The page slipped from Papa’s fingers to his desk. With teary eyes, he pushed the letter to Elizabeth and dropped his head into his hands. “I am so sorry. Oh, my poor, dear girls.” His voice cracked. “The fault is mine to bear, and yet you shall be the ones to pay.”
Elizabeth took the letter, her eyes catching on the last name she had expected to seeher uncle pen.
Mr. Darcy.
Mr. Darcy? She devoured the contents of the page, her heart plummeting and her stomach churning as she read howMr. Darcyhad been the one to find Mr. Wickham and Lydia, howhehad arranged for the wedding, paying for Wickham’s commission and settling an additional enticement of one thousand pounds on Lydia. All of it had been arranged, not by Uncle, but by Mr. Darcy.
And now, Mr. Darcy had gone missing and Wickham would not marry Lydia without promise of full payment.
The next paragraph was devoted to Uncle’s concern at this sudden turn of events. Never a steadier gentleman had he known than Mr. Darcy. He had managed the affair with a thoroughness and expediency Uncle praised enthusiastically. Mr. Darcy had even seen to the detail of Lydia’s trousseau, small though it must be, thus adding to the image of a planned union rather than the forced one it was. That he should fail to appear at the wedding was inconceivable.
Uncle ended with some assurance, though it did little to minimize the disaster such a delay created. Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam was doing everything he could to step into his cousin’s place, but Lydia was inconsolable and swore she would rather die than marry a man who had to be paid to marry her. Uncle did not say as much directly, but Elizabeth knew Lydiawas too much for him and Aunt Gardiner to manage when they had their own children and obligations. He begged Father’s immediate presence in London, whereupon he hoped Papa might persuade Lydia beyond her histrionics to see reason.
Elizabeth’s throat was too tight to read aloud or give a summary to Jane. She handed the letter to her sister.
Papa raised his head. “I trust both of you to keep the details to yourself. Mr. Darcy has shown me more consideration and respect than I deserve, and I shall not be the one to make known what he took great pains to conceal. Your uncle’s concern must be grave, indeed, for him to write as he did.”
Why did Mr. Darcy do it?A small part of Elizabeth dearly wanted to believe he had done it for her, but that was a vain delusion. She had made her opinion of him clear—painfully and articulately clear. Not even the pleasant time she had briefly spent in his company at Pemberley with her aunt and uncle could erase that.
Jane handed the letter back to Papa, her eyes wide, one hand covering her mouth. Tucking it inside his pocket, he said, “I shall have to tell your mother that the wedding did not occur. Otherwise, she shall spread the news all over Meryton.”
Elizabeth groaned. It had taken all of her ingenuity and Jane’s persuasion to keep their mother from calling on Lady Lucas that same day so that she might brag of her success. If Papa left so suddenly forLondon, Mama would not understand why they could not accompany him in the hope of seeing the newly wed couple.
Uncle and Aunt had already done much more than any relative should be asked to do. They did not need another fitful female given to vexation and nerves to add to their burden.
Elizabeth caught her sister’s eye, and she saw her own concerns mirrored in her gaze. Jane held her look for a moment, then nodded. Good. They were in agreement.
Taking a deep breath, Jane smoothed her skirts and clasped her hands together. “I shall stay with Mama.”
Elizabeth added for their father’s benefit, “And I shall go with you to London.”
He nodded.
They departed from Longbourn one hour later, leaving Kitty stunned, Mary more self-righteous than ever, and Mama wailing. Jane and Mrs. Hill had their hands full, and Elizabeth knew her turn was soon to come with Lydia.
However, the farther away they drove from Longbourn, the less Elizabeth dwelt on her family’s concerns and the more her worry for Mr. Darcy grew. A man like him would not disappear without finishing what he had started.
Where had he gone?
She held on to the expectation that he would resurface by the time they arrived at Gracechurch Street, and that all would be settled before she and her fatherreached the outskirts of London. Wickham and Lydia would marry on the morrow, and Elizabeth would properly express her gratitude to Mr. Darcy for salvaging her family’s reputation.
They arrived at nightfall. And still, Mr. Darcy was gone.
CHAPTER 4
Darcy opened his eyes and waited for his vision to clear. It was dark. He lay on a soft surface. It swayed. Everything swayed.
He did not know where he was, nor did he know the day or the hour. He knew, however, with a certainty that made his stomach knot, that he had missed Wickham’s wedding. Would the ingrate go through with it if Darcy was not there to give him the promised bribe? What kind of a man sold himself for a thousand pounds and a commission?
Darcy’s disgust turned again to frustration. Why had he insisted on being the one to witness the signatures? He could easily have included Richard. The fact of the matter was that the idea had not even occurred to Darcy until that moment. Was he so proud that he believed others incapable? Even Richard—a man whohad repeatedly proven his strength of character and proficiency? Darcy shook his head, and instantly regretted it when the throbbing there increased.
Gritting his teeth and holding his head still, he tried to find solace in Richard’s reliability. Richard was competent. He would lose no time making the needed adjustments with Hastings. Richard knew how important this was; he would not fail.
Slowly, gingerly touching the bump on the back of his skull and the swollen protuberance on his forehead, Darcy sat upright.
Moonlight shone into the room through a round window—a porthole. His stomach bottomed out at the implication. He was on a boat, on the water, sailing away to Lord-knew-where.
Spinning around so that his feet touched the smooth wooden planks, he found his boots by the bunk, wiggled his feet inside, and then looked for the door. His examination of his surroundings came to an abrupt halt when he saw a shadow.
