Mr. Darcy's Forbidden Love-kindle (30 page)

Her words were like a knife sinking into his heart and unsure if he could endure such pain, William moved unsteadily to stand in the shadows just inside the open entrance. He would bear any anguish just to observe her until the very last moment. And suffer he did, for at the bottom of the steps, Georgiana was embracing Elizabeth in the manner that he had longed to do since he had first laid eyes on her.

Lady Ashcroft stood next to the carriage, addressing each woman before they entered, and when only Elizabeth remained, she gently placed a hand on each shoulder and searched the face of the woman her nephew loved. It was evident that this young lady was suffering just as desperately as Fitzwilliam.

“I am so glad you came, Miss Elizabeth. It was as though you were destined to be here,” she said softly. Elizabeth’s eyes filled quickly as she turned and entered the carriage. Both hostesses waved until the conveyance was out of sight, and as they mounted the steps, Lady Ashcroft whispered to Georgiana, “I wish to speak privately with your brother, dear.”

Entering the house, the hurt on her brother’s face was unmistakable, so Georgiana ran to place a kiss on his cheek and, without a word, climbed the grand staircase to her room.

Lady Ashcroft waited until Georgiana was out of sight before walking over to William. Reaching up to cup his cheek, she murmured, “We need to talk.” 

They returned to the parlour where William walked woodenly to an overstuffed sofa and sat down. Moving to the liquor cabinet, his aunt poured a measure of brandy and handed it to him.

“Drink this.”

He complied, drinking it all at once.

“Another?” He nodded, so she poured a like amount into his glass, which he downed in one gulp as well. “That is enough.”

She sat next to him, taking his hand in hers. “I know this was not easy for you. But, I was heartened to see that it was not easy for Elizabeth either. Tell me, was she receptive at all?”

“I could not tell. I have no experience in judging women. I told her that I was happy to have her in my home… that I love her. She said that she felt the same way.”

“I knew it!”

“In hindsight, I should not have confronted her.  I had vowed to let it be, but the moment I knew she was to be in my home—” He dropped his head with a ragged sigh. “I made her cry.”

“Do not torture yourself. Tears are not always a bad sign. At least you are certain that she loves you.”

“But, she also reminded me that she could not choose whom to love. Was it cruel to force a meeting?”

“Well, I am a woman, and I know that a woman in love will often do whatever it takes to be with the man she loves. Let her be the judge of what she wants.”

“But you heard her say that she is going to Ramsgate with Alfreda Wilkens. That means she will be with
him
!”

“Unfortunately, that is so. Penelope Holmes told me that John Wilkens travelled ahead to handle some estate matters.  Alfreda and Elizabeth will leave so as to arrive in time for their aunt, Lady Hawthorne’s, birthday.”

“Wilkens brags to all that will listen that he will inherit all her wealth when she dies.”

“And I can just imagine that he cannot wait until she does. Nonetheless, Violet Hawthorne is an old friend of mine.”

“I was not aware of that.”

“And since Georgiana and I will also be travelling to Ramsgate next week in order for her to take art lessons, we shall be guests of Lady Hawthorne. So I will be able to watch over your Elizabeth while I am there.”

William perked up a bit. “You will see that she is well whilst she is in Ramsgate?”

“I shall make it my business to call on her often. And since she and Georgiana are good friends now, it would not be unusual for them to spend a good deal of time in each other’s company.”

“I pray you can influence Elizabeth not to succumb to pressure and agree to marry that miscreant! Even if she does not wait for me, she is too good for him.”

“I shall do my best, Fitzwilliam.” She squeezed his hand. “Now, what say you to explaining your relationship with Elizabeth to Georgiana? She suspects that you have feelings for one another, and it is my opinion that she needs to know what has transpired between the two of you.”

“Is she old enough to know of such things?”

“She is a lot more aware than you realise. And it is better for her to hear the truth from you than rumours and gossip from someone else.”  She stood and reached for William’s hand. “She trusts you. Tell her the truth.”

William stood and embraced his aunt. “I am told that I do not have a talent for expressing myself well. But I thank God every day that He sent you to me when Mother died. I do not think I could have survived these last two years without your support.”

Audrey Ashcroft pulled back to look into his face as tears threatened. “I do not know where you got the idea that you cannot express yourself. You just did very well.”

She pecked his cheek and pushed him playfully towards the door. “Go. Before you turn back into the old Fitzwilliam—the one who keeps all his secrets hidden.”

William stopped at the parlour door and looked back. “It still uplifts my spirits when you sound just like Mother.”

She smiled lovingly. “I am glad.”

~~~*~~~

In The Holmes’ Carriage

Lady Holmes seemed lost in a world of her own as she watched the world from the window of her carriage and reminisced about the pleasant experience she had just had at Darcy House.  Alfreda Wilkens’ thoughts, however, were of an entirely different nature.

Though she had enjoyed the day with Georgiana Darcy and her aunt, she was not blind to the way Mr. Darcy had looked at Elizabeth when they encountered him in the foyer. Furthermore, she could not help but wonder at his calling Elizabeth back into the house under the guise that she had left something behind.

Was he only creating an opportunity to talk with her alone? And if so, why? 

Elizabeth, who was staring out the window on the other side of the carriage, seemed to have suddenly changed moods as well. From being quite gay when they left the music room minutes before, she now seemed sullen, even sad.

“Elizabeth?”

Elizabeth cut her eyes to Alfreda, hoping that if she did not fully turn she might not notice the tears pooled in them. She waited for Alfreda’s question.

“What was it that you left in the foyer?”

Elizabeth held up her gloves. “I dropped one of my gloves.”

“Oh.” Alfreda was almost sure that Elizabeth had both her gloves when she came to the door.

Seeing the unbelief in her friend’s eye, Elizabeth offered. “I… I thought I had them both, but one fell from my grip.”

“I see.” Alfreda turned to study the view now. Elizabeth was lying. Of that she was sure. But why? After all, Mr. Darcy was married. Ultimately, she decided that she really did not want to know.

Seeing that Alfreda was not going to question her again, Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief and resumed her study of the park from out the window.

I will not think of him! I will not think of him!

If only her heart did not have a mind of its own.

~~~*~~~

Ramsgate
Younge’s Art Gallery

Standing on the veranda that stretched across the entire length of the back of the art gallery, George Wickham’s every faculty was engaged. Silently memorizing the landscape, he took a deep breath of the clean, salty air and held it for a moment before releasing it.  He also made note of the number of people about at that hour of the day, perfecting his strategy for escaping with Georgiana even as he waited for Mrs. Younge to finish assisting a customer.

While calculating that the sea was only a couple of hundred yards away, his attention was drawn to two figures in a gazebo at the end of a narrow, wooden walk. Intrigued, he studied the ladies under its roof and found that both had easels perched in front of them and were painting. Following the walk’s path with his eye, he found that it meandered from the end of this very porch over a multitude of sand dunes and beach grasses before ending up at the structure.

Once at the gazebo, it was possible either to access a wider boardwalk that spanned the entire row of houses or take steps down to the wide, flat beach. In addition, every house had a similar narrow walkway leading to the boardwalk which enabled patrons to access each shop along the way without the necessity of using the front street entrances. The boardwalk itself featured several stations where people could rest, each containing brightly-painted wooden chairs with large umbrellas attached to protect sightseers from the sun. Yet, only Mrs. Younge’s walk had a gazebo at the end.

“Goodness!” Sarah Younge exclaimed from behind, causing Wickham to whirl around. “I thought she would never leave! That woman had no intention of buying anything—she never does! But I have to be polite to her regardless, and by some means, she always raises my hopes that today will be the day she makes a purchase.” Shaking her head, she smiled wearily. “I do not know why I bother flattering her.”

“I can imagine how very frustrating all of this must be for you,” Wickham offered sympathetically, waving a hand towards the shop. “For such a talented artist as yourself to be reduced to a shop clerk—well, I cannot wait to take you away from it all.”

Mrs. Younge lowered her eyes self-consciously, making Wickham nervous. “You have not changed your mind, have you? God knows that I wish it could be handled differently, but you must realise that I have no choice, given the circumstances. Darcy will never pay me the equivalent of the living that his father left me in his will. And without it, I can never afford to marry.”

The widow paused. “I… I have never done anything like this in my life.”

“You are not really going to do anything—merely turn a blind eye while I speak to her. What she decides to do will be her choice.” He stepped closer, reaching for a trembling hand. “It is for us—for our future.”

She studied his face for a long moment before succumbing to his argument. “It only seems fair, since you were cheated of your rightful inheritance. And I have been very lonely running this gallery. It is certainly not the life I envisioned.”

Wickham gave her his most innocent expression. “I swear that no harm will come to anyone, and we will only be forcing Darcy to give up what is rightfully mine.”

He waited with bated breath as she regarded him. Certainly it had been risky sharing his scheme with the woman, but after her enthusiastic welcome upon his return to Ramsgate, he had been convinced that she cared for him. He was confident that she would not alert anyone, even if she decided not to be a part of it.

Finally, she smiled feebly. “It would be wonderful to be married and leave this horrid place forever. My brother has gradually become a hard taskmaster, in spite of all my efforts to make this shop profitable. The allowance he provides barely covers my needs and those of my family.” She immediately questioned, “You do intend on taking my mother and sister with us, do you not?”

“Of course, my dear,” Wickham lied, bringing one hand up to place a chaste kiss there. “I would not dream of leaving those you love behind.”

Mrs. Younge flushed with his show of affection. “Then it is settled. I shall help you. Miss Darcy arrives in a few days for two weeks of lessons. I shall endeavour to create opportunities for you to be alone with her so that you may speak privately. Since there will be only one other girl taking lessons, that should not be a problem. I often give individual instruction to one student while the other works independently. Then I change over and instruct the other.”

Wickham tilted his head in the direction of the outbuilding. “Why is it that you alone have a gazebo? Is it exclusively for your use?”

“My brother had it built especially for my art lessons. We needed a place to sketch the scenery while avoiding the sun’s unrelenting heat. And, yes, it is exclusive to my clients.”

“I assume then that Miss Darcy will take advantage of that structure part of the time?”

“Yes. I tutor my students in the house in the morning then we move there in the afternoon. This way they can practice what they have learned by creating their own paintings.”

“Good. Good. That will work out very agreeably. I plan on convincing her to leave with me by way of the beach. I have found a trail that leads down to the beach several hundred feet to the west of the gazebo. If she will walk with me in that direction, we can take that path back to the street where my coach will be waiting. We shall be on our way to Gretna Green before her hawkeyed aunt discovers she is missing.”

“But… but you said that you will not actually go to Gretna Green.”

Wickham silently cursed his mistake. “That was a slip of the tongue. As I told you last night, Miss Darcy will be led to believe that we are eloping. But instead I will transport her to a friend’s estate in Manchester, where we shall wait until Fitzwilliam Darcy pays the living I was promised. His little sister will be released only after we and your family are well on our way to Scotland where I have relations. Once we are safely out of England, we shall sail on the next ship to the Americas. I have no doubt that we shall be aboard the ship well before the Darcys figure out where we have gone.”

Mrs. Younge sighed heavily. “Are you quite sure that the authorities or her family will not suspect I had something to do with her disappearance and arrest me before I can travel to you?”

“There will be no evidence connecting you to the incident. And when you leave to meet me, they will think you have had no choice but to relocate since the business will likely close due to the scandal. They will never be suspicious of you.”

The frown lines on Mrs. Younge’s face visibly relaxed. “Of course, you are right. I worry too much. Forgive me.”

“Come, close up the shop, and let us walk on the beach. I shall not be able to show you any attention nor spend time with you once Miss Darcy arrives. I shall miss that terribly!”