“Henry will be here.”
“Henry is an old man who can barely lift a fork let alone a sword! Pray, be reasonable. He is not a great fighter, but Charles can protect you better than Henry.”
“Fine. Leave.”
“Do not act like a child, Elizabeth.”
“Now I am a child? I advise you to quit speaking, sir, before you meet your fate on the end of my sword!”
He sighed, and Elizabeth became resigned to the fact that he was done arguing with her. She stared at him for a long moment, her heart bursting with love for him. For some reason, she still could not say the words. They were lodged in her throat as though somebody had stuffed her with a rag.
“I must ready my men. I shall seek you out before I ride.”
“Do not bother,” she said in a quiet mumble, part of her stubborn with the hope that he would not hear her.
Despite his pique, her husband allowed her to have the last word before he quit the room. He must be truly aggravated with her. She remained at the window, staring out into the wild ground of Pemberley’s park. A deer was munching on a low hanging branch. Life was going on around her without pause. She lightly touched the glass, feeling the chill through it. She could not remain angry.
She took a deep, calming breath and went to say good-bye to her beloved husband.
* * *
After Darcy obtained her brother’s counsel and the two removed themselves from the dining room, Caroline was left to stare at her glass of claret. A malicious little smirk slipped over her lovely lips. She took some dried herbs from her handkerchief and sprinkled them into the glass, whispering a few words, which made the candle flame before her dance.
In her mind's eye, George appeared. For a moment, he seemed startled but then smiled as if he had seen an old friend.
“My dear George, things are all going to plan. You shall have ‘your Liza’ soon.”
“I appreciate all you have done for me, my lady,” George said with a perfect northern accent. “You truly understand my sorrow.”
“I do. It is horrible what has been done to you. You should see the way she is treated here. It is appalling.” Of course, such a girl should have never been allowed to live in such splendour, have the adoration of a man such as Darcy, and possess the sort of power she was now coming into, but George need not know that.
“I can scarcely imagine, my lady.”
“Do not try, George. You would be fearsome if you did.”
“I should be fierce for Liza regardless, my lady. I have learned several things from my new comrades, but I dislike hearing them speak ill of my sweetheart.”
“We discussed this, George. You must pretend to believe in what your northern counterparts believe in. You need not have anything to do with politics, my friend. Simply use these men. They will help you attain ‘your Liza’.”
“Yes.My Liza.” George mumbled like a man who had too much drink.
Caroline fought to keep an unladylike sound from escaping her nose. What was it about this tiny troll of a girl that had men so enamoured? She lifted the candle she had used as a part of her connection to the young fool and drowned the flame in the herbed wine. As an insult to the Fates she was now defying, she raised the glass to her lips in a mock toast and sipped the bitter, ruined liquid.
Darcy was on his way to kill George; of that much she was certain. The shepherd would die, and Elizabeth would loathe Darcy. Caroline would finally win. Of course, the idiot George had no idea he was a sacrifice, and Caroline could not help but find it ever so slightly amusing.
She threw back the last of her wretched wine and left the dining room. She had a prince to see off, after all.
* * *
“She means to unnerve you, my lady. Do not let her,” Jane whispered to Elizabeth when Caroline appeared in the large courtyard.
The depraved woman stood next to her brother with a solemn mien, her eyes fixed upon some fascinating stone on the ground while she was wringing her hands nervously. It seemed everybody but Bingley knew that her concern was merely an act, and he put a comforting arm around his sister.
“You mean to leave me with such a daft idiot?” Elizabeth whispered to her husband. “He cannot even see her obvious lies.”
“He loves his sister, my sweet. We rarely see faults in those we love.”
She bit her tongue to avoid pointing out that, at this particular moment, she was perfectly aware of every one of William's faults. Instead, she forced herself to meet his eyes, and her anger instantly dissipated. She blinked back her tears and tried to take a deep breath to keep from sobbing, but her lungs shuddered, and her tears tumbled out anyway. She hated that Lady Caroline was present to witness her crying.
