Chapter 6

"You did what!" Mr. Bennet's angry voice reverberated off the walls of Longbourn. When his wife would not answer, he turned to Darcy, "She did what."

"After she had been repeatedly told that Mr. Ashcombe had an unhealthy obsession with Elizabeth, she still allowed and arranged for him to be alone with my wife." Darcy told his father-in-law with disgust, "Unbeknownst to Elizabeth, your wife arranged for Mr. Ashcombe to be driving your carriage which should have taken her straight to Netherfield. Instead he took her to a secluded area in the middle of nowhere." Darcy's anger showed in his eyes, "Once he could be assured no one would disturb them, he proceeded to attempt to have carnal relations with my wife." Darcy closed his eyes, "I thank God, Elizabeth had been taught to defend herself and managed to escape by assaulting her attacker." He opened his eyes to the face of an even angrier Mr. Bennet whose face a deep red colour, "I do not comprehend how a loving mother could allow her daughter to be taken in your carriage by a man who meant to harm her, especially after what happened here a year ago at Wickham's hand."

Mrs. Bennet tried to defend herself, "Mr. Ashcombe is such a charming young man, he told me Elizabeth was being stubborn and refused to speak with him all because of a silly misunderstanding. He assured me his only intention was to compel Elizabeth to speak to him so they could resolve their conflict."

"My God, woman!" Mr. Bennet was astounded, "The man lied to you, a lie which you believed and you are still defending the scoundrel." His temper aroused, Mr. Bennet placed his hand under his wife's chin and forced her to look at him, "Use the brains God gave you and try to imagine why an unmarried man would instigate a situation to spend time alone with a respectable married woman. Did it never occur to you that he may have had untoward intentions towards our daughter?"

"I... I..." Mrs. Bennet stammered.

"I suppose you did not think at all." Mr. Bennet fumed, "How do you suppose a moral woman like Elizabeth would have reacted were that same man to have successfully overpowered her in order to claim carnal knowledge of her? Let alone live with the knowledge that a man other than her husband had touched her. God forbid she could have also born the bastard son of her attacker."

Darcy interjected as he shivered with horror at Mr. Bennet's statement, "You have done your daughter a grave injustice when you facilitated a situation where it could have guaranteed the loss of her morality to a man with an unhealthy obsession for her."

"Mrs. Bennet, as punishment for your immoral behaviour, you are forbidden to leave this house." Mr. Bennet declared, "You are to visit no one and not a person may call on you here. You are to be isolated from any outside contact. You will neither be allowed to send nor receive any letters." Mr. Bennet laid down the law, "You will stay here to think about how you have wronged your daughter and your family. In the spirit of this punishment, I have sent word to the Fitzwilliam's to divert to Netherfield where they will be staying instead of Longbourn."

"Why are you punishing me?" Mrs. Bennet whined.

"You have created and promoted a grievous sin that was to be perpetrated on our daughter." Mr. Bennet said forcefully, "You will learn what it is like to be isolated with no hope for escape."

Darcy was amazed but pleased that the normally malleable Mr. Bennet had taken such harsh measure against his wife.

"I must take my leave and return to my wife." Darcy remarked, "We are to prepare for unexpected house guests."

When the Bingley party returned to Netherfield after their sojourn to London, they were shocked upon hearing of Mr. Ashcombe's plot against Elizabeth and the involvement of Mrs. Bennet.

Jane, Lydia and Georgiana hurried to the nursery to comfort their sister. When they reached Elizabeth, her eyes were red and swollen as she rocked her baby in her arms.

Jane was angry as she spoke, "Our mother has overstepped the boundaries of propriety with her ill-mannered behaviour and she deserves any punishment Papa has deemed fit."

Elizabeth stood unsteadily as a fresh wave of tears were unleashed from her eyes, "Jane, it was awful; Mr. Ashcombe attempted to force himself on me."

"I know, my dear Elizabeth." Jane soothed her sister as she encircled her arms around Elizabeth and Bennet, "Our husbands will find a way to bring him to justice and in the meantime, your family are here for you."

Georgiana and Lydia rushed forward to comfort Elizabeth as they joined the group hug.

"The worst part is that Mama helped him." Elizabeth cried, "How could have done that to me?"

"I am at a loss to understand her motivations." Jane admitted, "I could not even imagine Mama to be so addle-minded as to put your safety in the hands of such a man."

"I know, especially after we explained about his obsession." Elizabeth agreed as she pulled herself up to her full height and withdrew from her sisters.

"He flattered and charmed her." Jane said, "She enjoyed the attention he gave her and risked yout welfare because of her vanity."

Elizabeth dried her tears, "I am going to call for a bath, change my clothes and make myself presentable." Elizabeth drew strength from her family, "Kitty and Cousin Richard will be here very soon. I will meet your downstairs."

Jane nodded as she, Lydia and Georgiana retired to their bedchambers to change after travelling throughout the morning.

After the ladies left, Bingley ushered Darcy into the study, "Darcy, I must speak to you in private."

Once they were ensconced privately in the study, Darcy demanded, "What is it you wished to speak to me about privately?"

Bingley paced the room as he had a hard time saying the words before he finally squared his shoulders and began to speak. "Darcy, I hate to tell you this but I went to see Caroline at Bedlam while we were in Town."

"I hope you found her well." Darcy responded politely.

"She is far from well." Bingley replied, "She has just slipped farther into her delusions. She has gone as far as telling everyone who will listen that she is Mrs. Darcy. She has stuffed a pillow under her gown and contends she is pregnant with the heir to Pemberley." Bingley shook his head, "She asked me when you would take her home and could not fathom why you had not come for her." There was pain etched on Bingley's features, "She said now that Eliza Bennet and her bastard child were dead, you needed your wife and baby by your side."

Darcy looked stricken at the words, "My God Bingley, I am so sorry." Darcy's eyes were full of sorrow, "Do you think her words about Elizabeth and Bennet were a threat? Should we take her seriously?"

"Darcy, I do not think we should take her words as anything but the ranting of a delusional woman. I cannot see how she could hurt anyone while she is locked away in Bedlam."

"Thank you for telling me." He turned to his friend, "I am sorry about your sister's delusional state but she did bring it about herself."

"I know." Bingley agreed, "I just wanted you to know what she was saying."

There was a flurry of activity at Netherfield as rooms were prepared for Richard and Kitty Fitzwilliam.

The Netherfield party were in the sitting room when the arrival of the Fitzwilliam's was announced.

Upon seeing her sister, Elizabeth thought she looked incredibly well and happy. One could see the love shared between the husband and wife through subtle gestures and tender looks.

"I have missed you all so much." Kitty embraced her sisters with abandon, "I am so happy to see you all but could someone explain the sudden change of plans."

Darcy gave the newcomers an overview of what had happened with Mr. Ashcombe. He explained Mrs. Bennet's part in the deception and Mr. Bennet's reaction as well as the punishment of his wife.

Richard and Kitty were stunned by the news but Kitty was the first to find her voice, "I am surprised and proud of Papa for standing up to Mama as she deserved to be punished for her involvement with that horrid man." She looked around, "I hope we have not inconvenienced you by the last minute change of plans."

"Not at all." Elizabeth assured her sister, "It is nice to have the majority of my sister's around me at a time like this."

Kitty's eyes sparkled, "May I see my perfect nephew, I have not seen in him in a long time and I miss him so."

"It would be an honour." Elizabeth smiled, "We will show you to the nursery."

Once the ladies had left the room, Colonel Fitzwilliam addressed Darcy and Bingley, "There is something I must tell you both."

Darcy had rarely seen his cousin this agitated and finally said, "Tell us what you have to say, Richard."

Richard Fitzwilliam sighed, "I had been asked by the police to interview Miss Samantha Miller about what happened with Wickham. I agreed and stopped by to see her as we travelled from Matlock." He paced the room, "What was immediately apparent upon my arrival at her jail cell was that she heavily pregnant. She was forthcoming as she told me how Wickham had seduced her while imprisoned back in April around Easter." Fitzwilliam shook his head, "Her parents are going to take the child and raise it as their own. They have been at their country home for months in seclusion and will stay there until after the baby is born."

"I am sure this child will not be Wickham's only bastard." Darcy said bluntly, "He was never very concerned about the women he conned, seduced or forced to engage in sexual activity with him."

"As I said, she was very forthcoming about her relationship with Wickham." Richard sighed, "She believed every lie Wickham ever told her until the moment she heard him talking to Elizabeth in the woods of Pemberley. She admitted they had been camping on Pemberley's grounds for weeks and the plan had been for her to kill Darcy when the opportunity was presented. She did not know his intention was to have Elizabeth and her baby or that he would claim he loved her. Miss Miller was shaken by the news that he had never loved her and that she was just a convenience so he could use her money."

Colonel Fitzwilliam produced a small wooden box, "She told me where this was hidden and explained it was everything treasured by Mr. Wickham."

Richard noted the tense shoulders of Darcy and Bingley as he heard the ladies approaching the sitting room, "We shall have to go through the contents at a later time when our wives are not present."

When Darcy saw the box Richard had produced, he recognized it as belonging to his father. The box had disappeared after his father had died and he had never had a clue as to where it had gone until now.