Hello there and thank you for all your feedback on the last chapter! You've written so many good comments! It's fun to read them all. I hope you leave just as many for this one. I hope you like it. The tension is building!

Now that Elizabeth knew about the Fleur de Lys, it was only natural that the Darcy home would become a convenient meeting place for the two others who shared the secret. Bingley and Colonel Fitzwilliam made a point of joining Elizabeth there frequently. Ostensibly they were there to keep an eye on Darcy's business in his absence but in reality they spent their time sharing messages from other members of the group, conjecturing what might be happening in France, and assuring each other that they would receive word from Darcy soon.

Each day Elizabeth learned a little more about how the group of men who called themselves the Fleur operated, the rescue missions they carried out, and the secrecy they guarded so carefully. Most of them had never met each other before they began to work together. Their names were not written down and scarcely ever spoken aloud. They led quiet lives and avoided drawing attention to themselves. But by joining their resources, creating diversions and playing on people's complacency, they managed to extract one person at a time and send them safely on their way out of the country. It seemed there was no end to the tricks and subterfuges they used.

"What can you tell me about the Baron du Lac and his escape?" Elizabeth asked the two men one afternoon, as they took tea together. "Jane and I were with our aunt and uncle, on our way to Monsieur Marait's shop, when we saw an old woman in a cart filled with casks of wine. She created a diversion that allowed the baron to climb over the wall and escape."

Colonel Fitzwilliam laughed out loud. "I remember that day well. It was my first mission with Darcy! He wanted me to try my hand at playing an old hag, but I told him that he would make a better old woman than I. So he became the hag, and I played what I have always been- a soldier! I was the one who boosted the baron up the wall. It's a good thing I insisted on having my way, as the baron was heavier than we had thought!"

"We saw you and the baron go over the wall, but where did Darcy go? The next time I looked for the old lady she had disappeared!"

"He went into Marait's tea shop, where Marait had a change of clothes waiting for him. Yes," he added, in response to her questioning look, "Monsieur Marait has also played his part in the Fleur de Lys. His tea shop was an ideal location for secret meetings to take place without looking like they were secret!"

"So that is why my aunt and uncle visited his shop so often!" Elizabeth exclaimed. "No wonder they reacted so strongly when they heard he had been arrested!"

"That is why we had to be married and leave the next day." Bingley's expression was grave. "There was no more time to wait. "

"Where is Monsieur Marait now?"

The colonel and Bingley looked at each other. "Darcy said he would try to save him, but I do not know if he succeeded."

"How blind I was! I did not suspect a thing, not even on the day of the riot, when Darcy spoke French with Jules. He said he hid his skill because it gave him an advantage in business, which I suppose it would! Especially when his real business was rescuing French unfortunates."

"Both Darcy and I were afraid that you would guess our secret that day," Bingley told her, "especially when you started asking so many questions about your uncle's warehouse."

"Warehouse?" Elizabeth echoed, trying to recall the conversation. "Oh! You mean the warehouse my uncle owned, the one he thought might be attacked. My uncle said you had gone to protect it from the rioters."

Bingley nodded. "You told me the next day that it was foolish of me to endanger my life for material possessions. Little did you know that there were no possessions, only a handful of aristocrats in hiding! I had to protect them and be ready to move them, if necessary."

Elizabeth did not get a chance to respond, for at that moment there was a rapping on the front door. Moments later a footman brought Elizabeth a letter bearing markings from France. Her heart gave a sudden turn as she took the letter in her hand.

"Who is it from?" the colonel asked. He and Bingley stood eagerly. "Is it from Darcy?"

Elizabeth broke the seal, revealing just one page, closely written. She quickly skipped to the end of the writing to see the signature. "It is from Wickham- and from Darcy!"

The other two exclaimed. They crowded around Elizabeth as she read the page aloud, trying to read over her shoulder.

Dear Elizabeth,

When we met in London a few days ago we had an understanding. You agreed to do just one thing in order to have your aunt and uncle returned to you. But instead of helping me to apprehend a dangerous criminal, you chose instead to betray me to the Fleur himself! How do I know this? By the token you left behind, the cufflink I had just given you as a token of the agreement between us.

"What?" the colonel cried. "Wickham knows you betrayed him?"

Elizabeth did not pause but she felt her mouth go dry. She swallowed hard andmade herself continue.

Even worse, I have now discovered that the Fleur is none other than your own husband! Did you know that before you agreed to betray him to me?

"Dear God, what have I done?" Elizabeth exclaimed. Her knees weakened; she had to grope for the chair in front of her and lean hard on it, or she might have collapsed on the floor. She took a deep breath, trying to collect herself. "If Wickham knows that, then he knows everything!"

"Go on, Mrs. Darcy," the colonel urged her. "Go on! What else does it say?"

Elizabeth shakily wiped a hand across her forehead. She took a deep breath and continued.

Darcy and the Gardiners are in my custody at 24 Rue _.Your husband's signature below will serve as confirmation of what I say. If you ever want to see any of them alive again, you will come to Paris at once.

Wickham

There was a dreadful silence after Elizabeth read these words. She clasped her hand over her mouth, trying to tamp down the feeling of horror coming over her. Then, "Hell and damnation!" The colonel slammed his fist on the desk. "Is that a real address? Is that where the Gardiners were hiding?"

"I am afraid so." Bingley's voice was heavy. "That is the storehouse I was just mentioning, where I went on the night of the riot."

"Is the rest of it real? Is there any chance that Wickham is lying?"

They crowded around the letter again, examining it together. "This is definitely Darcy's signature." Elizabeth traced her fingers over the precious letters. "It must be true. Wickham has captured him! He has captured all of them."

Suddenly the reality of the situation hit her. Those she loved most were in mortal danger, and she might never see them again. "No! This cannot be!" Her shock and fear overcame her as she gave way to tears.

One of the gentlemen, she was not sure which, helped her sit down. They both tried awkwardly to comfort her, offering her their handkerchiefs and ringing the bell for a glass of wine. At length she was able to compose herself, though not without an effort. "How?" she cried out. "How did Wickham find them?"

"Wickham has been watching all of us," the colonel answered. "Once he knew for sure that I was connected to the Fleur, it was only a matter of time until he discovered Darcy. I should never have let him go back to France! Most likely Wickham also knows about Bingley, and perhaps others as well."

"Then what are we to do?" The question came from Bingley. Elizabeth dabbed at her last tear and looked at him in amazement.

"Do? I must go to Paris, of course! What is the quickest way to get there?"

"You, go to Paris? No, Mrs. Darcy! You are not to go anywhere!" The colonel spoke as though he were commanding his men, not speaking to a lady. Elizabeth rounded on him.

"Colonel, if you think that your position as my husband's cousin gives you some sort of authority over me, allow me to disabuse you of the notion right now! If there is a chance for me to see Darcy again while he is still alive, I have to take it!"

"But you cannot go rushing into Wickham's grasp! That is just what he wants you to do!"

"It is my fault that any of this came to pass! If I had confided in my husband from the beginning, none of this would have happened!"

"Then do not compound one mistake with another! Do not go to Paris! You will only make things worse."

"How could things possibly be any worse?"

Bingley stepped in between the two and held up his hands. "Stop!" His voice was firm and commanding, nothing like the genteel, lighthearted tone he usually used. Elizabeth stared at him in amazement. "This is no time to argue. We have to discuss this rationally and then make a plan."

She would never have thought that the retiring Bingley could be so commanding when necessary. The colonel opened his mouth as if to speak but Bingley stopped him with a severe look. "Sit down, colonel. We have to talk about this as calmly as possible."

After a startled moment the colonel took a chair opposite Elizabeth. Bingley likewise seated himself, drawing a chair closer to the two of them. When he spoke he was calmer but still clearly in control of the conversation. "We need to start at the very beginning: Wickham has Darcy. But does he also truly have the Gardiners? Their signatures are not on the page!"

"That is true," Elizabeth answered, feeling a faint hope. She examined the page again, hoping it might yield new information. "He may have found their hiding place, but it does not necessarily follow that he found them. They may have moved before he discovered that location. Still, he does have Darcy!"

"Are you certain?" The colonel looked hard at her from under his thick eyebrows. "Can any of us know for sure that Darcy is still alive?"

"Colonel!" Bingley exclaimed. "I must protest! Do not say-"

The colonel waved him off. "Don't tell me not to say it! If you want us to be rational then we have to consider all the possibilities!"

"Not that one!"

"But we cannot be certain of anything!" Elizabeth broke in. "What if Darcy is alive and I do not go see him? What would he think of me? How could I let him-" She could not bring herself to complete the thought. "I could not live with myself if I did not do everything in my power to be at his side, no matter what happens! And if the worst happens, then nothing else matters anyway," she finished miserably.

"But do you not realize how Wickham would use you against Darcy, once you are in his grasp? Darcy would do anything rather than see you harmed! You would become a weapon to be used against your husband!"

Elizabeth paled. She had not had time to consider such a possibility.

"We could conjecture all day and come to no good end!" Bingley exclaimed. "We have to decide what to do based on what we know for certain. Darcy was definitely alive at the time this letter was written, and he was in Wickham's custody. Colonel, you are a military man. You are used to dealing with strategy. Wickham sent Elizabeth this letter, telling her to come to Paris. Why? What do you think he hopes to accomplish?"

The colonel considered this silently for long seconds. "If he wanted to get rid of Darcy he would have done so already," he finally answered. "Wickham has always felt inferior to Darcy; this is his chance to finally have the upper hand. He will want to see Darcy grovel and beg for mercy. He wants to humiliate Darcy before he finishes him."

Bingley nodded. "Having Elizabeth there to beg for his life would suit that purpose well. Therefore Darcy is most likely still alive; he is no use to Wickham any other way."

"But," the colonel came back to his first point, "Elizabeth's presence in Paris will give him exactly what he wants! And then Darcy will be killed anyway."

Bingley frowned before turning to his sister in law. "I am afraid the colonel is right, Lizzy. You going to Paris is exactly what Wickham wants."

"Charles, if our positions were changed and it was Jane held captive in Paris, would you stay home?"

Bingley flinched. "Nothing could ever keep me from Jane's side," he admitted. "But this is different. Let me go to Paris in your place. I will deal with Wickham directly and offer him a handsome bribe, one that he will not be able to turn down. With what I am prepared to offer him, he will finally have enough money for an estate of his own, and he can become a gentleman."

"But you just agreed that Wickham's motive is revenge, not money. He will not accept a bribe, and then my sister will be left a widow! I cannot allow that!"

The colonel agreed. "Elizabeth is right; a bribe will not work. No, there is only one thing for you pointed out before, Bingley, I am the military man, used to dealing with strategy. I shall be the one to go to Paris and deal with Wickham. I know him far better than either of you do!"

Bingley gave a disbelieving half laugh. "Colonel, Wickham knows for certain that you are connected to the Fleur! You would be arrested the moment he discovered your presence in Paris! No, it has to be me."

"I have certain resources at my disposal that you do not," the colonel insisted. "I am far more likely to be successful than you are! Wickham would think twice about touching someone with a military sponsor!"

"I do not believe that!"

"Both of you persist in misunderstanding me," Elizabeth announced, wiping the last of her tears away. She rose to her feet. "Darcy is my husband, the Gardiners are my family, and nothing you say will keep me from going to Paris!"

The men stared at her, then looked back at each other, apparently at a kept her chin high and her shoulders squared, daring them to defy her. Finally the colonel stood to face her. "Then I must go with you!"

"You are absolutely not going without me!" Bingley answered, rising in his turn.

The colonel gave an exasperated sigh. "Bingley, we have been over this-"

"Wait! We are thinking of this all wrong!" Elizabeth interrupted.

Both men stopped their rising argument and stared at her, perplexed. "Whatever do you mean?" Bingley asked.

"You, colonel, are a strategist. You know how to put a plan together and organize your men to see it through."

"True." The colonel nodded.

"And you, Bingley, have been to that warehouse. You know the neighborhood it is in and how it is laid out." Bingley listened intently but did not answer. "As for me," she shrugged, "Wickham needs me if he wants revenge on Darcy."

"All very true," Bingley agreed. "But what does it all mean? What do you suggest?"

"Darcy would have thought of all this, would he not? He would never have signed this letter without having a plan! We do not have to devise a strategy of our own- we just need to discern what his plan is!"

So, the plot thickens! How do you think Elizabeth and the Fleur will try to out maneuver their enemy? What would you do? Please leave a comment and let me know! I will see you back here in three weeks!-Elaine