Darcy followed her motion with his eyes, and then he realized her fear. Lying in a crevice where two hills met, lay what appeared to be the mangled body of a woman. Her face and neck showed the telltale signs of mutilation. “Elizabeth,” he whispered, “may I put you down so I can see to the woman?”
“I am afraid.”
“I will not leave you,” he assured her,“but I must see to the lady.”
Elizabeth nodded, and he put her down gently under a tree. He cupped her chin with his palm.“I will be right back.”Tears formed in her eyes, and her bottom lip trembled, but she sat quietly and waited for him.
Darcy and Bingley moved quickly to where the woman lay.“Do you know her?” he asked Bingley as they checked for a sign of life.
“I have never seen her.” Bingley was pale with terror.“My God, Darcy, what kind of animal creates such wounds?”
“None you have ever seen.” A thud reverberated in his chest. “Bingley, I need to take Miss Elizabeth home. You must ride to Meryton and inform the constable and maybe even Colonel Forster. Please be careful.”
“Certainly, Darcy.Tell Miss Elizabeth I will call once everything is settled.” Bingley stood and headed to his horse, but Darcy
Darcy looked back at Elizabeth.“Get Miss Elizabeth’s cloak; it is at the top of the hill. Cover the body with that.”
Bingley mounted and rode off in the direction of the black cloak.
Darcy hurried back to where Elizabeth sat. “Come, Sweetling.” He pulled off his greatcoat and wrapped it around her as he helped her to her feet. He hid her in the security of his shoulder as he led her to where his horse nibbled on grass.“I will take you up with me.”
He mounted the horse and then reached down for her hand, pulling her up into his lap. Settling her comfortably in his arms, he touched the horse’s flanks with his heels and the animal set off at a brisk pace.
Once they crested the hill and headed towards Longbourn, Darcy leaned into her and kissed the side of Elizabeth’s neck.“Can you tell me, my dear, what happened?”
Again, Elizabeth’s eyes misted over and her lips trembled.“Do I have to?”
“The constable will ask, Elizabeth. What will we tell him?” Darcy knew her fear.
“I became frightened and I ran. There was nothing there, but all the same, something was there. Oh, Fitzwilliam, that woman’s face!” She buried her head into his chest, covering her eyes with her hands.
Darcy kissed the side of her head and promised to protect her. “Bingley went for the authorities.”
“You will stay when we get to Longbourn?” She seemed so vulnerable.
“If you wish.” Darcy wanted to protect her—to keep Elizabeth safe forever. “My darling, I must ask, did you speak to George Wickham about me?”
Elizabeth looked up in surprise.“I knew you would not tell me, Fitzwilliam. I did not mean to go behind your back. I am so sorry. He told such lies about you; I could not understand why or how
“It is all right, Sweetling. Later, you will tell me exactly what was said, so we can determine what to do next, but none of that is what really matters.” Darcy kissed her upturned nose and tried to give her a smile of assurance. He tightened his grip about her. “What I need for you to understand, Elizabeth, is that Seorais is the Scottish name for George. Seorais Winchcombe of the story of Lord Thomas and Lady Ellender is George Wickham.”
He heard her gasp and felt her shudder as the truth washed over her. “Fitzwilliam, Fitzwilliam, the woman…the woman was the brown girl!” Her arms searched his body, trying to find security.
“It was a warning, Elizabeth, to me, and now to you.The brown girl of the song simply had brown hair. Wickham chose this woman for symbolic purposes. I will explain it all in detail later—when we are alone—but I need for you to know, I managed to get to Georgiana in time to save her, although Wickham tried to seduce her at Ramsgate. He nearly killed us both in a house fire.”
“He said he was in Kent of late.”The truth of what Darcy said now made perfect sense.
He did not look at her as he spoke. It was impossible for him to break the aura of implied danger. “Elizabeth, Wickham tried to seduce Georgiana to take revenge on me—on the Darcy name. He has done so with each generation. I fear if he knows of us, you will become his target. It is best I stay away, best for you.”
“No!” she demanded.“I cannot face this without you!”
“If I withdraw,” he insisted, “you will not have to face any of this. I will take my evil with me.”
Anger flared in her and, without thinking, Elizabeth struck his chest with her fist.“You are not evil and I will not hear you speak as such! Fitzwilliam, I will not permit it!”
By now, Longbourn loomed on the horizon. “We will talk it out later. For now, we will tell everyone a wild dog chased you.We cannot hide the death, but it will all be coincidental.” Elizabeth nodded in agreement. “I will stay and help you until everything
“Thank you, Fitzwilliam.”
He stopped the horse far enough away that those in the house could not make out their forms.“I missed you,” he said quietly.
“Of course, you did,” came her retort. Elizabeth snaked her arms around his neck and tried to pretend nothing had changed. “Now, kiss me before I must face my family.”
He considered shoving her away, but a heartbeat later, he groaned and pulled her to him.The kiss made time stand still; it was what he needed—what she needed. Otherwise, there was no sense left in the world.
Darcy had other concerns, which he did not want to deal with, but he would do so. As he rode into the entranceway to Longbourn, the other issues consumed his thoughts. He must get back to the woman’s body and destroy it without anyone’s knowledge.
“Elizabeth!” Mary called from the open doorway.Alerted by the housekeeper, Mrs. Hill, her family, all chattering at once, poured from the house.
“Mr. Darcy, what means this?” Mr. Bennet demanded.
“Miss Elizabeth met with an unfortunate accident of some consequence.” Darcy’s voice boomed over the clatter, and they all fell silent.“We will explain once we get her into the house.”
Mr. Bennet reached for Elizabeth to help her down as Darcy lifted her from him. “Come, Lizzy,” her father insisted as Jane and Kitty rushed forward to help her.
A few steps towards the door, Elizabeth stopped suddenly. “Papa,” she called over her shoulder.“Have Mr. Darcy come in; he saved me today and we owe him our gratitude.”
At her insistence, Mr. Bennet reached for the reins of his horse. “Come in, Mr. Darcy. Pray, come in.”
Darcy dismounted and followed the others into the parlor. Bingley had called there before, but Darcy had not. Although comfortable, the furniture seemed worn and a bit frayed. But that
Again, silence and inquiry filled the air.“Of course, Miss Elizabeth, if it allays your fears.”
“Lizzy, may I get you some tea?” Jane fussed with Elizabeth’s hair. “My!” she gasped. “You have leaves entangled in your curls. Would you not wish to freshen up before we discuss why you are so disheveled?”
Elizabeth laughed and accepted the tea. “Possibly, Mr. Darcy would like some port, Papa.”
Mr. Bennet did her bidding. The rest of the family huddled together; miraculously, no one spoke. They allowed Elizabeth to orchestrate the situation. Darcy wondered if she was always in charge; he could imagine her in the role. When Darcy held his drink, Elizabeth cleared her throat. After the earlier fright, she was thoroughly enjoying the situation.
“First of all, I want to assure you I am well, physically—despite how I might look. I went to town this morning to see if Aunt Philips needed any help for this evening’s gathering. On my way back, I heard something unusual. I do not know what it was, although Mr. Darcy here seems to think it might have been a wild dog or even a wolf.” She actually reached out and patted the back of his hand as it lay on the seat between them. Darcy thought about catching it and holding her hand close to him, but propriety overruled the impulse.