Hello everyone! I hope you are enjoying your summer. Has it gone as quickly for you as it has for me? Let's just dive into the next chapter. It's a doozy!
Chapter Thirty Five
The colonel was not where she had left him but Jane and Bingley were just returning from the dance, and Elizabeth once again joined in the conversation around her. The glass of wine in her hand weighed heavily and she wished she could drink it, but it was part of her plan. Still, it would look odd to be holding a glass of wine and not doing anything with it, so she touched it to her lips occasionally as she spoke with Bingley and Jane while she waited for the colonel to find her.
It did not take long. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Colonel Fitzwilliam beginning to approach her. She leaned in towards Bingley as he spoke, straining to hear him over the noise in the room. From somewhere behind her she heard the colonel's voice. "Mrs. Darcy."
Elizabeth ignored him until she heard him call her name more emphatically. "Mrs. Darcy!" By the sound and direction, she judged that he must be directly behind her. She started and turned quickly, the glass of wine in her outstretched hand.
Just as she had hoped, her hand struck the colonel's chest, and the wine in her full glass flew out and spilled onto the colonel's bright red jacket. "Oh, how clumsy of me!"
"My new jacket!" The colonel looked down at himself in dismay. "What the devil? Begging your pardon, Mrs. Darcy," he added hastily.
"The fault is mine; I should have been more careful." Elizabeth dabbed a napkin at the jacket, trying to blot the liquid before it did more damage. The dark liquid was spreading quickly across the bright red fabric.
"It is nothing." The colonel took the napkin from her and continued her work, with little effect. "I have suffered much worse in battle!"
"You are too gallant. Your uniform is ruined! This is no way for me to treat my husband's cousin! My manners are unforgivable." The distress in her voice was not manufactured. Deceiving an honorable gentleman rubbed sorely against the grain.
Jane, next to Elizabeth, unwittingly played along. "The jacket is not ruined as long as it can be wetted immediately. But I think the shirt underneath . . . " her voice trailed off apologetically. "Well, that remains to be seen," she finished tactfully.
Elizabeth saw her chance. "Let us find a footman for assistance. This way, colonel."
"No need for you to bother, Mrs. Darcy. I can tackle this on my own."
"No, I must! It is the least I can do for my husband's own cousin, especially since I caused the mishap! Come this way, I absolutely insist!"
The colonel, who was probably more used to giving commands than taking them, submitted to her with good natured ease. He followed Elizabeth to one side of the long room where she explained the situation to a tall footman. The footman led them into a quiet hallway where he asked them to wait. Moments later he returned with a damp piece of white cloth, which he gave to Elizabeth.
At Elizabeth's urging the colonel removed his jacket and handed it to her, and she blotted it with the damp towel over and over. As she pressed on the material she could feel the corner of something rigid through the jacket lining. Wickham was right; there was a letter in the inside pocket. But knowing it was there was not the same as reading it, and certainly not the same as replacing it without being noticed. How on earth was she to complete her mission? The colonel was directly next to her.
She had to play for time and hope for an opening. "We need more water if this jacket is to be saved." Elizabeth commanded the helpful footman. "Bring a full pitcher, if you please."
Before the footman could respond, another servant came around the corner with a larger bowl of water, along with more towels. "I thought you might need more help, ma'am," he said in response to her questioning look as he placed the items on a small table nearby.
"Very good. My laundry skills are as lacking as my good manners!" She gave an affected laugh. "What a tale you will tell my husband about me!"
"Truly, Mrs. Darcy, this is very kind of you, but I am not worth all this fuss. You should go back to the assembly and I will rejoin you when I can."
"Just another moment. The stain is nearly gone now." Elizabeth ignored him and concentrated on her work.
She was blotting the jacket dry and still trying to think of a plan when she heard the second footman tell the colonel, "There is a mark here as well, sir." She looked up and saw both gentlemen looking at the stain Jane had noticed earlier, just under his breastbone, where the wine had spilled over and onto the cloth underneath "Shall I try to remove it for you?"
"If you must." the colonel answered bemusedly. Elizabeth happened to glance up as the second footman dampened the white shirt. Immediately the wet fabric clung to his chest, revealing his form noticeably, Despite the gravity of the moment Elizabeth was amused by the blush that crossed the colonel's cheeks before he turned away from her.
The colonel's back was now turned to her, and the second footman was on the other side of the colonel, his vision of Elizabeth blocked. She had only the tall first footman to dispose of, but it must be quick.
She held the jacket up in front of her and turned this way and that, making a show of trying to see the stain in the light from the lamps nearby. "Is the stain gone, do you think?" As she did so she let her hip jostle the table where the bowl of water, almost full, sat. Water overtopped the bowl; it spread over the wooden surface and spilled down onto the floor beneath it. With an exclamation the first footman took up a towel and leaned down, wiping the table dry.
It was the opening she needed. She stepped back from the table to give the first footman room to work and turned around with the jacket still in her hand, still pretending to study it. She quickly glanced over her shoulder. Nobody had noticed her diversion; the colonel and footman were still focused on their task, and the other footman was crouched on the floor, mopping up the spill there. Quickly she slipped the letter out of the pocket and opened it. Fortunately it was short, just one page. She read it quickly, folded it and slipped it back in the pocket just as the colonel and tall footman turned towards her.
"You are in luck, colonel!" she announced triumphantly, giving him a bright smile. "Or perhaps I am the one in luck. The stain is gone, and now my husband will have no reason to scold me!"
"As if he could ever scold you!" The colonel took his jacket and examined it. "That was remarkably well done, Mrs. Darcy! You have more talent than you give yourself credit for!"
"I shall bear that in mind if I ever decide to take in laundry for a living," she rejoined, making him laugh. If he was suspicious of any of her actions he did not show it, and she breathed out her relief that her deception had not been detected.
In a few minutes all was done. The colonel's appearance was restored enough that he could rejoin the dance, but when he and Elizabeth left the hallway and made their way back into the main area, she regretfully declined the opportunity. "I have a megrim," she lied, "which is my only excuse for my unforgivable clumsiness this evening. I hate to think what other catastrophes might occur if I try to dance a set with you!"
Colonel Fitzwilliam was all concern. "I can find a place for you to sit down if you are not feeling well. You should rest."
Elizabeth pretended to agree with him. "That would probably do me good, but what I would like above all is to see my husband!"
"Then I shall find him for you, after you take a seat." The colonel would not be put off until he had led her to a somewhat quieter area on the side of the room, where a few chairs had been arranged and a handful of matrons were sitting. He left her with the promise of finding and dispatching Darcy to her side as soon as possible.
Elizabeth lost no time. She waited only until the colonel had disappeared from her sight before fairly darting out of her seat and walking rapidly to her meeting spot with Wickham. He was already there, leaning against a wall. He must have been watching at least some of her performance for as she approached he straightened and asked without preamble, "Did you get the letter? What did it say?"
"It was very short." Elizabeth glanced around cautiously. "It said only, "Under the grand staircase, half past midnight."
"Who wrote it? How was it signed?"
Elizabeth hesitated and looked down. She could not bring herself to say the name.
"There was a small flower at the bottom of the page, wasn't there? A lily?" Wickham demanded.
Her horrified glance up at him made his eyes gleam triumphantly. "The Fleur de Lys!" he exclaimed. "I knew he would show himself. He will pay for what he has done!"
"How can you wish harm on such a good person?"
"A good person?" Wickham scoffed. "You always did have a soft spot for that man. I thought you had better taste."
"If any harm comes to the Fleur, I will never forgive myself."
"Don't worry yourself about that criminal. He will get what he deserves. Robespierre will reward me handsomely for this!" He took Elizabeth's hands in his, trying to draw her to him. "I could not be any happier with you, Elizabeth!"
Elizabeth pulled her hands roughly away from him. "Do not call me by my christian name. What I did was for my uncle, not for you. Now you must honor your word!"
"I am a gentleman. I always keep my promises. Here, you may have your cufflinks." He held out the gold cufflinks he had shown her before and dropped them into her hand. "I am after much bigger prey now."
"That is not what I meant. You must get my uncle and his family safely out of France!"
Wickham fairly sneered. "I will make sure your uncle is taken care of," he answered contemptuously, "just as soon as I have captured the Fleur de Lys!"
If I leave you at this point for three weeks you will absolutely despise me, so I am going to tell you right now: all is not as it appears! Normally I would not post again so quickly but just this once, I will post the next chapter immediately so that you can see why Elizabeth made the choice she did in this chapter. Keep on reading!