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He chuckled.
Urgently, she grasped both his arms and held his eyes. “You are aware that my declarations of devotion to Wickham were false, are you not? I only said them to save Lydia.”
A slow smile spread across his face. “I did not believe for one second that you truly preferred Wickham.”
Her shoulders sagged. “Good, because my heart belongs to you.” Darcy’s breath caught. “I love you, William.”
His heart was so full it might burst from his chest. “I love you, too.”
The subsequent kiss was interrupted by the arrival of the prince regent’s guard. The captain of the guard was pale and frantic after searching the beach for their charge, who seemed to suffer from no guilt or regret. Guards and servants hastily surrounded the prince, and one man took custody of Mrs. Forster. They tried to chivvy the prince back toward the town, but he insisted on lumbering over to speak with Darcy and Elizabeth. “Today you have saved the life of the prince regent!” he thundered grandly.
Elizabeth made a wet and sloppy curtsey while Darcy bowed. “It was my honor, Your Highness.” He could only be relieved that the prince had not chosen to blame them for placing him in danger in the first place.
“You shall be rewarded!” the prince said with great solemnity. After a pause to consider, he nodded. “Yes, I will have both of you to dine at the Royal Pavilion! Darcy, write to my secretary to secure the engagement.”
“I will, Your Highness,” Darcy replied, reminding himself that excessive royal approbation was better than royal condemnation. The prince inclined his head with the air of a man bestowing a great favor and then allowed himself to be escorted back toward the town.
Despite the warmth of the evening, Elizabeth was shivering in her wet clothing. The shift clung to her curves rather becomingly, but Darcy preferred not to share that view with others. Pulling off his jacket, he placed it around Elizabeth’s shoulders, unconcerned if sea water ruined the fine fabric. The garment hung off Elizabeth’s slender frame, but it covered her to her knees.
Darcy was particularly pleased with this precaution when Richard arrived with a group of soldiers a few minutes later. After returning from their fruitless wait at the cave, the two colonels had encountered the prince and his guards. Colonel Forster had accompanied the royal guards to the magistrate, where his wife would be jailed. Discovering his wife’s treachery must have been a cruel shock to the man.
Elizabeth told Richard the story about her escape from the boat, prompting Darcy to thank providence she had survived. How easily he could have lost her! Richard dispatched a few soldiers to obtain a boat so they might search for Wickham and Harrison. Hopefully the scoundrels had not managed to right their vessel and escape to France.
For several minutes, the end of the pier was the source of much activity. Richard issued orders as soldiers raced away on various tasks. A shivering Elizabeth answered questions from many different sources while Darcy hovered protectively. And somehow Lydia managed to get in everybody’s way.
Noticing how Elizabeth was drooping with fatigue, Darcy stacked some empty crates into a makeshift bench and sat huddled beside her, trying to share his body heat while she patiently described the location and direction of Wickham’s boat.
Finally, one soldier brought a blanket, which Darcy wrapped around Elizabeth. It calmed her shivers, but he was still eager to get her into a house and warmer clothing. She was determined to remain as long as she might be of assistance. Darcy grew more anxious as the lines of fatigue around her mouth deepened.
Colonel Forster arrived to take command of the situation, shooting Darcy more than one disapproving glare. I suppose I am sitting rather close to her—and my arm is around her shoulders. He did not remember placing it there. Perhaps I earned the glare. But Darcy refused to move away from her.
Maybe he should have been more concerned about Elizabeth’s reputation, but he was fairly confident they would shortly be betrothed—and she was perfectly capable of objecting to the placement of his hand. She did not object, and even leaned more heavily on his shoulder as fatigue caught up to her.
Darcy would have been pleased to focus all his attention on Elizabeth and forget Lydia, but the girl refused to be ignored. Despite the noise created by multiple officers shouting and tromping around the pier, Lydia’s wails could be easily discerned. “Did you see that bruise? I believe my arm might be broken! And my nerves are in such a state! I must tell you—”
After several minutes of such recitations, Elizabeth summoned her sister to her side and gestured for her to sit on a nearby crate. “Did you notice my bruises, Lizzy?” the girl
demanded immediately.
Elizabeth examined them with far more seriousness than they deserved, but at least Lydia had ceased wailing. “Thank providence you were not more grievously injured,” Elizabeth said finally. “Or worse.”
“Worse?” Lydia repeated blankly.
Elizabeth nodded solemnly. “We are blessed to have learned Mr. Wickham’s evil nature now, as painful as the discovery was. It would have been ever so much worse to learn of the flaws in his character if you had eloped with him.”
Lydia stuck out her chin. “I would never have eloped with him! I did not like him so very much.”
Elizabeth exchanged an amused glance with Darcy but merely said, “I am happy to hear that.” The following silence was broken only by Lydia’s complaints about the breeze.
Apparently, the youngest Miss Bennet had been observing the soldiers over several minutes, for she finally said to Darcy, “Your cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, looks very well in his regimentals.” Not believing a response was required, Darcy said nothing. “Is he married…or betrothed?”
This does not bode well for Richard. Briefly, Darcy considered inventing a betrothal for his cousin. “No, he is not.” He felt like a traitor simply by relaying the information.
Lydia bounced up from her seat. “Perhaps I might be of some assistance to him.”
Bounding toward Richard, she commenced pestering him with questions, which he answered with a bemused expression. After several minutes of Lydia’s attention, Richard gave Darcy a beseeching look, but Darcy just shrugged; he was not about to leave Elizabeth’s side. If his cousin could not handle a girl of fifteen years, he was not much of a soldier.
Another shiver wracked Elizabeth’s body, and Darcy pulled the blanket more tightly around her. How soon will she wish to return to Longbourn? Would she want to leave tomorrow? The next day? The thought sobered him; he did not want to be separated from her for any length of time.
