by Wells, Linda
“Hmm?” His hand dipped down and she felt a cold breeze blowing on the back of her legs.
“Fitzwilliam!”
Letting go of her skirt, his palm rubbed purposely upwards and finished with a pinch. She jumped and stared at him. “Are we not amused, Mrs. Darcy?”
“We are not, Mr. Darcy.” She glared.
“What a shame, I most certainly am.” Lovingly, he caressed over her bottom. “mmmm, so tasty.” Darcy winked and taking her hand in his, he squeezed just as the man arrived.
“Good day, sir. Are you Mr. Darcy?”
“I am. You must be Mr. Ferguson?” Seeing him nod, he turned to Elizabeth as he dismounted. “Dearest, this is Sommerwald’s steward, Mr. Andrew Ferguson. Sir, this is my wife, Elizabeth Darcy.”
“Mrs. Darcy, congratulations on your wedding.” He turned back to his master, “It is a pleasure to meet you in the flesh, sir. We have exchanged so many letters, I was sure that I could imagine your every feature, and naturally, I was entirely wrong.” He laughed.
“Who did you expect to see?” Elizabeth smiled at the good-natured man with bright red hair.
“Ahh, now that I think of it, I was picturing my grandfather. A stern, but fair man.”
“I think that describes you well, Mr. Darcy.”
“Unsympathetic?” The furrow appeared between his brows.
“Determined.” She smiled and looked back to the steward. “I suppose that you have much to discuss with my husband, now that you do have him here.”
“I intend to take advantage, I admit, madam. I was going to suggest a ride together in the morning, Mr. Darcy? The boys will be driving the sheep through the river to prepare for the shearing.” He looked at him expectantly.
Darcy saw Elizabeth’s nodding head out of the corner of his eye and inwardly smiled. “I think that is an excellent idea, just plan to take it slowly, I am recovering from a bruised rib.”
“Ahh, nasty, that. I was kicked in the chest once by a mule.” He shuddered. “Well it is not Pemberley, sir, so we should not be out that long.”
Elizabeth looked around her at the numerous stone walls and seemingly empty horizon. “How big is Sommerwald? I confess that when my husband told me we were going to a lodge, I expected a snug cabin in the middle of a forest, not a stone house in the centre of a field. It is the size of Longbourn!”
“It sits in the centre of two hundred acres, love.” Both men laughed when she stared. “It has to be self-sustaining; otherwise I could not afford to keep it, despite the rents.”
“Ah that is something else we have to discuss, sir.” Ferguson said significantly. “But it will keep for tomorrow. I’ll let you get on with your walk.” He went to the horse and climbed back on. “Good evening to you both.” He touched his hat and galloped away.
Elizabeth and Darcy watched him, their hands naturally finding their way together again. “Two hundred acres, this is not a lodge, Will.”
He brushed his fingers along her cheek. “Perhaps one of our sons may live here one day.” Their eyes met and drawing her back into his arms, they looked over their land. “We will see.”
“SO YOU ARE TRAVELLING to Matlock to make a decision?” Judge Darcy settled back in his chair and regarded Richard carefully. “You seem to be at a great crossroads in your life.”
“That I am.” He said quietly. “I am not afraid of responsibility or difficulty. I have certainly had my fair share of both over the past few years. It is odd, being in this position. I was raised with no expectation of being the heir, and … here I am with my very much alive elder brother practically demanding that I take his place!” The distaste in his expression was absolutely clear.
“Does your hope for his recovery cloud the reality of his situation?”
“I am certain that it does.” Richard breathed out heavily. “I was glad to leave the family home and enter the army. I could not wait to go. I watched my brother drifting along ahead of me; he had no responsibility other than to stay alive.”
“And that was something he seemed to threaten on a daily basis by his lack of purpose.”
“Exactly!” Richard stood and paced around the small library.
“It infuriated you?” Judge Darcy asked when Richard shrugged. “Did you ever think that you could do better?”
“Naturally.” He stopped and played with a marble statue of a horse. “It is good that I had to go and earn my way.”
“Because you thought you might very easily have followed his path?”
Their eyes met and Richard nodded shortly. “I think that is what kept me away from Matlock and my family for so long, I was determined to prove myself …” His head shook again. “… to myself.”
“We share many of the same qualities. You have the confidence that you would never have gained had you been born to the position. That will serve you well when you eventually become the earl.”
“Or I could remain in the army and continue to pursue the career I have worked so hard to build, and be satisfied with that.”
“That point is moot considering your brother’s situation. I think that the decision was made years ago for you, when he breathed in his first dose and has ever since chased that elusive euphoria again.”
“I tried it once … but I do not remember what I did well enough to have wanted to chase the feeling again. Actually, I thought it was a waste to not remember.” The judge nodded understandingly and Richard paused, “Say he recovers and I have given up my career believing that he will not.”
“He will not recover, Colonel. I have not the decade of abuse that he has experienced under my belt, and thank God I am not physically diseased as he is, but I do understand the toll that his body is suffering, let alone his mind. That is my personal area of expertise.” Closing his eyes he let out a long breath. “It is moving how you obviously love him, despite the unforgivable havoc he has wreaked upon your family, and the burden you will be forced to shoulder to repair what has been left in his wake. You are not dissimilar to Fitzwilliam, you know. He was born to his position, but he has faced terrible and momentous decisions as a result of the havoc others have inflicted upon him.” Rising from his chair, he went to stand before the Pemberley landscape.
Richard had been searching for an opening, and it seemed that it had at last presented itself. “He would do anything to help his sister who failed so terribly.”
“She did not fail …” His eyes expressed the depth of the pain he was feeling and Richard followed his gaze.
“Is that where Darcy went over?
“Yes.” The judge said quietly. “I visit daily. I was just on my way out when you arrived. Susan becomes quite worried about my vigil and often sends Samuel after me.” He looked at Richard and saw an expression of doubt on his face similar to the one that his wife wore. “She need not worry, and neither should you.”
Richard inclined his head. “It is the best view of the estate. I remember hearing you speak of it quite fondly on numerous occasions.”
“Yes, I imagine that you have, it seems to have been an obsession of mine. No more.” Seeing Richard’s cocked brow he laughed hollowly, “I spoke so passionately of it that my own son was hesitant to admit his own fondness for his ancestral home. Do you know that he wanted more than anything to somehow set down roots in a town close enough to Pemberley so that his children would know where they were from? Because he loves it so much? Darcy knew, I never did.”
“But it remains a testament to your own efforts to teach him to love his home. My father did not take that time with me; perhaps because he tried with my brother. Bertie did not care a whit about it.”
“The depression will lift eventually.”
“Has it for you?” Richard asked quietly. “I do not see the desire for death in your eyes that I read in my brother’s, but I do read something.”
“Perhaps when Georgiana comes home it will improve.” He glanced at Richard. “I have vowed to myself to spend the remainder of my days dedicated to my family, I … whatever they as
k of me … I will gladly do. Fitzwilliam is stubbornly refusing all offers of relief and help, which being of a similar nature I understand, however his wife and mine know far better. They have determined that Susan and I will arrive, officially invited or not, in May, and will remain for the birth.”
“And so you have learned that a single man should not control the destiny of his family.” Richard’s voice remained quiet but there was a different tone to it. “My brother’s behaviour was unchecked and now the result of it is taking over all of our lives as we attempt to repair the damage he inflicted.”
“And do you compare my nephew to your brother?” Judge Darcy’s brow creased.
“Not at all, but I do see Darcy’s determination to take on all burdens alone as foolhardy, because it leaves him vulnerable to manipulation or outright attack. He has been this way since his father died, proving himself just as you and I did.” The judge drew in a breath and nodded in agreement. Richard took a turn around the room and stopped. “His recent decision not to give in to Wickham’s demands absolutely amazed me, it was so unlike him. I believe that his decision was directly related to his sober assessment of the man, and that comes from the strength of his marriage to Elizabeth. She challenges him to see clearly.”
The two men stood looking at each other for several moments, and turning, the judge walked across the room to resume his seat behind his desk. “What are you about, Colonel Fitzwilliam? I have many years of experience watching people colour the truth for one reason or another. While I have no doubt whatsoever that you are carrying a terrible burden of your own, and you might very well hope to seek my counsel as an older male and younger son, you have never approached me for advice before. I think that you are nosing about for something else. The day is young and the sun is shining. My nephew is not home and Matlock is but another thirty miles away … why detour here?”
“I can see why you were such a success on the bench.” Richard looked to make sure that the door was closed. He had no firm idea of what he wanted to say, in truth he felt very angry with himself for even entertaining the thoughts that he had. “Sir … I …” He closed his eyes and bit his lip.
“Just say what is on your mind, Son.”
“I found Wickham.” The judge sat up. “He escaped before I could interview him, but I overheard a few things while he was railing against Darcy that disturbed me.” Richard ran his hand through his hair. “I cannot believe I am about to say this and I will understand if you demand that I leave immediately …” He looked up and met the piercing eyes. “Sir … did you have anything to do with Georgiana’s ruin?”
Judge Darcy was silent for several long seconds and rose to go stand by the window and stare out at the garden. “This is not your business.”
“You just answered my question.”
“I realize that.” He looked down at his feet. “I had tried to speak to my wife, and then to my nephew, and have determined that it would be best to remain silent. Far too many people would be hurt.”
“How many are hurt now?” Richard asked. “I am not interested in the details. I could care less of reasoning or delusions. I know a great deal about your character and past. I even found a diary of your mother’s stuffed into the leather chair in the library when I rested there this morning and considered how to approach you.” Judge Darcy turned to face him. “All I want, and frankly expect, is the truth.”
“I paid Wickham to approach Georgiana.”
“Good God.” Richard stared. “Approach her to do what, exactly? I cannot for a second believe that what occurred is what you planned!”
“No, no of course not. I asked him to court her, and on a prescribed date I would come to visit and find them engaged in a kiss.”
“Why?” Richard demanded.
“So that I could rescue her from being ruined and … ultimately I hoped that she would marry Samuel.”
Richard snarled, “So that he might gain a dowry he would have no chance of receiving any other way?”
“I wanted Samuel to be part of Pemberley. When my brother broke the entailment, I felt that was the second time that he had dishonoured my son. The first was when my children died and he did not allow Samuel to come to the manor and be safe from death.”
“He was protecting Darcy!”
“And I was protecting my last child.”
“Well, that explains a great deal of your demands after she was found. Good Lord, man, she was fifteen! And I thought that Mrs. Bennet was terrible for putting her girls out at that age, but at least she was doing it for reasons of survival, what is your excuse?”
“I only wanted Darcy to see that Samuel would be ideal for her, a few years from now when she was grown and he was established … Damned fool.” He twisted his hands together, “A kiss. That was all it was ever to be. I wanted Darcy to believe she was vulnerable …”
“Vulnerable is right.” Richard spat.
“I wanted her to remain at home.”
“Well she is certainly doing that now.” He snapped and striding around the room came to a stop before the fire and drew a calming breath. “So … you paid him to pay court and you were to intervene on a specific date … and that was all. Were you aware that he had just asked Darcy for the living again and was given another thousand pounds? How could you possibly approach such a man and expect him to stick to your plan?”
“Obviously if I could think of such a plan I also was arrogant enough to believe that it would not fail. And as you rightly said, you do not need to hear the details. I will not attempt to explain myself; there is no possibility of justifying my behaviour.”
“That is perfectly clear. I do not want to hear whatever you tell yourself so you may sleep at night.” He said disgustedly. “However, I am removed enough from this that I can see things a little clearer than most. I remember Georgiana before she left for Ramsgate. She was not the most pleasant girl.”
The judge spoke sharply, “I refuse to blame her in any way.”
“Well that is blind. Darcy himself remains angry with her for all that she did not do, and I have certainly expressed my disappointment.” He sighed and shook his head, “Wickham saw opportunity. She was angry with her brother and saw … whatever she saw in him. You might have put them together, but you did not cause what followed.”
“Yes. I did.”
Richard walked to the other end of the room. “A groom from Pemberley House once spotted a tall man who resembled Darcy speaking to Christmas in Cheapside.” Judge Darcy’s face paled and Richard used every ounce of his strength not to draw his blade. “Wickham in his ranting made two comments that struck me to the bone and frankly, are the reasons I am here. Shall I repeat them or shall you simply tell me?”
“You said that you do not want excuses or details. I am afraid that this confession is full of one and sadly lacking in the other.”
“So you were behind Christmas being in Darcy House.”
“Yes, I hired him to search for Wickham and to listen in on the servants to see if there was any speculation about Georgiana’s whereabouts.”
“While deceitful, I do not see anything criminal in that act.” Richard folded his arms to keep his hands busy. “Spill it judge, I have no desire to dance with you.”
“He found him … not long after Fitzwilliam married Elizabeth. I … I was quite out of control, I hardly know what I was doing, I just remember … No I do not remember. I kept Wickham in a prison of sorts. I wanted to kill him. I … I was furious, by then we knew that Georgiana was pregnant and I was extremely unhappy that Fitzwilliam married Elizabeth. I was furious that he planned to pass off Wickham’s child as his own, and … the thought of his blood possibly inheriting Pemberley threw me over the edge of sanity for a time. And Carson was dosing me with the laudanum by his own precription; I was insane then withdrawing, over and over …”
“What did you do, Judge Darcy?” Richard said in a cold tight voice. “Are you the reason why Wickham and Christmas were in that cabin?”
/> “Yes.”
“Why?”
He stood straight with his hands to his sides. “I believe that I ordered them to kill Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth.”
“YOU BELIEVE!” Richard roared.
“It happened when I was so ill, I must have told them and then … I was told that I was confined to my bed for weeks. When I woke I went straight to the place where I had Wickham and they were gone … I rushed here and … well, you know what happened.” He stared down at his hands and was completely taken by surprise when Richard’s fist drove into his stomach. He collapsed to the floor and Richard stood over him with his chest heaving, attempting to regain control.
“And why was Georgiana to live?” He said through gritted teeth. “Let me guess, to have her married to Samuel, and making him the Master of Pemberley. What was to happen to Wickham’s child? It would have been legitimate then. Would you kill it, too?”
“I do not know.” Gasping, he sat up and leaned against his desk.
“You disgust me.” He paced to the opposite end of the room and stared back at him. “You were a judge, respected, admired, famous for your decisions. What sentence do you suppose would be appropriate for a bastard like you? Swing by the neck until dead? Perhaps a turn at Bedlam, you could put on a show for the tourists.”
“I will confess to Fitzwilliam.”
“No you bloody well will not!” Richard strode back across the room and knelt before him and stuck his finger in his face. “If you dare speak another word of this to anyone, ANYONE, I will kill you. The only reason you do not have my sword in your gullet right now is because I love my brother and I know what he is suffering, and I know what my family is suffering because of him. Darcy is suffering deeply, but I believe in my heart that Wickham would have harmed him again somehow, and that Georgiana was ripe for him or some other cad, even without your aid. To tell him that the one man he could count on nearly took his life … I will not allow it. I will not see this family torn apart because of your madness.”
Judge Darcy swallowed and nodded. “Very well. A confession would serve only myself.”
