“Why did you come to the wedding?” Mr. Darcy asked.
Great question.
Elizabeth watched Mr. Collins. His face colored raspberry red. “Mrs. Collins had wished to attend the wedding, but her condition was too delicate to permit travel. She has been quite ill of late.”
“I am sorry to hear it,” Elizabeth said, truly sorry for her friend. She had hinted that she was in the family way in her last letter.
Mr. Collins nodded. “Lady Lucas insisted I retrieve a mixture of herbs she assures me will ease Mrs. Collins’ malaise.”
“Then, you must make haste, Mr. Collins, and return to her without delay,” Elizabeth implored. She could not imagine a fate worse than a lifetime with Mr. Collins, but to suffer sickness to bring his offspring into the world besides was truly beyond the pale. Poor Charlotte.
Looking down at his boots, Mr. Collins said, “I would only add to her distress with the news of…” He looked up at Elizabeth and paled. “…recent events.”
Mr. Darcy said, “That is what we are attempting to discern, Mr. Collins. We have had some unexpected guests arrive, not all of whom hold Elizabeth’s welfare in high regard.”
Elizabeth inhaled sharply. Did Mr. Darcy really suspect her bumbling cousin of sabotaging the carriage he would eventually inherit? Or was this retaliation for her questions about his aunt?
Clasping his damp linen in his thick hands, Mr. Collins said, “I take my duty toward my family seriously, Mr. Darcy, especially where it pleases my wife.”
“At the risk of displeasing Lady Catherine?” Darcy scoffed.
Mr. Collins angled his head to the side. “I had not expected to see Her Ladyship at your wedding. I was as surprised to see her as I was to see Mr. Wickham.”
Elizabeth sat taller in her chair. “Mr. Wickham, you say?”
Mr. Darcy met her eye, equally concerned.
“When was this?” she asked.
“I hardly think ... that is, I would have thought your memory—” Mr. Collins bumbled.
She simplified her question. “When did you see Mr. Wickham?”
“Yesterday, after I returned to Lucas Lodge to write a letter to Mrs. Collins, I walked to Meryton to see if Lady Catherine and Miss de Bourgh were well-settled at the inn. After ensuring their welfare, I posted my letter. That was when I saw him crossing a field.”
Elizabeth met Mr. Darcy’s shocked look. That was hours after Lydia had said Wickham had departed for his regiment. What had he been doing tarrying about? Elizabeth added his name to the list of suspects, though she could not fathom why Wickham would interfere with their wedding when he stood to gain from the connection.
Was Wickham the sort of man to injure another? Elizabeth had always considered him an opportunist, a lazy man lacking initiative and expecting a fortune. He would place himself advantageously to benefit from an accident, but she doubted he would provoke one.
But she could be wrong.
Mr. Collins looked between them, confused.
Mr. Darcy explained, “If Mr. Wickham is still in the village, he is likely to be the one responsible for Elizabeth’s current state of mind.”
The clergyman’s mouth opened and closed several times before he produced any words. “Was the incident not an accident?”
“It was a deliberate, calculated act of sabotage, and whoever caused it will face the consequences when I bring them to justice for attempted murder.” Darcy’s tone was hard. Nothing in his manner suggested exaggeration. But … murder? Was he serious? Sure, her father had suggested the same, but Elizabeth could think of dozens of other ways to more accurately and effectively end another’s life. Not that she would enumerate on those now.
“Murder?” Mr. Collins wheezed.
Mr. Darcy must have read her thoughts. Turning to her, he asked, “Would you trust your sister’s life, and that of her unborn child, with a man capable of cutting a carriage’s axle for the sole purpose of crippling the conveyance and harming those inside?”
“But I did not die! I may not even have been the target of the attack!”
Mr. Darcy leveled his gaze at her. “I would prevent anyone from hurting you. I will protect you, and I will make it known to anyone who attempts to harm the woman I love that they will pay dearly for their stupidity.”
“While I appreciate your protection, do you not think you might be overreacting?”
