will take care of such ‘female complaints’ for a price.”
Elizabeth gasped. “God in heaven! You cannot mean that, Lydia. Allow yourself time to adjust, to get used to the idea. In a few months, I am sure you will judge differently.”
“Then you will not help me?”
“How do you mean?”
“Fifty guineas would be nothing to you.”
“Did you actually come here hoping that I would give you the means to get rid of your child? I could never do that! May God forgive you for even contemplating such a thing.”
“Then I am truly lost,” Lydia sighed. “You were my only hope. If you will not help me, I may as well go home, tell Wickham, and brace for the worst.” She stood to depart.
“Lydia, wait. You must not leave in such a state. While I cannot do as you ask, I promise I will help you any other way possible. You may think what lies ahead is a disaster, but it need not be so. And you need not go through it alone. Please, do try to be a little more optimistic, dear.”
What Elizabeth said made not the slightest bit of difference. Mrs. Wickham went away muttering more words of doom, and leaving her sister sadly shaken.
As her senior by more than five years, Elizabeth had always felt a maternal responsibility toward Lydia, especially since their parents had been so lax with her. When she was young, Lydia allowed herself sometimes to be guided by her two eldest sisters. But, with her headstrong temperament, she had soon slipped beyond their influence. Motherhood might provide her a compelling reason to amend her ways, Elizabeth reasoned, but Lydia seemed determined to avoid the office at any cost.
When Darcy returned to the house, Elizabeth shared with him the substance of her conversation with Lydia and her uneasiness on her sister’s account. “I would hardly have thought that any woman, let alone my own sister, could be so heartless. She truly seemed to feel nothing at all for the child she is carrying. All she can think of is how best to escape this ‘disaster’.”
Darcy frowned, drawing in his brow. “Do you think she would go so far as to do herself or the child an injury?”
“Yesterday, I could not have imagined it. Yet after seeing the coldness in her eyes today, I am persuaded that anything is possible.”
Chapter 35
Georgiana’s Return
The following day, Lydia’s worrisome situation stepped aside in favor of the happier prospect of Miss Darcy’s homecoming. The morning hours crept by despite all efforts to hurry them along with active employment. Mr. Darcy set about ordering his business affairs so as to be free of that obligation when his sister arrived. Elizabeth did the same. She consulted with Mrs. Reynolds about a problem with one of the chambermaids, and performed her weekly review of the household accounts. Husband and wife then joined forces to dispatch another three quarters of an hour taking the air in a tour of the gardens to the side of the house.
As the time approached that their friends’ arrival could reasonably be looked for, Elizabeth found herself consulting the clock in the hall with increasing frequency. By two in the afternoon, the carriage was every minute expected. By four, it still had not come. With the continuing hope that the travelers might soon arrive, dinner was put off first one hour, then another, before ultimately having to be served without them. Elizabeth sent the heaping platters, planned as a celebratory banquet, back to the kitchen barely touched.
Afterward, she and her husband adjourned to the drawing room at the front of the house with the mutual, though unspoken, desire to keep watch over the gravel sweep approaching the house. Their appetite for conversation proved as meager as for feasting whilst they deferred discussion of the only subject that occupied them both: the welfare of the travelers. Neither could settle to any occupation as they waited. Two more hours came and went. Finally, Elizabeth could suppress her uneasiness no longer. She laid aside her neglected needlework and crossed to the window once more.
“I pray they have not met with some sort of accident … or fallen into the hands of highwaymen,” she said, staring out into the gathering gloom. “These things do happen; one hears such dreadful stories.”
“Now, Lizzy, you mustn’t give way to such exaggerated fears,” said Darcy, coming to her side. “We have no reason to believe anything of the kind has befallen them.”
“I know, I know. I just wish we could be certain that they are safe.”
“Most likely there is some difficulty with the carriage, or one of the horses has come up lame. In either case, they could easily be delayed long enough to prevent their reaching Pemberley before nightfall. There is no moon tonight. So, rather than risk forging ahead after dark, I would wager they have done the sensible thing – put up at the nearest inn. They will set off again at first light and arrive by noon tomorrow, safe and sound. You shall see.”
With this reasonable explanation in mind and the knowledge that nothing more could be done or expected until daylight, they retired to bed. Elizabeth did not rest easy, however, despite Darcy’s apparent security that all would be well. For a long while she lay awake beside her slumbering husband, thinking of their absent friends and praying for their safe return. More than once she fancied that she heard carriage wheels in the distance, only to be disappointed when it came to naught. Even when sleep finally overtook her, she found no peace; her dreams were not friendly callers that night. The longer and more deeply she slept, the more menacing they became, culminating in an encore performance of the ghastly nightmare that had so thoroughly terrorized her before.
This second visitation burst on Elizabeth with the same force and intensity as the first. Horrific images assaulted her mind without mercy – a carriage turned upside down, horses flailing wildly, a woman in violent distress. The chaotic jumble passed inexorably before her eyes with the accompanying cacophony of shrieking animals, splintering timbers, and cries of mortal pain.
Elizabeth fought to free herself from the suffocating hold of sleep, clawing her way back to consciousness with a strangled scream. She bolted upright, her heart pounding and her nightdress drenched in a cold sweat. There was no question of whether or not to wake her husband; her struggle had already roused him.
“It was the same awful nightmare as before!” Elizabeth wailed in response to Darcy’s anxious inquiries.
“The tangle of horses and carriages and such?”
“Yes, but now I know what it signifies. Oh, Darcy, I am convinced it is a vision of Georgiana’s carriage. They have surely met with some terrible accident or violence. We must do something!”
“Try to calm yourself, Lizzy, and let me think,” Darcy said, holding her.
Elizabeth had little success in doing as he asked. She clung to him and buried her face against his chest, gleaning from the strength of his embrace what solace she could.
After a pensive pause, Darcy began gently, “Now, my dear, when you came to bed last night, I know you were quite anxious for Georgiana’s safety. That in itself could have brought on this dream. I think it most likely a product your uneasy mind, rather than a true premonition.”
Elizabeth started to protest, but he went on.
“However, this is what I propose. First, let us remain calm. Giving way to an irrational state of panic will benefit no one. After we dress and awaken some of the servants, I shall give orders to have a chaise and four prepared, as well as saddle horses, for a search party. It is just now dawn. If
there is no sign of Georgiana’s carriage by nine o’clock, I shall lead the search myself. We know what roads they would have taken, so I can simply backtrack until I find them. I anticipate discovering them perfectly safe after all, yet I would rather err on the side of caution.”
The plan was both sensible and well considered, but Elizabeth trusted neither logic nor reason at that moment. She could not shake the conviction, however irrational it seemed, that her dream had its basis in truth, and that their friends were out there somewhere in trouble. Thus, as she suffered over every passing minute, the hour set for the departure of the search party was painfully slow in coming.
Mr. Darcy and a few other men were to lead the way on horseback. Mr. Adams would follow with the coach, which could then be employed to transport anyone needing assistance once they had been found. Everything was ready, and the group was about to set forth, when one of the men drew the attention of the others to what was unmistakably the dust of an approaching carriage.
From her vantage point at the window, Elizabeth followed the direction of their gaze and saw it too. Her heart swelled with joy and relief. Her fears had been unfounded after all, and she was never so happy to be wrong about anything in her life.
All eyes were fixed on the carriage as it steadily grew larger on the horizon. They could soon make out that it was the same style as the one in which they had been expecting Georgiana and her companions to arrive, giving further confirmation of their hopes. Yet, when it finally drew abreast to the front of the house, it was discovered to have only one occupant: Colonel Fitzwilliam.
Elizabeth rushed to the door to meet the colonel just as he and Darcy converged at the top of the steps.
“Where is Georgiana?” Darcy demanded.
The poor colonel appeared totally mystified and somewhat offended to have been greeted so ungraciously. “In London, where I left her, I should imagine.”
“You were not traveling together as planned, then?” Darcy continued.
“No. I came alone on this trip. But have no fear. I will return to London shortly and escort her home as I promised to do. Why do you look so grim, Darcy? What on earth is the matter?”
“Come inside, both of you, and let us sort this out,” Elizabeth urged. “There has been some misunderstanding, Fitzwilliam. We had an express from Georgiana on Thursday telling us that she was leaving London immediately – with you and Mrs. Collins we presumed – and that we were to expect her on Friday. She still has not arrived, so you can appreciate our concern.”
“I was about to set out in search of her,” said Darcy.
“I do not at all comprehend this,” said the colonel. “When I left Georgiana in London, I told her that I must be gone for a few days on urgent business that could not be delayed. She and Mrs. Collins were to use the time to pack, take leave of their friends, and close up the house. Then, when I returned, we would set off for Pemberley just as soon as they liked. That was the plan. It was all agreed.”
“Stay a minute, Fitzwilliam. If your absence from London was necessitated by urgent business, what are you doing here?” Darcy asked.
“A visit to you, old friend, was part of my urgent business, but there is no time to go into that now. From what you tell me, Georgiana must have changed her mind for some reason and decided not to wait. When did you say that you expected them?”
“They should have arrived by yesterday afternoon, barring complications,” said Elizabeth.
“And you fear some kind of accident?”
“Anything is possible,” said Darcy. “Elizabeth had a very compelling premonition that the carriage met with serious trouble, and I am persuaded that we should go and look for them. My apprehension is magnified now that I know the ladies are traveling without your protection, Fitzwilliam.”
“I cannot imagine why Georgiana would take it into her head to leave so abruptly,” said the colonel. “You entrusted her to my care, Darcy, and I would not have left her for the world if I had any idea she would set off without me. But, surely it is only some problem with the carriage or horses that delays them. There is no reason to suspect anything more serious, is there?”
“Good God!” Darcy exclaimed.
“What is it?” asked Elizabeth, growing more alarmed herself at his stricken look.
“Wickham!” Darcy spat out the name as if it were poison. “I have just remembered his implied threat about harming my family. We have to consider that he could be involved in this somehow.”
“Come now, Darcy, surely not,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam. “I know not what threats he may have made, but even if his design was to lay in wait somewhere for Georgiana’s carriage, he could hardly carry out such a plot without prior knowledge of when it would pass by. I trust he could not have had that kind of information at his disposal.”
“You are quite right, Fitzwilliam, thank heaven. There is no way he could have known her travel plans,” said Darcy with relief. “Perhaps I am letting my imagination, and my contempt for that man, overrule my reason.”
Elizabeth felt ill. She groaned as fear tightened its grip on her heart.
“What is the matter, Elizabeth?” asked Darcy with renewed concern.
“I am so sorry.”
“Whatever for?”
“Wickham! He may very well have known exactly when to expect Georgiana’s carriage, and it is entirely my fault! God forgive me, but when Lydia was here on Thursday, I mentioned that we were expecting your sister’s return the next day. I did not think…”
“Oh, Lizzy… But you mustn’t blame yourself,” said Darcy. “It was a perfectly innocent remark. You could not possibly have foreseen the danger. Now, however, I think we really must go straight away.”
“Yes, do, do,” she urged. “There is not a minute to lose. Go, and may God be with you!”
“Fitzwilliam, are you coming?” asked Darcy.
“Absolutely!”
Darcy pressed Elizabeth’s hand for a moment and kissed her forehead. “Try not to worry. We will find them,” he said. And then they were off.
Elizabeth watched from the front porch as the procession set off down the drive. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam cantered away in the lead with the other riders and the carriage following in their wake. As she always did when her husband went away, regardless of the reason or for what duration, she blew him a kiss as he disappeared from view, and offered a prayer for his safe return. In this case, she added the rest of the party and the mission’s success to her fervent supplication.
Chapter 36
A Summons
Under normal circumstances, Elizabeth was more than satisfied with her situation in life. However, at times like this, she lamented the limitations placed upon her solely by virtue of her sex. She longed to be doing something more active in the current crisis. Had she been a man, she would have mounted a fast horse and instantly set off with the rest of them. Instead, as a woman heavy with child, she was consigned once again to the tedious task of waiting – waiting for men to do what needed to be done, and waiting for them to bring her information.
The departure of the expedition left the great house nearly bereft of men. Most of the male servants had gone, and even Fitzwilliam’s coachman could not resist the call to adventure. The group, having thus swelled to the size of a small army, exhibited all the nervous excitement of a hunt party at the meet. Those who were not so emotionally connected with the missing women had seemed in very high spirits indeed at the prospect of the chase.
The elderly butler remained at his post, however. About ten o’clock he brought the mistress of the house word that there was a man, whom he most pointedly did not call a gentleman, wanting to speak to her.
“Who is it, Henderson?” Elizabeth asked.
“He did not give his name, Madam, and since I am not familiar with him, I left him waiting in the hall. Shall I turn him out?”
“No. I will see him.”
“Very good, Madam.”
It was not uncommon for strangers of hi
gh or low rank to appear at the door uninvited, with some sort of request or petition. Henderson did his best to sort them out but, since he had been instructed not to turn people away without cause, it often fell to his master or mistress to decide the case. As Elizabeth currently had no other occupation, she followed the butler back to the front hall to investigate. There she found Mr. Wickham in a state of obvious agitation, pacing and wringing his hands.
Elizabeth could not have been more surprised to see anyone. Her mind raced to reorganize her thoughts. Until that moment, she had imagined Wickham miles away in the midst of some nefarious activity when, apparently, he had been here at Pemberley all along. Although she was far from pleased to see him, if it meant that Georgiana and Charlotte were in less dire straits than she had supposed, the sight of him was not totally objectionable.
“Mr. Wickham! You should not be here,” she stated with cool authority.
“I’m sorry to disturb you, Mrs. Darcy, truly I am. I would hardly have come were it not an emergency,” he said hurriedly. “I had nowhere else to turn.”
“What is the matter? Is it Lydia?”
“Yes, I’m afraid so. There has been an accident.”
“An accident! Is she all right?”
“She fell down a flight of stairs. Now she is bleeding and fears she will lose the baby. I have never seen her like this before; she is quite frantic and calling for you, Elizabeth. Will you come? I know I have no right to ask anything for myself, but please come on Lydia’s account, I beg you.”
Wickham seemed so miserably contrite that Elizabeth softened. She was ashamed for having so recently thought the worst of him. Humbling himself like this for Lydia’s sake proved there was some redeemable aspect to his character after all.
The Darcys of Pemberley Page 24
