A laugh sounded from the shadows. “Exactly why would Darcy or I be jealous of you?” Elizabeth was surprised to hear Colonel Fitzwilliam’s voice.
“Fitzwilliam?” Wickham’s voice was startled and more than a little afraid.
“That is Colonel Fitzwilliam to you, and you are under arrest.”
Wickham lunged toward Lydia in an attempt to catch her. However, the door behind her opened again, and a guard yanked her inside before Wickham could reach her.
“Damnation,” he shouted at the near miss. “What do you want, Colonel Fitzwilliam?”
“As I said, you are under arrest. This time, you will not escape, and you will receive a far worse punishment than the Marshalsea. I would expect the firing squad or the hangman’s noose. You will likely not even have the chance to plead your case as, by escaping, you have proclaimed your guilt.”
“Darcy will never let me hang; I hold too much over him. I can ruin both his sister and his intended,” Wickham claimed.
Fitzwilliam laughed. “You always were a fool. No one will listen to a thing you say.” He paused and whistled. “Men, gag him first and then place him in shackles.”
Several men appeared from the shadows and attempted to capture Wickham. He darted into the trees to one side and for several moments, Elizabeth could only make out several shadows as they moved quickly in the garden. She could hear some muted noises, and she stood watching the windowimpatiently. However, after several long minutes, shadows returned, and it was obvious from their slow steps that Wickham had evaded capture.
Finally, Elizabeth heard Colonel Fitzwilliam’s voice: “Damn and blast! How did that reprobate get away? I was certain we had him.”
Chapter Twenty-Two
There was little doubt in Elizabeth’s mind that her guards would still be waiting outside when she hurried downstairs just after dawn, especially since Wickham was still at large. Much to her surprise, her Uncle Gardiner was also waiting.
“Might I accompany you on your walk this morning, Lizzy?”
“Certainly, Uncle. I would be pleased to have you join me,” she replied.
The two set off and walked for several minutes in silence. Finally, her uncle broke the silence. “I like your young man very much.”
She grinned at him. “I do too.”
“Do you want to keep to the plans we made? Going to Pemberley? Your father signed everything Phillips put in front of him yesterday, including an outline of the wedding settlement and a statement granting his permission for the wedding to proceed, without questioning any of it.”
Elizabeth could only shake her head. “We need to leave Hertfordshire for the safety of my sisters, with Mr. Wickham still not captured. And while I worry about what will happen to Longbourn when I go away, I should not be made to feel guilty for wanting to leave. My father should not have expected me to remain here forever to do what he would not.”
“Among other things, he signed control of the estate over to Darcy, who will, of course, defer decisions to you,” Uncle Gardiner told her, causing Elizabeth to look at him in surprise. “With the entail, your father cannot transfer its ownership, but the agreement gives the control of the estate’s profits over to the two of you. I spoke to Darcy yesterday, and he intends to allow you to continue to make decisions about how the estate’s funds are spent. Of course, the household expenses will be paid first, followed by one hundred pounds apiece for you and your sisters. These amounts are to be paid to the husband or guardian of each of you, although your marriage settlement says these funds are yours as a part of your annual pin money.”
Shocked, Elizabeth blurted, “I cannot believe he did not even bother to read what he was signing. I have never been able to sign estate papers, but I read them carefully before passing them to my father. How will that even work?”
“Darcy wanted to speak to you about it ahead of time, but there was no real opportunity to do so.”
“What will my father do when he realises what all he has agreed to?”
“There is nothing he can do, and honestly, I do not think it will trouble him too much in the end. It will allow him to be just as indolent as he presently is and will make no material differencein his life, and with all of you girls at Pemberley, Longbourn will be a far quieter place than he is used to.”
Elizabeth did not respond, and the two spent several moments contemplating what had been shared. “Uncle, am I foolish for wishing to marry Mr. Darcy without my father’s permission and even his blessing? Is he seeing something I am not? Should we stay here and attempt to persuade him instead of going away?”
“No, Elizabeth, you should not consider changing your plans. Your father demonstrated his lack of concern for you by refusing Mr. Darcy’s suit so categorically. He then failed to truly consider your well-being when he learned of the threat that Mr. Wickham posed to you in particular. Last night proved that your father was wrong about Wickham’s remaining nearby. What reason do you have to consider him or his opinion now that you know what he truly thinks about you?”
“I have always had a special relationship with Papa, but now I do not feel like I ever really knew him. All I believed he did for my benefit was actually for his.”
“Elizabeth, do not be so disheartened. You did benefit, and I believe your father loves you at least as much as he can love anyone. Over the last several years, he has distanced himself so much from everyone that now, he is only able to find solace and comfort in his books. I am uncertain he knows how to relate to other people, including his wife and children, in any real way.”
“How is that possible?”
Uncle Gardiner sighed deeply, and they walked several more feet before he responded. “He has shut himself off from life. Do you know the story of how your parents married?”
“What do you mean, Uncle?”
