The carriage seemed to bounce a foot in the air as it hit yet another rut.

"I didn't imagine that the road would be so ill," Lizzy remarked. "I can only hope that Jane and Charles are faring better than ourselves."

Darcy grimaced sympathetically at his wife. His wife. He would never tire of hearing that word.

"The inn will be upon us in the next mile or two. And the way should be much smoother thereafter."

"I must say that I'm very excited to go to Yorkshire. If it is half as magnificent as Derbyshire I shall be very happy, indeed."

Thinking of Caroline, who refused to come with them, and how she would have continued to complain the whole way, Darcy was again glad that he had met Elizabeth. He couldn't imagine what a life with Caroline would have been.

"And if you are happy, I shall be too." He smiled at her and took her hand, rubbing his thumb across the top of hers. "These few months have been the happiest of my life, I shall be pleased just by your presence."

Elizabeth looked to be in between besotted and amused.

"Well, sir, I will endeavor to keep you company. If that is-"

She was cut off by the sound of a gunshot and the carriage jerked to a halt.

He saw her eyes widen in panic and he felt that same feeling rise within himself, but he had to be strong for Elizabeth.

Darcy spoke while opening the carriage door, "Clarence, what has happened?"

He motioned Elizabeth to stay put and closed the door behind him.

The first view that met him was his footman dead, a glance behind him showed that Bingley's footman had suffered the same fate. Both theirs and Bingley's carriages were surrounded by what seemed to be bandits. Most were on horseback.

Bingley stepped out and glanced at him in confusion before they both turned to the one who looked like the leader.

Bingley looked to be a hair's breadth away from fainting as he took in the scene. Trying to remain calm and cool despite being perturbed by the blood splattering his carriage, Darcy steeled himself, drew himself up,"Is there something we can help you with?"

A wave of laughter rippled over them. The leader was grinning maliciously down at them.

"Hmm. Yes, I do believe there is." He motioned to the bandits beside him. "Tie them up and bring anyone still in the carriage over there." He gestured to the side of the road.

The two of them would never be able to take out the seven surrounding them. But he would be damned if he didn't try to prevent this.

By now, a few had dismounted their horses and stalked towards them, swords drawn.

Darcy turned to a scrawny, young man who couldn't have been more than four and twenty years.

He sidestepped in front of the young man, blocking the entrance to the carriage, and punched him hard in the nose.

Blood sprayed down, covering his sore hand. He swung his leg around the other mans, knocking the feet out from under him.

The sword laid discarded next to the downed man. Swiftly, he grabbed the sword and brought the hilt down on the other man's head.

His fencing lessons at Cambridge had never included actually stabbing people. But if it came down to it, he imagined the choice to protect his family would prevail.

Standing back up he noticed Bingley staring at him wide-eyed, "Don't just stand there Bingley! Do something!"

"Oh yes. Yes. Of course." He ran off toward the group about to open his carriage.

Darcy managed to knock down two more of the vandals before a third managed to send him sprawling.

A slash of their sword brought stinging pain to his cheek.

Blood spilled from it and trailed like a grisly tear down his face.

Two others hauled him up and tied his hands and feet together. And proceeded to drag him to where the others were lined along the side of the road.

Bingley looked to be a little dazed but both Jane and Lizzy looked to be in good health, at least psychically.

They both looked pale and stricken, Jane, moreso. The expression only worsened when the order was given to search their persons.

The bandits leered as they ran their hands over Jane's sides, grotesque grins splitting their faces, showcasing black teeth and jaundiced lips, as they searched for valuables.

Jane shrank beneath their hands.

Distress was apparent in every line of her red face, a strangled whimper escaped her.

Bingley's usually genial face twisted into a snarl.

"Hands off her, you foul fiend," Bingley demanded.

One highwayman sneered at him and kicked him in the ribs.

A sharp crack reverberated through the air.

Bingley doubled over, bound hands trying to grasp his ribs, and put pressure on the hurt.

Lizzy cried out.

"Stop it!" she shrieked.

There was a desperate wildness to her eyes.

"If you wish to keep your head about your shoulders you will release us immediately!" her voice calmed as she spoke, iron replacing the fear and uncertainty in her eyes. "We are not the easy prey you have mistaken us for, sir."

"You have quite the mouth on you, little birdie. Seems to me I've got ya where I want ya."

Lizzy tossed her head, wayward curls striking and ethereal in the sunlight. When she smiled it was mocking and scornful, a devil's smile.

Darcy's heart quickened to see it.

He'd always known his wife was headstrong and audacious but this was like nothing he had ever seen before. Her courage knew no bounds.

"If you went through all the trouble of stopping our carriages you must be aware of who we are."

"'Course I do! You're-"

Lizzy cut him off, "then you must know that we are not to be trifled with! Are you so naive as to believe that we're the only members of our party? The remainder of our party is but half a mile behind us. They surely would have heard the gunshots your men released and alerted the constabulary. And if you even think of striking my sister or my brother again, I will make you wish you had been hanged!

The leader sneered at her, "Why should I believe you? A woman. Seems to me that there are more sensible courses of action than making idle threats, birdie. Like keeping that pretty mouth of yours shut."

Lizzy narrowed her eyes and clenched her fist. "You would do good to heed my words, sir! Doubt me and you risk everything."

He puts the length of his sword under her jaw, "Well then, suppose we'd best hurry this along then."

He leaned in close to her face.

Grabbing her chin, he forced her to look at him. "It's a pity. We would have liked to take our time with you. Both of you." He grinned salaciously.

Darcy, who had been as still and grim as a statue, reared up at that and head-butted him.

The man stumbled back clutching his nose, now obviously misshapen.

The shock was quickly replaced by anger, he drew his hand with the sword back and whipped it across Darcy's face.

"There will be a consequence for that, one of you will have to pay." He glanced over at the rest of the party. "Personally, I would choose the blonde. Her skin would look so pretty contrasted with red."

A burly man with a rough-hewn beard manhandled Darcy to his feet.

He was bounced around the crowd. Stopping at the leader who cut off the ropes on his hands.

Someone grabbed a hold of his shoulder and leaned against it, rank breath blowing into Darcy's ear. "Who should you choose? Both are very handsome, it would be a shame to ruin it."

Darcy couldn't think. He couldn't choose. There had to be a way to stop this!

Lizzy was his wife, the best thing that had ever happened to him and if anything happened to her sister she would be devastated. Bingley had been his best friend for years. They had met in Cambridge and he was the reason he had even met Elizabeth.

There was no way he could sentence one of these people to death.

"Time is running out, sir " he sneered the title. "Hurry, before I decide for you."

"Me!" He called out breathlessly. "Me. Please. ...Shoot me."

"No!" Elizabeth cried. "You can't! Fitzwilliam!"

"That wasn't an option but since you asked so nicely." He pointed the gun at him. "And each second in your company my distaste for you grows."

Lizzy's scream was as a gunshot itself.

Her ragged sobbing filled the air.

But the only thing Darcy could think of was that this is not what he expected getting shot to feel like.