“Do you — require it?”
Elizabeth smiled. “I found a bottle on the shelf. I think it could be useful.”
“How so? Do they allow you alone long enough to fetch it and lace it in their cups?”
Elizabeth’s face fell. “No. But it is something to keep in mind. If I see an opportunity to dose them with it, I will take it in a moment.”
Darcy frowned. He shifted so he was looking at her. To Elizabeth’s astonishment, he gripped her hands in his.
“You must promise me you will do nothing foolish,” he said with an intensity that surprised her.
“I will—“
“Promise me,” he said again, fiercely. “I mean it. If anything happens to you, I will hang for their murder, and I will not regret it. Do nothing foolhardy.”
Elizabeth hardly knew where to look as those dark eyes burned into hers.
“I promise,” she said, with such meekness, Darcy stopped and blinked in surprise as though he had not expected it to be that easy. But he had touched on the one thing that could restrain Elizabeth. She could not have borne it if anything happened to him. Especially if it were because of her actions.
“Thank you,” he said faintly. A brief smile flickered across his face. “I am glad to know I have an obedient wife.”
Chapter 19
Elizabeth shrank back into the shadows, hoping they would forget about her. Jameson was more than a little drunk by then, and Jerry was not much better. They made impressions of a man whose carriage they had once held up, causing one another to burst into mirth as they mocked his terror and shook their heads in delight at their own daring.
“Miss Bennet — or should we say, Mrs Darcy? Will you not join us for a drink? Come, you are a newlywed still. You should be celebrating.”
“I would rather refrain from drinking,” she said pertly.
“Why not? There is no need to worry about letting your guard down around us. You are too valuable for us to harm — unless you have another reason to avoid drink?” Jerry’s bleary eyes drifted to her stomach. Elizabeth followed his gaze in confusion for a moment before his meaning hit her. She glanced around at their young faces, feeling grateful they were too inexperienced to know she could not have known she was pregnant in over a week of marriage even if she and Darcy had consummated it. She slipped her hand to her belly and turned away.
“You know what this means?” said Jameson. He giggled and hiccupped. “She is carrying the heir to Pemberley. We can get even more money from the old man!”
Jerry thumped the table with his fist. “I tell you, this marriage was the best idea I have ever had. Even I could not have predicted it would work out so well for us. Come, Mrs Darcy. If you will not drink, we will do it for you. Bring more wine!”
Elizabeth assessed them critically as they lounged over the table. Her father was not a drinker, and she had little experience of how men behaved when drunk, but even to her inexperienced eye, they seemed far gone. Jameson was lolling back in the chair as he giggled weakly, barely able to keep his head up. Jerry was slumped over the table, grinning blearily. Taking her chance, Elizabeth turned to the shelf to grasp the laudanum. She froze when she saw the bottle was missing. Her heart pounded. Perhaps Wickham had seen her looking at it after all.
“Where’s the wine?” said Jerry in a commanding tone that was slightly marred by his hiccups. Elizabeth hurried to the stash and selected a bottle. She hoped she had chosen the strongest one. She glanced uneasily at the shelf and then around the room. Perhaps the laudanum had been moved? She could see no sign of it. She carried the wine back to the table and took their cups to pour.
Jerry blinked at the liquid as she poured it into their cups. He reached out and grabbed her hand.
“Wait a moment.”
Elizabeth’s breath hitched as she watched him carefully. He pulled his cup toward him and swirled the liquid around. He peered inside and sniffed. Elizabeth’s hands shook as she clutched the bottle. Jerry was frowning now.
“What is this…”
In her panic, Elizabeth contemplated hitting him over the head with the wine bottle. He must suspect her of something! Perhaps Wickham had told them he found her looking at the laudanum and then begged him to let her and Darcy escape. If she hit Jerry, would it knock him out? She had no idea. And she would still have Jameson to contend with, and he would certainly overpower her even in his inebriated state. But if it gave her a chance at all, she would do it. She gripped the bottle tighter…
Jerry burst out laughing. His eyes had a strange, purple cast to them she had never seen before. “Ah, she thinks very highly of us. This is the vintage we took from that boat, remember, Jameson? I had planned to sell it on, but we have plenty of it, and we have a special occasion to celebrate, after all.” He waved at Elizabeth to pour a cup for Jameson then took a deep draft. He smacked his lips with relish. “Are you sure you will not join us? Come, you are a new bride.”
“I am sure,” said Elizabeth. “I have heard it is not good for babies.”
Jerry shrugged then finished the rest of the cup and gestured to Elizabeth to pour another. Elizabeth was happy to oblige. Once she was sure they had consumed everything she poured, she moved into the shadows to observe them. It was a shame Wickham was not there to take part, but she could worry about him later. Between her and Darcy, they could surely overpower him. Kenneth and Shaw’s mother still had not returned, so at least she did not have them to contend with.
Elizabeth watched nervously as they grew drunker. Jameson shifted, and she saw him dip his hand inside his coat. He drew something out and clumsily poured a liquid into their cups while Jerry giggled weakly. She pretended to busy herself with gathering up the empty bottles as she tried to see what it was from under her eyelashes.
Her heart skipped a beat as she recognised it. The laudanum! So that explained their extreme drunkenness and their odd appearance. They had returned to the house already drunk and in good spirits from their successful robbery. They must have decided to prolong the celebration. Elizabeth’s heart was racing. Perhaps they might knock themselves out. How long had the laudanum been on that shelf? Did it lose its effectiveness after a certain amount of time? Or would it grow poisonous? She had no idea. She played with one of her loose curls nervously as she waited to see what would happen.
Nothing. Jameson and Jerry continued to laugh and talk and brag about their exploits and the women they had known while making great shows of delicacy before her. Perhaps the bottle had lost its effectiveness. They were far gone, but she was not sure if it was enough to allow her and Darcy to escape. The disappointment twisting in her felt so bitter, she would have burst into tears if she had been the crying type. As it was, her hands twisted around the folds of her gown as she glared at these men who had disrupted her life so enormously.
Just as she began to despair, Jameson leaned forward and pressed his head in his hands with a sigh.
“I think that wine was a little strong,” he mumbled as though it took him effort to speak the slurred words. “I feel rather… rather… mfffff…” His head slumped on his arm. Jerry blinked at him then giggled.
“It is not the wine, you fool.” He poked at his unconscious friend and blinked his purple eyes. “It is the…” The rest of his words were lost when his head dropped to the table.
Elizabeth stared at them, her heart pounding. She moved toward them, pausing to see if they would move. They did not. She tentatively touched their shoulders then pushed them with more firmness. Nothing.
Her hand covered her mouth. She could hardly believe it. She ran to where Jerry kept his pistol and slipped it into her pocket. She could not find Jameson’s. The men had discarded their boots along with their coats. Jerry’s looked the smaller size. Elizabeth quickly drew the boots on and grabbed the coats and the other pair of boots into a bundle. She took an old shirt and filled it with as much food as she could find then hurried from the room.
Darcy had been pacing the floor, and he stopp
ed at once when she entered. He started in surprise when he saw it was she who had unlocked the door.
“Are you…” he began. He paused when he saw her sparkling eyes and flushed cheeks. “What is it?”
“Come. They will not wake up. We will go at once.” She hurried about the room, grabbing the few small belongings they had. Darcy stared at her in confusion.
“What have you done?” he asked.
“I have done nothing. They have done it to themselves. They should sleep for a few hours. Here; take this.” Elizabeth threw Jameson’s coat to him while she pulled on Jerry’s. She stuffed the pockets with the bread and cheese then hurried back to Darcy. “This is our chance. We must…”
The door opened. Elizabeth whirled around. Wickham stood in the doorway, Jameson’s pistol in his hand. He glared at the two of them, noticing the bundle Elizabeth had gathered.
“Wickham…” Elizabeth began.
Darcy took a threatening step towards him. Elizabeth stared in terror at the pistol in his hand and reached inside Jameson’s coat to draw out the one she had taken. She could not believe she might do this but if he hurt Darcy…
“They are unconscious,” said Wickham. “The fools must have drunk half a bottle of laudanum.” He stepped back from the doorway and gestured them through. “Now is your chance. They will not wake for hours. Get as far away from here as you can.”
Elizabeth hesitated and exchanged a look at Darcy.
“Is this a trick?”
“It is no trick,” said Wickham. His voice was rough with impatience. “Do you want to leave or not?”
Elizabeth and Darcy gathered what they could and ran through the door. Darcy stopped and stared at the unconscious men, their heads slumped over the table. In the flickering glow of the candle burning on the table, their faces were white.
“They are not dead?” he asked.
“No,” said Wickham. “More’s the pity. They will be enraged when they wake up. So hurry, for god’s sake.”
Darcy shrugged on the coat and nodded. He took Elizabeth’s hand, and they ran out into the night air.
“It is a shame we cannot lock them in,” he said as they glanced back at the house.
“No, but we can put as much distance between them and us as we can by the time they are fit to pursue us,” said Elizabeth. “And then we can… Wickham! Where are you going?”
Wickham was moving in the opposite direction. He paused and looked back at them.
“Come with us,” said Elizabeth. “We will be safer together.”
Darcy hesitated then nodded his agreement though he looked less enthusiastic than Elizabeth.
Wickham looked between the two of them. His gaze lingered on Darcy, and then he grinned with a touch of that old charm Elizabeth had once found so captivating.
“I do not think we should inflict ourselves on one another,” he said. “Too many accidents can happen that way.” He pointed behind them. “London is that way. Good fortune to you both.”
With that, he turned and was soon swallowed up by the dark forest.
Chapter 20
Elizabeth released an explosive breath. “Good God. I cannot believe he wanted to free us. His conscience must have overpowered him, after all. Does he really intend to travel alone?”
Darcy stared into the dark forest as though he could still see his wayward old friend.
“So it would seem. Perhaps it is for the best. Come, let us keep to the trails.”
“Should we not follow the river?”
“It is what they will expect. It is the easier path in the dark and the first one they shall take to find us. The trail will be harder and therefore, easier for us to escape detection.”
Elizabeth could not argue with that, no matter how little she liked the look of the dark trees, pressing around them as if they would swallow them whole. She took Darcy’s offered hand, and they disappeared into the woods.
“Do you have any idea where we are?” she asked as they moved as swiftly as the unwelcoming ground would allow them.
In the weak moonlight, she saw Darcy shake his head. “I listened to their conversations whenever I could to see if they would reveal our location, but they never did. I think we must be west of London. How far, I cannot say. I do not believe it can be too far, but who knows? But we will come to a town eventually. Do not worry about that.”
“I am not worried about that,” said Elizabeth. “I realise we are still in England, not a jungle in an unknown country. What concerns me is that if Jerry and his people use these woods, perhaps others like him do as well? I worry we will come across some of them and they might know of us.”
Darcy squeezed her fingers gently. “Perhaps, but we look nothing like Fitzwilliam Darcy or Elizabeth Bennet now. Look at our clothes. We have both lost weight. I have a beard, and you have uncurled hair. We will pass for another country couple, making their way through the woods. No one will take a second look at us.”
Elizabeth was not sure that was the case with him, but she was quite sure it was true about her. She was glad she had not seen her appearance since her sham wedding, or she might have been mortified for Darcy to see her. She could almost smile at her vanity in thinking of such a thing at a time like this, but it was far more pleasant than thinking of gangs of thieves and what they might do to them if they caught them.
“We will keep up the appearance of a married couple,” said Darcy. “It is essential for your safety. What name shall we go by?”
Elizabeth considered for a moment. “Gardiner. They are my favourite aunt and uncle.” She sighed. “I long to see them again. I almost miss them more than my parents whenever I thought of not seeing my family again.”
A fox screamed in the woods. Elizabeth flinched and then laughed at herself. “If my father knew I had grown jumpy at the sound of foxes, I should never hear the end of it.” She glanced behind her uneasily.
“I think you can be forgiven for feeling uneasy. I am rather so myself,” said Darcy. He did not look it. His hands around hers were warm and sure, and his head was high as he walked with confident steps. Elizabeth doubted his ability to pass for a humble crofter. As an unseen animal rushed through the undergrowth near them and Elizabeth started again, he added, “Tell me about the Gardiners. Where do they live?”
“Gracechurch Street in London. Cheapside.” Elizabeth glanced up at him to see how he took bearing the name of such unworthy people. If he was offended, he did not show it.
“Tell me about them. What are they like? I am sure they must be worthy, sensible people if they are so dear to you.”
Despite the chill in the air, Elizabeth felt warmed by his praise. She told him stories of her aunt and uncle and her frequent trips to London to stay with them.
“When this is all over, I hope to spend a few weeks with them,” she said. “I will need steady company around me afterwards.”
Darcy said nothing. Elizabeth flushed and pretending to peer through the gloom as if she could see anything to hide her embarrassment. Once this was all over, she and Darcy would have much to discuss. But she could not think of that for now. As brave and kind as Darcy had been throughout the ordeal, she could not imagine he would rejoice at a marriage to someone like her under such circumstances. She had no fear he would not marry her. She had to admit he was far too honourable to do otherwise. But once the shock of their experience had worn away, and he returned to his normal life, would all his old prejudices return? Would he look at her a year from hence and regret that he had thrown his life away to save her and was now trapped with her for life? It was not a pleasant thought.
“I cannot wait to see Georgiana again,” he said after a few moments of silence. “I have hated thinking of how frantic she must feel. I am all she has left of our immediate family. As soon as we reach somewhere civilised, I will write to her at once to tell her I am safe. I look forward to introducing the two of you. I think you will become good friends.”
“I am sure we will,” said Elizabeth.
She cast about for something to say to ease the slight embarrassment that had sprung up between them. “Perhaps she can stand up with me at my wedding?” When she saw Darcy look at her, she smiled to hide her mortification. “To Mr Collins,” she added in a playful tone.
“You still crave him as much as ever, do you?”
“Oh, how could I not? You have seen his dancing. What woman would not want him as her husband?” She smiled. “I am certain my mother will blame all this on my trying to escape Mr Collins. And she is right. I fled the room to avoid being asked to dance with him again. He meant to stick by my side all night. I could not have endured that. I hid in the library to have some space from him, and you know what happened next.”
“Poor Mr Collins,” said Darcy gravely. “So undesirable as a husband that a young lady will risk capture by a gang of highwaymen rather than dance with him. I hope I never have that effect on a lady.”
Again, Elizabeth had to glance away. He would not be pleased to discover it had not only been Mr Collins she wished to escape that fateful night all those weeks ago.
They walked through the long winter night. Frost had settled in, and they huddled close together as they walked.
“It is better to keep moving,” said Darcy. “Pursuit is not our only enemy tonight.”
They did not even stop to eat. Elizabeth split some bread and cheese between them, and it provided them with some welcoming warmth as they walked. Darcy produced a flask. Elizabeth wrinkled her nose as he handed it to her.
“What is it?”
“Brandy. I saw it on the table. I knew we would need it to keep warm.”
Elizabeth warily took a sip and pulled the flask away with a splutter. Darcy laughed as he took it from her.
“The taste can be startling if you are unused to it. But I promise it will keep you warm.”
“Not too warm. I do not wish to be as intoxicated as Jerry if they should catch us.”
It was not until the sky lightened to a rosy pink that they began to think about stopping. Elizabeth tiredly protested and insisted she could walk further, but Darcy shook his head.
Follies and Vices Page 11