Chapter 10

Anne de Bourgh sat rereading the letter she had just written to her cousin Richard, to make sure it contained everything she wanted to say. More than a week ago, when they were with the parsonage party, her mother had received a note. Anne, who always watched everything, had begun to suspect that something was wrong. Her mother became very nervous after reading it, and without realizing it, instead of putting it in her pocket, she had dropped it on the floor. Anne, when she was sure that nobody saw her, picked it up and read it later. The note said that everything was ready, and that Lady Catherine should send the prey to fall into the trap. The next day when she knew of the disappearance of Darcy and Miss Bennet, she thought the same as everyone else, that he had eloped to marry. It was evident that Darcy was madly in love with her, and Miss Bennet was a poor girl, and although she did not like Darcy that much, was not going to miss the opportunity to marry a rich and handsome man.

But after talking to Mrs. Collins, seeing how worried she was, and knowing how

Darcy was so attached to morals and doing the right thing all the time, she realized that something was wrong. Of course, she did what she did best, watch without anyone noticing. The first unusual thing she observed was the constant letters between her mother and her uncle, Lord Matlock. They hated each other, and only something vile could make them want to communicate so often. Once again, and without Lady Catherine realizing it, she seized one of the letters and when she read its contents, she was petrified of fear and pain.

She had always felt that her only family were Richard, Georgiana and Darcy. They were the only ones who treated her with love and respect. Unfortunately, Darcy and Anne had to keep distance to prevent Lady Catherine from harassing them with the idea of the supposed engagement between them. But with Richard she always kept close contact. They wrote to each other, he sent her long letters at least once a month, no matter where he was, in which he told her funny stories and a bit of his life. Richard was her closest relative and the one she loved the most. That was the reason because he was the only one who knew about her secret marriage to Dr. Johnson.

When Anne told her husband the whole horror story her mother and her uncle had created, they both knew that they had to notify Richard, and that this would be the opportunity they had waited for so long to tell everyone about their marriage, and get rid of Lady Catherine.

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Richard, after reading Anne's letter, understood much better what had happened to Georgiana the day before. He had been suspicious of his mother, but it was a real disappointment to see that his father was also involved. He had always known that Lord Matlock was not an honorable man, he knew very well the rumors that circulated about him, but he had always been the only of his parents, who had shown him affection and concern. He loved and respected Lord Matlock, despite his multiple faults. But this was too much, kidnapping his cousin and exposing Georgiana to Wickham's evil, and all for money. Without a doubt, after reading that note, Richard had lost all respect for his father, he even wished he were the son of another man, of someone he could admire and respect.

Before going out to speak with his senior officer, he told the butler that Mrs. Gardiner and Miss Bennet would be arriving in an hour or so. They were coming to visit Georgiana, and he asked the butler to tell them to wait for him, that he needed to speak with them urgently.

About half an hour later he was in front of his superior officer who explained why he had called him so urgently. "Richard, for some reason someone is pressuring me to change your orders and send you out of England. Before you worry, let me tell you that no one has that power over me, but I really need to know what's going on in order to know how to proceed. I hope it's not a problem with some lady".

Major General Roberts was thirty-six years old, the third son of a Duke and a prominent officer who had fought valiantly in the war against Napoleon, and who owed his life to Richard, so he would do everything possible to protect him. Richard could not be completely honest with his friend, he felt ashamed of what his family was capable of doing, but he explained to him about his cousin's disappearance and that he needed time to resolve that matter.

"I will tell you what we will do Richard. I will send you to Newcastle, I need you to deliver an order to the Commander Officer stationed there. Once you have done that, you can take all the time you need to investigate what happened to your cousin. Also, whoever is pushing to send you away, when hearing the news that you've gone on a mission, will assume that their plan has worked," Roberts explained to Richard.

"Thank you very much sir, I really appreciate your help." After saying goodbye, he immediately headed for the Darcy house, it became more imperative than ever to talk to Mrs. Gardiner.

When he got home, Georgiana was chatting with her visitors, she looked very subdued and Richard felt very sorry for her. After greeting the visitors, he did not want to waste any more time and told them everything that had happened in the last hours, including the suspicions about his own family. The only thing he left out was the incident with Wickham, he didn't want to embarrass his cousin any more. Georgiana couldn't help crying after learning what her uncle and aunt had done to his brother. Mrs. Gardiner and Jane were equally impressed.

"Mrs. Gardiner, I think you understand after everything I have told you, that I cannot leave Georgiana alone under the protection of servants, whether here in London or in Pemberley. I must be away for no less than ten days, and I cannot take her with me. That is why I wanted to ask you, rather beg you if you could extend your hospitality to Georgiana, and welcome her into your home while I am away from London," Richard asked with sincere emotion.

"Of course, Colonel, and not only that, I promise you that my family and I will protect Miss Darcy for as long as necessary" when Mrs. Gardiner finished speaking, Georgiana ran into her arms and thanked her with great emotion for all her kindness and support.

Once Georgiana had packed up the simplest dresses she had, they all said their goodbyes. Jane approached the colonel and said with emotion in her voice, "I hope you can find my sister and Mr. Darcy, I still do not lose hope that they are well" and staring at him added, "and please take good care of yourself."

Richard couldn't help but feel touched by her words, "I will Miss Bennet, I know how much my cousin needs me, I can't leave her alone. Unfortunately, I'm just a poor soldier... if I were not, maybe someone else might need me besides Georgiana", he concluded nervously.

Jane couldn't help but blush, and despite her shyness she said, "for me you are not a poor soldier but an admirable man." For a few seconds neither of them could look away, until Jane, seeing that everything was ready, headed for the carriage. Richard was very happy with her response, and wished again that he had met Miss Bennet under different circumstances. An hour later Georgiana left for Cheapside to take refuge in the Gardiners' house, she felt sad and confused, but safe at the same time.

Richard wrote a note to his father telling him that he had been sent away on a mission, without specifying where, and without mentioning Georgiana. He didn't tell anyone where he was going or where Georgiana had gone, so if they asked the servants, they couldn't really say anything. Finally, he started traveling north, thinking of everything he had to do, and of the sweet and beautiful face of Jane Bennet, which served as a comfort to so much tragedy that he had to face.

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Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth had been traveling since very early in the morning, at noon they had stopped for lunch, and after that they boarded the next mail coach that would bring them closer to their destination. Elizabeth had taken the opportunity to remove the shawl and regain her normal appearance. Fortunately, none of the passengers from the first coach took the second, so she didn't have to answer awkward questions.

They did not have any problem on their journey, so the second carriage arrived earlier than expected at its destination. There they should spend the night, to board the next coach that would finally take them out of Scotland. Mr. Darcy knew that this was his last chance to speak to Elizabeth, and explained that the best way to solve everything was accepting what he had to propose. Gretna Green was his last chance to see his dream come true, and protect her beloved Elizabeth.

After leaving the coach, Elizabeth told Mr. Darcy that she needed to walk a bit, that after sitting all day, she needed to get some exercise. He knew this was his chance, and he offered to accompany her. After walking for about twenty minutes in silence he finally dared to ask.

"Miss Bennet, I have been thinking a lot about everything that has happened and how all this will affect us both, but mainly you, and therefore your entire family. I also know that you are in this situation because of me. If I had not approached to speak to you that day, you would never have been kidnapped. So I want you to know that I am willing to do my duty, as the honorable man that I am, and I want to ask you to do me the honor of being my wife". He had finally said it and now he only prayed that she would accept him.

Elizabeth stared at him for a long time, wondering what to say, until finally she explained her decision. "Mr. Darcy, I thank you very much for your proposal, I know you do it because as you have said, you are an honorable man. But a marriage, at least the one I aspire to have, cannot only be based on honor and duty, there must be something more". Mr. Darcy wanted to tell her how much he loved her, but he did not know if it would make the situation worse, he realized that once again, he had not expressed himself in the correct way, but before he said anything, Elizabeth continued, "I want you to know that I have one more possibility, an alternative to solve all this without having to force you to marry for duty".

Then she proceeded to explain the private conversation she had had with James, how he had asked about her real situation. When she told him the truth, he had explained that he had an older aunt who lived with him, and who needed a companion, that he was sure that his aunt would love to have a cheerful and intelligent woman like her, to keep her company. Also, James told her how she could contact him if she needed help. What Elizabeth did not tell Mr. Darcy was, that she told James that she thought he would offer her marriage because he was an honorable man, but that it would not make him happy to be married to a woman he did not consider attractive, and from a socially inferior family than his.

Mr. Darcy felt very hurt and said to Elizabeth "is it so terrible for you to be my wife that you prefer to deal with public disdain, get away from your family forever, and become the companion of a woman you don't even know?"

"Mr. Darcy, please do not see me as ungrateful, I really appreciate what you are trying to do. It is just that if you can't be happy with me, I can never be happy with you. "

"And how do you know that I cannot be happy with you Miss Bennet?" asked Mr. Darcy, staring at her.

Elizabeth turned a bit embarrassed and said, "Remember the day you woke up in the carriage? While you were sleeping, and when you woke up the first thing you said was, my love. It is clear that there is a woman you admire, and with whom you have probably dreamed of marrying. I don't want to be an obstacle to your happiness, I cannot be that selfish".

Mr. Darcy approached her, took her right hand and kissed it, then looked at her intensely and said "You are my love, you are the woman I dreamed of! The day that I approached you in Rosings park, before we were kidnapped, I did it to propose to you. When I woke up in the carriage, I assumed that we were engaged, and that is why I called you my love. You are, and have been the only woman I have ever loved". Elizabeth was very surprised by such an abrupt and unexpected statement that she was left speechless, so Mr. Darcy took the opportunity to say everything he had planned to say before courage left him. "I know that you are surprised, I made sure to hide my feelings very well, but I don't want to do it anymore. If I loved you before all of this happened, now I love you twice as much, and I only beg you to give me the opportunity to show you that I can make you happy. I also want you to know that I will give you all the time you need, that even if you are my wife, I will not impose my presence on you, nor will you be obliged to assume your duty as my wife until you feel you are ready to do it". He could not look at her face as he said that.

Elizabeth asked Mr. Darcy to leave her alone for a moment, that she needed time to think and analyze everything he had said to her. She did a mental review of all the interactions between them, and she began to see everything in a different way. She remembered Charlotte's words, who had told her in more than one occasion, that Mr. Darcy admired her. She was thinking for almost an hour, in which Mr. Darcy felt desolate and nervous, he knew that he had done nothing to earn Elizabeth's love and admiration, so he could only hope for a miracle.

Finally, Elizabeth approached him and said "Mr. Darcy, I accept your marriage proposal, but I want you to know that from the moment I become your wife, I want our marriage to be a real marriage, with everything that means". When she finished and knowing what her words implied, she couldn't help but blush but didn't avoid looking at Mr. Darcy so he would know that she really meant what she said.

Mr. Darcy approached her, took her face in his hands and kissed her on the lips, it was a soft and tender kiss but full of love.

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Caroline Bingley was happy, although she didn't like the idea of going to Rebecca Thompson's house, she knew she had to. Mrs. Thompson was a friend of Countess Matlock, Mr. Darcy's aunt. She had found out from Rebecca that the Countess would be present tomorrow at the little meeting organized in the Thompson house. That had been enough motivation for Caroline to want to visit this nouveau riche. "Tomorrow I will have the opportunity to speak with Lady Matlock and inform her that the Colonel has allowed Jane, and her vulgar family to have access to the silly Georgiana, I am sure she will put an end to all that." Caroline thought, satisfied to think how Mr. Darcy would thank her once he knew all that she was doing to protect his sister from such low-class people.

Thank you for all your comments, I read and I appreciate them very much.

Happy new year to all.

Gracias por todos sus comentarios, los leo y aprecio mucho.

Feliz año nuevo para todos y esperemos que sea mejor que el que nos deja, aunque no creo eso sea muy difícil :)

Merci pour tous vos commentaires, je les ai lus et je les apprécie beaucoup.

Bonne année à tous.