On the Road to Ramsgate

by Melanie Schertz

  “Darcy is at the house, he needs to be notified.” Bingley stated the obvious.

  “Jennings will get there before we can. He will see the Master is informed.”

  ~~ ** ~~

  Tears were overflowing as Elizabeth held her sister close to her. “My dear Jane, what has happened to bring us to this?” Elizabeth held a piece of fabric to her sister’s wound. “You cannot leave me, Jane. We must work all of our misunderstandings out, and that may take some time.” She gave a weak smile to her elder sister.

  Jane coughed. “Unfortunately, we will not have the time. I believe I will soon be with Papa. If only I deserved your forgiveness before I leave you.”

  “No, dearest, you cannot leave me. You deserve more than you were given, with all that you endured after Papa’s death. I know our mother was demanding and frustrating for you. She made your life difficult, I understand.” Elizabeth wiped at the tears which had begun to drip on her sister.

  “I was so jealous of you, Lizzy. You were loved by our aunt and uncle. You were given a comfortable home, plenty of food and new clothes when needed. Seeing you taken care of so well and loved was like a knife stabbing in my heart.” Jane coughed again, multiple times. “You did not need me any longer, as you had our aunt and uncle to fill your life and be there for you. Even though you were injured, and were in constant pain, I envied you. I wanted to be you.”

  “You would not have been happy in my life. I felt so isolated and empty. Papa was gone, my leg was injured and painful, and I could have no contact with my relations. Mamma’s words, in the letter she wrote to me, cut me to my core. I found no comfort from our aunt and uncle, as it was as if I did not believe I deserved love.”

  “But now…now…you have found love?”

  “I have, Jane. William is the kindest and most devoted husband I could ever have imagined. And the girls, they are the sweetest babes. They have a sparkle of life which thrills me to witness. William and I are planning to adopt them.”

  “I will never…have…children.” Jane’s coughing grew worse. Blood began to trickle from the corners of her mouth.

  “Jane, oh my dear sister, you must live. We must put this foolishness behind us and be close again.”

  “It is not…not…meant to…be. I love…you…Lizzy. I…always…” With those words, Jane Bingley said no more. Tears freely flowed from Elizabeth, mixing with the blood on Jane’s still face.

  Wickham grabbed Elizabeth. “We are leaving. Though you were not my intended target, my employer will wish to deal with you.”

  “Do not touch me.” Elizabeth said, attempting to break free of his grasp.

  Wickham took the knife and held it to Elizabeth’s neck. “Give me a reason to slice you and leave you beside your sister. I will be paid by my employer for ridding the world of you. She has other plans for Darcy, another who was intended to wed my old friend.”

  Elizabeth knew she was no match for the man’s strength. Reluctantly, she complied with his request and they moved to the rear of the shop, leaving out the rear entrance door, and quickly mounted the horse Wickham had waiting nearby.

  ~~ ** ~~

  “MR DARCY…MR DARCY, COME QUICK.” Mrs Reynolds shouted for her employer.

  Since his housekeeper was not one for raising her voice unless it was an emergency, Darcy knew something was amiss. He hurried from his study to the main entrance door

  “Master William, the carriage is coming towards the house far quicker than usual. From the way it is being driven, one would think the hounds of Hell were on their tail.”

  Darcy stepped outside the house, watching as the carriage grew closer. He was able to hear Jennings shouting from the driver’s seat.

  “Mr Darcy, your wife…she is in trouble.”

  As soon as the carriage came to a stop, Darcy was at the door of the carriage, pulling it open. Finding only Sally and the twins, fear gripped his heart. “Where is my wife? What happened?”

  “Mr W…W…Wickham…he was at the shop. With a lady…a lady who knew Mrs Darcy. Mrs Darcy…told me to leave…told me to take…the girls. Fred said to come…he is still there…we heard shot…so scared.” Sally was sobbing, her fear for the Mistress great.

  Darcy called for a horse to be readied immediately, and he was soon on the road, riding as fast as he could, with several of his men following him.

  Riding straight to the dress shop, Darcy nearly leapt from his horse. He threw the reins of the horse to one of the men from Pemberley, as he took long strides to come to Bingley’s side.

  “What is happening?” Darcy demanded of Fred.

  “Mrs Darcy and her sister be inside with Wickham. Wickham says he killed two people, and he not be worried of killin’ another. When Sally come a runnin’ out, I put her and the babes in the carriage and told Jennings to take her to Pemberley. We heard a shot…but not if anyone be hurt. It be quiet for a bit now, but we worried he would harm the Mistress if we went near.” Fred answered.

  Bingley looked at Darcy. “I believe it is Jane who is in there with Lizzy. It appears she came to Lambton with Wickham, to speak with her sister. I did not put together that Wickham was the one…the one who…”

  “Where did Jane come to meet Wickham?” Darcy could not fathom how his wife’s sister had met with the likes of Wickham, as all reports from the detectives had claimed Wickham to have fled England after what he did to Georgiana.

  “In Meryton. Wickham was in the militia stationed there. He knew how to tell my wife what she wished to hear, including speaking ill of you. I had not realized how far it had gone. Evidently he was sympathetic to Jane and offered to escort her here, when I refused.” Bingley shook his head. “Forgive me, Darcy.”

  “You had no reason to know all of Wickham’s deeds. I did not wish to discuss it, as I believed we would never see him again, and I wished to protect the girls.”

  “So he is…the father…?”

  “He raped my sister, destroyed her, and it led to her death. He may have planted his seed in my sister, but he will never be a father to Emmy and Edith.” Darcy walked closer to the front of the shop. “Wickham…Wickham…, come out so we can speak.”

  Silence hung in the air. “Wickham, it is me you wish to speak to, come to the door so we can talk.”

  Still silence came from the shop. Darcy moved closer to the front door, until he was close enough to see inside the front window. He found Jane Bingley lying on the floor, unmoving, and no one else.

  The Master of Pemberley motioned to the other men to surround the building, as he moved to open the door. Carefully, with a gun in hand, Darcy slinked around the doorframe and entered the shop. Searching inside, the only people found were Mrs Bronson and Jane Bingley, both were deceased. Two of the men who had made their way around to the back entrance entered the building.

  “Mr Darcy, it looks as if there was a horse tied back here. One of the boys by the stables said he saw a man ride off with a lady on the horse with him.”

  “He took my wife? Wickham has my wife?”

  “We think so.” Fred entered after the other men. “I just learned they rode north out of Lambton.”

  Darcy quickly made to leave the shop, stopping as he realized his friend was kneeling beside the lifeless remains of the woman with whom he had once believed himself to be in love.

  “Bingley, stay here and take care of your wife. I will go after my wife.”

  Bingley stood, shaking his head. “Elizabeth is my sister, I will search for her. There is nothing I can do for my wife.”

  Darcy looked at Fred. “See that Mrs Bingley is taken to Pemberley, and that Mrs Bronson’s family is notified. Inform the constable of what has happened.”

  Fred nodded his head. He would see to his Master’s wishes.

  ~~ ** ~~

  “Where are we going?” Elizabeth asked, attempting to discover what Wickham had planned.

  “My employer has a home north of here. She leased it for me to bring my daughters after I acquired them. She w
ill be waiting for me.”

  “Who is your employer? Why would she want the girls?”

  Wickham laughed. “She wishes the girls removed from Darcy’s life. So long as they are at Pemberley, Darcy’s name is in tatters. My employer needs his name cleared, so that he will be accepted in Society again. And, as I told you, she has other plans for him, a different lady to marry. You will need to disappear for her plan to succeed.”

  “Where is this house? Is it far from here?” Elizabeth attempted to learn as much as possible from her abductor.

  “It will take us the better part of a day to arrive there, as we need to distract your husband from the correct path we take. I have a friend who will be waiting ahead of us. He will aid in making it appear we took a different road. Darcy will be unable to find you, of that you can be sure.”

  Elizabeth grew nervous. Having witnessed the man murder her sister, and knowing what he had done to Georgiana Darcy, she was frightened. Knowing the girls had gotten away safely from the villain was the one point of which Elizabeth was grateful. Now, if I can keep William from being harmed, so much the better.

  ~~ ** ~~

  The sky was beginning to darken, as the sun was nearly set, when Elizabeth and Wickham arrived at the small cottage located far from the main road. As Wickham dismounted, Elizabeth saw a chance to escape. She kicked him as he was nearly on the ground, striking a sensitive area on a man. He grasped himself and grabbed hold of Elizabeth’s skirt, attempting to keep her with him. She attempted to kick him again, only she could not move her leg enough to exact any pain. They continued to struggle, their voices carrying as Wickham shouted for aid, while Elizabeth desperately fought to free herself.

  Finally, Elizabeth was able to loosen Wickham’s hold on her body, and he was falling backward from the horse, tearing the fabric of her skirt as he headed for the ground. Not caring about the gown, Elizabeth grabbed the reins and began to turn the horse’s head away from the house, when a shot rang out. She felt something strike her shoulder, as searing pain coursed through her body. The force of the impact propelled her from the saddle, landing her on the ground.

  Someone came from the house, shouting at Wickham. “You fool, what do you think you are doing? Who is this woman? Where are the children?”

  “It could not be helped, the children escaped in the arms of their nursemaid. But I know you will wish to deal with this woman, as she is the new Mrs Darcy. She and Darcy were married a week ago.”

  “NO! This is not possible. He is to marry me. Who is this woman? Why would he marry her? There has been no word, nothing said, of his marrying anyone.”

  “She was Elizabeth Bennet, formerly of Longbourn, in Hertfordshire. They married in a private service at Pemberley. She happens to be fond of my children, which would, of course, attract Darcy to her.”

  “Bennet…why is that name familiar?”

  “Her sister is Jane Bennet, who married Bingley. Or I should say, was Jane Bingley, as Bingley is now free from his wedding bonds.”

  “How so?”

  “Mrs Bingley stepped between myself and her sister as I fired my gun. She is dead.”

  Wickham had moved slowly to where Elizabeth lay in the dirt, blood flowing from her shoulder. “This one is still alive. Too bad, she would have been better off if she had died like her sister.”

  “Drag her inside. Then hide your horse around back. We do not want anyone searching for her to find this mess.”

  Standing at a bit of an angle, and still holding his injured manhood, Wickham slowly reached for Elizabeth’s arm and began dragging her towards the house. The pain coursing through her made Elizabeth scream, until, unable to withstand the noise, Wickham smacked her hard across the face, dazing the young Mistress of Pemberley into silence.

  Once inside the cottage, Wickham dumped Elizabeth unceremoniously on the floor.

  Elizabeth was nearly unconscious when the woman, attached to the voice she had heard outside, came into view. She leaned over the injured lady, using the tip of her shoe to roll Elizabeth on her back.

  With a weak voice, Elizabeth asked, “Who…who are you?”

  “I am the next Mrs Fitzwilliam Darcy, Mistress of Pemberley. All I need to do is eliminate you and those brats, and Fitzwilliam will be ready to marry me.”

  “He would never marry anyone like you.” Elizabeth whispered, thinking she had only said the words in her head, as she drifted off into oblivion.

  “Of course he would marry me. I am his perfect match, and will make him proud to have me as his wife. It is too bad that you will not be around to see that I am correct, as you must be eliminated.”

  “I told you that I have no desire to kill a woman. Those I have killed were out of necessity. And will I kill my children. Ship them off somewhere they will never be found is one thing, killing is another.” Wickham said as he sat gingerly on a nearby chair.

  “But that was before we learned Darcy had married. If she is missing, he cannot remarry. She has to be dead.”

  “Then you will have to do the deed yourself.”

  “If you do not do as I tell you, you will receive none of the money I promised. You have failed to do as you promised, as you did not bring the children. Now you refuse to dispose of this woman. What good are you?”

  “I am a man who will not kill a woman or a baby. I have some scruples.”

  “I am surprised to hear such news, Wickham. You have no scruples with stealing, with ruining young ladies, and cheating people, but you have scruples over killing. How many of the young ladies you have ruined have died from childbirth? Miss Darcy is one, how many others? You are guilty of killing Miss Darcy. You raped her, left her with child, and then she died after giving birth. You are responsible for her death.”

  “You paid me to ruin her, so you are just as guilty of killing her.” Wickham shouted. “I would not have done so if you had not hired me to kidnap her and ruin her. Why would you do so, because you wished to marry her brother?”

  “I thought he would be like any other man, and ship her off to Scotland or somewhere, far away. With his sister out of his life, he would wish to marry right away, to protect his name.”

  “You obviously did not know him well enough.” Wickham chided. “Then again, how many men would have kept his ruined sister at home, even after she was shown to be carrying a babe from the…situation?”

  ~~~~~~~ ** ~~~~~~~

  Chapter 15

  Darcy and Bingley rode north, trailing after Wickham and his hostage. The men from Pemberley who were with them all knew that the Master would move heaven and earth to recover his wife. They all prayed for Mrs Darcy to be alive and unharmed, though they all feared what Wickham would do to her. Knowing the sort of man he was did nothing to quash those fears.

  Darcy’s mind continued to chastise himself for not insisting on going with his wife to the dress shop. Had he accompanied her, he would have been able to protect her from Wickham. At least, that is what he believed. The image of Jane Bingley, dead on the floor, made Darcy ill. The thought of Wickham raping Georgiana was also on Darcy’s mind.

  “If it is the last thing I do, I will put an end to that scoundrel. He will not harm another, not as long as I draw breath.” Darcy spoke to himself. “And if he has harmed my wife, I will rip him apart with my bare hands.”

  Bingley’s mind was torn between finding Elizabeth, praying for her safety, and the numbness which was overwhelming him. A numbness from realizing that his own wife, the woman who had convinced him of her love for him, the woman he had given his heart to, was gone forever. Though he was angry at Jane for her deceit, he could not completely shut his heart to her. He had been unable to turn off the love he had for her, no matter what she had done. And now, she was dead. Killed by a man who had tricked her. Killed by the man she thought was good and decent, only to discover that he was the reason behind Darcy’s family being ruined. Rather than trust in the good and caring man who was her husband’s closest friend, Jane had put her faith in the man
who was known to be a rake and scoundrel, ruining many young ladies over the years. If it had not been so heartbreaking, Bingley would have thought it humorous.

  But Jane was dead, realizing too late that she was a complete fool for her actions over the past months. And her once beloved sister would pay for Jane’s foolishness and misplaced trust.

  The search party continued northbound, tracking the trail they believed to be Wickham’s. When they came to a fork in the road, they were confused as to which direction to go. From the appearance, they would have believed that the horse in question traveled on the west road, as the east road appeared clear of markings. Something inside Darcy told him that what they saw was staged.

  “The east road looks too clean, as if someone has deliberately cleared it to throw us off their track. I believe Wickham went on the east road.” Darcy said. “He may have had an accomplice waiting to assist him. Wickham had planned to abduct the twins, not my wife. So he still would have needed to journey somewhere, and would have had a plan.”

  “Should we split up and half of us go each direction?” Bingley asked.

  “No, I am certain they went on the east road. I do not wish to split our numbers, as we may need everyone when we find Wickham.” Darcy replied.

  The men road on, following the east road. Not far from the fork, the familiar hoof markings in the dirt reappeared. Darcy was pleased to know he had not been fooled.

  They stopped at each lane or trail which splintered off from the road, having one of the men ride on the trail for a short distance to confirm Wickham had not taken that direction. It was a long and frustrating duty, but necessary to ensure that there were no further attempts to deceive them.

  Finally, as darkness was overtaking the area, they found the trail which Wickham had taken. Quietly as possible, the men moved along the trail using caution. They did not want Wickham to be aware they were nearby.

  Finding a cottage at the end of the trail, the men left the horses with one of the Pemberley grooms, who was with the party. The men moved closer to the building, noting smoke coming from the chimney. Someone was inside, Darcy whispered. All they needed to know was how many people, and if his wife was there.