15th December

Doctor Williams arrived at Netherfield soon after breakfast, having promised his betrothed before he left that he would return in time for the reading of the second banns later that morning. Having set all to rights in town, and having informed his family about his wife-to-be, he was now free to remain in Hertfordshire and further his courtship with Charlotte Lucas, until their wedding day arrived.

The doctor had arranged for an examination of Mr Collins that morning, as it was coming up on the time he would be allowed to leave the doctor was discussing with Mr Darcy about how best to ensure the man returned directly to his parish, when a rider arrived from Longbourn with a message for Mr Darcy.

Mr Darcy skimmed the note and paled. He re-read the message, crushed the paper in his hand, then shouted for a footman and asked for a horse to be immediately readied. Recalling his guest, he changed the order to a coach, then turned to Doctor Williams.

'It is good you are arrived. We… You are needed urgently at Longbourn. Miss Elizabeth has fallen down the stairs and is gravely injured. Will you come?'

'Of course,' The doctor exclaimed. 'I will gather my equipment and meet you outside shortly.' Mr Collins was forgotten, for the moment at least.

The coach was rapidly readied, and soon they were away, with Darcy calling for more speed as they moved off down the drive toward Longbourn.

While the doctor examined Elizabeth, now resting on a daybed in one of the downstairs rooms after being carefully carried there by several male servants under the auspices of the apothecary, Mr Darcy spoke with Mr Bennet about how it had happened.

'Wickham!' Mr Darcy paced the floor of Mr Bennet's study. 'Will that man forever be my torment?'

'He needs to be stopped, but I also need to find a way to make my Kitty see sense about him. She is in his thrall and uncontrollable - I cannot lock her up forever. How did you convince your sister as to his worthlessness?'

Mr Darcy dropped into a chair and ran his fingers through his hair. 'She heard him confess his plan. When I told him that if she married without her guardian's consent, her dowry would not be released until she was of age, he cursed both me and her before saying that it was not worth waiting several years for the money if he had to be tied to such an insipid female in the meantime. She was devastated, but it forced her to see the truth.'

Mr Bennet stood and went to look out of his window. After a few moments he turned back to Mr Darcy and said, 'I wonder… Can we somehow arrange for Kitty to hear him speak the truth of his plans in a similar fashion?'

Mr Darcy contemplated the suggestion, then slowly nodded. 'He would likely hope to extract a large payment from me to keep quiet about it, especially as he knows I am to marry into your family. I have no doubt he would admit the truth to me – so long as he believes there to be no other witnesses. He likes nothing better than to preen and crow about his cleverness when he thinks he has me at a disadvantage.' He nodded to himself, a slow smile forming. 'I will send a message to Colonel Fitzwilliam. After we have his confession, we can have Wickham sent away. I hold enough of his debts to put him in Marshalsea for the rest of his natural life. Would your brother be able to prepare some legal paperwork to that effect?'

'I have no doubt of that. Sir William will be needed as he is the local magistrate and will need to oversee the proceedings. The constable must also be involved, Wickham will need to be secured until transportation to debtor's prison can be arranged or he will abscond; assuming he has not done so already.'

'In that case, we first need to find out if he is still in Meryton. He may yet be unaware that we know about his activities, but his suspicions will be aroused soon enough. Let us warn Colonel Forster immediately. He can arrange for a close watch to be made, so that Wickham does not disappear. I will write to him – I dare not be seen anywhere near the regiment or he will run, for certain. If you would be so good as to let me have some paper and a pen. I will write my cousin, too, and have him bring Wickham's many vowels that I have collected over the years.'

While Mr Darcy began his letters, Mr Bennet paced, waiting for the doctor to finish his examination of Elizabeth.

Mr Darcy had finished and dispatched a letter to Colonel Forster and was partway through a letter to Colonel Fitzwilliam, when footsteps coming down the stairs followed by a knock at the door made them both look up.

'The doctor, sir,' said Hill, as she ushered the doctor in, then closed the door behind him.

Me Bennet stood and offered his hand. 'Ah, Doctor Williams. It is good to see you again. Maybe one day we will meet under pleasanter circumstances.'

The doctor shook the proffered hand and then took the seat he was offered. 'I am glad to be of assistance, and thankful my desire to return early means I could be of use to you and your daughter.'

Mr Darcy could wait no longer. 'How is Elizabeth?'

'She is still unconscious, but given her injuries, I think that to be a good thing for the moment. She would be in severe pain, were she to wake now. Her left ankle and knee are sprained. It is possible she has broken ribs, so I have bandaged them to give some support until she wakes, and I can find out more. Her right forearm is broken - from the appearance of the bruising, it seems she may have caught it in the bannister on the way down. The apothecary has done a good job of setting the bone and I am confident that it will mend well. The wrist on that arm is also sprained. There is a spreading bruise on her temple, which may be why she has not yet woken, however her skull seems intact, so I hope it is not overly serious. We will only know for sure when… if… she wakes. There is no fever so far, but we must be on guard for that.'

Mr Bennet frowned. 'So many injuries… What about her spine?'

'That I cannot tell until she wakes.'

A groan from Mr Darcy drew their attention. 'When will she wake?'

'I cannot say. It could be a few minutes, a few days, or…' He shook his head, as if unwilling to speak the words. 'We can only wait.'

Mr Darcy slumped forward in his chair, his face buried in his hands. He was still for some time, then stiffened, his fingers moved through his already disarranged hair, then he straightened up. 'I will finish my letters and send them express. Then we will make plans to deal with that man permanently, as I should have done long ago. But first—' He turned to Mr Bennet, his eyes tormented and pleading, '—may I see her?'

Mr Bennet tapped lightly on the door and waited.

Jane opened the door and peered out. 'Oh, papa…' She paused, as she noted Mr Darcy standing close behind him. 'Mr Darcy, thank you for bringing the doctor so promptly.'

'It was the least I could do,' He replied. 'Has there been any change?'

'No. No change.' She stood back from the door, to allow her father to enter. Mr Darcy paused, preparing himself, and when Mr Bennet turned to beckon him in, he stepped forward, steeling himself against the pain he would feel when he saw her.

She lay there, still and pale. Both arms were above the blanket covering her, one engorged by splint and bandage, but his eyes skimmed over that and went straight to her face. He felt his reserve slipping as he stepped forward to kneel beside the daybed, barely registering Mrs Bennet dozing in a chair close by.

He reached out with a shaking hand to carefully brush a loose curl away from her forehead, revealing the bruise, already livid against her white skin.

'Elizabeth…' he whispered. 'Come back to me… to us.' He lifted her uninjured hand enough to press a kiss on the back and then gently replaced it and backed away. Turning to Jane he said, 'Whatever the time of day, have word sent to me the moment there is any change, no matter how small.'

She nodded, her bottom lip trembling and eyes over-bright with unshed tears.

At his heartfelt 'Thank you,' Mrs Bennet startled out of her doze, looking around in surprise at the influx of men in the room.

Mr Bennet, moved to kiss Elizabeth's cheek, and then went to Jane and put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing lightly. 'There now, my dear. We will leave you now in peace. We have plans to make to deal, once and for all, with the man who is the root cause of all this.'

She nodded and went to take the shaky hand her mother was holding out to her.

Mrs Bennet, for once with nothing to say, nodded at Mr Darcy as he left the room, followed by Mr Bennet, who closed the door behind him.

When they were back in the study and the door closed behind them, Mr Bennet said, 'Mary and Lydia slept in the locked nursery with Kitty for the rest of the night, to avoid any repetition of her attempted elopement. While there, Lydia had the idea to search through the bag Kitty planned to take with her and she found several incriminating notes from Wickham, along with pin money and other items that belong to her sisters, as well as her mother's diamond necklace and earrings - Bennet heirlooms I would be loath to lose as they are to go to Jane. It seems the two of them have been in contact and making plans for longer than we had assumed.'

Mr Darcy took a seat. 'How long?'

'He must have bribed someone to pass messages. We think it was a young serving girl, as Jane says that Lizzy saw Kitty pass a message to an unknown girl just yesterday afternoon.' He reached into a drawer and pulled out a sheaf of paper, throwing it down on his desk. 'There are enough notes to make me suspect they began corresponding shortly after he was put into quarantine. The last one contains details for the elopement, and that she should bring as much money she could manage. Not once does he mention marriage or Scotland. London was their initial destination.'

Mr Darcy leafed through the notes, grimacing as he read. 'That does not surprise me.' He separated one of the notes from the others. 'I see, here, that it was his idea that she steal from her family. He was likely going to sell the jewellery and then abandon her when the money ran out.'

Mr Bennet nodded, grim-faced. 'I have no doubt, although my mind balks at what would have happened to her in that situation.'

'We know what usually happens to young women left alone in the less salubrious areas of London that Wickham frequents. It does not bear thinking about.'

Mr Bennet shuddered. 'I think we need some fortification before we continue. Coffee, port, or brandy?'