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“That was how she pronounced her name when she was just beginning to talk.” He chuckled. “I never called her by any other.”

William whispered hoarsely, his voice quivering and tears threatening again. “You knew her well then?”

The vicar stared past him then into the darkness. “She was like my own child.” Then looking back to the man who now needed his comfort, he forced himself to continue in spite of his own pain.

“I was vicar here when she was born. I christened her. She had the prettiest chocolate curls even then. I watched her grow into a precocious child who sat in my lap and tried to read from the Bible.” Shaking his head in awe, he continued, “Later, she became quite the fearless adventurer, leading the likes of my son, John Lucas, and David Watts into battle with sticks for swords, and God forbid one of them should try to be the leader.” This elicited a small smile from William.

Then his face softened. “Before I realised, she had become a beautiful young woman. She would talk with me quite often. She asked about everything—how to sketch a man’s character, how to know you were in love. She had begun to garner attention from some of the young men, and I think she wanted a man’s perspective. She could not talk to her mother, and her father would make a joke of her concerns.” He glanced at William and saw the face of someone deeply mourning a woman.

Looking back to her grave, the vicar sighed. “I looked forward to marrying her to a man worthy of her.” They both stood silent for some time, each with his own regrets.

“After her father died, those who should have loved my Lizzybet failed her. It broke my heart when I was asked to conduct her funeral.” He shook his head as his own tears flowed unchecked. “Such a waste of a precious, delightful life.”

He looked up then to see an expression of unadulterated pain on the gentleman’s face. This man surely loved her.

“Would you care to have a cup of tea? If you do, I could tell you how she talked Charlotte and Jane into helping her to christen a cat and ended up wrecking the altar right before Easter.”

William could not hold back a little chuckle, though tears still slid down his face.

The elderly man put an arm around the younger man’s shoulder, and they walked together towards the cottage. “Perhaps you would like to hear about the time the green snake she caught just that morning, waited until my sermon to crawl out of her pocket and onto Frances Bennet’s lap? I thought quickly and asked her to bring the snake up front—not lying, mind you—but letting everyone assume I asked her to bring it to church as an illustration for my message. I promptly changed my sermon to expound on that deceitful snake, Satan.”

The vicar laughed wholeheartedly now and felt William take a shaky breath, then shudder as it was released. Morning prayers could wait. Ministering to the suffering took precedence this morning.

~~~*~~~

Chapter 5

Netherfield

Charles and Jane ate mostly in silence, each lost in his own thoughts of what would happen when they told William about Lizzy. Charles had related the discussion he and William had that morning, after William’s return from the cemetery.

“Darcy, I was just about to mount a search party to go look for you.” He put an arm around his friend, leading him into the drawing room and pulling the door shut. “You have been gone most of the day. Are you well?”

“I had to visit Elizabeth’s…” Charles knew what William could not voice. “It was not real to me until I saw for myself. Forgive me if I was inconsiderate in being gone so long, but I was invited to Mr. Williamson’s home, and we talked at length.”

Charles nodded his understanding. He was beginning to think he should have just told Darcy the entire truth and asked for his help—but no! He and Jane had agreed to wait until they were absolutely sure.

“I enjoyed meeting Mr. Williamson.” William ventured as he stared straight ahead, focusing on something only he could see. “He was very kind.”

His small smile almost reached his eyes. “He told me tale after tale of Elizabeth as a child and young girl. He called her Lizzybet, because that is how she pronounced her name when she was small.” He shook his in head in wonder. “She was really quite unique.” A sad expression crept across his face as he stated wistfully, “He misses her, too.”

“Mr. Williamson is a good man. I do not know how Jane and I would have coped without him.”

“He mentioned Jane, Charlotte Lucas and many others. It seems he christened most of Meryton.” William tried to chuckle, but did not quite succeed. “I have much to ponder. If you do not mind, I would like to rest in my room today. If you want a consultation on your estate matters, I will make myself available in the morning.”

Finally Jane broke the silence. “I imagine William will want to return to Pemberley soon.”

“Yes. He mentioned talking over the estate problems in the morning, and I got the impression he was eager to finish and be gone. So if we decide to tell him, it must be done quickly.”

“From what you say, William seems devastated. Does that not signify that he would be willing to help us?” Jane’s heart began pounding rapidly. She was not sure her reaction was relief that he might help them or regret for having to involve him.

“I believe we have to go with our instincts and trust Darcy. After what I have observed, he must have been in love with her and still cares deeply.”

“I feel dreadful that we had to deceive him.” She studied her plate, pushing the food about with her fork but not eating. “And even worse to use his feelings to entrap him in this ordeal. I wish we could have handled it on our own.”

“Sweetheart, we have done our best, but circumstances dictate we must find another residence for her. Can you imagine being able to keep this from Caroline, and she is determined to come. Besides, I truly believe Darcy would want to know she is alive and help her in every possible way.”

“But that will effectively sentence him to …”