Chapter 10
The next morning, shortly after breakfast, Louisa took the carriage into town by herself. Caroline had offered to come, but Louisa had informed her that it was just a little trip to purchase some lavender pillows for her chambers. Caroline hated the smell of lavender, for it gave her horrendous headaches, and she therefore opted to stay home, just as Louisa had planned.
Upon arriving in town, Louisa brought the lavender pillows, for it would not do for Caroline to know of her plan too soon. After that, she headed for the apothecary's shop. She was after hemlock - a particularly painful and fast acting poison that would do away with Miss Elizabeth once and for all. Louisa would simply have to find the right time to slip it in Elizabeth's tea. She knew nobody would suspect her, for she was only Mr Bingley's quiet elder sister - nobody ever noticed her.Well they will once I install Caroline at Pemberley. I will control everything, and people will be forced to notice me! she thought vindictively.
Before she could go into the shop though, she overheard a male voice telling his friend something; she thought she had heard the names Darcy and Elizabeth, so she moved closer to the alleyway the men were standing in, listening closely. "Darcy has always had the best of everything. Why, his father loved me as a son, and I only got a few thousand pounds out of the gullible old man! I deserved more than that for all the time I spent being nice to him! And now Darcy has got himself betrothed to a pretty thing I would have loved to have tried out, if only he had not poisoned her against me first."
Louisa smiled. Perhaps she would not need the hemlock after all, for this man she overheard sounded like just the man to help her take care of Miss Elizabeth. "Wickham, do not talk like that. Darcy is respected in this town, and you will only make things worse for yourself," his companion warned.
"Oh, go away, Denny, and leave me to my thoughts," Wickham pushed him away. Shrugging, Denny headed back to the barracks, suddenly wary of the previously charming man who now seemed so angry and bitter.
Once she heard his companion leave, Louisa rounded the corner wearing a sinister smile. Wickham eyed her in confusion, for she was obviously a lady of some means. "I could not help but overhear you. I, too, find myself in an unfortunate position due to Mr Darcy and Miss Elizabeth. Perhaps we can help each other."
"Perhaps," Wickham allowed, smiling back at her. At the very least, he might get a tumble in the sheets out of her, and be able to steal her jewels on the way out. Even better, if she had a good plan that would injure Darcy, he was in.
Louisa took that as confirmation to continue, and elaborated on her plans to have Elizabeth killed, and her sister installed at Pemberley while Darcy was too grief-stricken to really notice. She would then have control of everything, for her sister looked to her for instruction and advice. As she talked, Wickham's smile began to grow. While he did not like killing, it was inevitable for a gambler like himself, who had often needed to get out of bad scrapes; and if it hurt Darcy, then he would do anything. The idea of having influence over the lady who might soon be in control of Pemberley and Darcy's wealth appealed greatly to his greed. "What shall I receive as payment?" he demanded.
"Why, I will send you regular instalments once I have control of Pemberley - one hundred pounds a month, and, of course, there will be other rewards..." Her fluttering eyes and the hand that was now running up and down his arm told him that these other rewards would be of a more carnal nature.
He smiled. "Then we have a deal."
"Excellent. Perhaps you should visit Netherfield tonight to receive a down payment," she suggested, and at his nod, she told him which window was hers. She was looking forward to a tryst with this handsome and charming man, and she felt sure he would be of the utmost use to her.
It was a very happy Louisa that re-entered Netherfield later with her lavender pillows. Once they were put away, she went down to see Caroline. "All is well again, sister, I have found another way to separate Darcy and Miss Elizabeth."
"Will you not tell me your plan?" Caroline asked worriedly.
"Not yet, but you have nothing to worry about. You just concentrate on getting everything ready for the ball next week. With any luck, it shall be you engaged to Darcy at that time." Her eyes glinted with malice, and Caroline withdrew quietly, anxious to not upset her sister.
Meanwhile, Darcy and Fitzwilliam left for town to warn the shopkeepers, and to speak to Colonel Forster about having Wickham transferred. Colonel Forster was troubled as they described the charming man who had signed on yesterday, to be a gambler and seducer of the worst sort. "Near my home in Derbyshire, I know of two young girls he dallied with, and left with children on the way. One was only fourteen, and the other sixteen, at the time," Darcy's voice was grave as he described the extent of Wickham's despicable behaviour.
When they were finally finished, Colonel Forster was annoyed that someone so bad had tried to join his troops. "Thank you for the warning, gentlemen. While he is new, and has not yet done anything that would warrant his being kicked out, I suppose I can accommodate your request for a transfer. However, it will take about a week before everything can be arranged."
"Of course, we understand," Darcy said smoothly. "But, if he should still be here when the Netherfield ball is held next week, please make sure that he understands that the open invitation for your officers does not include him."
"Of course. I imagine he is the last man you would want to see at the celebration of your engagement."
"Exactly." They agreed to not let Wickham know until his transfer was finalised, as Colonel Fitzwilliam suspected Wickham might try to run, or get out of it, if he was given advance warning. After finalising some details, and choosing a commander up north well known for his strictness and harsh punishments for anyone who did not follow the rules, Darcy and Fitzwilliam left. They visited the shopkeepers, warning them not to extend credit to Mr Wickham, no matter how charming he was, and to keep their daughters well away from him. The shopkeepers saw this as further proof of Darcy's goodness, and were grateful to him for taking the time to warn them. He simply assured them modestly that, after seeing the trouble Wickham had left behind him in his own nearby town of Lambton in Derbyshire, he could not sit by and let the same happen here.
It humbled and amazed Darcy to see how grateful they were, and reinforced his decision to improve his manners, not only for Elizabeth, but for himself. "You are lucky that you had already established yourself as an honourable gentleman before Wickham arrived," Richard commented. "If not, you may have been seen as a villain by now, for Wickham is usually very talented at turning ears to his stories."
"I know, Richard, and I am so grateful that by meeting Elizabeth, I have learned how cynical and thoughtless of others I was becoming. Thankfully my manners are improving in leaps and bounds."
"Yes, we are forever grateful to Elizabeth," Richard cheerfully mused. "If you had not found her, you might have ended up as a boring old man."
Darcy rolled his eyes, but did not comment. They proceeded to Longbourn, where they found Georgiana already there, having taken the carriage to visit the Bennets while Darcy and Fitzwilliam were in town. Elizabeth's youngest sisters were happy to flirt with Richard, and Darcy pulled Elizabeth aside to assure her that Wickham would be leaving Hertfordshire within the week. They had already met that morning, and Elizabeth had imparted to him the events of last evening's dinner at her Aunt Phillips, which had only served to make Darcy more determined than ever to be rid of Wickham. Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief. "I will be happy to never hear of him ever again," she whispered with satisfaction.
"As will I. I can only hope that such a thing occurs," Darcy replied.
They rejoined the others, and spent a happy day together, forgetting all about Wickham as they planned for the wedding, the ball, and other happy events. The only thing that marred some parts of the day was Mr Collins's never-ending compliments to anyone and everyone. That evening, Elizabeth informed the others of Wickham's transfer north. "I do hope you shall be able to cope without his charming looks and bad manners," she told her young sisters dryly, "for within the week, he shall be transferring north to a particularly strict commander." At that, she allowed a small smile to show, and her sisters laughed.
"Oh, Lizzy, there are plenty of other officers to flirt with. I am sure we shall be fine. Good riddance to that horrible Mr Wickham," Lydia said.
"Yes, it is such a tragedy that the handsome ones do not always have a character to match it," Kitty sighed.
"Well, I have been very fortunate to have found one that does," Elizabeth pointed out. "I am sure you all shall too. In fact, I believe Jane may already have found hers."
All the sisters turned to look at a blushing Jane. "Perhaps," she said quietly, "but only time will tell."
They knew when to push Jane, and when to leave her be, so that night they left her, knowing that when she had more to share, she would confide in them.
The next morning, Wickham lay in wait, watching from a path near Longbourn. Behind him, hidden in the trees, was a horse, and he carried with him a cloth soaked with chloroform, and some rope. After the other night, at her Aunt Phillip's house, he thought there was a pretty high chance that she would put up a fight.
Not long after he settled in to wait, he saw Miss Elizabeth coming up the path. Wickham grew eager as he watched; her figure appeared to the best advantage when walking, and he was eager to capture her. He waited until she was out of sight of Longbourn, in case anyone in the house was already awake. Just as he was about to exit the trees and catch his quarry, he heard hoof beats. Frowning, he ducked back behind the tree and peered out in the direction of the noise. He glared and gritted his teeth when Darcy soon came into view.
Being the gentleman he was, Darcy swung down off his horse and joined Miss Elizabeth on her walk, but not until he had stolen a very passionate kiss. Wickham was furious. He was the one meant to sample the delights of the lovely Elizabeth this morning, but here was Darcy getting a taste! He watched them proceed down the path, cursing Darcy's dumb luck as to happen upon Miss Elizabeth on this particular morning. Like many who knew Darcy's rigid morals, it never even crossed Wickham's mind to consider that the morning meeting might be planned.
Resigned to the idea that he would not be capturing Elizabeth that morning, Wickham retrieved his horse and headed back to town. He had had to steal the horse from the local inn, and needed to get it back before anyone noticed that it was missing, for it seemed he would need it again tomorrow. Unfortunately, the stable yard was already active when Wickham returned, but being a sly character, Wickham quickly came up with a new plan. He strolled in with the horse behind him. "Does anyone know who this horse belongs to?" he asked casually. "I found him out when I was taking a morning walk over the countryside. His reins were flying and he was quite worked up. Maybe one of the locals had taken a bit of a fall."
"Oh no, sir, he is one of ours," the stable master, who had yet to be told of Wickham's reputation, looked puzzled. "I have no idea why he would be out of his stall, or who might've been riding him."
"Maybe someone took him out in secret and could not ride very well," Wickham offered.
The stable master shrugged. "Well, thank you for bringing him back Mr?"
"Wickham, and it was no trouble at all," he said charmingly.
"Mr Wickham then, I am grateful." Wickham departed after that, smug at his success. Once out of the yard, the stable master scratched his head and looked over the horse. He did not seem to have been run heavily at all. There was no sweat on the horse, and it looked perfectly fresh - neither of which correlated with Wickham's story. Shrugging his shoulders, and just thankful to have his horse back, he let the matter go and led the horse inside the barn.
Wickham proceeded on to the pub, where he simultaneously drowned his sorrows over his failed capture, and celebrated his victory in duping the stable master of the inn. Finally it reached the time he had agreed upon to meet with Louisa, so he headed for the alley they had first met in.
She was already waiting for him, malice and anticipation in her eyes. "Have you done it?" she demanded.
He winced at her tone. "I am afraid there was a slight impediment."
"What! You told me you could get it done. Do not tell me I have wasted my time and favours on you for nothing!" she hissed in fury.
"It was all set, but before I could grab her, by an unlucky coincidence, Darcy was out riding and came across her," he explained.
Louisa loosed a few curse words before appearing to calm, though Wickham could still see the anger in her eyes. "Well then, you spy on her today, and if she goes out alone, grab her, if not, you had better be sure to succeed tomorrow morning. I do not care if you rip her from Darcy's arms - you will get her and kill her," she demanded.
"Of course. I would never fail you." He fell back on his charming honeyed tone, hoping it would soothe her.
"See to it that you do not." She appraised his abashed look with a glint, remembering back to their being tangled in her sheets only last night. "Perhaps you should come to my chambers again tonight, and I will see if I can provide you with some incentive to complete your task."
Knowing that this was an order, not a suggestion, Wickham nodded. "As you wish. I shall look forward to it." He licked his lips, and with a sensual kiss to her hand, he departed.
Darcy and Elizabeth, wonderfully oblivious to anyone other than themselves, and Merlin, when he made his presence known, happily wandered arm in arm to their meadow. Only Merlin, who could hear the other horse and human in the area, was wary, but he faithfully followed protectively on the heels of his master and mistress, relaxing once he heard the strange horse moving off in the other direction.
Once there, they sprawled out on the blanket and listened to the stream as they talked over the previous day in detail. It had become a ritual for them on their morning walks to share their ideas, thoughts and troubles with each other in the privacy of their meadow, and with Merlin as their only audience.
There were, of course, plenty of kisses thrown in, for neither could refrain for long with such temptation before them. After one particularly hot, passionate kiss, where they eventually broke away at Merlin's insistent snorts, they found themselves tangled together, with Elizabeth completely on top of Darcy. Both were breathing hard as they looked into the loving and lustful eyes of the other and attempted to recover from the heat and love flooding through their veins. Eventually Elizabeth rolled off him and lay by his side. He wrapped an arm around her and drew her close.
"I cannot wait until we are man and wife, Elizabeth. Though it is now less than a fortnight away, it cannot come soon enough," he whispered hoarsely.
"I feel the same way, my love," she reassured him. They lay there in a blissful cocoon of happiness, eventually calming. Cuddling into him, Elizabeth whispered, "Oh William, I do not think I could get through my days half so well if I did not have my mornings with you."
He pulled her closer, until her head rested on his chest. Stroking her hair lightly, he replied, "Nor I, Lizbeth, these mornings spent alone and peacefully with you, sharing all our thoughts, is what prepares me for the day. I believe I shall have to take you to the few clearings that are around Pemberley, and we shall choose one in which to continue this tradition, for I find it to be a very agreeable way to start the day."
"What a wonderful idea, for though, of course, I expect to wake in your arms for the rest of my days once we are married, I find the idea of our own private clearing lovely and comforting." Her eyes showed her delight as they glowed with happiness and she fixed him with a look of ardent devotion.
"Then we shall survey every clearing Pemberley has to offer and choose the best one to be ours," he promised. "Speaking of, er, bedroom arrangements..." he started awkwardly.
She smiled down at him, eyes sparkling with humour. "Yes, my love?"
"Is it your wish for me to share your bed for the whole night?"
"If you should not mind it, then yes I would," she said determinedly. "I have found over these past weeks that I like nothing more than being in your arms, and do believe that as your wife, I should be entitled to it," here she paused, as if she had just thought of something, "however, if you would prefer your own bed, I would understand," she told him.
"On the contrary, I find the idea of spending the night with you in my arms very pleasurable indeed; though I suspect I will be hard pressed to let you go in the mornings," he assured her.
"Well then, we shall never get anything done, for I would never willingly leave your arms," she proclaimed.
"It is strange," he mused. "Until I met you, I never wished for any touch - the only females I have ever hugged were my mother and Georgiana, for I am far too reticent and unsociable to share such things with anyone other than those close to me. But now I have you, I find myself always wishing to be closer to you, to touch you and hold you in my arms - to make sure you are real, and not simply the most wondrous dream. I find myself wanting to let the whole world know you are mine," he admitted.
"I find myself feeling the same," she reassured him. "Therefore, if you are in agreement, I shall intend to keep you in my bed every night from our wedding night onwards. Unless you should prefer us to use your bed?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.
He shrugged; he had not really thought about that. "Well, considering all the work I just put into having the mistress's chambers in London and Pemberley redecorated, perhaps we should try those out first, although if my bed should prove to be more comfortable, we shall simply use it instead. In all honesty, Lizbeth, as long as you are with me, I care not whose chamber we use."
"Well that could cause some trouble were we to accidently find ourselves in Miss Bingley's chambers," Elizabeth teased and Darcy grimaced. "Never fear," she reassured him, "in a few days, the Netherfield Ball shall be held celebrating our engagement, then our families will arrive, and scarcely a week later we shall be married," she reminded him. "After that, she will have to give up the chase."
"Thank goodness," he groaned. "You know, she did not used to be like that." Elizabeth raised her eyebrow sceptically. "Oh, she was a little snobby, yes, but she did not start chasing me until she and her sister came with Bingley on a visit to Pemberley - after that she seemed to be determined to catch me, though it was obvious that it was my wealth and Pemberley that she was after."
"Well, she will not get either," Elizabeth said decisively.
"Of course not, I always avoided her as much as possible," he reminded her. "Now, I received a letter from Aunt Catherine yesterday, and she feels that Anne will be well enough to come for our wedding."
"Oh, what wonderful news!" Elizabeth's eyes were immediately lit with excitement. "I cannot wait to meet the rest of your relatives!"
He groaned, "While they all seem to like you, and you appear to have a special talent for charming them, please bear in mind that they can be awful snobs if they choose to be."
"Well, as long as they are nice to me, and the rest of our guests, then I shall be pleased. My Aunt and Uncle Gardiner are also able to come, and they are bringing their children as well," she proclaimed, "So we shall have quite a happy wedding party, shall we not?"
"Yes, we shall. However, I believe I would be happier to have you all to myself, rather than having to share you with so many guests." He grimaced at the thought.
"I do not like it either, and I know in the last week before our wedding, we shall be especially busy, but remember that we shall still have our mornings all to ourselves."
"I believe that it shall be the only thing that keeps me sane," he admitted.
She laughed at his woebegone expression, "I believe I shall have the harder tasks, for I will be dealing with an excited mother, anxiously putting the last touches on our wedding plans. I am just thankful that my aunt will have arrived to help keep her calm."
"Mmm," he kissed her sweetly, "but you have far more fortitude than me, and it shall all be worth it once we are wed."
"Yes, it will," she agreed, kissing him back.
"Now, as it is already nearing the end of November, and Georgiana is to go with Richard to Matlock after our wedding, should you like to spend our honeymoon at Pemberley, alone for a few weeks, and then invite everyone for Christmas?"
"Oh yes, William! That sounds delightful. What fun we shall have decorating the house and finding presents for everyone," Elizabeth beamed with excitement. "Though, of course, I do not know that I shall be so very happy to share you after weeks of having you to myself," she said thoughtfully.
"Neither do I, but for our family, I shall make the effort," he promised, eyes bright with happiness at the thought of having all those he and Elizabeth were closest to at Pemberley, with Elizabeth as his wife.
"Then I suppose I must as well, for there is no use staying in my chambers all day if you were entertaining guests - I should much prefer to be at your side," she laughed, and Darcy thought he had never heard a more delightful sound.
"I suppose your company would help - I should not wish for your relatives to think I have locked you in your chambers. Though after hearing of your childhood escapades, they would probably be inclined to believe me should I spin them a story about you constantly escaping to explore the forests, and my locking you away in retaliation," he eyed her mischievously.
"Yes, they would, for my parents used to try the same thing - locking me in at night so that my morning walks were curtailed. However, I simply climbed out the window," she replied loftily.
"Since the mistress's chambers at Pemberley are on the third floor, my darling, I believe you might find the climb impossible, but the view from your window of the lake should appease your wanderlust at least a little."
"Well, I suppose I may have also forgotten to mention that I also became very adept at picking locks during my childhood, when my parents cut down the ivy vines I used to climb from my room."
"What a pity, for if they were still there, I might have become a rogue, and climbed to your window in the middle of the night - perhaps even going so far as to carry you off to Gretna Green," he teased her.
"Alas, we shall never know, for it has been gone for some years now," she grinned at him in delight.
"I must admit, my darling, that I shall be quite worried should our daughter turn out like you, for while I would love her beyond description, I believe if her escape attempts are even half as inventive as yours seem to have been, we shall be hard pressed to find her when Pemberley holds so much natural allure."
"Any children shall be wonderful indeed, and I, too, fear that they may inherit my inclination for nature. Perhaps when they are in leading strings, we shall have to hire extra nannies to watch over them," she suggested.
"If they have our intelligence, I have no doubt that they will still escape," he said dryly. "But perhaps it shall be your punishment for worrying your own parents so much."
"Perhaps," she allowed. "But then, we might get sweet children like Jane and Georgiana," she said hopefully.
He chuckled, "We can hope, but I doubt it."
"Well perhaps we will have one like you - from all accounts, other than a few boyhood pranks with your cousins, you were quite well behaved."
"Yes, but I often snuck out for midnight rides on my pony in the night, until I was caught and made to stay in the house for a whole month without being allowed to see him - after that, I obeyed my parents for fear I would never be let outside again," he admitted.
"We shall just have to see when the time comes," she said with a resigned sigh. "Who knows, perhaps we will end up with some of each?"
"That sounds both delightful and terrifying at the same time," he answered with a grin.
"Yes, it does; but with you by my side, I believe we could handle anything." Their blissful morning in the meadow continued with debating and flirting as they happily thought of their future together.
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