A Ride with Mr. Darcy Page 11

  “Perhaps I should allow Lizzy to tell you all my faults,” Jane said, turning to her betrothed. “For I cannot possibly live up to the perfection I fear you have placed upon me!”

  “What I mean,” Bingley laughed, clearly thinking quickly to cut himself free from the trap in which he found himself. “I mean that I look forward to learning everything about you, both the good and the not-so-good.”

  “Yes,” Elizabeth said with a laugh. “Well done, Mr. Bingley. Well done indeed.”

  Mr. Bingley smiled bashfully and nodded pointedly at Darcy to get on with his business. Darcy hurried to the counter and exchanged a handful of words with the proprietor before motioning Elizabeth to the counter and presenting her with a package wrapped in brown paper and twine.

  “Congratulations, Miss Elizabeth,” the proprietor said. “I understand you are recently engaged? And you as well, Miss Bennet? Such joy in your house!”

  “Thank you, Mr. Franklin,” Elizabeth said with a blush. “Though I ask you keep it quiet for now. There are some who would never forgive me if they were to find out about our engagements from any source but ourselves.” The shopkeeper gave a knowing nod and backed away, giving Darcy and Elizabeth some privacy.

  Elizabeth looked at the package, then to Darcy, then at the package once more. Very seriously, she picked it up and gave it a shake, then set it on the counter once more.

  “After careful consideration and observation,” she said seriously. “I have determined it is not a horse.” Darcy let out a bark of a laugh. Of everything he had been expecting her to say, that, he had not anticipated.

  “No,” he agreed. “It is not a horse. But please, open it.”

  He motioned for Elizabeth to untie the package. Slowly, she worked each knot free, and carefully peeled back the paper. Inside, she revealed a book beautifully bound in green leather. She let out a small gasp of admiration. She opened it to reveal hundreds of blank pages and, closing it slowly, ran her fingers over the initials embossed in gold on the front: “EB”.

  “It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

  “I thought you deserved someplace wonderful to record your thoughts,” he said. “You have so much to say, so much to offer, that I thought you might wish to write them down from time to time.”

  “It is a habit I have not shared with very many,” Elizabeth said, glancing up at him. He was surprised to see tears in her eyes. “I did not think you knew I did such a thing.”

  “I did not,” he admitted. “I just thought it would be something you would like.”

  She laughed softly. “A well-suited match,” she said, smiling up at him. “Although, I fear you have made a mistake.”

  “A mistake?” Darcy asked, staring at the front of the book. He was so certain it was perfect.

  “Just a small one,” Elizabeth said with a smile. “For my name will not be ‘EB’ much longer. Surely you did not intend for me to fill this before our marriage?”

  Darcy breathed a long sigh. He had not dared to presume that Elizabeth would accept him, not dared to take the liberty of having it emblazoned with “ED,” but to have her point it out herself made him feel wonderful.

  “No, not ‘Elizabeth Bennet’ much longer. I must admit, I do like the ring of ‘Elizabeth Darcy,’” he smiled down at her.

  “Yes, it has a noble bearing about it,” Elizabeth agreed.

  “I shall have the book amended,” Darcy said, sliding it toward the proprietor once more. “Mr. Franklin,” he said, addressing the man. “Would it be possible to add a third initial?”

  “Indeed, it would be,” the man responded with a smile. “A ‘D’, I presume?” Elizabeth turned bright red as if in confirmation of the man’s guess.

  “Are we finished, Darcy?” Bingley asked from the door. “Is it my turn yet?”

  Darcy turned and saw Bingley tapping his foot in nervous anticipation. Darcy gave a huge mock sigh.

  “Should I warn Jane after Bingley’s impatience?” he asked Elizabeth as they turned to walk out of the shop. Elizabeth laughed.

  “Well, if you were to believe her, she is well accustomed to it, having to live with me!” Elizabeth replied, the bell tinkling as Darcy pulled the door open for her.

  They both exited the shop and turned to the right, surprised to find Jane and Bingley stopped and talking with a horribly familiar person. Darcy felt heat rise within him, and his fists clenched in unconscious anger.

  “Darcy,” the man drawled lazily. “I understand congratulations are in order. I see you have become engaged to the singularly bewitching Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”

  “Thank you,” Darcy said through gritted teeth. “Wickham.”

  The man laughed again, clearly enjoying the impact he was having. Elizabeth looked at him with dislike painted all over her face. Wickham walked toward Elizabeth and Darcy felt her begin to step backwards to avoid him. But she caught herself and instead faced him without losing ground.

  “Miss Elizabeth,” he said sweetly, bowing low. “I see I have lost out. But what chance does a lowly soldier have when compared to a man of means such as Mr. Darcy?”

  Darcy felt anger surge through him: how dare Wickham intimate that Elizabeth cared for his money and nothing more! He felt Elizabeth apply slight pressure to his arm as if to hold him back.

  “I assure you, Mr. Wickham,” she said, matching his sweet tone. “Your loss comes not from your lack of means, but because you lack that which makes a man.”

  Darcy felt a huge swell of pride in his betrothed at her words. He could see Wickham’s face redden in fury, and a vein throbbed in his forehead.

  “You will excuse me,” he hissed in response, pushing past Darcy. Turning, he addressed Jane and Bingley. “Congratulations to you too, Miss Bennet and you, Mr. Bingley. Please give my regards to your mother and sisters.”

  Darcy watched him turn on his heels and stride away, cold fury still filling him. He could tell his face looked thunderous, for even Bingley was keeping his distance.

  “Bingley, why don’t you and Jane go into the next shop?” He said, breathing heavily in an attempt to control his anger. “Elizabeth, you should go as well.”

  Darcy did not want her to see him like this. He did not often get this angry, indeed, Wickham was one of the few people in the world that could impact him so, and Elizabeth should not see him so enraged.

  “Go on,” he heard Elizabeth say to the others. “I shall stay out here.”

  Leaning against the building, Darcy closed his eyes closed, concentrating on his breathing. Slowly, he felt the anger leaving, but it was sadly replaced with deep melancholy. It had been such a good day, and Wickham had ruined it. He felt Elizabeth touch his arm again.

  “He is gone,” Elizabeth said quietly. He opened his eyes and looked down at her. She looked into his eyes, not afraid of the anger still contained within them. “Today is for us,” she said quietly. “Please, do not allow him to have power over our happiness.”

  Her words contained too much wisdom to ignore. Instead of thinking about Wickham, Darcy concentrated upon Elizabeth. Her beauty, her wisdom, and her vicious words!

  “I do not believe I have anything to fear from any man so long as you are at my side,” he said with a smile. “For your words are sharper than any sword ever forged.”

  Elizabeth blushed deeply.

  “Well,” she said uncomfortably. “It is nice to be able to use such a skill for good cause. For I am afraid I have turned my sword upon the innocent far too often.”

  “Wickham is no innocent,” Darcy agreed stoutly. “But he shall not ruin today. For we are engaged and nothing can take that away!” He smiled at Elizabeth once more. “Now, what do you think about a double wedding?”

  Chapter 16

  Elizabeth

  It hardly seemed possible that it had already been three weeks since her engagement to Mr. Darcy. The time had flown by so quickly, her days had become so full of planning, arranging, shopping, and sewing, it hardly seemed possible that she an
d Jane would be married in a double wedding in just three days’ time! There was still so much to do, so much to organize, she hardly knew how they would have the time.

  And yet, Elizabeth could not believe she still had to wait three whole days before she became Mrs. Darcy. For all there was left to do, she was still impatient to begin her married life. For since she had decided that she did, indeed, love Mr. Darcy, the impatience which Jane had warned him of had begun to grow. Now, so close to the wedding day, she could hardly stand it!

  “Lizzy!” Mrs. Bennet’s frantic voice filled the house.

  Elizabeth sighed at the note of panic in her mother’s tone. She and Jane had determined that, of course, they would have a double wedding, but Elizabeth was beginning to wonder if such a choice might not kill their mother. Elizabeth was, just now, sitting in the downstairs closet. Supposedly, she was looking for extra bed linens, but it had the added benefit of hiding from Mrs. Bennet. She remained still and silent, hoping that Mrs. Bennet would give up the search.

  “Lizzy! You and Jane must discuss napkins for the wedding breakfast!”

  Elizabeth groaned, unable to think of something she cared about less than the napkins they used for their wedding breakfast.

  Suddenly, Elizabeth saw the door begin to rattle. She held her breath, silently praying it wasn't Mrs. Bennet on the other side. The door flew open and it took her eyes several seconds to adjust to the sudden influx of light.

  “Oh, good heavens,” she heard a mild voice say. “What do we have here?”

  “Oh, Papa,” she breathed a sigh of relief. Mr. Bennet looked amused and curious to find his second eldest daughter hiding in the closet, but did not sound the alarm. “Papa, you have to hide me. I cannot pretend to care about napkins another minute without going mad!”

  “Such things are required of well-born young ladies,” Mr. Bennet said with a chuckle.

  “I am not so well born,” Elizabeth said stubbornly, folding her arms across her chest.

  “I think I might be offended by that,” Mr. Bennet laughed. “But I understand. Quickly now, into my study, and you may have a few minutes’ respite. I will distract your mother.”

  “Really?” Elizabeth asked, hardly believing her ears. She threw her arms around Mr. Bennet’s neck. “Oh, thank you!”

  “Keep quiet now, your young man and Jane’s Mr. Bingley are already hiding there,” Mr. Bennet said conspiratorially. “I am running a mission of mercy to save the poor souls trapped by wedding planning! Now, be off with you, for I cannot hope to save you should your mother set her eyes upon you.”

  Elizabeth giggled and hurried off to her father’s study. She quickly opened the door, slipped inside, and shut it behind her. But it was not until she heard Mr. Bennet’s voice say: “No, Mrs. Bennet, I have not seen Elizabeth. Perhaps she is in the back garden?” That she allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief.

  “One might think you were avoiding wedding details,” Mr. Bingley said in a teasing tone, looking at her from behind a high-backed chair. He grinned wickedly and took a sip of his port.

  Elizabeth walked towards the chairs, filled by Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy, and sat heavily upon a footstool. She buried her face in her own hands.

  “Death would be preferable to this,” she moaned. “Mr. Darcy, I have promised to marry you, but if I had known that this was the test…”

  “You would have said something different?” Mr. Darcy asked, smiling over his own wine glass.

  Elizabeth sighed, and smiled up at her intended.

  “No,” she admitted. “But I might have insisted upon sending my mother to Brighton with the regiment!” Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley laughed.

  “This will all be worth our while in just a few days,” Mr. Darcy said soothingly.

  “Promise me we’ll go to Pemberley,” Elizabeth begged. “Away from my mother and napkins and linens, and whatever else madness comes to her?”

  “I promise,” Mr. Darcy said again with a laugh. “Though do not pretend you will not miss her dearly when you are gone.”

  “I know I shall,” Elizabeth sighed. “It is just difficult to remember right now.”

  “Lizzy!” A new shriek sounded, and Elizabeth sighed deeply. It seemed her mother had discovered that she was not, in fact, in the back garden.

  “I suppose I have hidden long enough,” she said, getting to her feet once more.

  “Good luck,” Mr. Bingley said, glancing up from his newspaper.

  “Mr. Bingley! Mr. Darcy! Elizabeth!” Mrs. Bennet’s voice added new names to her cry.

  “It seems I am not the only one needed,” Elizabeth said, glancing at the two men. Mr. Darcy held up his finger to his lips, as if to say: “Don’t give us away.”

  “Elizabeth!” Elizabeth frowned at the renewed call. That was not Mrs. Bennet’s voice, but Jane’s. Elizabeth hurried to the door and pulled it open, looking into the hall. She saw Jane turn and walk quickly back toward the study. “Elizabeth, thank God, we have a problem.”

  “Come in here, quickly,” Elizabeth said, pulling Jane into the study.

  “What’s the matter?” Mr. Bingley asked quickly, getting to his feet.

  Mr. Darcy, seeing Jane’s distressed face, also got to his feet and offered Jane his seat. Jane sat down and as soon as she was off her feet, she began to cry.

  “Oh, it is just so awful!”

  “Jane…” Elizabeth dropped to her knees and took her sister’s hand, terrified at what could affect Jane in such a manner. “Jane, what has happened?”

  “I went to look for Lydia,” Jane sobbed. “We thought she was hiding, to avoid helping with the wedding plans.” Elizabeth looked guiltily at Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley. “So I went to her room to see if she was there, but she wasn’t!”

  “I’m sure she’s just hiding someplace else,” Elizabeth said soothingly. “There’s no need to panic.”

  “No,” Jane sobbed. “There was a note. A note that said she had run away!”

  “Run away!” Elizabeth cried, hardly believing it. “No, she wouldn’t have. Lydia cannot stand to be alone for even two minutes, she would not run away by herself.”

  “If only she were by herself,” Jane cried, the tears pouring down her face now. “But she is not, it seems she has run away with… with… with Mr. Wickham!” Elizabeth felt her whole body turn cold.

  “With Wickham?” She asked, and Jane nodded, seemingly unable to speak the words any more.

  Elizabeth turned and looked at the two men. Mr. Bingley looked distressed, over Lydia to be sure, but more pained about Jane’s distress. Mr. Darcy looked thunderous. Elizabeth had glimpsed his cold fury on the day they became engaged, but that was nothing compared to what he looked like now. Elizabeth shivered, and hoped never to be the target of that anger.

  The door opened suddenly and everyone turned to see Mr. Bennet enter the room. He took one look at everyone’s faces and sighed heavily. “It looks like you all know?”

  “Papa,” Elizabeth said, standing and turning to her father. “Are we quite certain that Lydia has run away? And with Wickham?”

  “It appears that way,” Mr. Bennet said, sounding miserable. He handed Elizabeth a letter. She took it and immediately saw that it was in Lydia’s untidy hand. She quickly read it.

  “What does it say?” Mr. Darcy asked with gritted teeth.

  “That she truly has run away with Mr. Wickham,” Elizabeth confirmed. “It says they are going to Gretna Green and that when she returns, there will be one more wedding to celebrate!” Elizabeth felt sick.

  “Is there nothing we can do?” Mr. Bingley asked, sounding somber. Mr. Bennet did not say anything. Mr. Darcy spoke instead.

  “Of course there is something we can do!” He said firmly. “We must go after them!”

  “Yes,” Mr. Bennet agreed, seeming to take strength from Mr. Darcy. “Yes, by God, you are right! I will not stand idly by and let some… blackguard run off with my daughter!” Elizabeth saw her father’s eyes blazing with an anger
she did not think he was capable of. “Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley, you will ride with me?”

  “Of course,” Mr. Bingley said, standing and facing his future father-in-law.

  “It is both my duty and my pleasure,” Mr. Darcy said, his hands clenching into fists.

  “But…” Jane and Elizabeth exchanged worried looks. “But what about the wedding?”

  The reality of the situation seemed to hit everyone in the room at the same time. There were many roads Lydia and Wickham might’ve taken from Meryton, and there was no way to know how many hours they had already spent on the road. With luck, Lydia would be found within the day, but if the pair had managed to get farther away from the village…

  With the wedding only three days away, this would undoubtedly stall everything, and Jane and Elizabeth weren’t the only ones to realise it. Mr. Bennet looked saddened, and Mr. Bingley angry, but the look upon Mr. Darcy’s face nearly broke Elizabeth’s heart. He looked devastated. She too felt disappointment, but she knew what must happen.

  “It will be alright,” she said, laying a hand gently upon her betrothed’s arm. “We will get married when you get Lydia back. Surely, you will find her soon…” She felt tears come to her eyes. They had all waited so long to be happy, they had all suffered so much for their love, and now their happiness was again forestalled! It was not fair.

  “We will make it right,” Mr. Bennet promised, laying a hand on each of his future son-in-law’s shoulders. “It will all be right in the end.”

  “Yes,” Mr. Darcy said, still looking miserable. “Yes, it will be. But first, we must deal with Wickham.”

  Chapter 17

  Darcy

  Darcy waved away the groom that was saddling his horse. The animal was from Bingley’s stables, a fine example of horseflesh, but in that moment, Darcy wished he had his own horse with him. He wanted nothing more than the fiery mare carrying him like a storm after Wickham. With a bow, the groom allowed Darcy to take over the process of readying the mount.