Chapter 44: Going for her

Darcy stared at the young woman standing in front of him. Even though it had been for a few seconds, he had got a good glimpse of her face during that fateful night in Netherfield. He could not understand what to make of the situation.

How is she here? How is she with Richard? A thousand questions raced his mind.

But something that scared him was the detail about Elizabeth. How is Elizabeth in danger?

Richard asked him again." Darcy, there is no time to lose. Where is Mrs Darcy?"

Darcy immediately sent the footman to bring Elizabeth.

"Richard, this is the woman who yelled my name that night. How did you find her? Why is Elizabeth in danger?"

"She found me. She came to the Darcy house with the truth. You will not believe who orchestrated the compromise."

Richard looked at Dorothy.

"Miss Bingley." Dorothy said guiltily.

Darcy stared at her with disbelief. He knew she had tried to woo him in many ways, but he did not think she was capable of such an act.

"Darcy, the story is too long to discuss right now. Mrs Darcy is in danger." Richard said impatiently.

"I cannot believe this. How is Elizabeth in danger?"

"Miss Bingley has planned to harm her through Wickham."

"Wickham?" Darcy asked in astonishment.

Richard related the happenings of that morning to his cousin as briefly as possible. Every detail enraged Darcy beyond measure. Being fooled by the sister of his closest friend was very hard to digest. How dare she plan to harm Elizabeth? I will not spare her.

"Enough, Richard. I have had enough. If Wickham has set foot in Derbyshire, then he has made a grave mistake. I will kill him."

The footman entered just then.

"Sir, I believe Mrs Darcy has gone to visit the tenants."

Darcy's heart sank. Oh! No!

"When did she leave?"

"About an hour ago."

"Richard lets go. I need to bring Elizabeth back home. That is our priority."

He met an anxious Georgiana in the hallway.

"Richard, is anything wrong? Why do you all look so upset."

"Georgi, everything will be fine. Just stay calm. We will be back soon."

Darcy rode his horse as fast as he could. He hoped that Elizabeth would be safe in one of the tenant's houses. He was angry at himself for leaving Wickham to roam freely after the incident in Ramsgate.

He was scared that his mistake could put Elizabeth in danger.

He could not believe the turn of events and how the maid had shown up after all these months.

They reached Mrs Carter's house, and Darcy was happy to the sight of the carriage. He asked the footmen.

"Where is Mrs Darcy?"

"She is inside the house, sir. We usually spend a lot more time at Mrs Carter's house than the other cottages."

Darcy and Richard ran to the cottage. The door was open.

Mrs Carter was surprised to see them.

"Mr Darcy. Good afternoon, sir. I am humbled by your visit."

"Where is Mrs Darcy?" He asked in torment,

"Why, she is playing outside with little Clara."

Darcy ran outside the cottage into the little garden. His heart sank when he could not set eyes on Elizabeth. Where is she?

"Elizabeth." He called for her. There was no sight of Elizabeth anywhere.

"Where are they?" He asked, searching.

"Mamma!" They heard a little cry near the edge of the garden towards the woods.

They spotted the little child near one of the trees. Darcy ran and picked the child up.

"Are you all right? Where is Mrs Darcy? Is she in the woods?"

The child looked upset and scared.

"I do not know. We were playing hide and seek. I cannot find her. I searched everywhere."

"Clara, how can that be? How long are you searching for Mrs Darcy?" Her other asked, sensing the seriousness of the situation,

"Maybe sometime. I searched the garden. Then I thought she must be in the woods. Mamma, I am scared."

"Did you hear anything?"

"No. I did not." She replied in a scared voice.

Darcy ran into the woods along with his men and searched in vain. They could not find Elizabeth anywhere.

"Wickham must have her." Richard said with seriousness.

"Richard, I will kill him. I will kill him." He cried with rage.

"We need to find them first. I do not think Wickham could have gone far."

"Where is that maid?" Darcy asked.

Dorothy had accompanied them in one of the carriages. By the look on his face, she knew that Elizabeth was missing. Darcy had not spoken to her since the time she met him in his study.

"Listen to me. You have done something unpardonable. But I have no time to discuss the actions of the past. If you are here, I understand that you chose to tell the truth out of some morality. My wife is missing. I want to save her. Do you know where Wickham is headed to?"

Dorothy tried hard to remember any detail from the conversation she overheard.

"He did not mention any place in particular. But he said he did not plan to take her away from Derbyshire. He said something about having keys to a place here."

"Wickham has no goodwill here. Where do you think he has access to?" Richard asked, confused.

"There is one place he has access to."

"Where?"

"His father's cottage. Nobody lives there now. The servants visit and clean the cottage occasionally. I am sure Wickham still has the keys. He must be well aware that the house is unoccupied. Let us leave now. We do not have an instant to lose." Darcy wanted to bring Elizabeth back without a scratch. He had no idea that Elizabeth already had many scratches on her from the abduction.

Wickham had handled her roughly. He took her to the old cottage up a hill, and there was not a soul nearby. It was one of the properties of the Darcys.

The prospects of keeping her as a captive there thrilled him beyond measure.

You will never know where she is, my friend. And when you find her, who will wish that she was dead.

It did not surprise him when Elizabeth fought against his grip as he dragged her up the stairs.

"You are no ordinary woman, are you? Oh, I wanted you so much when in Hertfordshire. But it is destiny that I must have you as Mrs Darcy."

Elizabeth was angry. She hated his touch and bit his hand to free herself. Wickham cried in pain. At that moment, he loosened his grip. Elizabeth used the chance to run away. She could not get far. He caught her with force and dragged her upstairs. Her ankle got twisted in the process, and Elizabeth winced in pain.

He opened the door of a room and shoved her inside.

"Your husband has to pay for his sins. Sadly, you have to face the wrath of his ill-treatment to me."

Elizabeth did not have doubts about what his intentions were. She shut her eyes unable to look at the disgusting man before her.

Oh! God! What am I to do? How will Fitzwilliam even know that I am here?

"Praying to the Almighty, is it my darling?"

She looked around the room to find some weapon to defend herself. Her hands were still bound, and she could not move as her ankle was swollen.

"Why are you doing this? What could you possibly have against my husband? " She asked Wickham, hoping to get him to talk and give herself more time to find a way to escape.

"What did he do to me? He ruined my entire life. He may look righteous and principled. But he did everything in his power to make me suffer. His father loved me more, and that made him extremely jealous. When he became the master of the Pemberley, he denied my living here and gave me nothing."

Elizabeth kept working to free her hand, bound by the rope.

"I do not think it is true. You did not want to take the church for a living is what I heard. "

"Ah! So, he has told you. Did he tell you that his sister was in love with me, but he refused her hand? "

Even though she was aware of the details, Elizabeth looked surprised.

"Georgiana could not love you. She is too young. "

"Young, my foot. She was ready to run away with me."

"I do not believe you. You have made up your mind against the Darcy family, and abducting me is a grave mistake."

"You must be captivated by the handsome man you married. But he is not as honest as he seems. He ruined the happiness of his sister, just because he hates me. Because I am better than him in every way."

Elizabeth kept working to free herself, her hands were bound behind her back and Wickham had no idea that she was almost free.

"Georgiana could never do such a thing. Please stop your lies. Your reputation everywhere is the same. I cannot believe anything you say. All you want is money."

Wickham moved closer to her.

"Yes, I want money. It has always been important to me. Had it not been for Fitzwilliam Darcy, I would have married Georgiana. I would have been rich. I would not have had to join the militia and obey that idiot, Captain Foster. Enough of all that. I have money now. Someone had paid me handsomely to ruin you."

Elizabeth stared at him in shock.

"You have a lot of enemies, my dear. But I am more of your admirer than your enemy. You have tempted me in so many ways. " He moved closer to her. Elizabeth took her chance and slapped Wickham.

She tried to run away. But she could not stand with her sprained ankle, and the pain was unbearable. She collapsed to the floor and dragged herself towards the door. Oh! God! Help me.

Wickham was enraged.

"Where do you think you are going?" He yelled as he dragged her into his grasp.

Elizabeth fought him with all her might, but he held her firmly against the ground.

"You can ask me more questions about my history with Darcy after I am done with you. It is time to make you mine. "

He leaned forward. Elizabeth screamed and tried to fight him off.

Suddenly they heard the door crash down.

The rage on the face of the man standing was evident in every feature of his face. Elizabeth could not believe her eyes.

Fitzwilliam, you came!

Dear readers,

I cannot thank you enough for your patience. I hope I can post frequently going forward. This story is very close to my heart, and I am excited about the surprises in my plot. Take care and keep the reviews coming. Thank you for the constant support and encouragement.