by Kara Louise
Wickham’s face was enflamed with anger. “You are still as tight-fisted as you always have been! You have fooled the people around Pemberley into thinking you are generous. Well I know otherwise!”
“Wickham, I have been generous toward you to a fault! It is because you chose to mishandle all that was given to you that you are in the dire straits you are today. Does Miss Lydia know of the gambling debts you left behind in Meryton, let alone all the other places you have fled? Does she know how you have gone from one line of work to another to flee your creditors?”
“That is all a lie!”
“Come, Lydia,” urged Mr. Gardiner, as the two men stood quietly now, staring at one another. “Certainly you can see for yourself that this man before you is not the gentleman he led you to believe he was. His intentions have been strictly dishonourable.”
Lydia turned to Wickham. “Is this all true? Did you know that my sister was married to Mr. Darcy? Is this the only reason you wanted to marry me?”
Wickham pushed her away toward her uncle. “Oh, go with him! I would be weary of your incessant chattering in but a few days. No amount of money would make it worth marrying you!”
Lydia’s eyes widened as she turned back to him. “You lied to me! All those things you said to me were lies!”
“I only said what you wanted to hear!”
“Lydia,” Mr. Gardiner gently urged her away, “the carriage is waiting.”
He took Lydia’s arm to take her to the carriage, glancing at Darcy and urging him to follow suit.
Wickham eyed him with contempt. “Take your tedious sister and return her to her pathetic family. You have done well for yourself, old friend, marrying into the Bennet family. Your pretty little wife must make up for her decidedly inferior station and questionable connections in other ways for you, eh, Darcy?”
Darcy’s fist tightened as Wickham made his malicious declaration against his wife and her family.
Wickham looked at him spitefully. “I found her quite dull, myself. Although her figure was certainly something I would not mind getting my hands on.”
Wickham gave a low laugh and then abruptly decided he was finished.
“What are you remaining here for? You have Lydia. Now go!”
“There is one more thing I wish to take care of here, Wickham,” Darcy said softly, masking his anger.
“And that is?”
Before Wickham could brace himself, Darcy pulled back his fist and promptly gave him a blow to the stomach. Wickham doubled up, making a futile attempt to catch his breath.
“I leave you with that, Wickham, as well as with a warning. Do not ever speak of my wife in that manner again! And never attempt anything like this with a young girl again or I shall make sure you will suffer more than just the consequences of a blow to the abdomen!”
Darcy wiped off his hands and turned, leaving Wickham crouched and unable to get up for some time.
The carriage returned to the Gardiners’ home in relative silence. Lydia was obstinate in not wanting to listen to any scolding. She was humiliated by Wickham’s harsh words, but now that she was required to go to the Gardiners’ and bear their lectures on the virtues of women, it was far too disheartening.
When they arrived at their destination, Darcy did not follow them in, but bid them farewell. Darcy’s body ached, prodding him that he needed rest. However, he had one more situation that required his immediate attention and he knew this might be even more difficult than what he just endured.
Chapter 31
When Darcy rode up to his townhouse, it greeted him with all the easy familiarity of a close friend. Just setting his eyes upon it helped calm him. But he knew very well that just inside might be something of a different matter.
He walked up to the door and opened it, greeting a very surprised butler, Mr. Andrews. “Mr. Darcy, this is a surprise! We were not expecting you!”
“I am sorry to arrive without notice, Andrews. Tell me, is my aunt here?”
“Yes, sir. Your aunt arrived but an hour ago, and your cousin Colonel Fitzwilliam is here as well.”
“Richard is here?”
“Yes, sir. He has been here a couple of days. He is in with your aunt now in the sitting room.”
Darcy looked at him. “I beseech you, Andrews; do not let anyone know I am here. I shall be in my study. Please make an attempt to draw Colonel Fitzwilliam away from my aunt and ask him to come into the study without raising her suspicions. Presently, I do not wish for her to know that I am here.”
“Yes, sir.”
Darcy slipped into his study and closed the door. He waited. If he could garner the help of his cousin, this might turn out to be easier than he thought.
It was some minutes before Colonel Fitzwilliam came into the study. He opened the door curiously and when he saw Darcy, his eyes travelled up and down the usually immaculate man. Darcy was encrusted with a layer of dirt, his clothes completely soiled. He began to let out a “Cous…”
Darcy put his fingers up to his lips to silence him. “Shhhh, Richard. I do not want Lady Catherine to know I am here just yet! I desperately need your help.”
Darcy saw the look of exasperation on his cousin’s face. “And I need your help too, Darcy! She is extremely upset and irrational! Something has her so enraged, yet she refuses to tell me what it is!”
“I believe I know what has her so enraged. I will tell you and I ask that you return to her and attempt to get her to discuss it with you.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam looked askance at him and nodded his head. “Pray, continue.”
“First, sit down and promise me you will not utter a word until I have finished.”
Richard furrowed his eyebrows and smiled. “You are behaving quite oddly, cousin, but if you insist, not a word!”
“Good. Some news came to her attention about me and she is not pleased about it.”
“What news was that?”
Darcy paused, thinking to himself that disclosing his marriage ought to get easier with all the people he had already told. “She found out I am married.”
“Mar…”
“Shhh!” Darcy looked at his cousin’s shocked face. “I married a wonderful young lady I met on the ship to America. She is exceptional… more than I could have expected to find in a lady… but she does not meet our aunt’s expectations of whom she believes I should marry. Although I strongly believe no woman would have satisfied her notion, other than Anne.”
“Ahhhh, now I understand her temper tonight!”
“Well, there is more. Our marriage has been a secret.”
At Colonel Fitzwilliam’s look of astonishment, Darcy explained briefly how it came to be.
“Very few people know about it, but Wickham found out… in truth, he stole the marriage certificate and took it to her, no doubt seeking some sort of recompense for bringing it to her attention. She, in turn, went directly to Elizabeth, my wife, with the certificate in hand, berating her to her face, and threatened that she would annul our marriage!”
“Darcy! In the past we have witnessed some inexcusable behaviour from her, but this surpasses them all! Certainly she has no real ability to annul your marriage, does she?”
“Is there anything our aunt would not attempt, if she was so determined?” He looked at his cousin guardedly. “Think back, Richard, on how often she has used her wealth and position for fraudulent means; silencing and influencing authorities; discrediting the honour of someone simply because they stood up to her or were not to her liking.”
“I take your meaning.”
“You must engage her to talk. Somehow you must get her to show you the marriage certificate and remove it from her possession and return to me! I will rest a little easier having it in my own hands.”
“How am I to do that?”
“Give her some reason to enlighten you as to what she comprehends of my situation. Relate to her how badly I have mismanaged Pemberley, how you are concerned about my behaviour of late… anything to ge
t her to confide in you about what she discovered concerning me!”
“You really want me to disparage you in front of her?”
“Only until you are able to secure the certificate. I do not believe she can do anything without it. And once I have it, I will confront her. With your help, of course!”
“Thanks, good cousin! I cannot tell you how I have always wanted to do this!” The colonel cast Darcy a sarcastic look. “Enumerate your faults, that is, not confront our aunt!”
Darcy shook his head at his cousin’s teasing. “But you will do this?”
“Yes, I will see what I can do!” As Richard walked out, he turned and gave his cousin a curious glance, unable to believe the man had actually found a woman he deemed worthy to marry. That he had married in such a fashion was even more astounding.
Richard left, and Darcy sank down in his chair. He leaned back and closed his eyes, believing he would just rest his weary body while his cousin was charming his aunt into surrendering the certificate. But resting his body soon gave way and Darcy fell into a deep, much needed sleep.
Richard walked through the door, awakening Darcy with a start. “That was certainly prompt!” he said as his cousin looked at him, holding a piece of paper in his hands.
“Prompt? How can you say that was prompt? It took me more than an hour to get this from her!”
Darcy blinked his eyes a few times. “That long?” He shook his head to clear his thoughts. “I must have fallen asleep.”
“You must have fallen into a deep sleep!”
“So where is she now?”
“She is still in the drawing room. Mad as a hornet about all the things I said about you. But you were correct, it worked! After I told her of your recent troubling behaviour, she was more than willing to tell me all about your little indiscretion. However, in her eyes, one would think you had committed treason or some similar offence. When I feigned complete disbelief, I asked her what proof she had and she promptly produced this!”
“Excellent work, Richard.” He met the look of mirth in his cousin’s eyes. “Now I only hope we can undo the damage of the stories you told!”
“Undo them? Why, I only told her what was true!” Colonel Fitzwilliam took great delight in teasing his younger cousin.
Darcy shook his head. “Come, Richard. I need you beside me now, more than ever!”
The two walked into the drawing room, where Lady Catherine had leaned her head back and drifted off to sleep.
“It appears as though all that anger has taken its toll on her, Darcy. Perhaps we should leave her and wait until morning.”
“No, Fitz! We are doing this now!”
Richard looked at his cousin and could see how exhausted he was. “Darcy, there is no need to pursue this tonight. You are fatigued beyond measure! Let it… and you… rest until morning. You always think better after a good night’s sleep. And you know how our aunt hates being disturbed from her sleep. You will not stand a chance with her tonight if we awaken her now.”
“Perhaps you are right. I shall retire to my room and will be up at first light. I shall see you in the morning.”
“Aye, cousin. Anything you say!”
As Darcy turned to leave, he admonished his cousin. “If I am not here in the morning, do what you must to keep our aunt from leaving! I have an urgent errand to run and you must keep her here until I return!”
At Richard’s nod, Darcy walked slowly to his room, anxious for his bed. Passing Andrews, he informed him that he would be turning in and again asked that his aunt not be informed of his presence in his home.
“Shall I have a bath drawn for you, sir?”
For the first time since arriving, Darcy looked down at his clothes. “Yes, Andrews, that would be splendid.” He came into his room and quickly rid himself of his grimy attire. He waited quietly and patiently for the bath to be drawn, and at long last it was ready. He stepped into the bath and leaned back, allowing Andrews to take Durnham’s role in scrubbing him clean.
When he finally slipped into bed, he fell into a deep sleep, consoling himself with dreams of a beautiful woman he longed so much to have at his side.
***
Darcy opened his eyes and sat up with a start. He looked around him, adjusting his eyes to the semi-darkness of the room, quickly realizing that he was in his room at his townhouse in London. He swung his legs off the bed, knowing that he must ready himself without delay if he was to get the early start he required.
It was some time later that Colonel Fitzwilliam cautiously came downstairs and was grateful when he saw that the dining room was empty. His aunt had not yet come down. He would be able to savour at least a few minutes of undisturbed silence as he enjoyed his morning meal while contemplating the events of the previous evening.
He had never seen the likes of his aunt’s anger in the whole of his life. He could easily have called it a furious rage. On many occasions he had witnessed her demanding tirades, her stridently voiced dissatisfaction with a trifling annoyance, and even her irritation at his own acts of impudence, but never what he had witnessed last night.
He wondered to what extent his aunt had berated the woman who was now the object of her contempt—Darcy’s wife. To think that she paid her a visit to express her disapproval, to vehemently denounce their marriage, and to threaten to annul it! The very thought made Richard shudder. He hoped that this lady his cousin married had a strong enough constitution to bear this first meeting of their aunt and was kind-hearted enough to forgive her.
Richard questioned, however, whether his cousin would ever be able to forgive their aunt. Throughout their life they had, for the sake of family, endured her emotional outbursts and verbal assaults, learning at an early age simply to remain silent when she burst into a fit of rage. Was it only his imagination or was she truly becoming more and more malicious of late? He heard his aunt’s voice snapping out orders to her maid. She had arisen! He knew it was only a matter of time before she would come upon him in the dining room and continue with the tirade she began last evening. He looked at his empty coffee cup and shook his head, hoping his cousin would return shortly. He was not sure how long he would be able to detain her from setting out, as Darcy had requested, let alone endure her wrath.
She entered the room with a fiery countenance that clearly reflected her dissatisfaction with everything and everyone. At her overly dramatic frustrated sigh, Richard looked up. “Good morning, Aunt.”
“Until I get a few things settled, I hardly would call it good. Richard, do you still have the marriage certificate? You do, do you not?”
“Ah, yes, it is somewhere around here.”
“Nephew, you must retrieve it directly and attend me!”
The colonel gave her an innocent questioning glance. “Pardon? Attend you where?”
“Oh, Richard! Have you no recollection of last night? With all that you told me of your cousin’s behaviour of late, you must accompany me. Surely with the information we both submit to our attorney, he shall clearly see that my nephew is not in his right mind and that his marriage must therefore be annulled!”
Richard forced himself to disguise his horror as he looked at his aunt. “Not in his right mind?” He smiled at the thought. “Certainly that can wait, Aunt, until after breakfast. Sit down and enjoy something to eat.”
“I must attend to this as soon as possible, Richard, and you must join me!” She pulled out a piece of paper. “I have written it all down this morning, everything you informed me of last night and all that I have come to be acquainted with in regards to his behaviour of late. He certainly cannot continue to handle all of his responsibilities, particularly managing Pemberley, if he is so mentally incapacitated. And this marriage…”
Richard could barely swallow without choking as he heard his aunt’s scathing words. He looked up with disbelief as she essentially threatened to take over all of Darcy’s affairs. He forced himself to remain calm. “I am sorry, Aunt. I fear that I cannot. If you wish me to accom
pany you, it must be later. Something has arisen and I cannot leave at present.” He hoped his expressed inability to leave directly would delay his aunt’s departure.
“Something has arisen?” Lady Catherine looked at him angrily. “When I arrived yesterday and discovered you here, you informed me that you were here to spend a week free of responsibilities and engagements. Now you say something has arisen? Pray, what?”
“Me!”
The voice behind Lady Catherine startled her. She turned to see Darcy standing in the doorway, his eyes darkened and his hands tightly gripping his riding crop.
Darcy noticed only the slightest thread of dismay cross her face, followed by an adjustment of her shoulders and a fortification of her resolve. “Nephew!”
“Lady Catherine,” Darcy acknowledged her with restrained anger.
The two studied each other. Lady Catherine anxiously tried to determine if her nephew knew her reason for being in Town or was aware of the meeting with his… his… She could not bring herself to consider that woman as his wife!
Darcy, on the other hand, braced himself to confront this woman who so insolently berated his Elizabeth.
“I was not aware that you would be in Town,” Lady Catherine commented warily.
“I would imagine you rather hoped I would not.”
“Well,” she said, nervously clearing her throat. “Your cousin and I… we have business we must attend to.” The glance she gave to Richard demanded that he heed her appeal.
As she turned to walk around Darcy, he sidestepped in front of her to prevent her from getting beyond him. “I would advise you to sit down, first, Aunt. There is a matter I must discuss with you.”
“As soon as I return!” She turned to the colonel. “Richard, be so kind as to get that item we were discussing a few moments earlier. It is imperative that I have it in my possession.”