With each word spoken, Lizzy gained a clearer understanding of why Mr. Darcy had never considered Lady Helen as a possible mate, and it had nothing to do with her being like a sister to him or that she was boring. This exquisitely beautiful woman was an idiot. She had taken the precaution of whispering Teddy’s name, but in a clear voice had said she slept next to Mr. Darcy. An unmarried Lady Helen sleeping next to Mr. Darcy! Oh, wouldn’t the servants have fun with that one. Even Georgiana went wide-eyed, and if Anne clenched her teeth any tighter, they might be in danger of cracking.
“Perhaps we should continue this conversation in the study,” Anne said in a voice lacking any warmth, “behind closed doors and out of hearing of any servants.”
“Actually, I was wondering if I could have a word with you, Elizabeth? If you are agreeable, I would ask that you accompany me to the study.” Without waiting for an answer, the earl’s daughter stood up, leaving Lizzy to follow her.
Ah, yes, when it rained, it poured, and Lizzy decided that the past few days would have tested even the all-powerful Pharaoh, and her mind returned to the ten plagues. What were they?
She tried to recall the story from the Book of Exodus. She remembered some of them: turning the water into blood, locusts, lice, frogs, flies, hail, darkness, the killing of the firstborn son. She was still missing two.
“Elizabeth, come sit beside me on the sofa, so that we might hold hands while we commiserate,” Lady Helen said as Lizzy closed the doors to the study.
Boils! She now had nine of the ten plagues. Only one more. Darn! What was that last plague?
Once seated on the sofa, Lady Helen placed her hand over Lizzy’s and looked into her eyes. Apparently, this was the look she used when she wanted to convey empathy.
“Killing of livestock! That is the last one,” Lizzy said, snapping her fingers. “Sorry, I was trying to recall the ten plagues of Egypt, and when I looked at you, the last one just came to me.”
“Did your parson recently preach on the subject?”
“No, I just happened to be thinking about plagues when we went into the drawing room.”
Lady Helen, looking a good deal less comfortable, released Lizzy’s hand.
“The reason I wished to speak to you in private concerns Mr. Darcy. I noticed at my sister’s reception that when Mr. Darcy and you were together there seemed to be some interest,” she said and paused for effect, “on your part.”
Lizzy rubbed her forehead so that she might hide the smirk on her face. This might actually prove to be entertaining.
“Let us, for the sake of argument, pretend that Alpha…”
Oh, we are back to lupine talk. With one word, Lady Helen conveyed so much: “I am in the pack, and you are not.”
“…pretend that Alpha is also interested in you. It would be ill advised for you to encourage him, and it is not just because you have no standing in society. For Alpha’s safety and happiness, he should marry a she wolf.”
“Safety? Please explain how I would endanger Mr. Darcy if a marriage should come about?”
“Have you not learned a lesson from this unfortunate incident? Does it not demonstrate how vulnerable we are? One misplaced step, one slip of the tongue, and we would all be exposed.”
“For example, someone referring to Mr. Darcy as Alpha when there are servants about?”
“Exactly. That is a perfect example.”
“But it was you who… Never mind.”
“Did Alpha ever tell you about when we ran into the poachers?” Lady Helen asked.
“No, he did not.”
“Well, these thieves came upon us when we were stalking a deer, and they ran into Lambton screaming that there were wolves in the woods. It was a very tense two nights because it happened at the beginning of nightfall. Oh, excuse me, you probably are not familiar with the terms used by werewolves, but it means…”
“I know what nightfall means,” Lizzy said, interrupting.
“Forgive me. I have no way of knowing what Mr. Darcy has chosen to share and what he has withheld.” Lady Helen did everything except stick out her tongue and say, “So there.”
“As I was saying, as soon as Alpha returned to human form, he went into the village with Wolfie and smoothed everything over, but it was a near run thing. Another incident happened here in Derbyshire. A brother of a werewolf said something stupid in a tavern, and a rumor circulated that could not be tamped down. It was necessary for the werewolf to go to Ireland. Ireland!”
“What is wrong with Ireland?”
“Nothing, except the people. They are primitive and live in squalor.”
“They live in squalor because all the best land is owned by absentee British landlords, and you do not have to go to Ireland to see such conditions.”
Lady Helen took Lizzy’s hand again, and in a headmistress voice indicated that Lizzy should try to concentrate on the subject under discussion.
“And what of your family, Elizabeth? You could not share any of this with them. It would require that you keep a good portion of your life secret from your parents and sisters. I understand that you and your oldest sister are very close. Over time, you would be tempted to share something of your life with her, and if she told her husband… Well, you see the problem. Because of these concerns, it is the suggestion of the Council that male werewolves marry she wolves. You don’t want to endanger Alpha, now do you?”
Lizzy turned her face away from the lady. Was it possible that she could do or say something that would expose Mr. Darcy’s other life? And if such a thing occurred, it wasn’t just Mr. Darcy who would suffer. Georgiana, Anne, the Fitzwilliams, possibly Charles Bingley and her sister would all come under suspicion. Lady Helen handed her a handkerchief, hoping that there were tears to be dried.
“Now, forgive me, Elizabeth, but I must speak my mind.”
“I thought you already were,” Lizzy said with an edge in her voice.
Ignoring Lizzy’s comments, Lady Helen continued. “I would like your assurances that if Mr. Darcy should make you an offer you will decline it.”
“Forgive me, but I also must speak my mind. I shall give you no such assurances because, to be quite frank, it is none of your business. Your rank does not entitle you to pry into my personal affairs.” Standing up, Lizzy concluded, “I would never do anything that would endanger Mr. Darcy, and you have made your point. So let us now rejoin Anne and Georgiana.”
Despite the exchange of words in the study, Lady Helen remained for another perfectly awful two hours, but her threat to stay indefinitely was withdrawn. Lizzy felt bad for Georgiana, who had known her neighbor for her whole life and greatly admired her for her beauty and accomplishments, but by the time an afternoon of “everything about Lady Helen Granyard” had come to an end, the earl’s daughter had sunk to a level nearing contempt in the estimation of Mr. Darcy’s sister.
To ensure that Lady Helen would leave quickly, Anne, Georgiana, and Lizzy all walked with her to the door. After making her good-byes to Anne and Georgiana, the lady once again took Lizzy by the hand and led her away from the other two. Could this woman be any ruder, Lizzy wondered?
“I hope my openness and honesty has been of some help to you.”
“It has,” Lizzy admitted.
“And has it changed anything?”
“Oh, yes, it has changed everything.”
Chapter 17
The three ladies stood on the steps of the portico until Lady Helen’s carriage went through Pemberley’s wrought iron gate. A collective sigh of relief followed. Lizzy, who never stopped thinking about the plagues during her visit, felt as free as the Hebrews when Pharaoh finally told Moses that he would let his people go. Of course, they had all that Red Sea parting and wandering in the desert ahead of them, but one problem at a time.