A.N. Dear Sunday friends, Happy Holidays! I hope you get some rest and enjoy the time with your family.
Thank you, Levenez, Dizzy Lizzy, Jansfamily, MsTheKucha, crispill, Erica Araujo (Obrigado), Colleen, Kiwipride, Sacredwoman, liysyl, gabyhyatt, Happy Lizzy, Joan, Charlotte's Chandlier, hrnek (hello Czech, greeting from Australia!), mpinney, Guests, for reviewing. Really appreciate that.
And Thank you for those who submitted chapter titles. I've selected the first 10 chapters:
1. How inconsiderate!
2. A mad woman in possession of a fortune
3. Send in the clowns
4. Remove your shoe
5. Blood and tooth
6. Tall, dark and troubled
7. Lizzy and the leeches
8. Of red rabbit and townsmen
9. Labyrinth and mistrustful horses
10. Skulduggery
I've adapted some of them. Pablo got five chapter titles, Dizzy Lizzy got four and I used one of mine. Congratulations! Keep the coming as I post the chapters.
Now, I've a new chapter for you. Happy reading! Now, do you have any suggestion for me regarding the Darcy mausoleum in Kent? I want to write a backstory about it.
And I have published To Forgive Life, as "Time to Forgive Life" and "Mr Darcy's Chilling Proposal" (this one contain adult content, so not suitable for people under 18 years of age). You can check them out at Amazon, B&N, iBookstore, etc. Give me some positive ratings if you like the stories. Thank you.
Chapter 13
His eyes focused at last on the other woman and the elderly gentleman, and he recognized them as well. "Sir William, Miss Lucas."
Sir William strode forward and took his hand. "We had been wondering if you were friend or foes, and I must confess I expected you to be foes. I cannot begin to say how pleased I am to see you, Mr. Darcy."
"I cannot begin to say how pleased I am to see that you have escaped that scoundrel Wickham," said Darcy, his eyes flickering to Elizabeth, "although I am sorry you seem to have landed in a difficult situation."
"Whatever are you doing here?" asked Elizabeth.
"We're coming to rescue you," stammered Darcy. "Although it seems you do not need our assistance."
Briefly he told them of Wickham's false letter, of the thugs blocking the road, the party that they had formed to get past the thugs and capture Wickham, and the discovery of the secret tunnel. "We are on our way to Rosings Park now," said Darcy, "and it seems you are heading in the opposite direction?"
"Yes, but this changes things," said Sir William. "As long as we are no longer outnumbered, I propose we head back to Rosings Park with these gentlemen."
Elizabeth paused. She too, wished to go back to Rosings Park, but she knew the safer thing would be to continue to the mausoleum and hide there until the men had captured Wickham.
"There is yet another problem," she said. "We had been hiding out in the woods. There is a hunter's cabin on the other side of this tunnel -"
"I know it well," said Darcy.
" - and we discovered this tunnel merely by accident when Wickham's thugs began setting fire to the cabin."
"What?" cried Richard, and Darcy grit his teeth.
"I do not think they intended to kill us," said Elizabeth, "and I expect they gave up burning the cabin when they realized we were not going to come out. But the cabin may have burned down in spite of them - in which case, it is burning now."
Darcy smelled the air. "How long have you been walking?" he asked.
"It is difficult to say," said Elizabeth. "Perhaps half an hour?"
"I do not smell smoke," he said. "I think the tunnel would bear some traces of it if the cabin were burning down. But thank you for the warning. If we proceed and run into smoke, we will know to turn around."
"And if the cabin has ceased to be on fire, and the thugs are still there," said Richard, twirling his pistol, "we will give them what for."
"What do you wish to do, girls?" asked Sir William. "I would like to go back to Rosings Park with these men to see to Charlotte's safety, and I believe you will be safe in the tunnel behind us even in the case of a fight, but I will respect your wishes in this case."
Elizabeth looked at Maria, who was looking at Colonel Fitzwilliam as if he was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.
"Maria, what do you wish?" Elizabeth asked.
Maria turned her attention to Elizabeth. "I would like to go back to Rosings Park," Maria said. "I would like to see Dr. Wickham captured, if I may."
Elizabeth nodded. "I would also like to return," she said. "And I think that if the cabin is not on fire, it is unlikely that the thugs will have discovered the entrance to this tunnel, and will have left once they realized we had disappeared."
"No doubt suspecting us of witchcraft," chuckled Sir William.
"Then we will all continue forward," said Darcy. "Although I do ask that the ladies stay at the back of our party, guarded by Sir William and Andrews."
Jack tipped his hat. "I'd be honoured," he said.
Sir William and the ladies stepped to the side of the tunnel and the men moved past them in single file.
Darcy felt a tightness in his chest. Elizabeth's presence of mind, her courage, under these terrible circumstances - she was more worthy of admiration than he had thought before. And she had not greeted him with coldness, as he had feared she would. Perhaps it was merely that this trying situation had temporarily pushed her anger from her mind - but perhaps she had forgiven him.
They continued on for another quarter of an hour, and were not met with the smell of smoke until they reached the end of the tunnel. Richard sniffed the air.
"It's faint," he whispered. "I think it just lingers from the earlier fire, and I feel no heat."
Darcy nodded. He also heard no voices, and he suspected that Elizabeth's theory that the thugs had departed was true. Putting his finger to his lips to motion the men to be silent, he pushed open the trapdoor a crack and peered out.
He saw the floor of the hunter's cabin, but no flames. Wisps of smoke curled through the air. The front door was open, hanging lopsidedly on its hinges. So the thugs had broken it down, then. He listened intently, but heard no voices or sound of movement. Cautiously, he lifted the trapdoor and climbed out. Stealthily, he went to the window and peered out. There was no one outside. He went to the front door, and crept out. He slowly circled the building, wondering if perhaps some lookouts had been left behind. No one was there. He came back inside and went to the trapdoor.
"There's no one here," he said and lit up a candle.
"Excellent," said Richard cheerfully, climbing out of the tunnel.
The word was passed through the rest of the men and the Lucases and Elizabeth. The men hopped out of the tunnel one by one, and then Richard helped out Maria and Elizabeth. Sir William came out last, huffing a bit, but no one wanted to offer to help him out for fear of wounding his pride.
"What's our next move?" Richard asked Darcy, although Darcy saw him glance at Maria as he said it. She was opening the cupboards and getting out dishes.
"I expect everyone is terribly thirsty," she said. "I cleaned these dishes earlier. If you'd like to take them to the stream and drink before we continue?"
Richard bowed, and took a bowl from her hand. She blushed.
"Might I bring back some water for you, Miss Lucas?" he asked.
"That would be very kind of you," she said.
"Will you come along, Darcy?" Richard asked, but Darcy was watching Elizabeth, who was standing at the window, looking out with a troubled expression.
"No thank you, Richard," he said. "I will remain here."
"Rightio then," said Richard. "We'll be back before you know we've gone."
The rest of the men decided to join Richard, and they trooped out of the cabin. Sir William also went with them, leaving Darcy, Elizabeth, and Maria alone in the cabin.
Maria took out her handkerchief and began to distractedly wipe the windowsill, glancing out towards the woods as she did so. Darcy stood by the open trapdoor, wondering how to close it from the outside. Elizabeth crossed over to the fireplace, and kept pushing at one of the stones until the trapdoor closed again.
"Ingenious," Darcy said awkwardly.
Elizabeth nodded, and didn't say anything. She stayed standing by the fireplace, and Darcy felt that he was standing too close to her, but he did not seem to be able to move. There were a few moments of stiff silence, and then Darcy cleared his throat.
"Miss Bennet," he said, "I wondered if you might go for a short walk with me?"
Elizabeth nodded. "Yes, Mr. Darcy," she said. "There are things I'd like to discuss with you."
Darcy's eyebrows went up a bit. He wondered if any of those things were related to their last encounter, instead of what was happening at Rosings Park.
They stepped outside. Darcy noted the crisp night air and the bright moonlight, and the dark green of the leaves high above their heads. It was very pleasant to be out in the open, after the long journey through stifled darkness.
"What did you wish to speak to me about?" asked Elizabeth, starting down a path that bordered the cabin.
"It can wait," said Darcy. "What did you wish to say to me?"
"Dr. Wickham told me a story when we first became acquainted," she said. "He told me that he had been caring for a woman, and you caused him to lose that position, and replaced him with your cousin. He said that it was because your cousin was desperate for a position because of gambling debts, but I do not believe that part of the story is true any more than I believe that the woman was improving under his care."
Darcy looked at Elizabeth. Her eyes were flashing, but her voice was perfectly even.
"Mrs. Tully," said Fitzwilliam. "She died not long after we managed to get Wickham away from her. Her condition was serious, but I think she might have lived if she had been given proper treatment sooner. Colonel Fitzwilliam - he's the man in the blue coat with the energetic smile -" Darcy's eyes twinkled when he spoke of his cousin, and he saw Elizabeth smile slightly. "- he had just graduated from medical school. He cared for her as best he could before she passed away." Darcy's voice took on an edge of irritation, "He most certainly never had any gambling debts. Wickham probably thought that story might be accepted by those who know my cousin only in passing because Richard is often out and about in the evenings - he is a very social man. But all of his pursuits are of an honorable nature, I can assure you."
"I believe you," said Elizabeth. "Please continue."
"There's not a great deal more to say," said Darcy. "I regret that I did not discover Wickham's falseness sooner, but I am thankful that Mrs. Tully listened to my concerns and dismissed him."
"When I spoke to him, he implied that you had slandered him," said Elizabeth. "While I know now that anything negative spoken about him would have been merely the truth, I am curious as to whether or not you made the story known in London?"
"I did not," said Darcy bitterly. "I gave Wickham a warning: he must give up the practice and turn to a different occupation - or else go back to school and learn to be a doctor in earnest - or I would expose him to society. I trusted him to heed my warning. I should not have."
"He merely left London and continued elsewhere," mused Elizabeth, looking ahead at the trees. "I'd hoped that there were offenses against him known in London. We may need more proof than our own testimonies if we bring him before a magistrate."
Darcy looked at her with startled approval. "We do intend to bring him before a magistrate," he said. "I will not settle for a warning this time, he must be stopped for good. But we have also questioned various villagers about Wickham's practices - many of the men with us have family members who have been ill-treated by Wickham. Once Richard does an analysis of Wickham's so-called 'tonics,' I am certain we will have enough evidence against him."
Elizabeth nodded. "I am very pleased to hear this," she said. "Dr. Wickham - and Lady Catherine - forced us to drink some of Dr. Wickham's tonics twice a day. Dr. Wickham said that Sir William is immune to the Greenwich Malady, and did not give him the tonic - but I believe that was because he knew that Sir William might be irreparably harmed by the tonics because of his age. They made us feel ill."
Darcy frowned. "You should not have had to go through that."
"I didn't. I threw the tonic under the table, onto Lady Catherine's precious carpet. We have been more fortunate than others," said Elizabeth. "Poor Mr. Collins lost a tooth to that monster."
"I heard," said Darcy grimly. Then he smiled a bit. "I also heard about the string."
Elizabeth grinned suddenly. "To a discerning eye, Dr. Wickham gave himself away as a fraud very early on."
Darcy's smile faded. "I regret the folly of my relations," he said. "If they had had more sense, none of you would be in this difficulty." He paused. "Miss Bennet," he said slowly, "allow me to apologize for what I said about your parents. I see now they meant well, and my own relations have behaved far more foolishly in this situation."
"I forgive you," Elizabeth said, and Darcy's heart lightened. "I was greatly distressed by it at the time, and I do not condone your words, but I can see now that your concern was for the comfort of the room. You were not seeking to hurt anyone."
Darcy looked at her, amazed by how perceptive she was. "You are right," he said. "Please allow me to say that I have never met a woman with a mind like yours, Miss Bennet. Your courage and intelligence in the midst of this difficulty astound me. I cannot help but respect your parents for having raised such a clear-minded daughter."
Elizabeth looked at him for a moment, and then smiled. Her heart raced, on seeing the heat in his eyes. "We should turn around, I think," she said. "The others will be returning soon, and we should continue on to Rosings Park as soon as we can."
On their walk back, Elizabeth went over the details of their escape and of Wickham's sins with Mr. Darcy, and although he already knew most of it, he was thankful for the specific information. When she told him that she had set fire to the gazebo in order to rescue Sir William, he assured her he would pay for it.
"Thank you," she said, "as I am certainly unable to do so myself, but I rather feel that Lady Catherine can afford such consequences for her foolishness. We must merely make certain that Miss de Bourgh is not lost to her mother in the midst of this."
"Richard - Colonel Fitzwilliam will able to tend to her as soon as we reach Rosings Park," said Darcy. "I suspect from what you tell me that she is simply being drugged by Wickham, and she did not have a serious illness to begin with. She has always been sickly, I'm afraid."
"That is what Mrs. Ferguson said," said Elizabeth. "I worry that Miss de Bourgh has not had nourishment in days, however."
Darcy nodded. "We must get there as soon as we can," he said. Just then, Elizabeth stepped onto a tree root and stumbled, Darcy wrapped his right hand around her waist and steadied her. Elizabeth heart raced. She raised her eyes and stared at him. Mr. Darcy was so close. She could hear his breaths, smell his scent and feel the strength of his body. His left hand held hers and his thumb caressed her palm, sending shivers down her spine. She saw a smudge of soot on his face and raise her fingers to wipe it away.
"I must look like a chimney sweeper," Mr. Darcy said huskily.
"And I a scullery maid," Elizabeth smiled.
"The handsomest scullery maid I've ever known." He lowered his head.
"You are the tallest…" Elizabeth raised mouth to meet his. But before they could explore their mutual attraction further, the sound of the men returned from the stream startled them and they stepped apart.
"Are we ready to continue?" asked Darcy, when he regained his breath.
The men responded with a chorus of shouts. Half of them were still excited about having found the tunnel, and the other half were excited to be out of it.
"We must discuss where you, Sir William, and Maria are to go when we move forward," said Darcy to Elizabeth. "I would ask you to go where you think it is safest, but it is your choice."
"If we remain here, if Wickham's thugs come back, we could escape through the tunnel again," said Elizabeth. "Remaining here is probably our safest option. But I know that Sir William would wish to continue forward, and I feel the same."
"There may be bullets, if a fight breaks out," warned Richard.
Elizabeth nodded. "We will keep well behind you and retreat into the woods if there is a conflict. But we may reach Rosings Park without incident."
"We may," said Darcy, "but I fear they will be looking for you, and on the alert."
The men took up their weapons again, and walked ahead of the two women and Sir William by a good fifty paces. Sir William had a little trouble keeping up with them, so Maria took his arm and pretended that her foot was sore, carefully matching his pace. After a while, they lost sight of the party ahead. Elizabeth thought that was just as well - they knew the way back - unless Wickham's thugs reached them before they knew to hide in the trees. At the cabin, they could have escaped through the tunnel, but here they were defenseless unless some of Mr. Darcy's men came back to their aid.
Mr. Darcy! Elizabeth's heart felt lighter. Who would have thought that the man she had detested but days before would prove to be the help they had been in such need of? He had been gracious. His apology was sincere, and he showed a humble awareness of his own faults, and the faults of his relations. He had acted honourably in the situation with Wickham, and his testimony to the magistrate would be invaluable. And his eyes had been so bright. She was used to his subdued energy, and had thought him indifferent to passions, but she saw from the way he spoke about Colonel Fitzwilliam, and Anne - and from the way he looked at her - that he was filled with strong affections. Perhaps it was just difficult for him to show it, she thought. And what happened just now? They nearly kissed. She could almost taste his enticing lips, from inches away. Was he really attracted to her? Should she help him along and tie their future together? Elizabeth stared at the back of the tall gentleman before her and continued her musings.
They continued on until they could see that they were nearing the end of the trees. They could see the men up ahead, stopped at the edge of the forest.
"Perhaps they are waiting for us," said Maria.
Elizabeth's eyes narrowed, watching them. None of them were looking back: they were looking forward, gripping their weapons, and looking tense. Then she saw Richard turn around and see them. He ran to them, and said, out of breath, "Wickham and a group of thugs are on the grounds. They weren't waiting for us in the woods, but they must have had a scout who spotted us, because the whole party suddenly turned around and started coming towards us. They'll be upon us in a moment. Please get as far away as you can - perhaps back to the cabin, and hide in the tunnel. We'll come find you if we're successful." He bowed quickly and ran back.
"Be careful!" Maria called out after him, and he turned briefly and pressed his hand to his heart.
"What should we do?" asked Sir William. "Go back to the cabin?"
Elizabeth loathed the idea of waiting there in suspense and uncertainty. "Might we not venture into the woods, and observe them from behind some trees?" Maria asked. "Then if our party is victorious, we will know right away."
"Ah, but they may not be victorious," said Sir William grimly, "There could be death, and there will almost certainly be injury. I do not wish you girls to see that."
Elizabeth frowned. She felt a sudden flare of concern for Mr. Darcy.
"I would like to stay nearby," she said.
"I would as well," said Maria. "There is a stone wall that borders the grounds on the eastern edge of the woods. Let us hide behind that."
Sir William agreed reluctantly, and they hurried through the woods, making a wide circle around where they knew the fighting must be, until they came to the stone wall that Maria had observed. It faced the back of the house, as the entrance to the woods they had been at before faced the house from the side. They sat on the ground behind the wall, with just their heads peeking over it.
Elizabeth's stomach churned when she saw the confrontation. The men were a mass of motion: dodging blows, circling each other, lashing out with their weapons at their opponents. Often times blows were dodged, but sometimes a club was met with another club, or a chain found its target across someone's arm. A few of the men were bleeding - Elizabeth couldn't tell which side they were on, they were too far away. She was thankful they had heard no gun shots as of yet. She recognized Mr. Darcy in his green coat, doing his best to avoid conflict but defending himself from blows with a club when he was attacked. She found herself surprised that he was not attacking the other men. Surely that was what was needed to get past them?
He must have a strong aversion to harming others, she thought. Her heart warmed to him.
Suddenly she realized Wickham was amidst the men as well. She recognized his red jacket and the pompous way in which he carried himself. He attacked badly: attempting to hit his opponents with a chain, but often getting hit himself instead. This led to him attempting to stay at a distance from everyone, in a sort of dance that seemed to involve an unnecessary amount of hopping.
Then she saw Colonel Fitzwilliam get near the doctor - she recognized the Colonel's blue coat and blond hair. Wickham circled around him nervously, and Richard circled eagerly, like a cat waiting to spring. Suddenly Wickham reached out and slashed his chain across Richard's leg. In the brief moment that Richard was reeling from the blow, Dr. Wickham lunged forward. Elizabeth was not sure what he had done, and then she saw that the fake doctor was holding a pistol, which he must have taken from inside Richard's coat.
"No!" she cried aloud, watching Dr. Wickham threaten Richard with the gun.
"What happened?" asked Sir William. He was also watching the fighting intently, but he had not noticed the exchange between Richard and Wickham.
"Dr. Wickham has stolen Colonel Fitzwilliam's pistol," said Maria, who, Elizabeth thought, may have been keeping her eyes on Richard during the entire fight.
"Blast him!" cried Sir William, and Elizabeth's heart lurched, thinking of the other, unintended meaning of Sir William's words.
"Colonel Fitzwilliam must have been the only one with a gun," said Elizabeth.
"This is dreadful," said Maria.
They watched with bated breath. Dr. Wickham backed away from Richard. Denny saw what was happening, and ran to stand behind Wickham. The two of them started backing up towards the woods. Around them, the fighting stopped, as the thugs watched their leaders abandon them, and the villagers watched the man they wanted to capture point the only gun at all of them.
Dr. Wickham and Denny disappeared into the trees. Elizabeth saw Darcy and Richard move together to converse. Richard was shaking his head, and she saw him gesture to the house. Then Darcy nodded.
The thugs had all moved closer together as well, conversing. After a few moments, they started running away from the other men, towards the house. Darcy and Richard's party chased after them, unsure of what they intended to do. But the thugs did not go to the house, they turned to the side and started racing towards the front drive.
"They're leaving," crowed Sir William. "That coward Wickham abandoned them. Perhaps the thugs simply don't know what their next move should be without him, or perhaps they've lost their faith in him."
"We've lost Dr. Wickham, though," said Elizabeth bitterly.
Sir William patted her arm. "He'll be found and brought to justice," he said. "Meanwhile, we've stormed the castle! Rosings Park is free from the clutches of that rascal."
"That is good news indeed," said Elizabeth. "You're right, Sir William. Things are still much better than they were."
"I'm afraid they are not," said a voice behind them.
They whirled. Dr. Wickham and Denny were standing behind them. The fake doctor had the pistol pointed at them.
Elizabeth, Sir William, and Maria rose slowly. Dr. Wickham and Denny were out of breath and looked disheveled - Denny had a nasty cut on his arm - but Dr. Wickham had a triumphant smirk on his face.
"We won't be able to take all three of you hostage," said Dr. Wickham, "that would be too much trouble. But with one of you, we can ensure that Fitzwilliam Darcy does not report us to the magistrate - at least, not before we've had a chance to get far away. We may even be able to demand a handsome ransom."
Elizabeth stared daggers at Dr. Wickham. "You will be caught," she spat. "And punished."
"Miss Bennet," said Dr. Wickham, flashing his charming smile and pointing the gun at her. "Will you please step away from the other two?"