17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Sir William and Mr. Long spoke with Mr. Bennet for several minutes, then walked away, quietly discussing their satisfaction with Colonel Forster.

"The thing is done." Darcy's eyes followed as Wickham and Carter disappeared into a tent. More screams followed in their wake. "I have heard that army surgeons are not gentle. They will be lucky if he can keep infection at bay."

"Indeed," Bennet muttered, his lips curling in disgust.

"There he is, sir!" an unfamiliar voice exclaimed.

Darcy turned sharply to see Forster's batman approaching with another officer on his heels. "Richard?"

The tall redcoat jogged toward him. "I have been all over town trying to find you! What are you doing here?"

More shrieks pierced the green.

Darcy nodded toward the doctor's tent. "Witnessing justice." His lip furled at another outcry.

"Wickham?" Richard whispered, his jaw dropped.

Darcy closed his eyes as he nodded. When he opened them, he noticed Richard gaping at his companion. "Mr. Bennet, may I present my cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam."

Bennet turned and extended his hand warily toward the unfamiliar voice. " Colonel you say?"

Richard did a quick double take, then extended his hand. "In his majesty's service. A pleasure to meet you, sir." He shot Darcy a questioning look.

"Mr. Bennet is the master of Longbourn estate, just outside of town. He…ah…shares our interest in seeing Wickham experience justice."

Richard's brows rose sharply as he stared pointedly at Mr. Bennet.

"You are not stationed here with Colonel Forster." Bennet cocked his head, exposing his scarred face fully. "May I ask what brings you here, particularly at such an auspicious time? Some family emergency, I imagine?"

Richard gaped, anger rising in his eyes. "You are quite forward, sir!"

Darcy waved him down, laughing. "You will become accustomed to him, Richard. There are no secrets with Mr. Bennet." He placed Bennet's hand on his elbow. "I imagine he is correct though?"

Richard nodded sharply, questions written across his face.

"Let us walk to my coach and you can tell me of it." He saw his cousin's hesitation. "You may speak freely in front of him."

"I assure you I am harmless as the father of five daughters can be." Bennet chuckled as he allowed Darcy to lead him away. Darcy could feel the tension in his shoulders and noticed the set in his jaw.

"Five daughters?" Richard stared warily at him.

"You have nothing to fear, sir. I will tolerate your presence among them since your cousin is speaking for you." Bennet's smile was forced.

Darcy guffawed as Richard sputtered loudly. "Enough levity, what brings you here, cousin?"

"It is father," Fitzwilliam said flatly.

Darcy stopped and turned to stare. "What is wrong?" All amusement fell from his voice.

"He has suffered another apoplexy, a very severe one this time." Richard bit his upper lip and shook his head. "The doctors have held out very little hope for his recovery."

"Oh no." Darcy drew a deep breath. "I thought his health had improved significantly since his time at Bath."

"You have my deepest condolences," Bennet added.

"We need Andrew at home, immediately."

"Do you know where he is?" Darcy began walking toward the coach again, his steps more purposeful than before. Bennet matched his stride.

"Not precisely. We have an address on the continent, but I do not know that he is still there, or if he decided to travel with his friends to the coast."

"I will go and find him," Darcy declared grimly.

"I know it is nearly harvest time, and you are needed at Pemberly—"

"That is what a good steward is for," Darcy insisted. "How is your mother?"

"As well as can be expected. She has been through this before and that experience has helped her. I have been granted leave to attend her—"

Bennet turned as if to stare at Darcy.

"Peers of the realm are often granted such favors. My uncle is the Earl of Matlock," he explained quickly.

Bennet turned away to hide his surprise.

"She will certainly need your help. It is more than his secretary can be expected to manage." Darcy handed Bennet up into the carriage. "If you will excuse me for a moment with my cousin."

"Of course, do not hurry on my account." Bennet settled back into his seat, glad that the open door was releasing the stuffy air. "He is the nephew of an earl," he whispered to himself. "Such connections." He slowly released a deep breath.

Darcy turned back to Richard, who paced anxiously beside the coach.

"How soon can you return to London with me? Mother wishes to see you before we take word to our aunt. She and Anne must know what is happening before we go after Andrew." He stopped in front of his cousin.

"Have you written Georgiana?" Darcy rubbed hard at the stubble on his chin.

"Not yet, I thought it best to let you do that. The last time I wrote her, she took offense at my military directness." He chuckled darkly. "Andrew has had enough time to mourn now; they must marry as soon as can be arranged, before the eyes of the ton focus on either of them. If we can get him back before Father—"

"Yes, that would be best. When I speak to Aunt Catherine, I will suggest that she begin making arrangements for a simple wedding there. I know Georgiana has no desire for an elaborate affair, and after the pageant of his first wedding, I think Andrew would be happy to escape another such event. " Darcy's mind raced. "I have to take my leave of the neighborhood, but I should be able to depart tomorrow afternoon."

"Take your leave? Of whom?" Richard demanded, tentatively looking at the carriage.

"I am staying with Bingley; I must inform him." He looked up into the sky, the first oranges of sunset fiery against the clouds. "I must also take my leave from the Bennets."

"The Bennets?" Richard stared at the coach, then at Darcy. "No, do not tell me you have become entangled with some country maiden."

Darcy's voice turned cold, his eyes flashing angrily, "I will not discuss this now." He turned to enter the coach.

Richard grabbed his shoulder and pulled him around. "Have you forgotten that you are engaged?" he hissed.

"I am not. Stop perpetuating that rumor."

"That is not what Anne and her mother believe."

"They are sorely mistaken." Darcy pulled his shoulder from Richard's hand.

"Think about what you are saying. Surely no country miss can bring what the union of Pemberley and —"

"I told you, I will not discuss this further. I will meet you at Netherfield Park directly." He climbed into the coach and shouted orders to his driver as he slammed the door loudly.

Richard stood glaring as he watched the coach roll away.

The atmosphere within the coach was cold and silent for the first half mile. Finally Bennet huffed and turned toward Darcy. "I will have an explanation now, sir. I was given to understand you were engaged to my daughter; now I find out there is another woman who believes she will be your wife? I can only imagine this is the other part of the family business that keeps you from marrying."

Darcy grumbled and rubbed his temples. "It is." He scrubbed his face with his palms. "I have never asked Anne for her hand."

"Who is she?" Bennet demanded coldly.

"My cousin, heiress to her father's estate. Our parents thought joining our fortunes would make a spectacular match. So it has been long decided within the family that we should marry."

"And?"

"It was an easy solution. I have never favored it, but neither have I fought it. The last time I visited them, Anne declared to me that she would live nowhere but her ancestral home. I will not leave Pemberley for another estate. I made that quite clear to her, and I believed that had settled the matter" He shifted uncomfortably. "Apparently, I was wrong."

"Apparently."

"I was planning to confront her and her mother on the matter before announcing my engagement to your daughter. I did not want to see Elizabeth hurt by my aunt. I knew we would have to wait until her fury died down, lest she poison the ton against Elizabeth."

Bennet set his jaw and frowned deeply. He tapped his foot rapidly against the floorboards.

"I do not blame you for being angry." Darcy exhaled heavily and raked his hair back.

"I am beyond angry." Bennet balled his fists tightly. "Why did you offer for her when—"

"Because I am an idiot!" He threw his head back. "Because I saw her on the back of that stallion and was enchanted. Because she fell into my arms, and I knew I could not bear to let her go. Because I finally found a woman I could admire as something more than a decoration on my arm, and I could not take the chance that another man," he gulped, "one that would not appreciate her true worth, might steal her away." He breathed heavily, shaking.

Bennet ground his teeth. "Any other answer and I swear you would have discovered just how much trouble a blind man can cause." He turned his face away for a moment and huffed. "But that," his voice broke, "that I cannot dismiss. That is the answer of a man who is worthy of her," he finished in a whisper.

Darcy began breathing again. "I was trying to protect her. I will protect her."

"By not telling her you were engaged to another?"

"I am not engaged to anyone, nor have I ever been."

"It appears that is debatable."

"I must go to see my aunt before I leave for the continent. I will make certain that both she and my cousin are clear on my intentions before I leave. You have my word. I will return to Hertfordshire as soon as my family and my estate allow, with a proper settlement in hand. I will properly court your daughter, openly and without reservation. With your permission, we will have a short engagement and marry as soon as the banns are read. I give you my word."

"I do not know what your word is worth at this point, sir. I find that I may not know you as well as I had thought."

Darcy winced.

"I expect you to come and take your leave from my daughter, and tell her as much as you can without implying you are engaged to another. You will write to me regularly while you are gone, knowing my daughters will be reading the letters to me. You will keep me informed of the business in your family. Know this: you will not be welcome in Longbourn, or frankly in Meryton, unless it is to openly court my daughter. Otherwise, you shall tell me your aunt is planning your cousin's wedding, and I will know what that means. I will break it to Elizabeth, and you shall never, never contact her in any way again. Am I clear?"

"Yes, sir, you are." Darcy looked out the window for a moment. Finally he chuckled. "I suppose I should be very glad that you are blind right now."

"Why would that be?"

"Because it means you would be a lousy shot, and I do not have to fear you will call me out to a duel."

Bennet glowered, but it melted into a laugh. "I suppose you are correct. You are a fortunate man."

"I am sorry for the trouble I have visited upon your family."

"Make my daughter happy, and it will all be forgiven."

"I will—"

"But if you hurt her, mark my words, Mr. Darcy, I shall haunt you for the rest of your days."

Later that evening, Richard and Darcy paced the garden, glad for the full moon to light the path.

"I do not understand why you have dragged us out here when there is a perfectly serviceable room boasting a warm fire and a bottle of port!" Richard grumbled testily.

"Because it is also haunted by a woman with a taste for gossip and no compunctions about listening at doors!" Darcy hissed crossly.

"That is what you get for associating with—"

"Do not go there, Richard! You know very well there are many among our own circles who will stoop to the same things for a bite of juicy gossip. Her problem is not so much bad breeding as it is bad manners, something quite easily found in people of any class."

"We are not out here to discuss the Bingley woman, are we?"

Darcy waved him further away from the window toward a pair of benches. "No, we are not. Sit."

Richard brushed leaves off the stone bench and sat. "Now tell me, what is going on here?"

"I am engaged to Mr. Bennet's second daughter, Elizabeth."

"Have you taken leave of your senses? What has she done to entrap you, man? Surely you can use that fortune of yours to some good and buy your way free." Richard threw his arms up.

"She has not entrapped me, and I have no desire to be free."

"What does she have? Surely her dowry cannot be enough to replace even what Georgiana will take with her when she marries Andrew. Her fortune can be nothing to Anne's!"

"No, it is not." He put his foot up on the bench and leaned his elbow on his knee. "But I have little need to marry a fortune."

"How can you consider passing up the chance…"

"If you are so taken with Rosings and her fortune, then why do you not marry Anne yourself?"

"I do not have your fortune to recommend me, or have you forgotten I am the second son?" He muttered something under his breath, then added more softly, "Besides, you have always been far more comfortable with her."

Darcy snorted and rolled his eyes. "So you do not wish to marry her fortune because you are uncomfortable with her, but I should marry her while I love another?"

"Love? Do not tell me you have fallen for that sentimental dung! You know a marriage based on such things is destined to fail. Love does not last—it is a fleeting, fickle thing. I thought you more steady than that."

"You do not know her. She is—"

"The daughter of a blind man. I understand her mother to be dead as well. That indeed speaks well of her," he scoffed. "According to Miss Bingley, she is a hoyden who shuns the proper role of a woman for the tasks of a man."

What would he think if he saw her on that stallion's back? "She is strong and wise—"

"And passionate?"

Darcy exploded and lunged at Richard, grabbing him by the collar. "You will never make such a suggestion about her again, do you understand me? You are speaking of my future wife."

Wide-eyed, Richard stepped back, pushing him off. "Get a grip on yourself, man. I never thought I would see the day that you would be like this over a woman."

"I have never met a woman like her before."

Richard lowered himself back on his bench. "She must be a rare gem. If her feelings and her loyalty are as strong as yours, you are indeed a blessed man."

Darcy tugged at his coat and brushed his pants as he sat back down. "She came upon Wickham imposing himself upon her sister and fought him with a riding whip from the back of her mare."

"My God, man! This is what attracts you in a woman now? Georgiana's … experience… was horrendous, I know, but have you not taken it too far?" He tangled his fingers in his hair.

"I would have given anything for Georgiana to have been so strong in the face of his advances. It might not have ladylike, but it would have been a small price to pay for her virtue. She is but seventeen now, and mothering not one, but two, infants. I do not think I am misplaced in my admiration for my lady's courage that rises on any attempt to intimidate her."

Richard rose and moved to sit beside Darcy. "You are right. I am sorry. I have been insensitive. It is far too easy for me to forget what you have been through. Even though I am her guardian too, it is you who has borne the brunt of this whole sorry affair." He clapped Darcy's shoulder. They sat in companionable silence for several minutes.

"I have shocked you with my impulsiveness, I know. But you must trust me," Darcy whispered, not looking at his cousin.

"I do, with my life, I do. I wish I had time to come to know your lady and her most unique family. But my father does not have long for this world, I fear. It is best for us all to get Andrew back here and safely married to Georgiana as soon as possible. I do not want him to get distracted from his duty to her and his heir when the predators of the ton start throwing themselves at his feet."

"He would not!" Darcy growled, slapping his hands on the stone bench.

"My brother has not always felt his duty as he should. I do not want to give him the opportunity to face temptation and fall. You know how the women of the ton can be when there is a prize such as he to be won."

"That is not what I needed to hear." He gripped his hands tightly together.

"Perhaps it is. You know Aunt Catherine will accuse you of neglecting your duty to Anne."

"Anne is heir to Rosings and has her virtue; there is no comparison."

"But if you do not marry her—"

"You do not think there are scores of worthless peers who would take her? She would even have a title then."

"But not Pemberley." Richard drew a lung full of the cool night air. "You know as well as I, her refusal to live anywhere else but Rosings will limit the men who will consider her even further than is already the case."

"I will not marry to satisfy my aunt's pride or my cousin's stubbornness. The time I have spent with Mr. Bennet has convinced me that her demands are those of a spoiled child. I do not need that in a wife." He squeezed his temples. "No, Anne does not need me the way Georgiana needs Andrew."

"I cannot argue with you." Richard leaned back on his hands and stared into the sky. "Can we really be so near an end to Georgiana's trial?''

"I will not breath easily until the vicar pronounces them man and wife."

"And then? Do you think Wickham—"

"Did you see what was dragged away when the flogging ceased? If he does not succumb to the incompetence of the army surgeon or to infection, and survives his tour of duty, he knows I will not open my purse to him again. That and a bit of muslin is all he has ever wanted. I cannot see him approaching me again. Once my sister is married to the new Earl of Matlock, he will not be able to besmirch her reputation. No one will believe his tales, even if he were to try to tell them." He chuckled grimly. "Besides, if he ever tried such a thing, Andrew would make sure he was found floating in the Thames soon afterwards."

Richard clucked his tongue. "No doubt. He does not have your forbearance."

"I believe that we will be safe from him." He raked his hair back from his face.

"You will forgive me if I wish to see for myself. My general sent orders for Forster with me, and I must deliver them in the morning. I will pay the camp a visit while you are taking your leave from the Bennets."

"I will have my man make everything ready to leave by midday. We will be dining with your mother tomorrow night."