On the Road to Ramsgate

by Melanie Schertz

  Raymond and Frank, both footmen for Pemberley, volunteered to make their way to the cottage to ascertain the needed information. They moved with stealth, clearly honed by years of being invisible to all until they were needed.

  The men were able to sneak to the building, unseen by those inside the small house. They could hear the loud voices of a man and a woman coming from inside, though the woman’s voice did not sound like their Mistress. The pair were arguing, and it was clear that the woman was the one in charge.

  “You are a fool, Wickham. Now what are we going to do? How are we going to get our hands on those filthy creatures?”

  “They are children, my children to be exact. I will find a way to remove them from Darcy’s care. If it were not for his wife, I would have been able to claim them today.”

  “Do not call her that. I am to be Darcy’s wife, not this nobody. He will quickly realize that I am the best person to be his wife, to bring him back into Society. Fitzwilliam Darcy should be one of the leaders of Society.”

  “I could not care if he marries you or not. I need the money you owe me. And do not forget the rest of the funds you were to bring me on the continent. You still owe me.”

  “You received funds from Colonel Fitzwilliam. Do not act surprised, I know that you ransomed that simpering girl for part of her dowry.”

  “I only received a few hundred pounds, not even half of what you promised me. If you do not pay, I will tell Darcy it was you all along.”

  “He will not believe you. Darcy believes me to be a proper lady. A proper lady would never have a girl of fifteen ruined on purpose. Well, then again, there are those in Society who would act in such a manner. Or even compromise themselves to achieve their goal.” The men heard the woman laugh.

  Revolted by what they had heard, the men made their way back to Darcy and Bingley.

  “There appears to be a lady with Wickham, besides Mrs Darcy. We didna see the Mistress, but the way them two is talking, Mrs Darcy is in there.”

  “You say there is a woman in there? Who could she be?” Darcy asked.

  “Don’ know, but we heard her say she be da one to hire Wickham to do…what he did…what he did to Miss Darcy.” Frank said, his head shaking with disbelief that anyone could be so cruel.

  Darcy’s stomach was churning, and he could feel bile rising in his throat. “What else did they say?”

  “The woman, she thinks you will marry her, after da babes is gone. She says you be not like others. Others would have rid themselves of a ruined sister and her lil ones. That be why she hired Wickham, so she could be rid of Miss Darcy and you’d need a missus to make you proper.” Raymond said. “And she be laughin’. Nothin’ to laugh bout, ruin a sweet girl like Miss Darcy.”

  “We need to move closer to the house. Was there anyone else inside or nearby?” Bingley asked.

  “No. There be a curricle and three horses tied up out back. Two horses for the curricle, the other be Wickham’s.” Frank replied.

  “Very well. We will have four of you men around back. Make sure that Wickham and the lady do not come out or get hold of the horses. The rest of us will go in the front door.” Darcy said. “Each of you have a pair of guns, be ready to use them. Wickham will not hesitate. He has killed two ladies today, so he knows he will hang for his offenses. The woman has to know that she will be found just as guilty, so she also has little to lose. The only person in that building I am concerned with coming out alive is my wife.”

  All of the men nodded in agreement. They moved forward, taking positions around the front entrance and at the back, near the horses. Darcy heard the pair inside still arguing, though he was amazed to hear the voice of the lady.

  Finally, Darcy gave the signal and three men burst into the cottage through the front door. Wickham cursed and the woman screeched with the intrusion.

  “What is going on here?” Darcy demanded, holding his gun aimed at Wickham’s heart.

  “Darcy, how good it is to see you, old friend. What is the reason for pointing a gun at me?” Wickham said, sneering at his childhood friend.

  “I wonder, Wickham. Be grateful I did not come in shooting.”

  Wickham gave a wicked laugh. “Oh, but then you might have shot your dear little wife.” He motioned his eyes towards the form lying on the floor at the woman’s feet.

  “Is she alive?” Darcy asked, his temper flaring at the thought of his beloved wife lying so still and lifeless.

  “She is, though I am not certain how long she will be so. She requires a surgeon. And for the record, I did not shoot her.” Wickham replied.

  “Miss Bingley, you shot my wife?”

  “Mr Darcy, I do not know of what this man is speaking. I happened to be here, waiting for a friend of mine to meet me here. I was to make the journey to Town with Miss Clarice Townsend. This cottage belongs to her uncle.” Miss Bingley began making excuses.

  “Enough of your excuses, Caroline.” Bingley said as he stepped from behind his friend so that his sister could see him.

  “Charles, what are you doing here? I thought you were at Netherfield.”

  “I do not believe you, Caroline. You hired Wickham to abduct Darcy’s nieces. In the process, Wickham has killed two people, including my wife.”

  Caroline Bingley had a difficult time keeping the pleasure of the news from exhibiting on her face. “Oh, my poor brother. You must be terribly distraught.”

  “You can pretend all you wish, but we know the truth.” Darcy stated. “Including the fact that you hired Wickham to violate my sister, after he took her from Ramsgate. You hated my sister so much, that you would destroy her life to become Mistress of Pemberley?”

  “You would never have allowed her to be placed in a boarding school, so I had to do something. Georgiana was going to tell you that I had lied to her. She misunderstood what happened with Theresa McGovern at the Fillmore’s ball. If she told you what happened, you would refuse to ever see me again. I could not allow that, as I know that I am your perfect match.” Caroline was desperate.

  “You are the last woman in the world I could be prevailed upon to marry.” Darcy stated. “You purposely ruin my sister, leading to her death? Then you attempt to abduct my nieces, only to take my wife instead. What could motivate me to marry someone who has destroyed my life?”

  Caroline looked down at the figure lying on the floor, bleeding from the wound she had caused. A knife on the table behind her was quickly grabbed as Caroline threw herself on her knees as she grasped Elizabeth’s hair, pulling the injured woman to her. “You have great motivation, Mr Darcy. If you do not wish to have this chit die, you will do as I say.”

  Darcy began to move forward, only to stop when he saw the knife Caroline held at Elizabeth’s throat. “Please, Miss Bingley, do not harm her.”

  “See, I told you that you would have great motivation. I wish my curricle readied and brought around front. Wickham and I will be leaving with this Bennet sister. If you follow us, you will regret it.”

  “I cannot allow you to leave with my wife. From the looks of it, she is injured and requires a physician.” Darcy pleaded. “If you leave her with me, I give you my word that no one will follow you.”

  “Ha, like we can trust you, Darcy.” Wickham snorted. “We would be dead as soon as we left the house.”

  “I give you my word, my men will not harm you. You may leave without fear. All I wish is to see my wife safe.”

  “Why her?” Caroline’s eyes grew round. “What is so grand about her that you would wish her to be your wife? She is nobody of importance. You could have had everything with me as your wife. Society would have welcomed you back with open arms.”

  “But I do not welcome Society back into my life. My home at Pemberley is all I need. The natural beauty and comfort it brings me is more than I have ever received from Society. My family is more important to me than the false friendships of the ton. You are the one who craves those connections, not me.”

  “Without you, I can
never hope to take my rightful place in the ton. But you will not share your name with me. You destroy my hopes and dreams, so why should I allow you to have yours?”

  Caroline moved her hand, preparing to plunge the knife into Elizabeth. Wickham could see that he was losing ground and needed to do something to save his own life. “Miss Bingley, stop. I believe Darcy when he says that he will let us leave, unharmed. If you kill that chit, we are both dead. Why do we not take Darcy instead of her? She will be a nuisance to us, with her wound. Darcy will protect us from harm until we arrive at our destination.”

  For once in his life, Darcy was grateful to Wickham. “Yes, yes, I will go with you, to guarantee your safety. We can go to Town, and I can give you funds, so you will be able to go wherever you wish. Just leave Elizabeth with your brother. He does not wish harm to come to you. If Elizabeth recovers, then there would be nothing to fear from the law. If she dies, from not receiving medical care, you could lose your life. I do not wish to see you suffer. And Wickham was correct, you cannot journey with Elizabeth in this condition. It is a far better plan to take me.”

  Looking down at the woman she held in her hands, Caroline’s attention was distracted. One of Darcy’s men, Robby, saw an opportunity, and lunged forward, throwing himself between the knife and Elizabeth, pushing her body away from her attacker. Caroline began screaming, being deprived of her prey. She brought the knife down on the man’s back twice before anyone else could get close enough to stop her. While the men were busy with Caroline, Robby, and Elizabeth, Wickham saw his chance to escape, and fled out the door.

  Bingley shouted for someone to go after Wickham, but Darcy stopped them. “We must take care of matters here first. I have to get Elizabeth to a physician immediately.”

  Suddenly, a shot was heard from outside the building. The shouts of several men made it clear that Wickham was being dealt with by his men who were stationed near the curricle and horses.

  Caroline was kicking and screaming, attempting to claw the faces of the men who had subdued her. Bingley looked around the house, including the bedroom area, where he located a sheet which he tore into strips which could be used to bind his sister’s hands.

  While Bingley was seeing to his sister, Darcy was inspecting his wife’s wound. There was a trickle of blood which flowed from the wound. Darcy took his handkerchief from his coat pocket and placed it over the wound. Seeing his friend tearing the sheet, Darcy asked Bingley to tear some to make bandaging for his wife’s wound.

  Frank came inside the house, having been at the rear of the house when Darcy and Bingley entered the building. When his employer looked up, Frank nodded his head once to the man. “Have no fear, Wickham can do no more harm. He wou’d not stop and tried to get to da horses. I stopped him right good.” He looked down at the gun in his hand.

  “Thank you, Frank. Please, bring around the curricle. I need to get my wife home.”

  “It is dark outside, Mr Darcy. Would it not be better if we wait until the morning?”

  “My wife is in need of a surgeon. I cannot wait.” Darcy declared.

  A sudden movement in his arms alerted him that his wife was waking. “Lizzy, Lizzy, my love. Can you hear me?”

  “Yes, William. Where are we?” She replied in a weak voice.

  “In a cottage. It is far from Pemberley, and the journey will be dangerous, as it is now dark outside.”

  Elizabeth shook her head slightly. “Then we should remain here. It would be safer.”

  “Dearest, you need to be tended by the surgeon. I do not wish to delay the care you need.” Darcy could feel the unshed tears welling in his eyes. “We will arrive home, the journey will only take a bit longer.”

  “No, I will be fine. Just sleepy. Not ready for a ride.”

  “Darcy, perhaps she is correct. There is a bed in the room at the end of the hall. She could rest there. One of the men can bring some water in, and you can clean the wound.” Bingley attempted to calm his friend. “She has no fever as yet, and if you clean the wound now, there will be less chance of her taking one. We can set out at sunrise, it would be safer. The trail we followed would not be safe for you to drive the curricle at night.”

  Bingley had the other men secure his sister, as he was beyond furious with her and wished to strangle her. While they tied her hands and feet, and gagged her screeching mouth, Bingley searched the house. “Darcy, we are in luck. There is a bottle of whiskey. There is not much, but it will be good to clean Elizabeth’s wound. And there are towels, and even some soap. We can heat some water on the fire, there is a pot here that will be perfect for the task.”

  “Good, good. Can you see to the preparations? I will take my wife in the other room to remove part of her gown, so I can tend her better.”

  Bingley nodded his head. Biting back a chuckle as he watched the men unceremoniously dump Caroline on the floor, who was still ranting behind the gag, Bingley started giving directions to the men.

  “I found some food items in the cupboards. It appears whoever owns the house has been here recently.” Bingley stated. “Unfortunately, I have no idea how to cook anything.”

  Frank came forward, taking items from Bingley’s hands. “I was taught some cookin’ by me Ma. It wont be fancy, but it ‘ill be better than nuffin.”

  ~~~~~~~ ** ~~~~~~~

  Chapter 16

  “Mrs Reynolds, what is going on here?” Richard Fitzwilliam asked as he entered Pemberley. “I was told that someone has abducted Mrs Darcy, and they tried to take the twins. What is happening? Where is my cousin?”

  “Colonel, we were not expecting you for another two days. The twins are safe, they are upstairs with Sally and Martha. Your cousin is searching for the Mistress. It has been terrible, Colonel. George Wickham was the scoundrel. He killed Mrs Bronson, the dressmaker, and even killed Mrs Bingley. She was the Mistress’ sister. We have received no word from the men, and I am beside myself with fear.” The housekeeper reached in her pocket for a handkerchief, though, before she could extract it, Richard had one in his outstretched hand for her.

  “I am certain my cousin will be well, and he will find his wife, or move heaven and earth to locate her. Are the twins well? Were they harmed?”

  “No, they were not harmed. Mrs Darcy had Sally remove them from the shop before Mr Wickham could put a finger on either of those precious angels.”

  Richard was shocked. “We can all guess why he would do such a thing, as he would want to bleed Darcy for money. I am surprised that Wickham is in England, as he left the country after he received the funds I gave him so I could find Georgiana. The detective we hired confirmed he had sailed to Amsterdam.”

  “Why would he return to cause the Master more pain?” Mrs Reynolds began to sob. “I pray the Mistress is unharmed and all will return home soon.”

  “As do I, Mrs Reynolds. As do I.”

  ~~ ** ~~

  The journey to Pemberley was taken as carefully as possible, with Elizabeth being placed in the curricle and padded with the blankets and pillows taken from the cottage. Darcy had instructed Bingley to leave a message explaining what had happened, and that the items would be replaced, so the owner would not be worried.

  Darcy drove the curricle, constantly checking on his wife’s condition. Though weak, Elizabeth smiled at him, telling him often that she was well. It was obvious to everyone that she was not well, but it gave her husband the reassurance that he needed. He attempted to find the smoothest route to take, not wishing to cause her any undo pain.

  Bingley had seen his sister placed on horseback, still bound and gagged, draped over the saddle in the same manner Wickham’s body was placed. Knowing his sister would be furious as to the unladylike manner she was being treated was an added bonus to Bingley. His fury had not dissipated overnight. The once amiable young man was intent on disowning his sister and allowing her to reap what she had sown. There would be no attempt by him to protect her from the punishment, even knowing that she would likely hang for her crimes.
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  Several hours passed before the group arrived at Pemberley’s grand house.

  Fortunately, Frank had ridden ahead and informed the housekeeper what had happened. They sent for Mr York, the physician, and he had arrived shortly before the group.

  As Darcy pulled the curricle to a stop, a crowd formed around the conveyance.

  “Master William, we have Mr York here.” Mrs Reynolds announced. “And we have sent for the constable and the magistrate. We have the Mistress’ rooms prepared for her. Water is heating and food is ready for everyone in the dining room.”

  The footmen and stable hands looked at each other in shock. Darcy was too concerned with his wife to notice, though Bingley did. “Men, after all that you have done, it is the very least we can give you as payment for your loyalty. Please, the food is in the dining room, and I beg you to help yourselves. Eat until your bellies are full, after my cooking last night, you deserve the best Pemberley has to offer you.”

  The men handed off their horses and reluctantly entered the house, following one of the maids who was directing them to the dining room.

  Bingley had his sister carried inside the house and placed on the sofa in the drawing room. She was angry, shouting muffled obscenities at the men and her brother. Stepping over to her, Bingley removed the gag from her mouth.

  “So help me, Charles, I will see you pay for the way you have treated me. You allowed those men to put their filthy hands on me, tie me up and throw me on the floor. And the journey here, oh, mark my words, you will pay for such disrespect.”

  “I was planning to ask if you wished for a drink or something to eat, but, if you are going to berate me, I will replace the gag and leave you here while I have some of the food.”

  “You would not dare leave me here, trussed up like an animal. I am a lady, and demand to be treated as such.”