(A/N) Hey Yall! We are getting closer to the end. A lot is happening very quickly, including my posting schedule! Happy Reading!

Previously:

Wickham had finally arrived at his destination. He looked at the setting sun and knew the time was right. He began gathering the supplies he needed from the woods. He stacked up as much wood as he could within his time limit and started a fire. He stayed to watch the fire grow to a full inferno. He watched the dense dark smoke rise into the air as the dower house began to catch the flame. He turned toward the main house and knew that the smoke would be visible soon. He grabbed the horse he stole and road toward his destiny. Pemberley.

Ch 38- The Heart of Pemberley

"Mr. Darcy, there is a fire on the estate! I believe it is coming from the dower house." Mrs. Reynolds said as she rushed into the billiards room where all the men were gathered after dinner. Mr. Darcy closed his eyes so he could think. There were many things that needed to be done and they all rushed through the Masters head at once. Mrs. Reynolds had seen him do this each time an emergency materialized. She waited quietly for him to make decisions in his own mind before he voiced them. When he finally did open his eyes they were the darkest of blues. His fierce look would have scared many men. For his long time housekeeper she looked upon his fierceness with pride. He would always protect Pemberley.

"Gather all of the men that can be spared. Start a water chain as fast as can be. Have some of the servant women take over wet blankets so that the fire maybe stamped put out when it is low. We need to protect Elizabeth." Darcy turned to the colonel, grabbed his arm quickly and seriously. "You have to take her." He said like a man possessed as he just began to realize the amount of danger the woman he loved could be in. His heart felt as if it had been filled with ice water. As the thought continued to take root and grow within his mind he realized this was the best and safest course of action though it was difficult for him.

"What!"

"You have to take her and get her away from Pemberley! You have to do it now!" He yelled desperately. "This is Wickham. I can feel it. This is no accident. He must have been watching Crowley and knew he had to speed up his time frame. He knows how I think, Richard! He would never believe that I would send her away from me. He knows that I would want her as close to me as possible so that I may protect her personally but he knows that I would never leave others to fight this fire without me. He believes that I will go to the fire and keep her here. You have to take her and keep her safe. I do not care what happens to me but you have to protect her. I will kill you if anything happens to her and if I die I will haunt you for the rest of your life." Darcy ended with a sardonic smirk.

He turned to look at his other cousin. "Diego, you have to go with them." Darcy trusted Diego implicitly. More importantly Diego was one of the best fighters he had ever seen. Though Diego made his money in investments and shipping his hobbies included knife fighting, boxing, fencing and any other type of physical sport. He had seen him in action on a drunken night when they were in their late teens. Darcy made the decision then to never pick a fight with his cousin.

Diego was a man of few words. He simply stepped forward and nodded. Ready to do whatever his cousin needed from him. He stepped closer to his cousin and put his hand on the side of Darcy's face as he looked him in the eye. "We will bring her back to you, you have my word."

"I trust you both implicitly. I could not give this to anyone else." All three men nodded before the Colonel and Diego left the room to prepare to leave. "Richard, take Poseidon."

"No! You will need him here to carry you." He protested knowing how much Darcy cared for the horse.

"No, Elizabeth needs him more than I. She is afraid of horses and he is the only one she will trust enough to ride. You cannot take a carriage and you will need to be swift. I have horses aplenty. Poseidon loves her and will help to protect her. Trust me." Darcy said seriously.

Richard nodded and left the room to gather Elizabeth and leave. Both men stopped at their rooms to collect their weapons before meeting up and heading towards the ladies in the parlor.

Darcy turned back to the remaining men in the billiards room. "Javier, Jeremy, Marcelo. I need you with me out by the fire. Jeremy, Javier you both are heads of your estate. You are experienced at things like this. Marcelo, you are the smartest person I know. You will know how best to attack this. I need your brain not brawn. You will organize the men and help make everything as efficient as possible. Do you understand?" His cousin nodded and the men left to gather their horses.

Darcy looked at the remaining men and was thankful that the rest of the Fitzwilliams and the Gardiners arrived earlier that day. "The rest of the men gather the women and take them to the rear of the house. All of the children are already in bed. We do not want to wake them up or there will be mass chaos." Darcy quickly pivoted towards Mrs. Reynolds and said "warn the nannies and have footmen posted in each room. Wickham always hated children so I doubt seriously that he will go after them, particularly because they are not my children, but we will not take the chance. I assume that horses are already being prepared?"

"Yes sir. The grooms are the ones who alerted me. Many of the men have already left to start fighting the fire."

"Then we shall join them." Darcy nodded and stalked out of the room with a renewed purpose. He had to talk to Elizabeth before she left. They had not spoken since she left his study earlier that day. She did not even speak to him during dinner, preferring to speak to her other dinner companions. His attempts at conversation were met with civility but nothing more. He felt the change in her attitude acutely.

Diego and Richard burst into the sitting room in such a rush that all of the women were startled. Georgiana was playing on the piano but stopped abruptly when her cousins entered. Richard rushed to Elizabeth. Quickly and urgently he said "Miss Elizabeth, you have to come with us." Richard did not want to scare the women but he did not have the luxury of time. Elizabeth knew that something was terribly wrong so she did not argue and did not complain she simply stood quickly and went with the men. She heard her mother yelling about her nerves in the background but she did not care. Whatever was happening she knew now was not the time to ask. She trusted her fiancé implicitly and knew that whatever was happening he was behind it. As the colonel and Diego were rushing her down the hallway she felt Diego throw a cape over her shoulders and throw the hood over her head. She had trouble fastening it around her as they were nearly running down the hall. As they were walking/running down the hall she saw Darcy coming down the hallway towards them in only his shirt and waistcoat. He had discarded his ascot and dinner jacket. He had never looked so handsome to her.

As they neared each other they both reached out their hands and embraced.

"What is happening?" Elizabeth asked quickly as she looked up into his serious face.

"There is a fire on the estate. It is Wickham, I know it is."

"I should be with…"

"No! You will go with Richard and Diego. You need to get as far away from Pemberley as possible. He set this fire because he thought I would keep you here and he would be able to get to you while I was busy. You will leave. I will have them take you kicking and screaming if that is necessary but you will go."

"But…"

"Lizzy, this is not a debate." He said frustrated that she did not understand how hard this already was on his heart. "Nothing will stop me from keeping you safe, including you." He finished with caress to her face.

Elizabeth wanted to fight but she knew he could not concentrate if he believed her in danger. "I will go. Kicking and screaming will not be necessary." She said as she leaned her face into his hand. Closing her eyes, not sure when she would see him next.

He did not care that his staff was running around or that his two cousins were standing right next to them. He put both hands on the side of her face and turned her eyes to look into his. "I love you Elizabeth Arya Bennet. I will protect our life together. You were right and I was wrong. Wickham will not stop. He will not leave us alone. More importantly, he will not get away. I will find him and protect us from him forever." He sealed his promise with a kiss that nearly buckled her knees. He poured all of his passion and devotion into her and she gave as good as she got.

Richard and Diego both turned around and found something interesting to look at on the opposite wall.

When Darcy broke the kiss he pressed his forehead to hers and said "Stay safe and ride swift."

She looked up to him with a single tear rolling slowly down her right cheek. "Stay safe and may God grant you strength." Rising up on her tip toes she pressed another quick kiss to his lips and allowed Richard and Diego to lead her away.

Darcy watched her go with a forlorn expression. It took him a second to snap out of it but when he did he continued towards the stables to grab a horse and go to the dowager house.

Wickham stood on the side of the house and waited for an opportunity to slip inside. He waited until he saw a lot of men hurry out of the servant's door and rush toward the dower house. He waited for a few more minutes and saw a few more servants leave. He knew that was his chance. He rushed inside and slipped past a few servant girls. He walked with purpose and tried to look liked he belonged. As he reached the steps of the servants passageways he noticed less and less people. He finally reached his destination and waited to listen at the door. When he did not hear anything inside the room he stepped out of the servants doors and looked around.

The room had been redecorated. His room. The room he had lived in from the time his father died until he left for Cambridge. He looked around and each sight made him angrier. That they thought they could erase him so easily. As if he never mattered. As if he was nothing. He saw the light oak sleigh bed with green bedcovers. The light blue curtains. Small writing desk. Bookshelves. Chairs. Tables. EVERYTHING. He changed everything! There was nothing that told the world that George Wickham had once resided there. Wickham's old bedroom was luxurious. Large four poster bed with red velvet bed curtains and Black satin sheets. His room would not have been out of place at a bordello. This room was his antithesis and he knew that Darcy did it on purpose. He could not contain the rage that consumed him. He knocked over the table that was closest to him. Tore the sheets off of the bed. Threw the chair against the wall and watched with satisfaction as it broke into pieces. Kicked an end table and knocked all of the books off the bookshelf. He had to stop to rest and looked at the room in satisfaction. He will never forget me again.

Finished with his destruction he moved to get what he had come for. He pulled a panel off a wall and pulled out an old box. He opened it and smiled that everything was still intact. He pulled out the old gun and box of ammo. Next he pulled out the money that he rid and finally he pulled out a single key. Stuffing it all in his pockets he quickly moved back into the servant's passageway. Moving along he had two more things to accomplish before he could leave Pemberley for the night.

Elizabeth stopped on the front steps of Pemberley and looked at the two horses. Nooooooooo. They are going to make me ride that horse. Elizabeth whined to herself. Diego noticed her hesitation and tried to comfort her. "Darcy gave us Poseidon. He said that you trust him and that he would protect you as much as Richard and I."

Elizabeth laughed at the thought. "Yes, I believe Mr. Darcy is correct." She went down the remaining steps and stopped to rub Poseidon's nose. He nudged her affectionately and tossed his head as if he knew that they were short on time.

The Colonel lifted Elizabeth up on Poseidon and settled himself behind her. Once Diego had settled on his horse they were off. As they quickly reached the other side of the valley Elizabeth turned to see the black smoke clouding the air and gasped at how evil it looked. The dark cloud grew taller and wider and more voluminous. She watched as more men raced across the land towards the dowager house. Be safe Fitzwilliam. She said a silent prayer for her love just as Pemberley went out of view.

When the rest of the men rushed to the sitting room the other women were already anxious. Elizabeth had left so abruptly and there had been no word from anyone since. All of the staff was rushing around and none had stopped in to alert the ladies of the situation. Lady Anne had left to receive word of what was happening but did not think it best to share with the women. She tried to keep the ladies calm as she knew that her son was likely making arrangements at the current moment and did not want anyone to be in the way.

The Earl announced to the women "Ladies, we need all of you to come with us. There is a situation on the estate and we are taking all necessary precautions."

"What is the situation? Oh Mr. Bennet they have taken our Lizzy and we have not seen her since. Where have they taken her? She needs to be here when Mr. Darcy returns."

"There is a fire on the estate. Lizzy is fine." Mr. Bennet said calmly to his wife.

"But where is she."

"She is safe, which is all that matters." Mr. Bennet said firmly.

That was not good enough for Mrs. Bennet. She was a mother first and foremost. One of her children may be in danger and she needed to know where her daughter was. Ever since her daughters were young Mrs. Bennet affectionately referred to them as her little ducklings because they normally trailed after her in a single line. She had four of her ducklings but she needed her fifth or she could not be calm. "She is safe where! I need my daughter Mr. Bennet. We have to protect her."

"Calm yourself Mrs. Bennet. Mr. Darcy has made the best plan for our Lizzy's safety . She is safe with Mr. Darcy's cousins. She has been taken somewhere safe." Mr. Bennet explained as he moved her towards the rear of the house.

"Why did she need to be taken away at all?" Mrs. Bennet questioned angrily; annoyed that her husband was not giving her the full story.

Mr. Bennet did not believe that his wife would think so hard about it and struggled to explain the situation without upsetting her. The house was in disarray and a servant could not be spared to fetch her smelling salts. He pulled his wife aside and let the other guests move toward the room. "I will tell you this but Fanny you must stay calm. This is serious and we cannot have your nerves taking control."

"Tell me Thomas." She pleaded seriously as her worry increased.

"Mr. Wickham has threatened our Lizzy and Mr. Darcy. Mr. Darcy believed that the fire was a way to get to Lizzy. We have sent her away so she will be out of his reach."

"Lizzy is safe?"

"She is probably safer with the Mr. Darcy's cousins than she is here."

"Alright but Thomas, I will skin them alive if harm comes to our girl."

Mr. Bennet laughed heartily and kissed her forehead. "I will hand you the knife my dear. Come we need to go." He said as he grabbed her hand and rushed them to catch up with the rest of the guests.

Wickham made it to his second destination and quietly slipped inside. He checked each part of the room to make sure there was no one else around. He locked all of the doors to make sure he was not interrupted. He quickly began searching for one of the important items in his plan. The key he had grabbed from his old bedroom was the spare to a safe. He threw it down in frustration when realized that what he was after was not inside where he thought it should be. He searched for what felt like an hour before angrily throwing all of the items on a table to the floor.

Where would he put it? Wickham looked around the room and thought critically. If I was Darcy and I wanted to hide something precious where would I put it? Aha! With something just as sentimental. Wickham walked closer to a picture of Darcy's paternal grandmother and picked up the small picture frame. He took the back off and smiled when he saw what he was looking for. He quickly grabbed it and left Darcy's bedroom.

Darcy and the other able bodied men were quickly putting out the fire but not quick enough for his taste. From his estimation it should only be another hour before it was out completely. There were men present from as far away as Lambton. They saw the smoke rising from the estate and rushed to see if they could be of assistance to the Master of Pemberley.

Darcy was thankful for the loyalty of his neighbors but he could not stop thinking about Elizabeth. He prayed to God that she was alright. He did not know what he would do if something happened to her. She was his heart and he knew that if she died he would effectively die with her. In that moment he understood his mother's feelings about leaving Pemberley better than ever. He did not know how she continued to smile without his father. Just the thought of losing Elizabeth feels as if I have a vice grip on my heart. How has she survived so well all these years? Darcy made a mental note to hug his mother when all of this was over. She has always told him that he would understand when he met the woman for him. She was right.

Wickham had one last destination in Pemberley that night and this was the most difficult. He watched from the shadows as the woman moved quickly through the halls checking on servants, assuring that her guests had everything that they needed and receiving updates on the fire at the dower house. He was not certain this part of his plan could be accomplished. He was not sure what he would do if he failed. The success of his plan hinged upon this one aspect. She was the lynchpin and he did not come all of this way to fail.

He continued to be patient and was soon rewarded. The woman stopped in the hallway to take a breath. She sat on a chair that was in an alcove for a moment of peace. She was tired from all of the activity and stress of that night. As she caught her breath and was about to stand again a hard object came crashing down upon her head. All she remembered was grabbing a curtain as she fell before the world went black.

(A/N) Where is Elizabeth? What did he take from Darcy's room? Who did Wickham take? Why did he take her? What is he up to? Gasp! Lol Review and tell me what you think!

Also I think this what if is going to be What If Wickham was more evil than we thought.