The concern on his face made her feel weak at the knees, but the shame of her situation felt as though it were crushing her.
"Miss Bennet, are you alright?" He asked, clearly upset at her state of distress. He was kneeling beside her, his horse standing to attention further up the bank.
"Yes." She said quickly rising to her feet, "I'm sorry, we should not have come if we thought you were here, we didn't mean…" She put weight back on her injured foot and stumbled back to the grass with a muffled cry. How had she been able to run so far before collapsing and now she could barely take a step?
"Nonsense! You are clearly unwell, may I get you something? A glass of wine perhaps? I can get Agatha to fetch you something." He moved as if to call out and she grabbed his arm.
"Please don't." she whispered, unable to meet his gaze.
"What is it Miss Bennet? I realise I have no right to pry into your life so if it is a personal matter, I will not make comment, but if you are ill I beg you tell me." His voice held nothing but concern despite their last meeting and she felt nothing but the highest regard for him at that moment.
"I… I…" The tears started afresh and she closed her eyes, "I am ruined Mr Darcy. I know very well nothing can be done. My heart is broken and my virtue gone and it is all my own fault. I should have listened to you more readily. I should have accepted your hand when you offered it, for then maybe I would not be in so sordid a situation. I should have told someone what you told me of his previous indiscretions. I should not have trusted him to be a good man…" She found herself unable to continue and Darcy felt a horrible realisation creeping up his spine. His heart in his mouth, he looked at her, willing her to look back, but she seemed unable to move, eyes glued shut against her sobs.
"Miss Bennet." He started softly, reaching out for her again, "Miss Bennet… Did Wickham, do something to you?"
She didn't respond and his hand reached her shoulder.
"Elizabeth?"
It was his use of her Christian name that prompted an action. She reached up and swiftly undid the bow of her bonnet. As it tumbled to the ground behind her, she heard a strangled noise from Darcy and when she finally opened her eyes he was staring at her in dread, rage burning in his eyes as his fingers moved across her shoulder and pulled back the collar of her dress. She stared at anything but his face as his hand brushed over the bruises on her neck, feather-light touches that caused her as little pain as he was able.
"Elizabeth." He breathed, agony in his voice, "Elizabeth what did he do?" She shook her head mutely, tears falling anew. His palms closed gently around her cheeks, and the touch was so much the opposite of Wickham's that she could feel something inside her dying, "Look at me my love. Elizabeth, what did he do to you?" She finally looked up and as their eyes met for the first time since she had broken his heart, she knew that now they could never have a future. While Darcy would be every bit the gentlemen, he could not marry someone who was no longer a maid, even if he wanted to. She felt now more than ever that she could love this man, even as memories of Wickham's deed flooded back.
"Please don't make me say it." She choked, "I can't… I can't… Darcy please…" Before she knew it she was wrapped up in Darcy's arms, face tucked into his neck as he strode back towards the house.
"Master!?" The housekeeper yelped and Mr and Mrs Gardiner turned around.
"Lizzie? Lizzie! Is she alright?" Mr Gardiner asked as the party hurried behind them.
"Not in the slightest. Agatha, would you mind calling for a doctor please. Perhaps a specialist in injury over sickness." He commanded as he swept through to a room on the second floor, Mr and Mrs Gardiner in tow. The housekeeper dashed off to fetch someone to retrieve the doctor and Darcy arrived at a comfortable bedroom in the private sector of the household. He waited for Agatha to return and when she pulled the covers aside, he attempted to lay Elizabeth down beneath them, but when he let her go, she curled into a ball and hid her face in her hands. He gently pried her fingers from her face.
"Elizabeth, darling, lie down." He said authoritatively and she nodded, stretching her legs out just enough that the covers could be drawn over her. Darcy guided her gently back towards the pillows but when her head touched the backboard she cried out it pain. He quickly pulled her back up and inspected the back of her head. When he pulled away there was blood on his sleeve and he swallowed his fury. He couldn't be any help to Elizabeth if he was angry. Mr Gardiner saw the blood and tried to remove his wife before she glimpsed it but he was too late and Mrs Gardiner clasped her hands together in prayer.
"Alright Elizabeth, now this is going to sting a little, but I promise I'm not… I would never hurt you," He said softly, "This is for your own good, I promise." He grabbed the damp cloth that Agatha proffered and guided her head to his chest. Her hands were flat against his shoulders and he pulled her tighter so that he could see the wound clearly, his cheek brushing her temple as he did. When she was resting fully against him, he placed the cloth against her hair firmly and she whimpered, pressing further into his breast as he stroked her back with his free hand. He held her as she moaned in pain until she finally got used to the sensation and quietened.
"Shh, shh, shh, it's alright now. The worst is over, I swear it. It's alright now." He realised with a start that her hands were gripping his lapels so tight that the bones of her knuckles were almost visible through her skin, "Elizabeth. Do you think you could hold the cloth to your head for me? Do you believe you can do that?"
She nodded and reached behind her head, holding the damp material. He let go of it but pressed his hand back over hers in comfort, keeping her head firmly against him and allowing him to press his lips to her ear, "I'm so sorry. I'm so terribly, unspeakably sorry Elizabeth. This is my fault. I will accept the consequences of my own actions: this is all my fault."
She tried to protest, but he gently laid her down, securing her hand behind her head and bringing the covers to her chest. He allowed himself a liberty, to stroke her forehead calmingly, and she finally released his jacket and pulled her free hand up to find his. When her fingers wrapped around his own, he had the good sense to be embarrassed, thinking that she would remove his hand. She did not, however, and simply held him there so that she could speak without the Gardiners hearing.
"They do not know, Mr Darcy. Please, tell them. I am too ashamed to think of it," He nodded and went to remove himself, but she brought his hand down to her throat, where the mark of George Wickham was almost radiating in contrast to her white skin, "This… this is not your fault, Darcy. This is the fault of one man. One man, do you hear me? Promise me you will not blame yourself."
"I swear it, Miss Bennet." Darcy's tone changed, as if remembering that her family was standing behind him and he straightened to face them. Lizzy drifted into unconsciousness as he turned to her aunt and uncle.
"Mr Darcy! We demand an explanation! What on earth is going on?!" Mr Gardiner said as his wife sobbed the Lord's Prayer quietly beside him, "You said that her injury was your fault, how by the grace of god could you have injured her so? She was only out of our sight for but five minutes on your grounds!"
Darcy sighed, "She did not sustain her injuries on my grounds sir."
"Then what would permit you to accept blame for them?"
"A mistake I have made. A very grave mistake that has cost Miss Bennet dearly, and for that I am sorry. Now if you will come into the sitting room, I will explain everything, but we need Elizabeth to get her rest. The doctor is on his way. Now, if you please, Mr…?"
"Ah, Gardiner, sir." Mr Gardiner said as he and his wife were escorted out of the room and into the next, sitting on the nearest seats in order to get their bearings.
Darcy nodded, "Of course, you are Miss Bennet's Aunt and Uncle from London?"
"Yes- but that is not important. What is going on?" The Gardiners were becoming frantic. Darcy poured brandy for the three of them and then began pacing about the room, hyper-aware of Elizabeth in the next room.
"You are, of course, acquainted with George Wickham?"
"Why of course, we saw him only yesterday. He walked us to our lodgings after dinner at Ashby-de-la-Zouch." Mrs Gardiner said, eyes wide.
Darcy bit down on the inside of his cheek until he drew blood trying to keep his mouth shut. It was not their fault. They believed him honourable as well.
"Did you walk as a group? Or in pairs?" Darcy finally asked, his voice cold.
"In pairs, I believe. We two walked ahead while Wickham and Elizabeth followed behind. They were only a few yards behind, but we did keep losing them between streetlights. We heard them talking, but I could not make out what was said. I must confess, I was so tired that I convinced Edward to let us go straight to bed without a nightcap. I'm sure I fell asleep as soon as he turned the light off."
"Mmhmm, and I drifted not soon after."
"You did not hear any noise in the street?"
"No…?" Mrs Gardiner's voice was suddenly tiny, "Mr Darcy… are you… that is, could you be suggesting… that Mr Wickham had less than honourable intentions with Elizabeth?"
"No, I am not suggesting it Madam. I am telling you that Mr Wickham violated your niece. In the most… despicable way." He said angrily and Mrs Gardiner sobbed into her husband's arms, "I am telling you that he not only forced himself upon her, but that it would appear that when she refused, he beat her quite badly. The injury on her head is consistent with strong impact to a hard surface, whether he hit her or threw her to the ground, it is undoubtedly an injury caused by another person. Simply falling could not have created the grievous harm she sustained."
Both the Gardiners stood as though to run back to Elizabeth, but Darcy towered before them, "When I found her in my grounds, she was hysterical, and in a lot of pain. She hid it well, until I asked her what had happened, at which point she pulled off her bonnet and allowed me to see the bruises on her neck."
"That bastard!" Mr Gardiner shouted, but Darcy was not done.
"You asked how this was my fault, Mr Gardiner. Allow me to tell you." He gestured to the nearest seat. Agatha Reynolds appeared at the door and he beckoned her in.
"Master? The Doctor is here. I have taken him in to Miss Bennet. Would you like anything else?"
"Yes Mrs Reynolds, please prepare a room for the Gardiners. And prepare a horse. I will be sending a messenger to the relevant parties, and a carriage to Longbourn this evening with instructions."
"Yes sir." The woman disappeared to do her duty.
"You must already know George Wickham and I grew up together." And so Darcy recounted the tale of Wickham to Elizabeth's relatives, all the way up to the letter he had given her telling her of it all, including his proposal and her rejection. He maintained a detached air while he told it, but he was uncomfortable discussing his personal affairs with people for whom he had no acquaintance, "I had hoped at some point to either rid myself of my feelings for her, or to convince her to marry me again, but never expected her to show up on my doorstep in such distress as this. This is a grave happening indeed and one which could have been prevented had I made Wickham's character known to the public. But for my own foolish pride and out of love for my sister, I covered it up, and now Miss Bennet has been… injured."
"I believe that even if you had told people of his ways, you couldn't have known that he would go this far, so far as to destroy an innocent girl just to spite the both of you." Mr Gardiner revealed his steady faith in Mr Darcy's character openly and Darcy released the breath he didn't realise he'd been holding.
"I thank you for believing so. But this is still my mess to clean up, and my burden to bear until I can find this man and bring him to justice. Now if you'll excuse me, Agatha will escort you to your room and I will write to your sister and those authorities in whom I know I can trust."
"Ah, sir!" Mr Gardiner stopped him, "My sister, ahem, angel though she is, is perhaps not the best recipient of such news. I implore you to instead write to my brother-in-law. Lizzie has always been his most favoured and sensible child, and he will want to deal with the matter directly as the head of the household. Besides, I'm not sure Mrs Bennet will be able to contain her, ah, nerves, if she is the first to be acquainted with such terrible news."
"Of course," Darcy bowed his head and strode from the room.
Once in his quarters he set about writing the important letters. The first read thusly:
Mr Bennet,
I am writing with grave news of your daughter who has recently visited at Pemberley. While she is not in any immediate danger, she is of a sickly complexion and is, I fear, bedridden. This is due to an assault, the likes of which I can barely comprehend, perpetrated by Mr George Wickham, the son of my father's late steward, with whom I believe you already have an acquaintance. I let Miss Bennet into my confidence regarding a matter concerning Mr Wickham, and when he discovered this, I assume he became enraged and attacked Miss Bennet. I do not know the details, as I am sending for you immediately, but by the time you alight at Pemberley I hope to understand the exact nature of the altercation to full effect. I accept full responsibility for this horrific occurrence and beg your forgiveness for the matter. My steward is following this letter, and the carriage is yours to use, whether you wish to come alone or bring your family. I do believe that Miss Bennet will benefit from her family's company and so implore you to make haste. I have also, at this time, sent for those authorities in which I hold the most trust for discretion and valour, and I swear to find Wickham and see him detained for his crime. I do not have the time to bring you abreast of the entire saga, but I assure you once again that when you arrive at Pemberley, all will be explained and Wickham will hopefully be in custody.
Regards,
Fitzwilliam Darcy of Pemberley
The second was to Colonel Fitzwilliam.
Colonel.
I must be brief. Wickham has struck again, but his crime has worsened and I fear this time he may have caused permanent damage. The woman in question is one Elizabeth Bennet, and I request your presence at Pemberley as soon as possible in order to fix this mess once and for all. I wish more than anything to prevent the ruin of Miss Bennet as none of this occurrence is her fault as you must well know, and I accept full responsibility for Wickham's actions. Though they were not my own, it is as though I have dealt the blow to Miss Bennet myself and I must live with that. Make haste, cousin.
Regards,
Fitzwilliam Darcy
The third and final letter was to Bingley, who, by tomorrow morning would already be on his way. He prayed that the letter would reach his friend before nightfall, but as he glanced out the window he realised that the sun was already low in the sky, although not in any serious danger of dipping below the skyline just yet.
Bingley,
I write on a matter of some urgency. Miss Elizabeth Bennet will be staying for the foreseeable future at Pemberley as she has been injured and needs to be properly taken care of. Her family has been sent for, but I ask you as a friend to me, and as a friend to the Bennets, that you assist me at this time. Elizabeth will want company, I am sure, and I will expect that both you and Georgiana will undertake the task of cheering her before her family arrives. Your sisters may help if they wish, but due to their inclinations towards the Bennets as you and I know to be true, it may perhaps be best for them to avoid Elizabeth and simply remain on the grounds within the realms of my already existing hospitality as they would have done in any case. Godspeed my friend.
Darcy.
With the letters complete, he sent the first two off on horseback and the third with the carriage and his most trusted steward in the direction of Longbourn. He then made a beeline back to Elizabeth's quarters and was thankful to find no Aunt and Uncle. The Doctor was hovering in the corridor waiting for him.
"Doctor Cain, what news?" Darcy asked urgently.
"She took quite a blow to the head I'm afraid. She will most likely recover, but if it gets infected, that will be another story. The blow to the head is not the most worrisome at the moment, however. Her ankle is sprained and she is heavily bruised around the neck and chest area, but I also believe at least one of her ribs to be broken. This is fine at the present as I have steadied it back in position with the help of Mrs Reynolds, but if she makes any sudden moves, she could dislodge it, and therein lies the possibility of puncturing a lung. I'm sure I do not need to tell you the danger of that."
"The assault was… not a normal one." Darcy couldn't even get the words out.
"I had thought so. Unfortunately, Mr Darcy, I can only heal the physical injuries she sustained. Any hysteria that accompanies the actions of whatever monster did this cannot be cured with medicine. I expect she will have nightmares, and this is where my concern for her ribs lies. I suggest a working shift of staff, such as maids, to keep any eye on her during the evenings, to make sure she does not move in her sleep and injure herself. I have done all I can do for now, so if you wish to see her you may, although she may be asleep. I believe she is in shock, more than anything else. I prescribe Laudanum and bedrest. A splash of brandy now and then would not go amiss either. I will call again in two days time. Good evening, Mr Darcy. I am sorry about your friend's injuries." The physician sighed and left.
Darcy closed the door softly behind him, hoping that he hadn't woken her, but it seemed as though she had never been asleep. She was sitting up against the cushions, wearing a new nightgown, and her hair had been put up in such a way that the dressing on the wound would not interfere. Her eyes and cheeks were puffy from crying, but she was deathly pale, which made the bruising appear all the more painful. She refused to meet his eyes, and when he drew a chair up next to the bed, she simply sniffled.
"What is it Mr Darcy?"
"I have been informed I must keep an eye on you to ensure you do not injure yourself in your sleep."
"I believe Doctor Cain told you to order staff to attend to me."
"You were listening?" Darcy asked softly. Elizabeth nodded and looked up at him. There was a deep sorrow in his face and he was wringing his hands in his lap. She reached out and stopped the movement.
"Do not worry for my hearing such things. I know how they occurred. I was there." She attempted humour but it had the opposite effect and Darcy let out a huge sob, burying his face in his hands.
She blinked, surprised, but quickly recovered, "Darcy. I told you before, this was not your fault."
Darcy tore himself from the chair and began pacing up and down the bedroom furiously. "Yes, but the blame lies on someone's shoulders and that monster is currently at loose in society so until I can bring him in, I accept the burden."
"If anyone should be accepting the burden, it should be me." Elizabeth started, but Darcy cut her off.
"Don't you dare say that." His voice was almost a whisper but it stopped her voice faster than yelling, "Don't you ever, ever, blame yourself for what happened to you."
"Why not?" Elizabeth said simply, "If I had not let him know that I knew of his actions he may not have acted. Or perhaps if I had told my family, my Aunt and Uncle would not have been so receptive to his charm. Maybe if I had simply not trusted him as readily as I should, he would not have gotten me alone. What… what if I had accepted your proposal? Then I would not have even been in Ashby, and therefore would not have been in that situation. I can accept just as much blame as you can."
"No, Elizabeth –"
"There you go again, but I'm not asking your permission to blame myself, just as you are not asking mine."
"Fine. Fine! But Elizabeth, don't you see? It wouldn't have mattered what you did, he would have found a way to hurt you just because he knew I cared."
"Well don't let him succeed."
Darcy froze, "I'm sorry?"
"If he hurt me to get to you, then why are you letting it? I absolve you of responsibility." Elizabeth commanded and he laughed incredulously.
"Do believe it so easy for me to just stop caring for someone?"
"No. But I believe you are very good at not letting your feelings show. And that is what I expect of you. That unless you are in this room, with me, you do not appear affected by my injuries."
"Elizabeth…" He stopped pacing at the end of the bed and captured her gaze.
"Darcy." She responded, staring him down from her place in the covers, "At the present, Wickham does not know I am staying with you and it would be best not to broadcast the fact. He believes I am with my Aunt and Uncle at Lambton, and that we will soon be travelling back to London. He may regret his actions and come looking for me, or…" she swallowed, "Or he may wish to, uh, try again in which case he will seek me out. If neither of these is true, then he will be with the militia, or on the run if he believes that I have even told anyone. We must plan for any one of these possibilities, but we must accept early that we may never catch him if he chooses the latter option."
"Oh trust me Miss Bennet," Darcy spoke, his hands balled into fists, "I WILL catch George Wickham. If it is the last thing I do, I will catch that man and if I get him alone he will not need to worry about the law. I will kill him myself."
Elizabeth exhaled slowly, eyes never leaving Darcy's face, "Do what you must, but perhaps before you kill him, you could ask him a question for me?"
"Anything?" It didn't escape Darcy's notice that Elizabeth, over the course of the conversation, seemed to have unwittingly let her true feelings slip, but he also knew that she was exhausted and emotional and not in her right frame of mind, so he let it pass.
"Why?" Her eyes were glistening again, "Why did he do this to me?" Her breath caught in her throat and Darcy rushed forward with a handkerchief. She took it graciously and he felt the rage and loathing rising anew as she tried to stem the flow of her grief.
"I am so sorry Elizabeth."
There it was again. Elizabeth had been counting the number of times he used her Christian name. It was over a dozen by now, and in any other situation, she would have scolded him readily, but she found herself unable to feel even a scrap of anger at the man who she was now indebted to. She was sure as well that he had referred to her as his love, and his darling, but she had kept her mouth shut. It didn't matter if he still loved her. They could never marry. She heard his chair scraping and looked over to find he'd moved it closer still so his knees were practically pressed up against the side.
"Mr Darcy you do not have to stay here, and I'm sure you know it would appear highly improper to do so."
"Yes I do. I will not feel right if I left you this evening. My staff are not gossips and all of them understand that you were injured at the least when you arrived here. I believe they all think enough of me to know that I have not the slightest dishonourable intention. Tomorrow I hope to have Georgiana meet you, and then perhaps she will offer to watch you, or perhaps Mr Bingley, who is also on his way. But for this evening, I refuse to leave your side, and there are not the words in your vocabulary that would convince me to leave. Unless you feel truly uncomfortable in my presence. In which case I will remove myself immediately and never return."
Elizabeth found herself smiling at him despite herself, and as she lay down and drew the covers over her shoulders, she gave him one last look. He was firmly settled in the chair and watching her carefully. She nodded and closed her eyes. "Good." She murmured as sleep finally claimed her.
