AN: I did make it through the chapter I have had some difficulty with (mostly due to frequent RL work interruptions) although I did not get as far as I hoped on the next one. However, my sister asked nicely if I would post again tonight, so here is today's bonus chapter. I would say 'enjoy' but...well, you will see.
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What gossip they heard from the village, via Lydia after she and her mother returned from their visit on Saturday, still did not mention any speculation around Charlotte. Of course, they could not really ask Lydia directly, and she seemed rather lacking in gossip altogether. She did report that Mrs. Parker had received a note the day after the soiree explaining that the Lucas family had been absent due to illness. No one had seen either Sir William or his oldest son, although there was some speculation that he had gone to London on some business or other.
As they headed to church on Sunday, Lizzy had to wonder how people would react to the news of Charlotte's marriage or the way the Lucas family had responded to her supposed disappearance. She also wondered how people would treat her own family after the obviously engineered compromise of Mary. All the sisters, except Lydia, were dreading what the officers might say or do. Their jeers and jibes that night had been extremely rude. Despite Mr. Bingley's defense of Mary, it was true that Lydia had disgraced them earlier and then Mrs. Bennet had disgraced them again. The comments the officers and others would have were not likely to be kind.
The bright point was knowing they still had the support of Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy. It felt a little odd that the men Lizzy most depended on now were practically strangers while she feared men she had known all her life as well as the newer strangers of the militia.
Mrs. Bennet timed their arrival so they would be just barely on time for the service. Over half the people would already be in the pews and the rest would be on their way inside. Of course, Mrs. Bennet did not explain her reasoning to Lizzy or anyone else but it was clear she deliberately hoped to limit the opportunity for an unpleasant scene before the service began. Whether they could do so after the service remained to be seen.
To their surprise, the gentlemen from Netherfield were waiting to hand the Bennets out of their carriage, at least the three who behaved as gentlemen. The uniformed man, obviously Colonel Fitzwilliam, handed out Mrs. Bennet, probably by virtue of being a neutral party. He then handed out Jane before Mr. Darcy stepped up and offered his support while Lizzy, Kitty and Lydia got out. Mary waited until the end just because it would be awkward and painful to stand in that enclosed space with the others still there. Despite his obvious continued pain, Mr. Bingley handed Mary out as Mr. Darcy turned and quickly introduced his cousin to Lizzy, Mrs. Bennet and Lydia. Lizzy suspected that if she had already been known to the Colonel, no introduction at all would have been offered to the other two. Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley were just barely being polite to Mrs. Bennet and the Colonel seemed ready to follow their lead, offering a warm smile at the introduction only for Lizzy.
Lydia batted her eyes at the uniformed man and tried to sidle up next to him, but her mother stopped her from doing anything more by insisting that they needed to go inside right away. Taking hold of the girl's arm, Mrs. Bennet dragged her youngest away from the group and through the doors while hissing out instructions for Lydia to be quiet and behave or she would ruin everything. The others had to follow along behind without time for anything more than a friendly greeting.
As they walked past the pews filled with their neighbors, Lizzy was glad to receive more than one courteous nod. She suspected the company of the men from Netherfield sent a clear message that she and her sisters were not to be blamed for Wednesday's accident. It was probably Mr. Darcy's idea, she thought, although perhaps the strategy had come from the Colonel. Either way, the escort was welcome.
When Lizzy and the others joined Mrs. Bennet and Lydia in the family pew, Mr. Darcy and the Colonel bowed to the sisters before going to join Miss Bingley and the Hursts. Mary and Mr. Bingley had slowly limped in together and now he asked if he could sit with the Bennets to show his support when the vicar announced the upcoming wedding at the end of the service. Mrs. Bennet nodded abruptly then proceeded to ignore his presence.
As she took her place, Lizzy looked around for Charlotte or the rest of the Lucas family. Sir William and his oldest son were nowhere to be seen, although Lady Lucas, Maria and the two younger boys were already in their family pew. Looking towards the back of the church, Lizzy saw Charlotte and Mr. Carlson slip inside just before the door was closed. They quietly took places a few rows ahead of the pews filled by the local servants. Charlotte spotted Lizzy looking her way and smiled brightly. Lizzy returned the smile before turning back around as the service began.
When the vicar, Mr. Halvers, announced that Miss Mary Bennet would be joined to Mr. Bingley in holy matrimony on Tuesday, there was a bit of a stir in the church. To Lizzy, it sounded like variations of "I knew it" or "Lucky for the Bennets" or other generally positive comments. She ignored the snickers and jibes from the men of the militia.
When Mr. Halvers announced that Miss Charlotte Lucas had married Mr. David Carlson in the cathedral at St. Albans on the Wednesday just past, there was a bigger stir, accompanied by a shriek from Lady Lucas. Over the excitement of the gossips, her sharp cry of "What?" could be heard clearly, stirring up even more comment. The vicar seemed to expect the reaction and did his best to ignore it as he dismissed the congregation with a final blessing.
Between the obvious support of Mr. Bingley and the other men in his party and the suddenness of Charlotte's announcement, along with the surprised response from Lady Lucas, Mary's betrothal lost most of its interest as a subject for negative gossip from the neighborhood. Lizzy would have to thank her friend later for the second, unintentional distraction she had provided.
Mrs. Bennet wanted to leave as quickly as possible. Mr. Bingley insisted they wait until more of the congregation had cleared from the church to avoid having Mary jostled by the crowd. Lizzy watched her consider and then realize that dragging Lydia away past the crowd on her own would excite more comment and interest than remaining with the rest of the group would give her discomfort. Once Mrs. Bennet agreed to wait, Mr. Bingley returned to ignoring her presence as deliberately as she ignored his.
Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam rejoined the small group just after Bingley insisted on staying. They did not even ask why they had made no move to leave yet. Lizzy suspected the delay might also have been planned in advance. In fact, the two men simply waited in silence for the party to be ready to leave. While the group waited, a few people walked back to them and offered congratulations to the betrothed couple.
Lizzy would have liked to slip away to have a few words with Charlotte. It was clear though, that they could have had no private speech given the number of people who were stopping to congratulate the newlywed couple. And, she was just as glad to be where she was when the voice of Lady Lucas rose above the crowd. Shock must have made Charlotte's mother lose her sense of place, because she would have done much better to offer her recriminations privately instead of providing more food for the gossips.
"How could you?" they heard her loudly exclaim. "Your father is out looking for you on the way to Scotland, and you were here all along?"
Charlotte's response was too quiet to hear from where they stood near the door of the church. She appeared to be entirely unperturbed by her mother's reaction or might even have been enjoying it. Lady Lucas's next comments were much quieter, but she was still very angry. Lizzy saw Mr. Carlson say something to her. With a glare, Charlotte's mother turned and forced her way through the crowd, dragging the youngest boy with her by the hand while the other boy quickly followed. Maria stayed behind to give her sister a hug before chasing after their mother.
"Did you know about the marriage of Miss Lucas earlier?" Mr. Darcy quietly asked Lizzy as he moved to stand next to her.
His seemingly sudden appearance surprised her from her observations. As quietly as she could, she replied, "She sent me a note on Thursday. I am very glad for her."
"I take it her parents disapproved of the match?"
"Nearly three years ago, Sir William denied Mr. Carlson permission to either court Charlotte or ask for her hand with the excuse that he was protecting his daughter from an unequal match. That was not the first or last time he did so, but it was the one that affected my friend the most."
"I am not acquainted with the man. Is it an unequal match?"
"No. While not particularly wealthy, Mr. Carlson is a gentleman. He can provide for her and has no obvious vices to detract from his ability to be a good husband. He and Charlotte are equally blessed in respect and affection for one another."
Mr. Darcy nodded and then dropped his voice even lower as he said, "I have noticed your obvious unwillingness to spend time in my company. Is that to avoid conflict with Mrs. Bennet? Or is it personal to me?"
"The former," she replied, just loudly enough to be heard by him, and was rewarded with a bright smile. She felt her heartbeat quicken at the sight, but could not do or say anything more because Mrs. Bennet was glaring at her from her place several paces behind Mr. Darcy.
He seemed to realize the problem and stepped back then, as if unwilling to do anything more that might place her in an uncomfortable position. Turning, he quietly engaged Kitty in some general conversation, further giving the appearance that he had not been singling Lizzy out and had instead just been politely filling time. With a slight sigh of frustration that she could not claim more attention from the kind, handsome and clever gentleman, Lizzy turned back to the church door.
The crowd was clearing out. Mr. Bingley finally seemed to think it would be safe to make their exit. He and Mary slowly led the entire party down the aisle and out of the church.
By this time, Charlotte and her husband had made it outside, although they had not made it out of a group of well-wishers, or at least people who pretended they were. There would be no chance to get close enough for a private word even if Lizzy had thought it wise to leave her party. Charlotte caught her eye through the crowd and mouthed "Tomorrow morning?" Lizzy nodded and then moved on with her sisters.
A few more people offered congratulations to Mary and Mr. Bingley on the way across the churchyard, but none seemed inclined to converse. Mrs. Bennet would not have allowed it anyway. Within minutes of leaving the building the gentlemen delivered the Bennets to their carriage and handed them in. They politely wished the ladies a good day, then Colonel Fitzwilliam closed the carriage door and the journey home began.
As they left the village behind, Mrs. Bennet looked at Lizzy sharply. "Elizabeth! What did you know about that fuss with the Lucas family?"
"I knew Charlotte had married Mr. Carlson on Wednesday, although I only found out after the fact. To prevent any interference from her father, she only sent them a note after the wedding. In hopes of giving our family a reprieve from her father's attention at the soiree that night, she worded her note ambiguously enough that he would think she had eloped to Gretna with persons unknown. She asked me to remain silent until after the announcement in the church today."
Mrs. Bennet looked confused. "You deliberately kept this from Sir William and Lady Lucas?"
"Of course. Despite what you appear to think, I have never encouraged him in his slights towards you and have asked him to stop on more than one occasion. He has completely ignored both my direct requests and those Charlotte has passed on for me. As Mr. Darcy reportedly pointed out, Sir William is a bully and I am perfectly happy at the thought he has been traveling all the way from here to Gretna trying to find his daughter while she has been in Meryton all along."
Lydia laughed raucously at the response. Her mother, however, remained silent. From her expression she appeared to be weighing whether to believe Lizzy or to complain about her impertinence. Lizzy simply looked back at her calmly and waited. Belief apparently won out. Mrs. Bennet huffed and looked away. Everyone else in the carriage, except Lydia, breathed a silent sigh of relief. Lydia continued to laugh until her mother told her to be silent.
As she had done every day since Wednesday, Sunday aside, Mrs. Bennet left early Monday to avoid any chance of coming into contact with Mr. Bingley or Mr. Darcy. Once again, she took Lydia with her. Lizzy knew Mr. Darcy might show up to oversee the transfer of the many boxes of books now stacked neatly in the study, but it was equally likely he would simply trust the carter and his men. She was more pleased because Mrs. Bennet's absence would make it easier to have a comfortable visit with Charlotte.
The new Mrs. Carlson arrived in her husband's carriage not long after Mrs. Bennet had departed. Lizzy had been watching for her from the bedroom window while working on the embroidery and got to the door before Charlotte even had a chance to knock. The two women greeted each other with a hug before Lizzy dragged her friend upstairs. The public rooms might be for formal visitors, but her talks with Charlotte always took place in the privacy of Jane and Lizzy's room. Besides, Lizzy had just a little bit more to finish on Mary's gown and she could do the work while they talked.
Charlotte sat on the edge of the bed, while Lizzy took her chair. "Do you mind if I continue working?" Lizzy asked. "It is Mary's wedding gown and needs to be done before tomorrow. I am nearly there."
"Please do continue your work. That is absolutely lovely, even more so than that gown Miss Bingley wore to the Assembly, and perfectly suited to Mary. I cannot wait to see what it looks like when completely finished. You know I treasure the lovely handkerchiefs you have embroidered as gifts for me over the years, but I had never seen the full beauty of your work until that night at the Assembly."
After thanking her, Lizzy picked up the work where she had left off. Charlotte added. "I only heard about the situation with Mary on Saturday afternoon when David picked up the gossip while running an errand in the village. It was too late to get a note to you then, and I knew I would see you soon. How is she doing?"
"It was a shock for her, and she has a few cracked ribs from the fall. Poor Mr. Bingley is injured as well, but he has been everything honorable and kind towards Mary. She has reason to hope the marriage will be a happy one despite the shameful way the betrothal came about. I must say we were all ever so glad your father was not present. Your plan appears to have worked perfectly."
Charlotte laughed merrily. Marriage seemed to have done wonders for her, since Lizzy had never seen her friend looking so bright and happy before.
"My mother was absolutely furious about that note and the way we sprang the news on her in the church. It was cruel, I know, but very satisfying. As David and I made our plans, I had realized that I could have been happily married all this time and possibly even had a child already if my parents had not interfered without any true reason or concern. That hurt, and I struck back."
"I do not blame you in the least. Will there be any negative consequences for Maria and her hopes for a husband?" Lizzy asked.
"David and I discussed that before enacting our plan. I have reason to hope not. She is young enough that it will be a few more years before she is truly ready to marry. We will stand by her and take her in if there are any effects on her reputation as a result of this. I am primarily hoping that people will start to question my father's good intentions now."
"They had already begun to do so after Mr. Darcy's run-in with him. At the soiree they were treating Mrs. Bennet with more courtesy than I have ever seen demonstrated towards her in a social gathering." Lizzy grimaced. "Well, at least until she tripped Mr. Bingley to make him fall on Mary."
"Was it as bad as the gossip says?" Charlotte asked sympathetically.
"I have not heard the gossip, so I cannot answer that. I watched it happening and it was terrible to me. We only found out later that Mrs. Bennet had weakened the bodice seams of the gown while adding a trim of lace that was practically designed to tangle on buttons and cuff-links. The whole upper part of Mary's gown was ripped away with the force of the fall and her skirts flipped up as she landed. Of course, everyone knew Mr. Bingley really had nothing to do with it, and he could have walked off without consequences to himself. It was just that so much of Mary's body was publicly exposed that she would certainly have been considered absolutely ruined, especially after the display Lydia had made a few days before. The officers were taunting her as damaged goods and might have tried to ruin her further if any got the opportunity."
"Poor Mary! I wonder she did not just die of shame right there."
"I think she hurt too much at the time to realize just how bad it looked. The militia officers behaved horribly, although the local gossips were not being particularly kind either. If Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy had not taken charge of things, I think Jane and I would have wilted under the shame of the moment as well."
"What did they do?"
Lizzy described the entire scene for Charlotte. She had just started telling her about Mr. Darcy's purchase of the books in the study, although had not yet gotten to what it meant for her and her sisters, when there was a knocking at the door. Kitty said through it in an urgent tone, "Lizzy! I need to talk to you."
Lizzy jumped up, setting her work aside carefully despite her haste. She opened the door, and Kitty burst through it.
"Oh! Charlotte! Congratulations! I am ever so happy for you!" Kitty gabbled out breathlessly. Without stopping for a response she added, "Lizzy, Tony is here!"
"Oh, dear! Did he bring anyone with him?"
"Not that I can tell. He saw the men taking away the boxes of books and made a fuss. He wants to take or open one of the boxes. He said they were meant to support him and no one else has any right to them."
"Is Mr. Darcy here?"
"No," Kitty replied.
Lizzy drew in a worried breath. Charlotte stood up.
"I think it is probably time I leave so you can both do whatever is necessary. Please be careful," she said. She hugged Lizzy and then surprised Kitty with a hug as well.
"I will walk you down," Lizzy said. "We need to make sure he does not interfere with the transfer of the books or try to steal anything from the shipment. Kitty, have you told Jane and Mary yet?"
"Yes. They are in the music room and plan to stay together."
"I think it would be wise if you stay by me until we know for sure he did not bring anyone else to the house with him."
Kitty nodded. They all three left the bedroom, Lizzy locking the door behind her.
After seeing Charlotte out, the two sisters followed the sound of raised voices back to the study. They found Tony arguing with one of the carter's assistants who was apparently preventing him from opening any of the boxes that remained in the room.
"What do you think you are doing, Tony?" Lizzy asked. "Those books have been inventoried, bought and paid for. They are not Papa's anymore and never were yours. I can assure you the new owner will formally charge you with theft if you steal his property."
"What is it to you?" Tony shouted nastily.
Kitty shrank back into the hall, but Lizzy stood her ground. She could see Tony was probably in debt to a tailor again as he was dressed like a town dandy in clothes he could never actually afford to pay for and likely never would.
"Nothing much," she said calmly. "I was just trying to do you a favor and keep you from taking actions likely to get you transported or hanged. Of course, I hear the Navy and Army get the services of thieves these days as well. Maybe you could even get sent to Portugal to take a bullet that would otherwise kill a real soldier."
"Who is the owner?" he asked abruptly. Lizzy could see he was a little surprised at her comments. Even though he was generally unfamiliar with speaking the truth, he knew she rarely lied.
"Mr. Darcy of Pemberley in Derbyshire."
She had never seen Tony look truly afraid before. Now he went almost white. "Mr. Darcy? Are you certain?"
"Yes, I am certain," she replied, not bothering to hide her contempt. "If you wait just a little while, I am sure he will soon be here to prove it. I have no doubt one of these men has already gone to alert him to your attempts to disrupt the delivery of his property."
Without another word, Tony headed quickly for the door, giving Lizzy a hard shove as he passed. She just managed to keep her balance. As she turned, she saw that Kitty had gotten out of his way before he could shove her as well. Tony was rapidly disappearing down the hall.
"We will check on Jane and Mary. After that, would you care to sit with me while I finish the last of the work on Mary's gown, Kitty?" Lizzy asked.
"Yes, please. I still need to finish decorating Mary's bonnet. May I work on it in your room?"
"Of course."
With some dedicated effort, Lizzy managed to finish the last of the embroidery about the time Kitty was done with the bonnet. Both looked superb. Jane and Mary agreed with the assessment when the sisters carried their work downstairs. Jane pinned the over-skirt in place so they could see the full effect. She planned to do the final bit of sewing to complete the gown. Kitty held it up so they could all get a good look at it.
Mary was overcome at seeing all the work they had done come together into something so beautiful. She started to cry. Without thinking, Kitty handed her sister one of the fancy handkerchiefs they had just finished. Mary looked at it as she was about to wipe her tears and quickly let it fall to her lap.
"I cannot use that yet," she said. "That is for the wedding."
Lizzy laughed and pulled out her own handkerchief for Mary. After wiping her eyes and blowing her nose with Lizzy's handkerchief, Mary handed the fancy one back to Kitty to go with the lace trimmed one and the bonnet.
The four of them sat together for a little while, discussing Mary's hopes for the future. Then, Lizzy excused herself. She whispered to Jane that with Tony back it was probably time she retrieve her lace from the hiding place in the trees. Even if she did not have to finish the reel for sale right away, she did not want to simply leave it there, especially since they might have to travel to London suddenly if Mr. Bennet passed on in the next few days.
"Be careful," Jane whispered back. "We do not know where Tony has gone."
"That is why I want to get it now, while he is away." Lizzy replied.
She donned her thickest pelisse and quickly headed out along the path, watching carefully to ensure no one was around. She had meant to simply grab the box and leave, but when she made it up to the tree house, Lizzy could not resist sitting down to enjoy the sensation of solitude for a few minutes more. She had a strong feeling that this would be the last time she ever saw her little hut again and she needed time to say farewell.
She was not sure how long she sat listening the sound of the wind in the branches and watching the play of the light through the small windows. She had not paid attention to what time it had been when she left the house, so looking at her pendant watch told her nothing of use. Finally, though, she realized that she needed to return.
Lizzy took the metal box with her lace work from the bench and backed out of the little room, closing the bench again. From habit, she closed and latched the door. At the base of the tree, she briefly considered leaving the ladder down, but decided it was best to hide it all properly even if no one ever found it again. She pulled and wound the cord in place before fastening the bark cover to hide it.
With the box held under one arm, Lizzy picked her way through the trees back to the path. She had just passed the last tree when she was suddenly grabbed by her free arm and pulled off balance. She dropped the box as she tried to pull away. A moment later, she wished she had kept hold of it to hit her attacker.
"There you are, the little spitfire! Jamison said you would be somewhere around here, although he said you would be on the path, not in the woods," growled a nasty male voice.
Lizzy felt herself shoved against one of the trees as he spoke. She finally got a look at the man and recognized him as Tony's most troublesome friend, George Wickham.
She tried to slam the heel of her free hand into his nose as her uncle had taught her, but Wickham seemed to be expecting the move. He caught her other arm easily and pressed her against the tree with his body. She continued to kick and struggle, even knowing he had the advantage of weight and surprise over her. When one of her kicks caused him to move slightly, she butted at him with her head, failing to connect, and tried to bite one of the hands that held her. He dodged her attacks, continuing to keep her trapped. With all her strength, she pushed and wiggled, working to get out from between him and the tree while preventing him from successfully catching both of her wrists in one hand which would free his other hand to hit her or hold her more firmly.
As she continued to struggle, Wickham swore loudly and threatened her, using vile names the like of which Lizzy had never heard before. Her lack of familiarity with them did not matter. She had no doubt of their general meaning and intent. She was in deep trouble.
Wickham finally managed to drag one of her arms across her body so he could press against her throat with his forearm. Clearly, he intended to weaken her struggles by cutting off her air. She continued to try to pull away and kicked at him. He tightened his grasp on her wrists and pressed harder against her throat.
Then, suddenly, the pressure was gone! Lizzy was pulled away from the tree at the same time Wickham was dragged away from her. As her attacker released her wrists, she fell forward onto her knees, gasping for breath.
She heard the noises from a fight, but it took a few minutes to recover from the shock and the rushing sound in her ears. Finally, she looked up to see who had helped her and what was happening. The movement was made just in time for her to watch Mr. Darcy plant his fist full in Wickham's face. Relief flooded through her at the sight. Whatever happened next, she knew she was saved and safe again. Mr. Darcy would not let her down.
