Elizabeth glanced once more at the men assembled round the room. Mr Bingley, who had so generously tried to promote her advantages, her uncle, who had faithfully supported and cherished her all her life, and her father…. His face was greyer than she had ever seen, the lines of his cheeks more haggard, but there was an iron in his eye. She knew that look, for it reflected often in her own mirror, but seldom did she see it in her parent.
Elizabeth sighed, then looked again to the colonel. “Then I accept, sir. I will go to Pemberley with Miss Darcy and my uncle.”
She could watch the tension leave his shoulders, but he merely bowed with good grace. “I thank you, Miss Bennet. I shall speak with your father and uncle about the arrangements.”
“Before you do so,” she lifted her chin and gazed directly into his eye, “I would ask for a moment alone, sir.”
He flicked a glance toward her assembled guardians, but Elizabeth focused her gaze steadily on him. She would give none an opportunity to object to her request, and the colonel as much as anyone else sensed her determination. “Of course, Miss Bennet,” he acquiesced.
As the others filed out—each with a sympathetic glance toward the colonel—Elizabeth moved to a distance across the room from him, placing herself behind a chair. Crossing her arms over the back, she waited for the door to close. “Colonel Fitzwilliam,” she moistened her lips, looking thoughtfully to the floor. “Before bringing me into Miss Darcy’s confidences, I must tell you that there is a matter of some delicacy, of which you ought to be informed. I think it likely that you will wish to rescind the offer.”
“I presume you refer to your younger sister? Mr Bingley told me that she had been abandoned by her husband and is even now with child and living here at Longbourn. Are you concerned that some shadow of disgrace taints you? I assure you, Miss Bennet, I care little for that.”
“Did Mr Bingley happen to tell you the name of her ‘husband,’ sir?”
His brow furrowed. “Why, no, I do not think he… he must not have thought it a matter of import. I only heard it was a chap who had been stationed with the militia in Brighton.”
“Perhaps Mr Bingley did not wish to dissuade you from your plan. It is Mr Wickham, sir.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam had always seemed a genial, amiable fellow, but in that moment Elizabeth bore witness to the savage fire he must have carried onto the battlefield. His features darkened, his eyes flamed, and his fingers flexed as though reaching for an absent pistol. Fitzwilliam Darcy at his most brooding could not have compared in this moment to the intimidating ire flashing in the colonel’s bearing. “Wickham!” he spat.
Elizabeth gripped the back of her chair. “I am afraid so, sir. Can you still wish for the association with my family? I would not wish to occasion Miss Darcy any further grief than she has already experienced.”
The colonel’s expression froze. “How much do you know, Miss Bennet? What has that blackguard told you? I swear, if he has impugned my cousin’s honour—”
“It was Mr Darcy himself who related the matter to me,” Elizabeth interrupted hoarsely.
“Darcy!” The colonel’s face drained and he gaped a moment. “Darcy, my cousin, Fitzwilliam Darcy the Silent One… he told you about Wickham? Everything?”
Elizabeth cringed, gritting her teeth. “I suspect there was more he did not relate, but I know enough to understand that my relationship—reluctant though it is—to Mr Wickham would certainly distress Miss Darcy. So, do you see, Colonel, though I would wish to accompany her to Pemberley, I do not think it the wisest prospect.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam had begun to pace, a hand thoughtfully covering his mouth. At once, he paused with an inspired expression. “Your sister was the girl! The one Darcy forced Wickham to marry just before that villain absconded to parts unknown!”
She caught a pained breath and closed her eyes. Her voice was scarcely above a whisper when she dared respond. “She was.”
Two long strides brought him swiftly to her side, and he caught up her hand in an impassioned plea. “Youmustcome to Pemberley, Miss Bennet! Do you not understand? His utter faith in your confidence, the measures to which he went for your family—Darcy’s regard for you must have been stronger even than I could have imagined! He never would have done such for any other. He would have wished foryouto be the one to comfort Georgiana!”
She glared, cold and hard, and yanked her hand away. “Idounderstand, Colonel! It is precisely that which disqualifies me. Miss Darcy would not have been robbed of her brother, had I not been so prejudiced and my sister so impulsive! Had I accorded him the least measure of the goodness that was truly his, he would not have felt compelled to explain himself against my unjust accusations! And had I the courage to prevent my sister from falling prey to Mr Wickham after all I knew, his life would not have fallen into the hands of those who would do him harm! You may feel free to despise me now when I confess the truth to you, for his death wasmyfault, Colonel.”
White and shaken, Colonel Fitzwilliam stared in stricken awe. “His death…” he mouthed slowly.
He paused carefully for a moment, then his voice returned. “Yes, that is precisely the issue, is it not? Let us be frank with one another, Miss Bennet, for we both understand the implications of Darcy’s actions where you were concerned. Darcy is gone, and had been exerting himself for your benefit. If I must, then I shall impose that obligation upon you and demand your assistance as a matter of justice!
“You may think me ungentlemanly, and rightfully so, but I find myself in an untenable position. Georgiananeedsyou—Ineed you, Miss Bennet! I have none other in whose care I may leave her, none in whom I can have faith of good intentions and none who could lend her the confidence she requires to hold her own among her relations. Aye, smile if you wish, but you have met my aunt. I need an avenging angel to drive her back and guard my cousin while she grows into her own potential. Fortune—nay, Darcy’s own wishes! — have led me to you, and I beg of you to accept!”
She was reeling back, shaking her head. “What must she think, sir? No, it is impossible! Any good I might hope to do her would be unraveled when she comes to know me for the miserable creature I am. Far better that I should remain here to attend my own sister, for with Lydia at least I have made my peace, and her need is no less than Miss Darcy’s.”
“Georgiana’s.”
She tilted her head quizzically. “I beg your pardon?”
His courage seeming to grow, he stepped near again. “Her name is Georgiana. She is sixteen years old and her parents both died when she was a child. She has recently lost her only brother, and the last person in the world who does not wish to take advantage of her circumstances is a frazzled old soldier whose experiences leave him ill equipped to counsel a bashful young heiress.”
She was staring at the floor, moisture pooling in her eyes. “It is most unfair of you, sir, to forcibly remind me of the things I already knew.”
He came round her chair, removing the final barrier between them and resting his hand over hers to prevent her escape. “I was trained to win battles, Miss Bennet, not to fight fairly. Your father has already spoken to me of his wish for you to mingle in different society, so I am unfortunately aware that you will not remain here with your own sister in any case. Well do I know your goodness and your delight in rising to challenges. Can you truly believe that you would be content simply to promenade about London with your aunt, all while knowing that Georgiana might have profited by your company?”
Elizabeth drew an unsteady breath. “And what of Georgiana? Would she not be troubled when she learns the full truth?”
