Hello everybody! I hope you enjoy this chapter. Thank you for all your comments and feedback so far. This story is really starting to ramp up!

Chapter Fifteen

"I think you should tell your uncle about meeting with Wickham," Darcy was saying, with his hand still on top of hers. "He needs to know everything if he is to protect you and your family."

Elizabeth was thankful she had Darcy's arm to lean on. Without it, she might have sunk to the ground. Considering the information she had just learned she was surprised she could stand at all. "Will you come with me?"

"It would be my honor. I am your humble servant, now and always."

Mr. Gardiner was surprised to receive a request for an audience from his niece and her suitor, but he brought them into his study together and listened carefully to Elizabeth's embarrassed confession. Elizabeth laid out everything, starting with Wickham's unexpected appearance in the park and her rash decision not to reveal the meeting later. At that her uncle stirred and said, "I wish you had done so at once, Lizzy. I would have thought twice about letting you out in public by yourself again, had I known of it." Other than that he listened silently to her account of the meeting in the park, letting only his raised eyebrows speak for him.

When she began to speak about meeting Wickham again at the assembly he sat up in his chair and took more particular notice. "What did Wickham intend by making inquiries about Monsieur Corbin? What did he ask, and what did you tell him?"

"I? I told him nothing. His questions were addressed to Charlotte, not to me."

"What did he want to know?"

"If I recall correctly, he asked about Monsieur Corbin's circumstances, whether he had acquired wealth on his own or inherited from his family."

Gardiner's lips pursed. "Anything else?"

Elizabeth searched her memory. "He asked Charlotte how well she knows him, and how they had been introduced."

"How did Miss Lucas respond?'

"The usual. She met him through her family. Her father was introduced to him last summer, I believe."

Gardiner leaned forward. "Did she say who introduced Sir William to Monsieur Corbin?"

Again, she had to focus to recall. It had seemed like such a trifling detail at the time. "Through Mr. Duvall, I think."

"Be careful, Lizzy. Think hard. There is more at stake than you may realize. What else was said?"

"Nothing. Of that I am morally certain. I remembered your warning, made an excuse, and pulled Charlotte away."

"What happened after that?"

"After that I avoided Wickham for the rest of the evening," she said proudly, and noticed that the corners of Darcy's mouth lifted slightly in response.

"And you had no further conversation with him?"

"None at all. He might have wanted to ask me to dance later, but I saw him coming towards me and moved away. That was when I ran into-" She stopped, embarrassed, and glanced at the man at her side.

"You ran into Darcy," her uncle finished flatly, looking keenly between the two of them. "And then you quarrelled, which brought Darcy to our doorstep yesterday. He told me all about it. That information should have come from you, not from Darcy."

"I apologize once again, uncle."

"You have been very secretive."

"Rest assured, I shall not repeat my mistake. But you might have told me earlier exactly how dangerous Wickham really was."

"I could not tell you something I had not yet confirmed." He sighed. "Well, I suppose I cannot blame you. Women are allowed their secrets of the heart, just as men are allowed theirs. Wouldn't you agree, Darcy?"

Darcy shifted awkwardly in his chair. "These are unsettled times. No one should be surprised to discover concealments on every side."

Gardiner nodded thoughtfully, then turned his attention back to his niece. "You did well, Lizzy, not to give Wickham any more information than he already had. It does not appear that he learned anything of value. But I worry for Monsieur Corbin if he has become a target of the revolution. He ought to be warned."

"If you warn him, will that not bring you under suspicion as well? And what about the Lucases? Should they also be put on their guard?"

"Sir William's position as envoy from St. James means that his family cannot be touched. They have nothing to worry about. As for contacting Monsieur Corbin, give me a little credit, Lizzy. I have ways of contacting business associates without drawing any attention to myself." He gave her a self satisfied smile, and Elizabeth realized would have to be content with this assurance.

Gardiner dismissed them, and then it seemed natural for Elizabeth and Darcy to return to the parlor, where they found Jane and Bingley sitting with Mrs. Gardiner and Jules. They spent a pleasant half hour or so together, as Jules came forward to show Darcy how well he played with the toy boat Darcy had given him, and Mrs. Gardiner lightly boasted of how much Jules was learning, and what an enjoyable companion he had become around the house. Darcy responded to both of them with evident pleasure.

Elizabeth was now at her leisure to silently watch Darcy while he interacted with Jules and to reflect on how much her feelings about the man had changed in the weeks since they had met. The proud, haughty man who had disregarded her so casually at their first meeting was long gone. In his place was a gentleman who was interested in everyone, even children. He did not hesitate to take action when a crisis loomed. He had been tender and supportive with her, and best of all, he had proven his courage twice over. She now understood what her uncle had stated weeks earlier: Darcy would be a husband to make any woman proud.

Something about the way he interacted with Jules finally caused a flash of recognition in her, and she looked at Darcy with a mixture of surprise and incredulity. Without thinking she blurted out, "Yesterday, when we came back to the house, you told Jules how brave he was."

Darcy looked up from the toy in his hands. "He was remarkably collected, particularly for a child of his years."

"You also told him the Fleur de Lys would be proud of him."

"No doubt he would be."

"But you did so in French!" Elizabeth looked at him triumphantly. "You said before that you are not fluent in the language, but you were quite easy with it!"

Darcy was somewhat abashed, she thought. "I said that I speak it a little."

"Rather more than a little. And I do not recall any hint of an accent. You, sir, are a man of hidden talents!" To this Darcy had no answer, except to shift in his chair and look a little conscious.

When the gentlemen finally stood to take their leave, even Cozette seemed reluctant to see them go. She wrapped herself around Darcy's legs and mewed until he finally reached down to pet her. As he straightened he flinched and reached quickly towards his left side, as if he were suddenly in pain. Elizabeth did not miss the gesture. "Mr. Darcy, are you all right?"

Darcy dropped his hand and gave her a weak smile. "All the running yesterday gave me a spasm in my side."

"Do you need to see a doctor?"

"I think not. A few days' rest and I shall be as good as new."

As the gentlemen took their seats in a hired cab outside the Gardiner home Darcy gave out a long sigh. Bingley looked at him with concern. "Will you let me call a surgeon for you now, Darcy?"

"Nonsense." Darcy gripped his chest and winced against the pain. "He would do no more good today than he would have last night."

"Those bones need to be set. The man who jumped on top of you was a beast!"

"He was a man like any other. Though perhaps heavier than most," he admitted, wincing again as he loosened his jacket. "It was lucky for me you were able to dispatch him so quickly."

"I couldn't leave all the entertainment to you," Bingley responded, with his quick smile. "But didn't you think three against one rather steep odds?"

"The circumstances of our encounter were out of my control. I could no more choose the number of my opponents than I could choose the street where we met. A few broken ribs do not trouble me; bones knit, they heal in their own time. But this is concerning."

Darcy slowly pulled his glove from his right hand, gritting his teeth as he did so. Underneath it was a thick white cloth wrapped around the palm and pinned in place. "Help me remove this bandage." The pins lodged into the heavy material were at an awkward angle for Darcy to reach with his other hand. With Bingley's assistance the cotton came undone one circle at a time. The last layer was saturated with blood, and its removal uncovered a deep, angry gash across the back of Darcy's hand.

Bingley's face was grave as he examined the wound. "You really must have the surgeon look at this, Darcy, before it starts to fester. I absolutely insist. He can pull the sides together to close the wound and help it heal."

"But how will I explain such an injury without revealing our activities last night?"

"Put the blame on me. Tell him that you and I were practicing fencing when my enthusiasm overtook my skill. Anyone who has seen me fence will believe you!"

Darcy's lips twitched. "That might work, as long as the doctor does not know the difference between a cut from a rapier and a cut from a sword!"

Bingley gave a great laugh. Then he sobered again as he watched Darcy clumsily rewrap his hand, more loosely this time. "I do wish we could tell our angels about our real work with their uncle. It would be so pleasing, to see admiration in my Jane's eyes!"

"Doesn't she admire you now?"

"I think so," he responded in his earnest way. "I want to believe that she does. Yet I hesitate. What if I am misreading her and she holds me only in friendly regard? How do I know if she has the feelings for me that I do for her?"

"You are too modest, Bingley. Anyone can see that she prefers your company to anyone else's, except maybe her sisters'."

"Speaking of which, how was your conversation with Elizabeth? Did she forgive you?"

"We are on friendlier terms, and she is grateful to me for what I did for her and Jules."

"If you told her what you are really doing in Paris, she would be more than grateful. I believe she would fall in love with you straightaway!"

"That is not possible. You know it is not. It would not be safe for her, or Jane, to have that kind of information. And I want Elizabeth to like me for me, not for the stories she hears about our supposed great deeds. She should fall in love with the real man, not just a man acting a part."

"But it is not an act! You truly are the -"

"Hush!" Darcy stopped his friend with a fearsome look. "You must not say that name! Not even here, in the privacy of this carriage, should you speak it out loud. Nobody must know who we are or what we do. You will continue to be the affable, charming gentleman with hardly a serious thought in your head, and I must continue to be the churlish boor in public. If we are so fortunate as to win our lady's hearts and take them to England, away from this madness, then perhaps it will be safe to tell them. But until then, this secret is ours to keep."

So there you have it! Our two leading men have finally confirmed what you were probably all thinking. But there is yet more to come and as Darcy said, nobody should be surprised to find concealments all around. :-) Please let me know what you think! I love to hear all of your feedback. See you again in three weeks!-Elaine