by Leenie Brown
Wickham scrubbed his face with his hands. “There is no other way?”
“You know the answer.”
~*~*~
The trip to Derbyshire was one of the longest Wickham had ever experienced. The miles were not so very many, but the dread of seeing Darcy again, mixed with the anxiety of dealing with his wife, increased with each mile until he was sure that his heart was going to explode from the racing of his pulse. If not his heart, then surely his head would not survive the constant pounding. Death, death would be more welcome than the mortification he would surely face at Pemberley. However, both his heart and his head would not cooperate. Both soundly refused to succumb to the pounding of his pulses, and so he arrived, alive, at the doors of Darcy’s estate.
He clutched his hat in his hands, worrying the brim and studying the floor, as he and Denny waited in the entrance hall. He looked up as Darcy approached, swallowing hard against the bile of trepidation that rose in his throat. “She is here?”
“In my study. Do you wish to refresh before beginning?”
“No.”
Darcy motioned for them to follow.
Lydia was seated in a large leather chair in front of Darcy’s imposing desk. A footman, or rather a guard, stood beside her. She flew out of her chair as Wickham entered the room and threw herself at him, clinging to his neck. “Oh, I knew you would come for me. They have been so horrible to me. No one here has any idea of how to have the least amount of fun.”
Wickham pulled her arms away from his neck and stepped back. “Fun? You call this fun?” His voice trembled with anger. “Lydia, sit down, and do not move from that chair. I shall dismiss your guard, but he will remain outside the door should I need him.”
“Oh, George, why are you being such a bear?” Lydia crossed her arms over her chest and pouted.
“Because you are being a ninny.”
Lydia huffed and turned her face away. It was a word she had heard before, but coming from his lips, it stung as it never had when her father had called her such.
“You do not have to look at me, Lydia, but you will listen to me.”
“I will not listen to you with those two in the room.” Lydia scowled at Darcy and Denny, who stood behind her husband, feeling the disappointment of her husband would be hard enough to bear without it being observed by the husbands of two of her sisters.
“Yes, you will. They are to remain as witnesses to the agreement that you will be signing if you wish to return home with me and ever see your children again.”
Lydia’s eyes grew wide in astonishment. “Agreement?” she sputtered. Was he not going to ask her why she had left? Had she not explained it sufficiently in her note? Surely, there was no need for an agreement!
Wickham pulled a folded piece of parchment from his pocket. “Denny helped me draft it up rather quickly before I travelled.”
Lydia snatched at the paper, but Wickham deftly moved it out of her range.
“Oh, no, my dear, you shall not touch it until you pick up a pen to sign it. I will tell you what it says. And just so there is no misunderstandings later, Mr. Darcy, would you please look this over so that you can verify to my wife that what I am telling her is contained within this document?”
Darcy nodded and took the paper from Wickham and began reading it over. His eyes grew wide in astonishment as he read. It was impressively thorough.
“Denny already knows what the document contains, Lydia, so he too can verify the accuracy of what I am to say.”
Her heart panicked. Memories of lectures from her father and scowls and scoldings flooded her mind. She was certain she could not countenance such treatment from her husband. It would be far too painful, so she affected her most sweet and alluring expression and attempted to dissuade him. “George, there is no need for that paper. I will go home with you. We shall forget all about this little bit of adventure, and things will return to normal. You know I only want to be with you and make you happy, dearest. You have been so busy with the shop lately, and I got bored.”
Wickham’s eyes narrowed in disgust. “Normal is about to change, my dear. Boredom is not a reason to leave your husband and children. Nor is it a reason to put our family’s reputation in such a precarious position. Do you have any idea the effect your actions could have on our shop?” Wickham towered over her, hoping to make her feel a bit of unease. He needed her to feel the weight of what he was going to say.
Lydia stared up at him blankly. She had not considered much beyond her need to see her sister and request the money she needed to cover her over expenditures — not that she would tell him that, especially with Denny and Darcy in attendance.
“I did not think you did. I, quite honestly, believe you have never had a thought about anyone other than yourself. That too is going to change. You will return to our house, but you will be assigned one of the guest rooms. You will be attended at all times by your maid. I will not accept you back into my bed until I know for sure that you are not with child. If you are with child, it will be your full responsibility, should you decide to keep it.”
Lydia gasped; her temper flared. Did he really think so meanly of her? “But, it could be your child. There is no way to know if it is not.”
Wickham turned away from her. His stomach roiled at the thought that she had not denied the possibility of a child. “I do know when you have your courses, and I do know that there is no way that you could be carrying my child.” Wickham paced to the window and back. He clenched and unclenched his hands and breathed deeply.
Calming, he continued. “You shall receive only a small allowance from me for your personal use. Every item purchased for our children or our household will be approved by me, receipted and recorded. No household money shall be used by you for anything that you may need beyond what I deem necessary. Your allowance will also be used to pay the bills that you have incurred on your little adventure. Should you require money beyond what you are given, you shall have to earn it honestly. Any money that you earn must be reported to me along with the method in which you earned it.”
“You expect me to work?” Lydia jumped to her feet in anger.
“Only for those things that you want that are beyond necessity. I shall not let you starve, nor shall I let you walk about in rags. However, rags will be defined by me and not by a fashion magazine. Now, sit back down.”
She plopped into her chair, arms crossed. “So that is all?” Lydia tapped her foot. “There are no other restrictions? Shall I forever have to live as a child?”
“Lydia.” Wickham knelt before her. “I do not have to take you back. No one would condemn me for cutting you loose. But, I will not do that. Our children need their mother, and I need my wife. I love you far too much to not care about your behavior. I have failed you on that account up until now. But this,” he waved the paper before her, “you have brought upon yourself, and you are the only one who can remove it. Crying about the rain will not make it go away.”
Wickham stood and laid the paper on the table. “Read it, and choose if you wish to accept me or not. I will be leaving in the morning. I hope that you will be travelling with me.” He laid his hand on her cheek and kissed her on the forehead. “I do love you,” he whispered. Then, he left the room.
Anger still simmered within her, overshadowing the hurt, as Lydia stared at the paper before her. Every requirement he had listed was there, to be followed until a day six months in the future when the need for such requirements would be reviewed. Indeed, there was to be a review every six months until two years had passed.
Lydia bit her lip to keep it from quivering as she read the bottom of the form, underneath where her signature was to be written.
It was not written in Denny’s tight hand, but in the familiar long and looping hand of her husband. It was his pledge, his agreement, written down in one simple statement and signed as he had always signed his messages to her.
Through every storm of life, I shall love you.
Yours forever
,
George
Lydia reached for the pen.
Before You Go
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Acknowledgements
There are many who have had a part in the creation of this story. Some have read and commented on it. Some have proofread for grammatical errors and plot holes. Others have not even read the story and a few, I know, never will. However, their encouragement and belief in my ability, as well as their patience when I became cranky or when supper was late or the groceries ran low, was invaluable.
And so, I would like to say thank you to Zoe, Rose, Betty, Kristine, Ben, and Kyle as well as my patrons on Patreon. I feel blessed by your help, support, and understanding.
I have not listed my dear husband in the above group because, to me, he deserves his own special thank you, for, without his somewhat pushy insistence that I start sharing my writing, none of my writing goals and dreams would have been realized.
More Dash of Darcy and Companions Stories
Finally Mrs. Darcy
Waking to Mr. Darcy
A Very Merry Christmas (A sequel to Waking to Mr. Darcy)
Discovering Mr.Darcy
Not an Heiress (A sequel to Discovering Mr. Darcy)
Unravelling Mr. Darcy
Becoming Entangled (A sequel to Unravelling Mr. Darcy)
Enticing Miss Darcy (A sequel to Becoming Entangled)
Mr. Darcy’s Comfort
Other Leenie B Books
Novels ~ Novellas ~ Shorts
~*~
Oxford Cottage: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
For Peace of Mind: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
Teatime Tales: Six Short and Sweet Austen-Inspired Stories
Listen To Your Heart: A Pride and Prejudice Variation
With the Colonel’s Help: A Pride and Prejudice Novella
~*~
Darcy Family Holidays
Two Days before Christmas (book 1)
One Winter’s Eve (book 2)
~*~
The Choices Series: Pride & Prejudice Novellas
Her Father’s Choice (book 1)
No Other Choice (book 2)
His Inconvenient Choice (book 3)
Her Heart’s Choice (book 4)
~*~
Willow Hall Romances
And Then Love: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Prequel (book 1)
The Tenant’s Guest: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Novella (book 2)
So Very Unexpected: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Novel (book3)
At All Costs: A Pride and Prejudice Variation Novel (book 4)
Better Than She Deserved: A Pride and Prejudice Novelette (sequel 1)
~*~
Touches of Austen Collection
His Beautiful Bea
~*~
Other Pens
Through Every Storm: A Pride and Prejudice Novella
Henry: To Prove Himself Worthy (A Mansfield Park Continuation)
About the Author
Leenie Brown has always been a girl with an active imagination, which, while growing up, was a both an asset, providing many hours of fun as she played out stories, and a liability, when her older sister and aunt would tell her frightening tales. At one time, they had her convinced Dracula lived in the trunk at the end of the bed she slept in when visiting her grandparents!
Although it has been years since she cowered in her bed in her grandparents’ basement, she still has an imagination which occasionally runs away with her, and she feeds it now as she did then ─ by reading!
Her heroes, when growing up, were authors, and the worlds they painted with words were (and still are) her favourite playgrounds! Now, as an adult, she spends much of her time in the Regency world, playing with the characters from her favourite Jane Austen novels and those of her own creation.
When she is not traipsing down a trail in an attempt to keep up with her imagination, Leenie resides in the beautiful province of Nova Scotia with her two sons and her very own Mr. Brown (a wonderful mix of all the best of Darcy, Bingley, and Edmund with a healthy dose of the teasing Mr. Tilney and just a dash of the scolding Mr. Knightley).
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