The Secrets of Darcy and Elizabeth: A Pride and Prejudice Variation (33 page)

“Were we so bad at concealing our affection?” Elizabeth asked with chagrin.

Jane shook her head gently. “I noticed since I know you so well. I am certain no one else was paying such close attention.”

“I hope you are right,” Elizabeth sighed. “Papa should be the first – well, among the first – to know. I know we shall have to tell him very soon. After tonight there will be two more in our confidence.”

“Two?”

“Oh, I forgot to explain what precipitated my revelation.” Elizabeth laughed, a little embarrassed. “When Bingley came to my room to fetch me, he found William there. He was very angry.”

“Oh no! Poor Charles.” Jane covered her mouth to stifle a smile. Then the two sisters burst into laughter and it was some time before they recovered their composure.

Jane’s eyes sparkle with a mischievous smile. “And, you know Lizzy, you were right. You did make me forget all about my ankle!”

The next morning they all gathered for a late breakfast. Darcy had already been for a ride and Elizabeth for a bracing walk around the Netherfield grounds, and, if they entered the house at the same time, there was no one present to notice. Bingley had spent the morning fussing at the staff to ensure Jane had all the pillows, blankets, and tasty morsels she might need. When she insisted on going downstairs for breakfast, he acquiesced, but only upon the condition that he would carry her. Laughing a little at the impropriety, Jane agreed.

He deposited Jane in a chair next to his sister, who sniffed a bit at his boisterousness, but said nothing. Darcy regarded Miss Bingley closely for a moment, afraid that she had heard some of the nocturnal comings and goings the previous night, but her expression seemed much the same. He seated himself next to Elizabeth, a fact which seemed to frustrate Miss Bingley, who had arrived first and had hoped Darcy would be next to her. At a signal from Bingley, one of the serving men provided a full champagne flute for each guest. Miss Bingley looked askance at her brother. “Champagne for breakfast? Has the engagement muddled your head Charles?”

Bingley merely laughed and said, “I simply felt like celebrating. Jane’s ankle is improving and we are enjoying some of the finest company in England!” He raised his glass in a toast, but arched an eyebrow at Elizabeth and Darcy, who knew that his friend was toasting their marriage without revealing anything to his sister. Elizabeth smiled warmly at Bingley, appreciating the gesture.

Everyone fell to eating the fine repast, but they were soon interrupted by Bingley’s butler, who brought an express post to Darcy. Darcy scanned the sender’s address and raised his eyebrows. “Please excuse me for reading this at the table,” he addressed his host and hostess, “but it is a matter of some urgency.”

All eyes were on Darcy as he scanned the lines of the short missive. A stormy expression on his face, he folded it up again. Elizabeth knew such a mien meant the matter was quite serious. She touched his arm gently and asked, “Is it something very disturbing, William?” She heard Miss Bingley’s hiss of indrawn breath and realized she had unwittingly displayed too much familiarity. Their hostess observed Darcy, expecting him to rebuke Elizabeth.

Darcy, deep in thought, did not seem to notice Elizabeth’s slip. “No, I will tell you later.” Elizabeth suspected that the note had something to do with Lydia and Wickham, but could not ask more in front of Miss Bingley. Now that Jane and Bingley knew their secret, Miss Bingley’s presence was most awkward.

Shortly thereafter the breakfast party broke up, although Darcy and Bingley lingered to exchange some private words while Jane waited for her fiancé to carry her upstairs once more. Elizabeth left the room and found herself in the hallway with Miss Bingley, who turned to her with a completely false air of solicitude, “A word of advice, Eliza. Mr. Darcy is a very proper man. I have known him many years and he has never invited me to use his Christian name. Although he is too well mannered to say anything, I could tell that he was quite alarmed by your excessive familiarity.”

“Surely that is for Mr. Darcy to decide,” Elizabeth said with some asperity.

Some of Miss Bingley’s false amiability slid away. “I know you are trying to entice him by pretending a familiarity which does not exist, but let me assure you that such an approach will not succeed with Mr. Darcy.”

“How do you know it does not exist?” Elizabeth asked sweetly, attempting to conceal her anger.

Miss Bingley’s mouth fell open at this rather brazen question, but was saved the necessity of a reply by the arrival of the man in question. Darcy swooped out of the dining room and approached the two women. “Elizabeth!” He cried. “Just the person I was hoping to see. Would you take a turn with me in the garden? I must discuss the contents of this letter with you.”

Elizabeth took his arm and they swept out. She turned back to see Miss Bingley still standing in the hallway, paralyzed with shock and mouth agape.

Once they were outside, Elizabeth could no longer contain a smile, and as she gazed up at her husband he was grinning broadly. “That was very wicked!” She exclaimed. “Did you overhear what she was saying to me?”

“Yes, I admit it. I heard through the dining room door. It is excessively difficult not to eavesdrop when one hears one’s name mentioned. Once I understood what she was saying to you, it was even more difficult not to emerge and administer the chastisement she richly deserves. But I feared revealing too much.”

“The approach you chose had the benefit of being subtle yet effective,” Elizabeth observed, smiling. “And vastly more entertaining.”

“Not to mention satisfying.” He grinned, lengthening his stride to create more distance from the house.

They walked for a minute in silence, but Elizabeth could wait no longer. “Is the letter about Lydia?”

“Yes, it is from Mr. Scott, one of the investigators I hired. They have found Lydia.” Elizabeth regarded him with a mixture of anxiety and hope about what he would say next. “They are not married, but your sister appears unharmed.”

Elizabeth sagged under the combined weight of relief and fresh cause for concern. Darcy put his arm around her shoulders to support her. “What of Wickham?” She asked.

“My investigator did not find him and Lydia does not know where he is. They reached a coaching inn about a day’s ride from London. But Lydia says Wickham left one morning and did not return – that was several days ago.” Darcy guided her to a low stone bench and they sat.

Elizabeth covered her mouth with her hand and tears came to her eyes. “Oh, poor Lydia! He truly had no intention of marrying her.”

“No, indeed,” Darcy agreed, handing Elizabeth his handkerchief. “Since Lydia had no money to pay for her room at the inn, she agreed to return to London with Mr. Scott. He has taken her to the Gardiners.”

Elizabeth dried her eyes with the handkerchief. “I am pleased she is unhurt. The Gardiners will be kind to her.”

Darcy nodded. “Lydia did give the investigator some ideas about where to seek Wickham, so they may find him soon enough.”

“But what shall induce him to marry Lydia?” Elizabeth was now twisting the handkerchief in her hands.

Darcy gazed over Bingley’s lovely gardens for a moment before answering. “It is not hard to work on Wickham,” he said finally. “All it takes is money.” Elizabeth felt an immediate sense of relief. Although she chafed at the unfairness of Darcy paying off Wickham, she was reassured by the thought that there was a potential resolution of the dilemma. “There is no possible way he could have known of our marriage,” Darcy continued. “But he could not have picked a better way to pursue his vendetta against me – unless, of course, he had eloped with
you
.” Darcy impulsively took her hands in his and kissed them both, as if hoping that his affection might help lift her spirits.

“There was no chance of that happening,” Elizabeth laughed. “I have more sense than Lydia. And I was never in love with him.”

Darcy’s gaze turned intent. “You cannot know how the thought of you with Wickham plagued me. Especially after I knew the lies he had told you.”

She shook her head. “I was blind to his lies; that is true. However, I would like to believe I would have discerned the true nature of his character eventually.”

“I know you would have.” Darcy’s strong reaction to Wickham seemed to fire his passion – his eyes practically smoldering as he regarded her. He drew her up off the bench and over to the shade of some small trees, near the garden’s wall and kissed her very thoroughly. Although they had been together the night before, Elizabeth felt she needed his kisses like a thirsty man needs water in a desert, wanting to drink deeper and deeper. All too soon it came to an end. Darcy scanned the area to ensure that they were not observed and returned them to the well-trodden path once again.

They resumed walking; the romantic interlude had soothed Elizabeth’s agitation somewhat. Darcy said grimly, “I must talk with your father today. He is likely to discover Lydia’s plight from the Gardiners and I can no longer conceal my part in the investigation.”

Elizabeth glanced at him with some concern. “You need not be so anxious. I am sure Papa will be grateful for the assistance.”

Darcy shook his head. “No man likes to be in another man’s debt. He is also likely to question me about my interest in this matter. He may not believe me if I say I am merely acting as a friend of the family.”

Elizabeth placed her hand on his. “Perhaps the time has come to tell him the truth.”

Darcy ran his free hand through his hair. “I fear that our behavior will resemble Lydia’s and Wickham’s too closely for your father’s comfort, and he will undoubtedly be angry that we have deceived him. I was hoping to commence my relationship with my father-in-law on a better footing.”

To his surprise, Elizabeth chuckled. “That may be too much to hope for under the circumstances. He will not be pleased no matter what.”

“I suppose,” Darcy sighed. “Hundreds of fathers in England would be overjoyed to find that I had married their daughter.”

Elizabeth shrugged eloquently. “You did not wish to marry a fortune hunter, sir. My father is not mercenary either. You must live with the attendant disadvantages.”

“Your sympathy is most heartwarming.” He said wryly. She merely laughed.

An hour later, Elizabeth and Darcy took Bingley’s coach to Longbourn for a visit. Bingley insisted that Jane remain at Netherfield to recuperate, so Elizabeth and her sister would stay there again that night.

When they arrived at Longbourn, Elizabeth went to find her mother and give a report of Jane’s condition and to collect clothing for the sisters during their continued stay at Netherfield. Darcy made his way to Mr. Bennet’s library.

Mr. Bennet greeted him with some surprise, but invited him to take a seat. After Darcy had done so, he saw that the older man was now regarding him suspiciously; he knew Mr. Bennet mistrusted his intentions regarding Elizabeth.
He is expecting a request for Elizabeth’s hand – or at least courtship
.
Nothing less will satisfy him
, Darcy thought with dismay. It was almost enough to make him wish he was in a position to make either request, but he would not have given up the last weeks for all the world.

Deciding that a straightforward approach was best, Darcy said without preamble, “I have found your daughter, Lydia. Or, rather, my investigators have found her and taken her to the Gardiners’ home in London. She is unharmed, but Wickham has abandoned her.”

Mr. Bennet was staring at him agog – then blinked rapidly several times in succession. It took a moment for him to collect his wits. “Am I to understand that you undertook to hire investigators to search for my daughter?”

“Yes, sir.”

“By what right have you interfered in my family’s affairs?” Darcy winced at the anger in the older man’s tone.

“I thought—”

“I do not recall asking for your assistance, Mr. Darcy!” Darcy could see that the older man’s embarrassment at the situation was turning to anger and tried not to react.

“When we returned from France, the Gardiners told us the whole story. Miss Elizabeth seemed so distressed that I thought to be of what assistance I could. I only regret it has taken my men so long to discover her.” Darcy strove to keep his tone even.

They were frozen in a tableau for a moment; then Mr. Bennet dropped his head into his hands, “I apologize. I do not mean to seem ungrateful. I have not accustomed myself to the public nature of this misadventure.”

“That is completely understandable, sir. I will, however, tell you that I am not disinterested Wickham’s misdeeds. I have had some unpleasant dealings with him in the past. Less than a year ago he attempted something similar with my sister to what he has done with Miss Lydia.”

Mr. Bennet beheld him in fascination. “Indeed? I had wondered why you wanted to involve yourself in this situation.”

Darcy nodded, slightly guilty for concealing some of his motives. “I am to blame for not having revealed Wickham’s true character before this. If I had, then this could not have taken place.”

Mr. Bennet shook his head slowly. “You take too much on yourself. And, I fear you underestimate the stupidity of my youngest daughter, but, be that as it may, I am grateful for your help.”

“I am sorry my investigators have not uncovered more about Wickham’s whereabouts. But I have confidence they will find him.” Darcy assured him.