Reunion
AN: Had time and inspiration, decided to write this. Truth revealed. Rating changed for minor character death in next chapter. Enjoy!
Elizabeth sat down on her bed, her body feeling numb. She could not imagine how she stopped herself from breaking down in front of Darcy. How could he do that to her? Her heart ached as tears fell down her cheeks. "The pain seems to never end. That's all he's ever given me. Not love, but pain. I should have ended this involvment with him long ago." Yet she still felt the empty place in her heart, the place that only he could occupy.
Darcy quickly penned a letter to his cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam explaining that he was needed here at Pemberly. "If Elizabeth won't listen to me, then maybe she would listen to Georgina and Richard. All he knew was that he had to get away, and fast. He could not stay here everyday and see Elizabeth, knowing that she would never be his.
The Colonel disembarked from his carriage, and thanked his valet George. "You may tend to the horses."
Richard still wasn't sure why his cousin needed him so urgently at Pemberly, but he was always willing to help. In his mind he wondered if this had anything to do with the delightful Miss Bennet, the only woman that Darcy ever loved.
When Elizabeth came down stairs for dinner that evening, she was surprised to find Darcy gone, and Colonel Fitzwilliam in his place. "Darcy must be furious with me." She thought with a twinge of regret, but she dare not show her fragile emotions.
'Eliza, do come sit next to me. Oh, that color looks particularly drab against your face, do go change." Caroline beckoned with what she thought was a charming smile.
"I would rather not, seeing as I would dislike to be compared to you Miss Bingley, you are much accomplished and beautiful than I am." Caroline flushed at Elizabeth's remark, while Georgina tried to hide her smile.
The evening was a rather tense one, and Elizabeth was relieved when she finally excused herself and went up to her room. She gazed outside her window, wanting to capture the memory of the bright stars and the glowing moon, firmly imprint them in her mind. The trees swayed softly in the wind as a wolf howled in the distance.
Suddenly, someone knocked on her door. "Elizabeth, can we come in?" It was Georgina. Smiling, Elizabeth went to open the door. She had wanted to be alone tonight, to clear her thoughts, but she always welcomed Georgina's company.
When she opened the door she found Georgina, with Colonel Fiztwillam standing bedside her, looking at her with grave faces.
"Elizabeth, there's something you should know." Georgina took her hand and led to a chair. Before she could say a word, the Colonel had pulled out a piece of paper and placed on the table next to her. She recognized it. It was the birth certificate. She immediately recoiled, glancing towards Georgina with an accusing expression on her face.
"I don't want to-" Elizabeth protested, but the Colonel ignored her. "You have to know the truth. Please, Elizabeth, just listen." Georgina implored.
"It happened a month after he had proposed to you. He was staying at Pemberly for a forthnight, a was just taking a walk in the gardens at night." The Colonel told her.
"Then he found Linda. She had been abused and raped by her own father and she had run away from him." Georgina put in.
"We found out she was with child, and Will and Georgina promised her sanctuary at Pemberly, protection for her unborn infant."
"A month before the baby was due, Linda was kidnapped by men hired by her father. They gave her poison to kill her, but then the truck they were driving in crashed. Linda died not soon afterwards, but her baby survived. She put Will as the father because she didn't want anyone to know. She didn't know about your engagement, Elizabeth." Georgina finished.
"Miss Bennet, you should know that Will really wanted to tell you, but he didn't want you to get hurt. He already knew that many people were critical of you and disliked you, but he knew that if people knew he was Charlotte's father, than everything would get out of hand. He didn't want you to get hurt, and he couldn't ask you to raise another woman's child." The colonel said earnestly.
"I've none Will for years, and I saw the pain he went through when he decided to leave. He never slept, he never ate, he became depressed. Georgina, Charlotte, and the rest of his family were the only reason he lived through it.
"Didn't he know that if he left, it would cause me even more pain?" Elizabeth cried, sobbing. "I loved him more than life itself. I thought he abandoned me." She took a deep breath, still trying to absorb what she heard.
"Elizabeth, will you forgive him?"
There was silence for a moment.
"I already have."
There was a frantic knocking on the door and a servant's voice was heard.
"Miss Darcy, a messenger just arrived with a message for Miss Bennet. He says it's a matter of great urgency!"
