by Wendi Sotis
Before long, Mr. Bennet and Jane entered through the door to the hallway. Jane rushed to her sister, throwing her arms around her. Elizabeth choked back a moan, pleased that she was able to find the strength not to cry out from the pain caused by her sister’s embrace, hoping she was well able to keep it from her expression as well.
“Lizzy, I was so frightened. You have been missing for so long.”
“Have you snuck outside to climb some of Mr. Bingley’s trees in your ball gown, Lizzy?” Mr. Bennet said with a chuckle. “I cannot imagine what your mother will say—” He stopped speaking abruptly when he noticed the pained look on Elizabeth’s face. He put his hand on his eldest daughter’s shoulder and tugged. “Jane, step away.” He carefully scrutinized his beloved daughter. “Lizzy, your gown... your hair...”
Elizabeth closed her eyes and swallowed hard. When she looked at them again, both her father’s and sister’s eyes were full of concern.
“What happened to you, my dear?” Mr. Bennet asked in all seriousness.
“Please have a seat, Papa. I have been injured, but I am well.” Feeling she had best give Jane some kind of warning, Elizabeth turned to her sister. “I am about to tell the full story, Jane.”
Jane gasped quietly. “Oh!” She looked around at the others assembled and then nodded to Elizabeth. “I am confident that it will go well, Lizzy.”
When offered a seat, Elizabeth refused. “I can think better standing.”
After everyone else was seated, Elizabeth began, “I am afraid that most of you, except for Jane, will think I am mad when I tell you what has happened. This is exactly the reason why I have not told any of you before this—but know what I say is the truth. I must admit that, at first, even I feared for my own sanity.” She looked at Jane, who was wearing a confident smile, encouraging her to go on.
Elizabeth took a deep breath. “The following is confidential and must not be discussed with anyone outside this room.” After all had agreed to her condition, Elizabeth went on to say, “You all are aware of my love of nature... As some of you know, several months ago, I had been walking the extended grounds of Longbourn and came across an injured woman.” Elizabeth began pacing. “She was bleeding badly. I tended to her wounds, and when she was ready, I helped her return to her band of gypsies.”
She could see Darcy make the connection to her earlier comment.
“I met her husband, who happened to be the leader of the gypsy tribe. It says little for gentility, but they were both surprised and fascinated that a lady had deigned to offer her assistance. I tried to tell them that it was the Christian thing to do—helping another of God’s children—but they insisted that it was so unusual as to require a reward. The husband gave permission for his wife to cast upon me a gypsy blessing. She also gave me this good luck charm.” Elizabeth held up the amulet that she now wore around her neck. “She said she had saved it for me because it was mine.”
She looked at Jane and her father and said quickly, “And it was good luck after all. Had I not been wearing it tonight, I most likely would not be standing before you at this moment. I might have been killed.”
Both paled, and her father was about to say something, but Elizabeth put up her hand to stop him. “All will be revealed in time.”
“The gypsies had not been very specific about what their blessing would do, and I did not think much of their words at that time. Though I did tell my father, of course, that I had come to the aid of the gypsy woman, I did not choose to wear the necklace, knowing that if I did so, I would have to explain its being in my possession... ” Her voice trailed off, and she smiled slightly. “Let us say that my mother would not have looked upon my actions very kindly. I put the talisman away in a safe place and barely thought of the incident again... until shortly after my birthday of this year.”
She walked over to a table where a pitcher of water stood and poured herself a glass. Her hand trembled as she lifted the glass to her lips.
After Elizabeth had refreshed her voice, she continued, “That was the day I began to receive drawings by post. Due to the subject matter of the first sketch, I had thought they were from my Aunt Gardiner.”
Elizabeth could see that Darcy had connected another piece of their shared history—the letters.
Mr. Bennet said, “I remember—you wondered about Madeline’s sudden ability to draw and that the handwriting was not hers.”
Elizabeth nodded. “But what you do not know, Papa, is that all the incidents portrayed in the drawings later came to pass just as they were pictured.”
Elizabeth could not find the courage to go on while faced with her father’s and the Darcys’ shocked expressions, so she turned to look at the fire, instead. “It was about that time that I began to question my own sanity. My aunt became concerned after receiving a particularly hysterical letter from me, begging that she stop sending the drawings. She wrote of her worries to Jane, who spoke to me about it.” She turned to Jane and continued, “I showed Jane the drawings... and before long she, too, saw that they predicted future events.”
“Yes,” Jane interjected, smiling at her sister. “It is the most amazing thing I have ever experienced.”
“My mind was eased a great deal by her confirmation,” Elizabeth continued. “We came to the conclusion that the gypsy must have been making the drawings and mailing them, but that was proven wrong in a way. I had received a drawing of Jane and myself at Ramsgate even before we had received an invitation to go there... my Aunt Gardiner felt that the sea air might do me good.”
Mr. Bennet broke in. “Edward wrote to me of their concern for you but said nothing specific.”
“It is interesting to note here that the gown I was wearing in the drawing was purposely left at home. The next time I looked at the drawing—after we arrived at Ramsgate—the picture had changed. I was then wearing a gown that I had taken with me.”
Georgiana gasped.
“I still do not fully understand how these drawings work. We have looked at them time and time again, and no other has changed.” Elizabeth shook her head. “Whilst at Ramsgate, one sketch I received pictured...” she glanced at her father and realized she should not go into detail about Georgiana’s near miss concerning Mr. Wickham lest her father assume the worst about the young lady. Elizabeth continued, “One drawing depicted someone we had met at Ramsgate eloping with a man whom we learned was not to be trusted. It was one among several other drawings equally disturbing. That is when Jane and I discovered that we could use the drawings to prevent something from happening.”
“Miss Elizabeth, are you saying that you received drawings predicting tonight’s events?” Darcy asked hesitantly.
Elizabeth nodded. “They were actually very detailed. Some among them predicted what would happen if tonight’s events were not averted.” Elizabeth visibly shuddered. “I had only just received the latest group of drawings today and had not the opportunity to show them to Jane.
“I thought Miss Darcy was to remain at the ball until after supper, so I was not keeping track of her movements as closely as I should have.” The next was spoken directly to Georgiana. “I had planned on following you upstairs when you retired... I would have stayed with you, thinking that Mrs. Younge would never have led Wickham into your chamber whilst you slept if I were with you.” She took another sip of water to recover her resolve. “When I realized you were already above stairs, I could not waste any time to explain to Jane what I knew.” Elizabeth turned to Darcy. “I looked for you, sir, but could not find you. By the time I arrived, instead of being able to prevent the entire event from happening, I had to contend with what had already begun.”
This time, Darcy shuddered. “It had been that close?”
Elizabeth nodded. “Georgiana was sleeping and did not even know we were in the room. When I ordered Wickham to leave, he attacked me. We struggled for what seemed like an eternity. When Wickham tried to stab me—”
“Stab you!” Mr. Bennet jumped up from his seat.
“The knife hit the pendant, not Elizabeth!” Georgiana exclaimed.
“Yes. The gypsy’s necklace was good luck, after all,” Elizabeth stated.
Silence came over the group for several minutes before Darcy said, “Others would not have acted as you did, no matter what the drawings depicted.”
“Then you believe me?” Elizabeth held her breath.
“It is a fantastic story... I am not certain what to believe.” Darcy was thoughtful for a few moments, and then asked, “You say the other drawings have not changed... does that apply even if the event was prevented?”
“Correct—at least they have not thus far.”
“May we see them?” Mr. Bennet asked.
“Yes, but they are at home, locked in a drawer.” As Elizabeth reached for the glass of water once more, the silk shawl she was wearing slipped to the floor, revealing her badly bruised arms.
Georgiana and Jane gasped. Darcy shot out of his chair. “Wickham did this to you?”
“Oh!” She quickly retrieved the shawl and covered her arms again.
Mr. Bennet walked towards her and took her hand, gently lifting her arm. Taking the edge of the shawl between his fingers, he looked at her for permission to remove it. When she nodded, he did. His face became so pale that Elizabeth thought that he would become ill.
“I told you... there was a struggle...”
Mr. Bennet swallowed hard. “I had not imagined it was as violent as this.”
“Then I assume bruises have not yet appeared on my face?”
Her father looked into her eyes for several seconds before sadly shaking his head.
“You were very brave,” Georgiana declared. “I am ashamed to say that I was rendered immobile from fright—but you... you fought him.”
“Georgiana, if it meant giving my last breath, I would not have allowed him to harm you... but if Mr. Darcy had not come in when he did...”
“Mr. Darcy?” Mr. Bennet turned to look at the gentleman.
“The knife was delayed by the charm, but Wickham was in a state of madness—he would have killed me. Mr. Darcy saved my life.”
Mr. Bennet held out his hand to Darcy. “We will always be grateful to you, Mr. Darcy.”
Darcy shook the older man’s hand and gestured towards Elizabeth. “And I will be forever grateful for what Miss Elizabeth has done for my sister.”
Mr. Bennet was quiet for a minute before saying, “And Wickham?”
“I would wish to speak to you alone concerning what we shall do with him and Mrs. Younge.”
“I, for one, would like to be privy to that conversation,” Elizabeth stated firmly.
Georgiana straightened in her chair. “As would I.”
Darcy and Mr. Bennet exchanged glances.
“We were their victims, sirs,” Elizabeth added, “I think we should have some say in their punishment.”
Mr. Bennet looked at Jane, who nodded. He answered, “I do not mind discussing it in the present company.”
After taking a moment to collect himself, Darcy nodded his agreement.
Mr. Bennet said, “Now that is settled, shall we call the constable?”
Elizabeth spoke first, “Papa, you must understand that if we call the constable, we make this public. Even though Georgiana had no choice in the matter, her reputation may be ruined—”
“But Lizzy,” Georgiana interrupted, “he tried to kill you!”
Elizabeth knelt next to Georgiana’s chair and took her hand. “Georgie, I interfered with their plans so that you would not be ruined by their actions and so that you could live to the fullest the happy life that you deserve. If this is made public, they will have partially succeeded in their goal.” Elizabeth could see her choice of words would not convince her friend. “If not for your own sake, perhaps you will choose to avoid this course for mine. If this news spread, everyone might call me brave at first, but that would not last long.”
“Wickham should be punished for what he has done and so should Mrs. Younge,” Georgiana insisted.
“I have every confidence that we will find a way for them to be punished, Georgiana, but with society’s present strictures, it cannot be that way.” Elizabeth looked at her father with a questioning expression.
“You are correct, Lizzy; I had not thought of what the result would be if we called in law officials, although I should have taken that into consideration. As magistrate, I have seen that women are not treated as fairly as they should be—as I am certain Mr. Darcy has witnessed himself.” Mr. Bennet’s glance travelled from Georgiana, to Darcy, and then returned to Elizabeth. “I also agree that they should not get away with this unscathed.”
Darcy spoke next, “I, too, have had some of the same concerns that Miss Elizabeth has expressed.” He hesitated, and then met Mr. Bennet’s gaze. “I have bought up quite a number of Wickham’s debts through the years—enough to send him to debtors’ prison without charging him with what has occurred this evening. But Wickham has already threatened to spread stories. Although I told him nobody would believe him, after thinking it over more carefully, I am not as certain of this as I once was. What do you think of sending Wickham and Younge to Australia?”
Mr. Bennet sighed deeply and looked at Elizabeth, who nodded her approval.
Darcy asked, “Georgiana?” His sister agreed, as well.
Mr. Bennet said, “It is too good for them, but I will agree to it. How do we manage to send them there?”
“I will leave here with them in the morning, taking several men with me as guards. Once I am in London, I can arrange passage. I would like to take Marie with us as well, so there is no chance for an accusation of impropriety from Mrs. Younge. Be assured that I will not leave Wickham’s side until the ship sails. For now, Wickham is being held in my bedchamber. It can be arranged for you to see him, Mr. Bennet, if you wish.”
Mr. Bennet sighed. “I will think on it and let you know before I return home.”
Darcy nodded. “There is one other thing that I would ask, if you would permit it, Mr. Bennet; Miss Elizabeth, I would like to see the drawings before I go.”
Elizabeth blushed. “There are some that are private... I cannot agree to share them all, but I will show most of them to you.”
Mr. Bennet replied, “You certainly cannot come with us to the house tonight. I am, however, quite sure most members of my family will sleep in tomorrow morning. You may come to Longbourn after dawn; Lizzy and I will show them to you then.”
“May I see them, as well?” Georgiana asked.
Jane caught Elizabeth’s eye and shook her head slightly. Elizabeth answered, “I think it is best that your brother should see them first and make the decision as to which would be appropriate for you to view.”
“Brother, where am I to be whilst you are away? Will I stay here at Netherfield without Marie?” Georgiana asked.
Darcy looked at Elizabeth with a question in his eyes. She turned to her father and raised one eyebrow.
Mr. Bennet chuckled. “With Mr. Darcy’s permission, you may stay at Longbourn, if you would prefer, Miss Darcy.”
After Darcy nodded, Georgiana exclaimed, “Oh, yes, I would!”
“Returning to the subject of keeping this incident private,” Mr. Bennet said, “this will not be the case if Mrs. Bennet is told what has occurred. What shall we tell your mother, Lizzy, Jane?”
“Perhaps we can simply say that Lizzy had a mishap in Miss Darcy’s chamber?” Jane offered. “It is the truth, only lacking in detail.”
“For tonight, at least, I will wear my gloves and, if it is all right with Georgiana, the shawl will remain wrapped around my arms. Mama will be too distracted by the ball to think anything other than I have been clumsy. Most of my everyday gowns have long sleeves. If my face does bruise, it will be more complicated. Mama will not be happy that I will not be available to visitors for a while, but it is not to be helped.”
“It will be sufficient.” Mr. Bennet answered. “I am certain that for qui
te some days your mother will be too occupied discussing gowns and dance partners with the ladies of the neighbourhood to think of anything else.”
“Will you be comfortable alone in your bedchamber tonight, Georgiana?” Jane asked. “Mr. Bingley mentioned that his sisters had invited so many guests from London that there are no empty guest quarters. You would not be able to move to another room.”
At first, she seemed nervous, but then she looked at Elizabeth. Her courage and determination rose. She nodded. “I will lock the doors.”
“Mrs. Younge, Marie, and a Darcy footman will spend the night in the sitting room. I have already posted Roger, who is trusted by the Bennets, outside these doors. Hughes and one of our own footmen will keep watch over Wickham,” Darcy said to his sister. “I will sleep on the couch in your room tonight.”
Georgiana seemed relieved.
Elizabeth said, “Papa, I do not wish to spoil the evening for everyone else, but I cannot appear at the ball like this.”
“I will escort you home and return for your mother and sisters,” her father replied.
“May I come along and stay with Lizzy, Papa?” Jane asked.
“No, Jane,” Elizabeth said. “You must keep up appearances. We cannot have half the family leave the ball at once! Mama would surely make a scene should you attempt to leave. Truly, Jane, it is most likely that I will go directly to bed once I am home, but I would not rest knowing that you had shortened your evening on my account.” Jane made to protest, but Elizabeth asked again, “Please, return to the ball... for my sake? I would never forgive myself if you did not. I promise that I am well.”
Although she looked uncomfortable with the decision, Jane agreed. “Mr. Bingley helped me search for Elizabeth... I must tell him something.”
“Leave Bingley to me.” Darcy met Mr. Bennet’s gaze before saying, “I trust him completely.”
Mr. Bennet said, “I will accompany you as you return to the ball, Jane. After calling for our carriage, I will return here in several minutes with Lizzy’s wrap.” He turned to Darcy. “May I speak with you upon my return?”
“Yes, by all means, sir. I believe we can meet in Bingley’s study. It is off limits to guests for the ball.”
