“I cannot.”
Mr. Bennet eyed his daughter for a moment, observing the stubborn set of her jaw. “You mean youwillnot.”
Raising her chin, Elizabeth glared at her father. “Perhaps. Now, if you will excuse me, I recall that Mr. Johnson had questions for me. I will see you at dinner.” With that, she turned on her heel and left the room. Knowing the steward would be out on the estate, she went to his office and used his desk to write several letters. Once done, she sent a footman with one note to Netherfield and set out toward Meryton with the others, intent on visiting her Uncle Phillips.
She arrived at her uncle’s office just in time for tea. Darcy, who must have left Netherfield immediately after receiving her note, was waiting for her inside. Elizabeth asked to speak with her uncle privately, inviting Darcy to join them, and informed both men what she had learned in her conversation with her father.
“Uncle, my father denies giving me permission to invest the funds, but I am certain you have a copy of the signed agreement, as does Uncle Gardiner. He wants the funds to expand his study. Despite his words to the contrary, I believe he is convinced that Mr. Bingley will marry Jane, and if that happens, he will not have to worry about providing for the rest of his daughters, so he wants to use the funds for his study instead.” She paused and drew in a shaky breath before continuing.
“William, I realised that his biggest motivation for denying your suit is that he wants me to remain at Longbourn and continue to run the estate in his stead. My involvement allowed him to read in his study while the steward and I cared for the estate. I am concerned he will try to take steps to ensure I cannot leave, even after I reach my majority.”
“Lizzy, what request of Mr. Darcy’s did he deny? Why is the gentleman even here for this conversation? And why are you referring to him in such a familiar manner?” Uncle Phillips asked, confused.
She coloured. “William has asked for my hand, and I have accepted. Papa, however, refused his permission, demanding that Mr. Darcy leave Longbourn and never return. He accused me of being either mercenary or desperate enough to accept whatever offer I received. Presently, he believes he has won, and I will acquiesce to his desires to remain home to keep him company.”
“Congratulations, my dear. Mr. Darcy, if you have won Lizzy’s hand, you have won a rare jewel indeed. However, what will you do since Mr. Bennet has denied his permission?” Mr. Phillips asked.
“I will come of age in October, Uncle,” Elizabeth stated. “We plan to marry shortly after my birthday, though Papa is convinced that Mr. Darcy and I will drift apart during this forced separation. He seems to think Mr. Darcy’s sole interest in me is to ‘take his pleasure’ and leave. Now that he has been denied that with his banishment from Longbourn, Papa believes he will simply return to London and forget about me entirely. He does not understand either of us very well if he thinks that is true.”
Darcy took her hand in his and brought it to his lips. “I would never have forgotten you, dearest, though I would have warred with myself until I realised I could not live without you. It may have taken longer, without …” Here, he trailed off, apparently not wanting to reveal to her uncle about the dreams, but soon continued. “We would have found one another, though this way, I hope we will not suffer as we might have otherwise. I would gladly marry you tomorrow, but whatever occurs, I want it to be what you wish. I would like my sister and my cousin Richard to be present, but other than that, it does not matter to me who attends or where we marry. I would, however, prefer not to lie outright if we can prevent it.”
Elizabeth sighed heavily. “I have written an express to send to Uncle Gardiner to explain the situation to him, particularly about Papa’s desire to use the money we have saved. I mentioned my engagement, informal though it may be. Aunt Gardiner already knows, but I intend to write to ask her for help. I apologise, Uncle, for not consulting with your wife, and I would appreciate it if you did not mention these matters to her. You know that Aunt Phillips tends to gossip as much as Mama does, and we would prefer this not to become public knowledge yet. We considered that if Mama knew, she would harass Papa until he relented, but I prefer not to go that route if I can help it.”
Mr. Phillips nodded his agreement. “No one can fault you for not wanting this broadcast around town, Lizzy, and that is exactly what your aunt would do. Let me know if there is anything further I can do to support you. Mr. Darcy, I am certain my brother has forbidden your contact with his daughter, so please let me know if there are any messages you would like me to pass along.” He grinned as he said this last.
“Thank you, sir,” Darcy replied graciously. “He did tell me to leave Longbourn and not return and not to use my friends to pass messages for me. So far, it appears I have plenty of others to use for that purpose and will not have to cut contact with Elizabeth until we can be wed.”
Chapter Sixteen
Darcy and Elizabeth met as usual on Monday morning, the day of his departure for London. It was bittersweet, knowing that their time together was limited and uncertain when they would see or hear from each other again.
“Once matters with Wickham are sorted, I will be able to return to Hertfordshire for a brief trip. Georgiana stayed at Pemberley this spring, and I had planned to bring her to Hertfordshire once I had your father’s agreement, but now I am uncertain how to proceed. I would like the two of you to have a chance to get to know each other ahead of the wedding, but I am unsure how to make that happen now,” Darcy said.
Elizabeth frowned at his words. “It is difficult to believe that you are soon to depart, taking my heart with you. I enjoyed the time together in Kent and being able to see you each morning since your arrival at Netherfield.”
“I am very sorry to leave you, my darling, but I will be glad to have these matters with Wickham finalised. Once he is in debtors’ prison, he will not be able to cause any more trouble for us or anyone else.”
Nodding, Elizabeth moved to wrap her arms around Darcy’s middle. He quickly reciprocated. “I will miss you. Please send letters for me to Mr. Bingley or Uncle Phillips. And anyone else who might be inclined to share your news with me. I wrote to my aunt and uncle to explain the situation and posted that letter in Meryton yesterday. I wrote that they should expect you to visit later this week.”
“I will return in a sennight if I can arrange things that quickly. You can tell me when I return if I should remain at Netherfield or if I can join any of the entertainments in the neighbourhood. Obviously, I cannot call at Longbourn unless your father changes his mind …”
“He will not,” Elizabeth interjected. “I spoke to him again yesterday after I met with you, and he remains obstinate. Regardless of the situation with my father, we would have likely waited to marry for a month or two, so I suggest we seek my aunt and uncle’s advice. It has occurred to me that we could marry in Lambton with a common licence when I arrive there, though I am uncertain how to get around needing my father’s permission. I do not know if my uncle could give his approval for it.”
“I also intend to speak to my aunt, the Countess of Matlock. I believe she will support our marriage and may have some ideas for getting around our not having your father’s permission and blessing. For a time, I considered presenting our marriage to them as a fait accompli, but Fitzwilliam told me his mother may be more amenable than the earl, and she will be able to bring him around.”
“When will you depart for London, William?” she asked.
“Soon. My valet was finishing packing my things, and my cousin was to meet one last time with Colonel Forster to ensurethe transfer was secure. At my cousin’s recommendation, I sent for several armed men from London to accompany us; they are former soldiers whom Richard knows. They agreed to ignore propriety to travel on the Sabbath and arrived yesterday afternoon. I have never trusted Wickham and fear he may only appear beaten. I do not want to give him any room to escape or to avoid his punishment.”
A rider quickly approached the mount where they stood just then. “Darcy!” Colonel Fitzwilliam shouted, his voice tinged with alarm. “Wickham escaped. His colonel does not know how, but the guard—they only had one man watching him overnight—was stabbed and the door forced open. Before he escaped, he was heard ranting of getting revenge on you and Miss Elizabeth. Forster was to ride over to Longbourn to inform Mr. Bennet of the circumstances, and I came here, thinking the two of you may be together.”
Elizabeth gasped. “My father will not take the threat seriously. What if he harms others in my family? Lydia is not convinced he is the villain I claimed, and I could not tell her all I know, particularly about your sister, and his assault on me. She would have little compunction in sharing the tale all over Meryton, embellishing it to make it appear worse and probably making Mr. Wickham the hero of the entire story.” Elizabeth thought for a moment. “William, if you go to Longbourn, my father will be even less inclined to believe the story, but I no longer trust him to keep me safe or to do what is best for me. I am truly concerned for my family, my love.” Her voice shook, betraying her concern, and Darcy noticed the tears pooling in her eyes.
Despite the chaos and fear of that moment, Darcy closed his eyes at hearing Elizabeth refer to him in such a way. How he ever considered leaving her behind was unfathomable tohim. Finally, he spoke. “Your uncles, both of them, will be far more reasonable in this matter. While Fitzwilliam escorts you to Longbourn and speaks to your father with Colonel Forster, I will speak to Mr. Phillips to see what he suggests can be done. Colonel Forster should offer your family some measure of protection, given that Wickham is one of his officers. Fitzwilliam, can you send your men to watch over the Bennet family? The ones we brought to help us escort Wickham to town? They may need to be covert if Mr. Bennet proves intractable.”
“If he refuses, he will prove that he is not only obstinate but foolish. Wickham is likely to strike in any way that he sees as advantageous. If he ruins one of your sisters, Miss Elizabeth, he will believe it will make you unmarriageable, especially to a man like Darcy here. Of course, my cousin would not forsake you for any reason, but Wickham has never understood any emotion other than greed and jealousy. He certainly cannot fathom love or loyalty.”
Darcy looked at his cousin carefully. “I am surprised at you, Fitzwilliam. I have never heard you speak like that.”
