Hello everyone! I hope your holiday season is going as well as mine! Please take the time this season to tell your loved ones what they mean to you. And enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 24

The Gardiner's little home on the Rue de Varennes saw considerable activity in the next few days, both indoors and out.

Darcy and Bingley came and went frequently. When they weren't with Elizabeth and Jane they were closeted with Mr. Gardiner, in his study, with the door shut tight. At dinner time, when the whole family were together, the gentlemen did not say what progress they were making towards solving the dilemma of removing the family from Paris, and the ladies knew better than to ask. There was too much at stake for casual conversation. They would not know anything until the plan was ready, Until then, all they could do was wait.

The protesters established a new pattern of marching past the Gardiner home frequently. Over the next few days they passed by the little house at varying hours. Some groups were larger than others, and some were more threatening, but they always called out against the king and his regime. Occasionally they hurled stones and other projectiles at homes or businesses, as if they were attacking the king himself. Little was done to control them, and Elizabeth found that her nerves were on edge, bracing herself for the next angry cry outside their door.

The ladies of the house, and Jules, now stayed within the house at all times. Mr. Gardiner only went out when he absolutely had to.

"We waited too long," Gardiner said one morning as the family ate a bleak breakfast together. They had already dismissed the servants and made sure there were no listening ears outside. "I should have insisted that you return to England last summer, when you still could have done so safely. Now I wonder if any of us will be able to leave at all."

Elizabeth's heart went out to her uncle. If she had left when he first asked he would not be guilt ridden now. "It was our choice, uncle, not yours," she reminded him.

"Nevertheless. I will never forgive myself if this turns out badly."

"Perhaps it would be better to stay, rather than bring attention to ourselves by fleeing," she suggested, trying to sound braver than she felt, but Gardiner shook his head.

"That would be a grave mistake. We must continue with our current plan. Darcy is making arrangements to take all of you out of here as soon as possible."

"Us? What about you? Aren't you coming with us?"

"I cannot do so, not until I settle things with my business."

"No business is worth your life! Aunt, tell him that he has to come with us!"

"He has to do as he thinks best, Elizabeth," her aunt responded firmly, buttering a piece of toast with great determination. "It is not our place to question him." But she could not quite hide the tremble in her hand even as she spoke.

The front door opened and closed and in another moment Amelie, one of the kitchen maids, entered the room, her cheeks pink from the cold. She dropped a curtsy as she entered, still holding several wrapped packages in her arms. "Begging your pardon, madam," she said to Mrs. Gardiner. "You said you wanted the tea as soon as possible."

Mrs. Gardiner took the package Rosalie offered and examined it briefly. She frowned. "Did I not specify that the tea was to come from Monsieur Marait's shop?"

"I tried. His shop was closed up and there were soldiers going in and out. He has been arrested!"

"Arrested!" Mrs. Gardiner repeated, disbelieving. The package of tea fell from her hand onto the table as she put her hand over her mouth. "Monsieur Marait has been arrested?" Across from her at the table, Gardiner looked up sharply.

"The news is all over the street. He was taken away last night, and his business has been confiscated. There were soldiers going in and out of his shop."

"No! Not Monsieur Marait!" Mrs. Gardiner's eyes filled with tears.

"That is what they are saying. The whole district is speaking of nothing else!"

Gardiner rose from the table, his eyes locked onto Amelie. "When was he arrested? Who took him into custody?"

"I do not know!"

"Was anyone with him when he was taken away? Are any other names connected with his?"

Amelie, frightened by his manner, could say nothing. She backed away with widened eyes and looked at Mrs. Gardiner appealingly. But Mrs. Gardiner was still fixed with horror, her hand covering her mouth. Elizabeth and Jane could only look in amazement between their aunt and uncle. It was Jane who finally said, timidly, "I did not realize you and Monsieur Marait were such good friends."

Gardiner ignored her statement or perhaps did not hear it. He went to the window and pulled the curtain aside, staring outside. "Where is Darcy when we need him?" he asked, as if speaking to himself.

At that moment there was a loud banging on the front door. A male voice cried out, "For God's sake, let me in!"

"Bingley!" Gardiner exclaimed. He nodded at the nearest footman, who left the room, and moments later Bingley entered it. Jane went to him and he put a protective arm around her without taking his eyes off of Gardiner.

"They arrested Marait!" Bingley said in a low, urgent voice. "He has been taken to LeForge." Elizabeth frowned. What did Bingley know of Monsieur Marait? As far as she knew they had never met..

"Where is Darcy?" Gardiner demanded. "Have you seen him?"

"He is attending to business. But he said he would be here as soon as he could."

"What a time to be absent! We need to make plans."

"We are in no more danger now than we were before," Bingley said, as if trying to convince himself.

"Believe that if you want. I believe our situation is more dire by the moment."

Something was dreadfully wrong. "Uncle," Elizabeth said, in a low voice, "what is happening? What are you not telling us?"

Gardiner glanced at his wife, who squared her shoulders and wiped her tears resolutely. She gave her husband a little nod. "They may as well know."

Gardiner faced Jane and Elizabeth gravely. "I learned last week that Monsieur Marait was under suspicion for harboring enemies of the revolution. Since he has been arrested it is possible that we are now under suspicion as well."

There was a dreadful silence for a moment. Then Elizabeth exclaimed, "But we have not seen him in months, not since the day you took in Jules. Surely they cannot hold a mere friendship against you!"

"They can hold whatever they want, Elizabeth! Do you not see? Have you not realized what is happening all around us? If someone here in Paris is determined to seize my business, they need only the barest excuse to denounce me and take what they want! I have no protection here, no standing. Even Sir William, with his title and appointment to the court, had to flee for his life! Now we are in the same position! Would that we had all left last summer!" He ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

By this point Jane's eyes were filled with horror, and Elizabeth felt her own heart beginning to pound in fear. For the first time she considered the possibility that they could be arrested, that they might never make it back to England. Just as a cold pit began to settle into her stomach, a new voice in the doorway broke through. "Do not worry, my dearest. I have found a way out of this for all of us!"

Elizabeth whirled around. The speaker was not her uncle, but Darcy himself, who had appeared in the doorway noiselessly. She ran to him without shame. "Mr. Darcy!"

Darcy wrapped an arm around her. Here in front of her aunt and uncle he would not kiss her, but he did murmur into her ear, "I thought we agreed you would call me Fitzwilliam from now on!"

Elizabeth, overcome with emotion, did not trust herself to speak. She buried her face in his shoulder. Behind her she heard her uncle ask, "Have you heard about Monsieur Marait?"

"That is why I am here." Darcy released Elizabeth and faced her uncle. "I came as soon as I could. It is a dreadful development."

"We are now all in danger."

"Perhaps. But there is a solution."

Gardiner glanced around the room, at Mrs. Gardiner still sitting at the table and trying to be brave, at Jane and Bingley standing standing together uncertainly, and at Amelie, who was still staring with her mouth in a wide O. "Shall we go into my study?"

"No need. The ladies need to hear this. But first . . . ." Darcy looked significantly at Amelie, who took the hint and curtsied. Darcy politely but firmly shut the door behind her as she left the room. Then he turned to Elizabeth.

"My dearest, do you think you could arrange to marry me tomorrow?"

There were gasps around the room. "Tomorrow? You cannot be in earnest!" Elizabeth exclaimed.

"I assure you that I am. Along with Bingley and your sister, naturally."

"How would that be possible?"

Darcy's voice was relaxed, almost casual. "I was considering this dilemma just yesterday, and I realized that, If we were in England, I could pay for a special license and marry you by noon. But we are not in England; we are in France. We could never be married by normal means in just a few days, and no honest priest would be willing to say that we called our banns last month."

Elizabeth looked at him blankly. "I do not see how this helps."

"The key word is honest." Darcy smiled broadly. "I have found a priest who, for the right price, is willing to overlook some of the formalities. If you are agreeable he will state that our banns were called three weeks ago, and he will perform the ceremony as soon as we wish."

There was a pause. Then Bingley gave a short laugh. "I never thought I would be glad to meet a corrupt priest! But in this case it will serve us well."

Gardiner exhaled so loudly that it could be heard throughout the room, and his shoulders relaxed. "But what about Jules?"

"This priest is also willing to attest that Jules was born in France to his faithful parishioners, Monsieur and Madam Gardiner. For a price, of course."

"Oh!" Mrs. Gardiner had tears in her eyes once more, but now they were tears of relief. "Could it be that simple? What if they check the parish records?"

"He will have to change those too, of course, just in case someone thinks to check them. Of course this all depends on the ladies being willing."

Gardiner turned to his nieces. "Jane and Lizzy, what do you say? It seems the decision is up to you. Will you go along with this scheme?"

Elizabeth shook her head, trying to clear it. So much was happening, so quickly. "Do we have a choice? But I had not planned on being married for a month yet!"

"Does a month make that much of a difference?" Gardiner asked.

"No, I suppose not," she answered, slowly. "But you must admit, it is a bit of a shock."

Jane, too, was perplexed. "Is it really possible?" she asked wonderingly. "By this time tomorrow, we could be man and wife?"

"Perhaps not at this exact time," Darcy answered, glancing at the clock. "There are some details I need to confirm first."

"Would we then immediately depart for England?" Elizabeth asked, glancing at the fine furnishings all around the room. There were items of furniture, and artwork on the wall. How could they break up an entire household overnight?

"There will be no time to pack anything but the essentials." It was as though Darcy could read her thoughts. "Almost everything in the house will have to stay behind. But we are beyond worrying about material possessions. I have already hired the necessary vehicles and drivers to be at our disposal. As soon as we are married we can be on our way to the coast."

Outside, on the street, a loud chorus of voices cried out. From somewhere nearby there was a sound of breaking glass. Mrs. Gardiner rose to her feet dramatically, wiping the tears from her eyes as she did so. She addressed Darcy in a voice Elizabeth had never heard before. "Mr. Darcy, are you certain that you and Mr. Bingley can take my nieces to safety?"

"Indeed, madam." Darcy answered without hesitation. "I give you my word of honor."

"And will our aunt and uncle follow us? With Jules?" asked Elizabeth.

"We will bring them to safety in England. I swear it!"

Gardiner spoke more firmly than they had ever heard him. "Jane and Lizzy, you may recall that I imposed one condition on you when you asked to stay in Paris. I told you that if conditions changed I might have to insist that you leave. Conditions have most decidedly changed and now I absolutely insist. This may not be the wedding you desire, but you must marry and leave here at once."

Elizabeth and Jane exchanged a glance; then Elizabeth answered steadily. "This is not the way either Jane or I would have chosen, but I think it must be for the best. We will do as you wish."

"Are you certain?" Darcy stepped closer and took both of her hands in his. The rest of the room faded away as they faced each other. "You will not regret having to marry in this manner?"

"Since my uncle insists, I do not see that we have a choice," Elizabeth answered, in her half serious, half teasing way. Then, seeing his worried expression, she became more serious. "You need not worry. Our marriage will happen more quickly than I had planned, but that does not mean it will be unwelcome. I simply need some time to become accustomed to the idea."

"My darling!" For a moment Elizabeth thought he was going to kiss her, with or without the others present. "Then we must move quickly. There are dozens of details to arrange." He clasped her hands tightly in his, looking down at her with a mixture of anxiety and eagerness. "Do whatever you need to do to prepare, but do not take too long. Bingley and I will return before noon tomorrow. We will be married and leave Paris behind us before the sun sets!"

So, there's about to be a wedding! Place your bets as to whether you think it will actually occur the next day! You will find out the answer in the New Year. :-) Until then, thank you for your support and please keep yourself safe! Merry Christmas and happy New Year to all! - Elaine Owen