Author's Note:

Hi, guys! I'm happy to bring you a slightly longer chapter this time. I very much enjoyed reading your plans for Lord Brooke and your thirst for revenge! Unfortunately, not much can be done without ruining Elizabeth's reputation along with his. Women had no way to defend themselves and of course, it was always their fault, not the man's. So, Elizabeth was right last chapter when she thought that if she screamed, people would think she was trying to seduce the Earl and it would be worse for her reputation than his.

In this chapter, the Darcys try to figure out what to do, but as you'll see, the best thing they can do is stay away from the bastard. There will be some denunciation, but not as much as we would like because I think it wouldn't be realistic. I won't delve into that very much and chapter 19 will be the last one they spend in London and then we are back to Pemberley to happier things! I hope you like it.

Stay safe!

Jen

"Stop. Just hold me, Fitzwilliam. If you want to do something for me, do this: stop blaming yourself and hold me."

What could he say to that? He nodded, kissed her forehead, and lay down in bed with her, holding her as close to his heart as it was physically possible.

18.

He woke up the next morning with Elizabeth still curled up into his arms. Memories of the night before came back immediately and he tried to calm himself so as not to disturb her. He kissed her forehead, her cheek, and her lips. This last kiss woke her up, for she hummed and nuzzled her face against his neck.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," he whispered.

"Good morning."

"I think we are late for breakfast, my love."

"Oh, are we?" she sat up in bed.

"I believe so."

He got up and pulled the cord to summon Emma before he turned to his wife. She was still sitting up, with her hands resting on her lap. He walked back to her and took her hands in his. She had fallen asleep in her short-sleeved chemise and the red marks from last night now looked bright blue and dark purple. He took a deep breath again and tried not to show too much emotion so as not to worry her.

Elizabeth raised one of her hands and cupped his cheek.

"You look so worried. I am all right, Fitzwilliam. I was stunned and scared while I was there at the ball, but once I was in the carriage, with my family, I began to feel better, and last night in your arms I was perfectly happy and safe again."

"Elizabeth," he whispered, putting his hand on top of hers on his cheek. He turned his face to kiss her palm and then her bruised wrist. "I promised I would not resolve this with violence and I will not. But I cannot just ignore this."

"What will you do? I do not wish for a scandal..."

"No, I am not sure what I will do, but I will not stay silent on this. Please, do not ask me to."

"I understand," she nodded.

"I will have to tell my parents."

"Of course."

"Would you like me to speak to them or would you prefer..."

"No, I would rather you told them without me, for I do not wish to go over it again. I will ask Georgie to help me practice at the pianoforte after breakfast. You can speak with Mother and Father, then."

"They will wish to see you afterward."

"I know. They will want to hear I am all right from me."

Just then they heard a knock at the door and knew it was Emma.

"Just a minute, Emma," Fitzwilliam said. He leaned forward and kissed his wife tenderly. "I love you," he whispered to her.

"I love you."

"I shall come back to escort you to breakfast."

"Good morning," Georgiana said as she joined her parents for breakfast. She took a seat and turned to her father: "Are Fitzwilliam and Lizzy not awake yet? It is quite late for them. Oh, the ball must have kept you up until late last night! Did you enjoy yourselves?"

Mr. Darcy looked at his wife as if he did not quite know what to reply.

"We did at the beginning, my dear," Lady Anne said. "But I think Lizzy was not comfortable and so we returned earlier than we expected. Please, be careful with your questions to your sister."

"Oh," Georgiana said, quite worried. "Do you think someone insulted her?"

The thought only made her more afraid of her upcoming introduction to the ton than she already was.

"Perhaps," Lady Anne said. "Do not fear, my love. Elizabeth was brilliant and she withstood every possible attack to her with grace and poise. I am very proud of her, and when your time comes, you shall perform just as well. She and I will teach you and your situation is quite different from hers."

"But she is so strong and brave," Georgiana argued. "I cannot believe that she wanted to leave because someone insulted her. She would have stood her ground."

"Yes, you are quite right about that," Mr. Darcy agreed. "Do not worry, Georgiana. I am sure Elizabeth is well, but just in case, I think we should not inquire too much. We would not wish to make her uncomfortable."

These words had barely left his mouth when Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth walked into the room and took their usual seats. They greeted the family, smiled as well as they could, and enjoyed breakfast together. Georgiana kept her questions innocent—for it would be quite strange if she did not ask any—and tried to gauge her sister's mood. She did not seem different than the day before and so she shrugged and assumed Lizzy had been tired last night.

"Will you play with me after breakfast, Georgie?" Elizabeth asked her.

"Oh, yes! We can practice our duet," she replied with a smile.

As soon as they were gone, Fitzwilliam turned to his parents and said:

"Can we talk in your study, Father?"

Mr. Darcy and Lady Anne agreed and followed their son; their concern rising with each step they took.

"What happened, Son?" Mr. Darcy said as soon as he closed the door behind him.

Fitzwilliam sat down, massaged his temples, and tried to stay calm.

"Elizabeth was upset last night," was all he said.

"Clearly," Lady Anne agreed. "Did she tell you why?"

"Yes. She said she wanted to tell me, but feared I might do something reckless if she did. She made me promise I would not do anything violent in exchange for a complete and faithful retelling of what happened."

"Violent?!" Mr. Darcy almost jumped from his own seat. "You are not a violent man."

"I am not. But she was wise to make me promise that, for when she finished speaking I did wish to do something violent."

"My Lord! What happened, Fitzwilliam?" Lady Anne asked, alarmed.

"She walked out to the balcony for some fresh air. Lord Brooke followed her and tried to impose himself on her."

"What?!" Mr. Darcy almost yelled, standing up.

Lady Anne put a comforting hand on his arm and said:

"How? What did he do? Tell us everything."

"He flattered her; leered at her until she was uncomfortable, and then told her he wished he had met her before I did. He told her that if he had he would have covered her in jewels, that as an earl, his wealth and connections were better than mine and that... that he was sure a woman so young, lively and passionate would tire of..." he shook his head and laughed without humour, "that she would tire of her 'cold and distant' husband. He offered to make her his mistress. When she refused him and tried to leave, he grabbed her wrist and tried to kiss her."

Lady Anne gasped. In all her years as a married woman, she had received such proposals, but no one had ever tried to use force. Oh, and poor Lizzy! To be imposed on in such a way during her first ball!

"She slapped him with her other hand and he grabbed that wrist and tried again. She... well... she hit him with her knee and when he let her go, she ran to me."

Mr. Darcy was silently pacing the study, as angry as Fitzwilliam had been when he found out. But his being away from Elizabeth allowed Mr. Darcy to pace and curse as much as he wished without disturbing her more.

"How is she now?" Lady Anne asked.

Fitzwilliam rang for a servant and replied:

"She was furious at first, but when he would not take a no for an answer, she grew afraid that he might use force. Once we were at home together, she was relieved. She did not cry, but I wanted so much to go back to the ball and find that bastard..."

"I certainly shall!" Mr. Darcy said.

"I shall speak to him. Elizabeth is my wife. It is my duty to protect her honour."

"She is my daughter," his father argued. "No daughter of mine shall be trifled with! And I cannot count on you not to break your promise to Elizabeth."

"You do not seem a lot calmer than I am," Fitzwilliam argued. A maid knocked on the door, then. He told her to enter and turned to her. "Bring Mrs. Darcy, please," he said, and then he added quickly: "Only Mrs. Darcy."

"Yes, Master Fitzwilliam," she curtsied and left.

"Why did she not come with you?" Lady Anne asked him.

"We thought it would be better if I told you without her. I thought Father might react just as he did and I did not wish for her to have to calm another furious Darcy. I could barely contain myself last night. I wanted to run him through! Not for his proposition, as dishonourable as it was, I know they are more common than she believes them to be, but for the fact that the cad frightened her. The strongest, bravest woman I know, who should have been under my protection..."

"Fitzwilliam," Lady Anne interrupted him. "Let us not start with that as we did with Wickham. It was not our fault, nor yours, nor Lizzy's. It was Lord Brooke's and no one else's."

Another knock on the door silenced the three Darcys, and Mr. Darcy sat and tried to calm himself as Elizabeth entered. She sat down next to her husband who took her hand and asked:

"May I show them?"

"Oh, is it necessary?"

"They will notice sooner or later," he argued.

Elizabeth sighed and with a glance at her new parents, she moved her sleeves to reveal her bruised wrists. Lady Anne gasped and Mr. Darcy cursed under his breath.

"I have told Emma," Elizabeth admitted as she turned to her husband. "I trust her discretion and I could not let her think it was you who had done it."

"I shall call him out," Mr. Darcy said.

"Father, please, do not. It would serve no purpose and I know what people will think. They will say I am a fortune hunter who tried to seduce an earl not three months after her marriage and that I lied when I was found out. I do not wish to bring scandal. I am well."

"Your wrists do not agree with you," Fitzwilliam argued.

"I bruise easily."

"Do not downplay it, Elizabeth. I have never left marks on you. He must have used force."

"Please," she begged. "Let us just go back home. I do not wish my very first ball to end in scandal. It would be so much harder for Georgie."

Mr. Darcy took a deep breath and felt he was calmer now that he could see Elizabeth did not seem to be emotionally scarred.

"I cannot let this slide, Lizzy," he said. "I understand your concerns and I promise I will not make it public. It shall not be a scandal, but I will visit Lord Brooke and give him a piece of my mind. I will make sure he is known as the rake he is and he shall never be anywhere near you."

"I shall speak to him," Fitzwilliam insisted.

"We have spoken about this already," his father replied. "You made a promise to Lizzy."

"I will not use violence."

"I am not sure you could help it when you see him."

"She is my wife," he repeated.

"She is my daughter," Mr. Darcy restated.

"Stop," Elizabeth said. "Father, I would rather you did not, but I cannot stop you. But you, Fitzwilliam, made me a promise. Please, let Father do what he thinks best."

"I will not break my promise, but I have already failed to protect you once, I shall not do so again."

"You would only make me sick with worry if you go. Father will be more level-headed."

"You did not see him pacing a few minutes ago!"

Elizabeth took his hands in hers and looked him in the eye.

"Promise me you shall not confront him. For my sake."

"It is for your sake that I wish to confront him."

"'Tis not. I am telling you, it would only make me feel worse. Please."

She looked into his eyes and squeezed his hands. Her eyes, the first feature that had drawn his attention so long ago, were pleading him. And he could not deny her anything. Not even this. He sighed and closed his eyes so he could cut that strange connection she could create with only a look.

"I promise."

"We shall leave you alone," Lady Anne said and pulled her own husband outside the study to try to calm him down, too.

"You are asking me to not do my duty as your husband," he pointed out when they were alone. "You are asking me to do absolutely nothing to help you."

"Not at all," she frowned and shook her head. "Fitzwilliam, you ordered a carriage the second I told you I wished to go home, you waited patiently until I was ready to speak, you listened to me without judgment—and I have seen enough marriages to know that most husbands would have accused their wives of provoking such proposi—"

"I would never," he interrupted, appalled. "You would never have done such a thing. At least not on purpose. You cannot help to be lovely," he said and she chuckled for the first time since last night. "I know my wife."

"And you trust your wife," she beamed at him. "Not every husband does. And afterward, you did your best to stay calm—and I know how difficult that was for you—and then you put me in the safest place I have ever known." He frowned in confusion, making her laugh again. She wrapped her arms around his waist, nestled herself close and nuzzled his neck. "Your arms, my dearest. You held me all night and made me feel safe and loved."

He sighed and tightened his arms around her. "If my experience in the ton has taught me something is that you will receive many dishonourable propositions and so shall I. It is not that which disturbs me, as much as I dislike it. It is the fact that he frightened you, that you felt threatened and I was not there—"

"It is not your fault. You protected me as soon as you realised I was in danger," she reassured him and then changed the subject. "You know, I found something he said very peculiar. He said that you probably were a cold and distant husband and I remembered that I used to fear the same before our marriage. I am, as you know, very warm and affectionate, I would not have liked a husband who kept me at arms-length."

"I would have been such a husband if I had married for convenience as I once thought I would. But I hold too much affection for you to want you anywhere but where you are right now," he said and then chuckled. "I am sure that my old self would have been appalled by our current behaviour, always touching each other, kissing in front of my family! Such shocking, preposterous behaviour!"

Elizabeth laughed in his arms and he could feel the vibrations on his neck where she pressed her lips.

"Would the old Mr. Darcy be appalled by a wife who propositions to her husband?"

He gasped in fake astonishment. "He would have thought it scandalous! And in the middle of the morning? What can such a wife be thinking?"

"Indeed. She would be completely out of her wits... or very much in love."

"It is the same thing, my darling," he argued. She chuckled as she moved her face from his neck and then kissed him slowly, tenderly. "I will let my father confront him, but I will send a note with him from me. If I do not see him, I believe I can maintain my composure."

"A fair compromise," she agreed and sealed it with another kiss.

I do not own any Pride and Prejudice properties, nor do I make any money from the writing of this story.

Characters and situations, created by Jane Austen, are taken from Pride and Prejudice and from the Pride and Prejudice (1995) adaptation created by Simon Langton and distributed by BBC.

This story is released under the GPL/CC BY: verbatim copying and distribution of this entire work are permitted worldwide, without royalty, in any medium, provided attribution is preserved.