Chapter 4

Elizabeth did indeed make it to the coast the following day for a walk that was balm to her soul. She was accompanied by her aunt and uncle, who had left their children in the safe care of their governess to accompany their niece for a stroll along the seaside. What they had presumed would be a gentle ramble along the beautiful cliffs and beaches soon turned into a march, as Elizabeth had a lot of tension to work out. Upon their reaching the mid-way point and turning back towards Ramsgate, her aunt and uncle recommended that she return ahead of them and they would meet for ice cream upon their return. Lizzy gladly agreed, and picked up her pace.

She arrived back in Ramsgate, her hair wildly framing her face, which was flushed from the exercise. Her green eyes sparkled brighter with exertion, and her general vitality was noticed by numerous keen eyes. On her way to the ice cream shop, she was stopped in her tracks by a familiar voice. She turned towards the sound, down a small alley-way with steps leading up the hillside. Looking into the darkness, she saw a familiar shade of red on a man's back whose face she could not see.

"My dearest," he said. His voice was sickly sweet, and the youthful inflection made Lizzy's hairs stand on end. "We are made for each other. Why will you not run with me to Gretna Green? It will be frightfully romantic."

Lizzy, in a moment's rashness, tightened her grip on her parasol and stepped into the alley. Her protectiveness overshadowed her sensible nature, and she made towards Mr Wickham and the woman, whose face she could not see. Her heart dropped when she heard the lady's response. In a voice she knew all too well, she was devastated to recognise Georgiana's reply.

"George," she said with great feeling, "I do not understand why we should not have Fitzwilliam announce it in the proper way. I should love to see our names in the papers. Would that not also be romantic?"

"You know your brother would never tie our names together Georgiana. He has had a vendetta against me for years. It is him casting us as star crossed lovers that is the root of the romance here. You and I, titular roles in Derbyshire's Romeo and Juliet, run off to Scotland where there are no barriers to our love. What say you?"

"Well, I suppose in that sense it is all very Shakespearean," she replied. "I do not know, I dearly wish for Fitzwilliam to be there. Once he hears how we care for each other I am sure whatever differences you have will be put aside."

"But do you want to take that chance? My love, do you want to waste any more time not being together in every sense of the word?" His voice was thick with a tone that Elizabeth recognized as lust, from their earlier conversation. It made her skin crawl to think that he would be thinking of her friend, a child, in that way.

In synchronisation with his sultry words, he moved towards Georgiana with a slight sway in his step, as if he were drinking in the sight of her with a gut already lined with alcohol. It was when he made to put his hands on Georgiana that Elizabeth felt the time had come to make her presence known. She had scanned the alley way for Mrs Younge to see if they were chaperoned, and deeming herself to be the only person present, felt compelled to challenge Mr Wickham's forwardness.

"Good afternoon," she said. Wickham turned with the speed and grace of a cat. His eyes narrowed at the interruption, to be replaced by that lopsided smirk when he saw who it was doing the interrupting. Lizzy frantically gestured to Georgiana to step away from Mr Wickham.

"So our paths reunite, Miss Elizabeth," he said smoothly. "Forgive me, for I was not expecting your company."

He did not let go of Georgiana, who was quivering with fright.

"I must ask you to unhand the lady," Elizabeth said fiercely.

"Surely young lovers must be allowed some liberties," came the reply, accompanied by a raunchy motion towards Georgiana. Elizabeth felt deeply uncomfortable, and Georgiana turned a rich pink colour.

"I do not believe they should be," she stated. And then, feeling as if the best manner with this man were to be direct with him, added, "I must ask again, unhand the lady, sir."

Wickham sneered at Elizabeth, his voice dropping an octave, and said "who are you to tell me what to do?"

Elizabeth grasped her parasol and moved towards him. She could feel her racing pulse in her ears. Her breathing sped. Her vision narrowed.

"I… am… the lady's… friend… and I must… ask you again… to unhand her" she grunted between heaving breaths that revealed her fright.

Perceiving correctly the greater threat to his person, he let go of Georgiana and moved towards Elizabeth, who brought up her parasol at the last moment, and sunk the sharp end into his shoulder.

He let out a high-pitched shriek, and moved to put his fist to Elizabeth's face. Clouded by the sharp pain in his bleeding shoulder, he did not notice Elizabeth step to the side at the last moment. Without her face to hold him up, he overbalanced and tumbled down the stairs with a loud yelp followed by a disoriented groan when he reached the bottom, abruptly ending his fall with a wall in his face.

Elizabeth did not wait to find out whether he was awake at the bottom of the stairs. Rather, she grabbed her friend's hand almost as tightly as she held the parasol, and made haste towards the ice cream shop.

~:~

Her aunt and uncle were waiting anxiously at the establishment, the kerfuffle with Wichkam having led to their premature arrival ahead of their niece. Upon seeing the ruffled state of Elizabeth and her friend, their anxiety blossomed into near hysteria.

"My dear Lizzy," Aunt Gardiner remarked, "what has happened? You look a fright."

Before Lizzy could respond, her friend burst into noisy tears. A man of action, Mr Gardiner sensed the impropriety of the young lady's hysteria in public, hastened their carriage and bundled the two girls and his wife inside. Once they had gained the privacy of the carriage, Lizzy explained the situation to her temporary guardians, to no small amount of shock and horror on their part.

There was the small concern of where the scoundrel had landed and what he would remember of the ordeal, or what story he would weave to explain his injuries. So, leaving the girls in the safe company of his wife and footmen, Mr Gardiner stopped the carriage and left in search of the man in a red coat with an injured soldier. He made to confront the issue at source, and then he would speak with the leader of the regiment to minimise the damage to his niece and her friend.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth and Georgiana were consoling themselves with cake in the comfort of the Gardiner's front room. When she had stopped crying for long enough to be appealed to, Georgiana was asked to write to her brother. She did not deny her friend's sensible request this time, thanking her lucky stars that Elizabeth had been in the right place at the right time, and been so brave as she was to protect her friend. The somewhat illegible entreaty for her brother to join them in Cliffsend was sent by express to the Darcy residence in London, and Georgiana claimed fatigue upon its completion. She asked her hosts if she may lay down for a short while.

Mrs Younge's absence had been noticed by all parties, and it was felt that it would be a safer course of action to await uncle Gardiner's return, and Mr Darcy's arrival, rather than to return Georgiana to Anne Cottage. If her companion were in cahoots with Mr Wickham, it would not do to return Georgiana to her care - or lack thereof. Elizabeth offered her friend her spare clothes and nightclothes to keep her comfortable, and the two made for Elizabeth's room to change from their dirty things and to take a short nap to recover from their ordeal.

~.~

Elizabeth spent most of the remainder of the day consoling her friend, who was wrung out with guilt over what could have happened.

"How shall I face my brother?" She cried as soon as the two had settled into their change of clothes. "When I think what could have happened. I could have ruined our name. He would never find a wife with such a sister. And what would have become of Pemberley? I could never live with myself-"

Elizabeth could see that Georgiana was beginning to spiral, and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Georgiana. Look at me-" she said in a commanding tone, and paused until Georgiana's watery eyes met hers. "You are not to blame for what could have happened today. Mr Wickham is a very charming man, who preyed upon your experience and his proximity to your family to try and profit from your unwilling mistake."

"But I-"

"No I will not hear it. Much as you successfully pretend otherwise, you are still a child. And you should not have been in a position to have been let alone with him. You are the only party who is innocent here."

"I should not have gone alone with him," Georgiana protested.

"Perhaps, but that is learning that you shall take forward with you, and nothing untoward happened in the end. Your reputation is not even touched, let alone ruined. Nobody but the two of us, my Aunt and Uncle, your brother and Mr Wickham know what happened today. You are allowed to be sad and shocked today, but I will not allow you to continue under the misconception that you are at fault."

"All of this is only true because of your incredible bravery, Lizzy. I don't know how I shall ever repay you for what you have done for me today."

Elizabeth was uncomfortable receiving the direct praise, and looked at the floor.

"Any trial in the service of a friend is no real trial at all," came her succinct answer which precluded the need for any more back-and-forth.

Georgiana's tears had quieted somewhat, and she asked if they might have something to eat. Cake and tea was successfully procured, and the rest of the day passed rather uneventfully.