Chapter 5

Mr Darcy, of Pemberley in Derbyshire, arrived a day later and in all of his anxiousness to be reunited with his sister after a report of a most alarming nature had reached him. Upon reading the name Wickham, he immediately called for his carriage to be drawn and his things to be packed. There was truly nothing good to be associated with that foul name. He had been a friend to Darcy once, before his father had died, but had proven himself to be the worst kind of rake in the years since. Mr Darcy senior had left Wickham a living at a rectory near to Pemberley in his will, the value of which he had demanded immediately and eventually squandered to feed his wild lifestyle of excess. He had brought damage to the good Darcy name, and had left a trail of heartbreak and unfathered children in his wake. Mr Darcy could only imagine that the vile man had weaselled his way into his sister's affections to claim her fortune, and to cause him distress directly. For it seemed that Georgiana was indeed heartbroken over her realisation of his real character. And so Mr Wickham had succeeded in distressing both of the Darcys sincerely.

Upon reaching the end of the truly awfully writ missive, he was apoplectic with nerves about what fate had befallen his sister. Lodging with strangers… without her companion… in a completely unfashionable part of town… He had trusted her to be sensible, and was certain now that such faith had been misplaced.

And despite having read such positive opinions of Miss Elizabeth Bennet in Georgiana's previous letters, his view of her was clouded by his anxiety at the fact that his young, impressionable sister had been so easily swayed into her company. He reasoned it was better than the same thing occurring with George Wickham, but he was no less alarmed by this realisation. Who was this woman, this stranger, to abduct his sister so? He hated that someone else had such influence over, and affection from, his most beloved sister.

He would try to be civil, but he would remove her from these so-called friends as soon as was polite. And she would never be leaving his sight again. A lump rose in his throat as he stood at the threshold of the address on the note. The only real family he had to speak of, and he had come so close to losing her. He cursed his own stupidity in letting her travel without him. And his body filled with rage when he thought of Mrs Younge, hired especially to keep this type of incident from occurring. She would not be returning to their properties, or receiving any more of his time or money. But the quest of finding Georgiana another companion would have to wait for another day.

~:~

Upon his anxious arrival to the Gardiner's holiday cottage, the door opened to reveal a rather plain looking entryway, with a small servant man ready to announce their expected visitor. If the doorman was shocked to see such a well-dressed gentleman in such a state of malaise, he did not let it show on his features. Instead, the introductions between host and guest's overprotective brother were made quickly. Sensing correctly that his guest was not in the mood for prevarications, Mr Gardiner promptly welcomed Mr Darcy into the parlour and thus into the company of Georgiana and her friend.

Mr Darcy's mask of anger and concern softened briefly upon seeing his beloved sister, all in one piece and close enough to touch. She launched herself into his arms without a thought for what may be proper, but he was so relieved to see her that he held her tightly enough that her ribs protested. A light tear graced his cheek, before he remembered himself and schooled his features into a hard mask of propriety. He breathed in his sister's scent and felt his heart rate calm for the first time in the past twenty-four hours.

He immediately began firing off impatient questions about her welfare, and held her at arms length to ensure she was all in one piece. Georgiana smiled her relief at seeing him, and assured him that she was quite well.

Lizzy watched the familial interaction with a soft smile. Looking intently at Mr Darcy, she thought him to be at least as attractive in real life as in the likeness drawn by his sister, which was indeed rather a faithful reproduction of his striking features. She did not have extensive experience with gentlemen, and was intrigued by the sharp angles of his figure. Despite her lack of prior exposure, she thought him rather handsome indeed.

"Mr Darcy, please let me introduce you to my wife, and our niece, Miss Elizabeth Bennet," her uncle made the necessary introductions after the tender moment between siblings had passed.

Mr Darcy's gaze transferred upon the introduction from his sister's golden curls to his new acquaintance. She was pretty in a demanding way, with soft features that belied a wildness in her air and manner of being that he simply could not turn away from. Her eyes were a deep green colour, framed with thick eyelashes and an expressive quirk in her eyebrow as she challenged his appraisal of her. He should have, but did not resist the urge to pass his gaze over the length of her pleasing figure. Unfashionable dress perhaps, but made of teasing fabric which tantalisingly covered her tanned curves. He swallowed thickly and coughed to clear his throat. More than a strictly appropriate amount of time had passed, but he replied belatedly.

"Good day, Miss Bennet," he said in a low baritone. He thanked his lucky stars that his voice did not croak. "I must thank you for your service to my sister in place of her companion yesterday." Not one to let his emotions show, he once again cleared his throat and put on a practised mask of indifference.

Elizabeth had no such reserve, and replied with indignance thick in her tone. How dare he assume her to be in service to his sister as opposed to acting as a dear friend. It was a kick to her gut for this imposing, handsome and rich man to, in his first words to her, so clearly lay in the open their differences in station. To liken her to a companion, of all things. And rather rude of him to do so in her company. It was clear that Georgiana's kindness was not a family trait.

"If I have done your sister a service, sir, it was gladly bestowed upon a dear friend," she stated. He blinked, his brain processing how attractive her features were with that indignant raised eyebrow. He opened his mouth as if to speak, and then closed it again, unsure how to proceed now he had so clearly offended the lady, even if accidentally. Elizabeth fought against the small part of her brain that thought the look of confusion upon his face was rather becoming.

Georgiana saved them from their awkward silence.

"She was rather marvellous, brother," Georgiana cried. "I wish you had seen the way she employed her parasol to halt that man's advances. It was spectacularly brave of her." She winced at the remembrance of such unpleasantness, but quickly retrained her features into a genuine admiration of her friend.

"Georgie, you will give your brother a wild impression of me if you translate to him all of the unpleasantness of that afternoon," Elizabeth protested. "I did not strike him so hard as you imply. And the gentleman will be relieved to know this was a one time offence, and that I usually behave in a much more ladylike manner. But needs must, I suppose."

Mr Darcy was having a hard time reconciling the slight woman in front of him with a weapon of such force to lay Mr Wickham flat. And then he tried to picture Miss Bennet using all of her strength when crossing that man, and his neck felt rather warm all of a sudden. He felt a distant tightening in his gut, and turned to his sister to save from embarrassing himself. With a polite nod to Miss Bennet to ensure she knew he had heard her, he instead addressed his sister.

"I am so relieved to find you in one piece, Georgiana," he remarked. He shook his head. "But we should be getting you home and into your own things, you must be terribly uncomfortable."

Georgiana glared at him in response, and he realised that he had once again accidentally offended his hosts.

"I did not mean-" he struggled. "Only I thought-" he pressed.

"Your intent is understood, Mr Darcy," came the rather cold reply from Miss Elizabeth Bennet. "If Georgie wishes to return to Anne Cottage or to town with you, we will gladly return her to your care." She turned to Georgiana and spoke in a soft, honeyed tone. "Georgie, my dear, do not discomfort yourself for my sake."

Elizabeth had succinctly provided the forgiveness her friend needed to leave with her brother, which was in fact her desire. To be home and cared for again, after her ordeal, was just what she needed. She wished her brother had not opened his mouth, though. Mr Darcy, for his part, was not pleased by the revelation that Miss Elizabeth Bennet had ensconced herself close enough to his sister that she was permitted the privilege of nicknames.

"Thank you dear Lizzy for understanding my brother's intentions. He must be anxious for us to quit Ramsgate after the affair with Mr Wickham."

"Indeed, Georgiana. If you find it favourable, we may return to London this very day," the man in question replied.

Georgiana had no desire to linger in Ramsgate, save for quitting the presence of her friend. Elizabeth shared similar feelings, which they conveyed to each other very effectively with a few choice shared looks.

"Thank you, brother. If you should be so kind as to permit me a few moments to say farewell to my friend, we can be off to London shortly."

He nodded in response, and bowed to the room in general. On his way out he requested a private audience with Mr Gardiner.

~.~

As they gained the hallway, he turned to Mr Gardiner with a note of seriousness in his tone. Mindful of his recent upbraiding, he did not rush into the specifics he so craved, but rather thanked his older companion for looking after his sister and ensuring the safe recovery and return of Mr Wickham to his commander. His thanks could not be called effusive, but what they lacked in fawning, they more than made up for in sincerity.

"But I must ask," he returned to the most pressing matter on his mind, "for Georgiana's note did not provide the specifics. Whatever became of Mr Wickham? My sister mentioned that you went searching for him." He did not hide the desperate curiosity in his tone.

"Ah yes, I am not surprised that this is foremost in your mind, sir." Mr Gardiner spoke in a voice full of discomfort, as if remembering the ordeal left an unpleasant taste in his mouth. "Well, once I had ascertained that the girls had left Mr Wickham out in the open in their haste to be away from him, I rushed to the scene. And he did cut a sorry figure. I must acknowledge that my next thoughts were very uncharitable, for I spied a tangle of limbs at the bottom of a very long set of steps, and Mr Wickham's face was slumped against a hard stone wall at the bottom. I could make out that his foot was bent awfully out of shape. And my first thought upon drawing closer was that his chances with any future ladies would certainly be dashed by his new facial structure. For I could not tell where the blood was coming from, nor could I really make out the shape of his nose."

Mr Darcy took no small amount of pleasure in hearing what had happened to his oldest friend - for it had been quite some time since George Wickham had lost that particular epithet. He bade Mr Gardiner to continue.

"He was groaning something awful - but given my protectiveness over the two young ladies in my care, I did not have the kindness to call for a doctor. Instead, I called for the constabulary and explained to them what had passed. I felt the punishment already dealt by my niece rather perfectly fit the crime, ensuring the only role he will be fit for in the future is far removed from the gentry. But I have since been reliably informed that he faces an extended sentence either in a regiment overseas - should his injuries heal sufficiently - or a spell in His Majesty's cells in London."

"Oh that is a relief. I was concerned I would be honour-bound to seek him out, lest he spread some dreadful rumours in his sorry state. And I am not sure my reputation or my sanity could have shouldered so much."

Mr Gardiner understood implicitly that this was Mr Darcy's method of sharing sincere thanks for his actions. He nodded his understanding.

"And what of Mrs Younge?" Mr Darcy pulled himself from his pessimistic imaginings of a future that his sister had been saved from to ask the question foremost in his mind.

"Of that, I am afraid I am less certain. I hope you will forgive the intrusion - it was well intentioned - I visited Anne Cottage yesterday whilst the girls were recovering here."

Mr Darcy sighed, and then nodded apologetically.

"She had, of course, vanished by the time I had arrived. Whether she had been involved or not, I do not know a single companion in this green country who would face one such as you in the aftermath of such an event as this. Be that as it may, when I quizzed the staff at your property it seemed that Mrs Younge had been aware of Mr Wickham's designs on your sister. In fact, he visited Miss Darcy once during her visit, and the staff mentioned that he was known to her - in fact they were very friendly together."

"Dang and blast it!" Mr Darcy exclaimed, rather noisily and uncharacteristically. "To think, she had me fooled. To think that I hired the woman who was most uniquely advantageous in proximity to that man to deal myself and my sister the most damage of all."

"She was rather convincing, Mr Darcy. I myself understood her to be upstanding upon interviewing her when Miss Darcy visited us the first time. How could you have known?"

Mr Darcy had his head weighing heavily in his hands, and Mr Gardiner placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"We must both learn to live with that particular lapse in judgement, Mr Darcy. I know I shall regret my assumption of her good character for a time to come. Still, we must take comfort in the fact that there was no great harm done to either of our charges. And we must remain vigilant of Mrs Younge. I did notify the local officials of her character, and we must hope that will be sufficient to prevent any other charges falling foul to her schemes."

"I suppose you are correct. It is probably for the best, for I do not know what I would do should our paths cross again."

"Do not carry this too heavily, Mr Darcy."

"I shall endeavour to do so. And I must thank you for your council." Mr Darcy's voice felt thick, as if milk was clouding his throat and preventing him speaking. He was awash with emotion, bathing in the strange feeling of a fellow adult shouldering some of his burden. It was not a common feeling for him to be looked after.

He cleared his throat gruffly, and the two men had a brief conversation about Mr Gardiner's business interests, mostly out of forced politeness and to fill the time, to begin with. However, Mr Darcy quickly became fascinated by this middle-aged gentleman who had been raised by parents of so little means, and had built what could perhaps not yet be called an empire, but perhaps a colony, of fabric warehouses in London's East End. The business of fabric was not one entirely familiar to the wealthy landowner from Derbyshire, but was nonetheless extremely profitable and had afforded Mr Gardiner a route to provide for his wife and family, whom by all appearances he shared a genuine and mutual affection. Whilst he was not quite in the humour to be genial, his spirits brightened sufficiently during their short conversation that he gave the gentleman one of his calling cards and an instruction to write him with more details of his various holdings and the hope that they would learn more from each other going forwards.

Thinking of the gentleman's confounding niece, he wasn't sure if his offer had been entirely altruistic. She had piqued his interest where no young bachelorette, no matter how accomplished or noble, had thus far managed. He would not own to it, but the inducement to get to know this woman for whom Georgiana cared so deeply, and to whom he was so inexplicably drawn, was almost forefront in his mind when he made the offer to her uncle for a cautious friendship. He was clearly incapable of talking to her, that much had been laid clear.

The two men nodded respectfully to each other, and Darcy made to wait for Georgiana outside. The sooner they could be en route to London, the calmer and brighter he would feel. His brain was clouded by the fear of nearly losing his sister to such a man, and he had been truly off-balanced by his sister's beautiful and confounding friend. Even though her relatives had been staying in an unfashionable part of the area, and their clothes and conversation had belied their rank as tradespeople, they had provided for him a service he doubted he would ever repay. Not least the young woman who had unsettled him so quickly. She had upended Mr Wickham, dealt him injuries he himself had long since wished to deliver, and removed his sister from harm's way, and all in an afternoon. She was a force of nature, and he was not yet decided as to whether this was to her credit or to her parents' shame.

~:~

No short amount of tears were exchanged by the two new friends as the younger prepared to depart. Promises were made to continue their friendship through correspondence. Directly before leaving, Georgiana coloured gently before apologising on her brother's behalf again.

"I am so sorry for my brother and all that he said," she began earnestly. "He has been under a lot of stress since our father passed away, and I am certain he is not at his best today. I am sorry that he offended you."

"Do not fret, dear Georgie," came the response from her friend. "If I were to be offended by every person who deemed their situation in life to be above my own, I would spend little time being anything else."

"Yes, well even if you feign indifference, his words were at best impolite and at worst a true slight. And I know he would be mortified to have spoken so out of turn. It is not his usual manner."

"You do not have to own your brother's behaviour, my dear," her friend coached. "I am touched that you care so much for our good opinion of one another, and I of course will respect him for your sake. Perhaps we shall meet again when he is in better humour, and then we can put your theory of your brother's countenance to the test?"

"Oh that is a brilliant idea," she replied. "It would bring me all of the joy I could have to host you at Pemberley. Or to visit you and your family in Hertfordshire. I would like that very much indeed."

"If you were to join us in Longbourn, I think we could test your courage rather than my opinion of your brother. Five sisters can be rather fearsome! Perhaps that is what trained me to stand up to our adversary this week."

"I am glad that you are able to jest about that ordeal now. Although I think it may take me a while longer to recover."

"Well, fortunately for you my friend, you will have plenty of time with your brother to do just that. I must say I envy you the peace and quiet of your lovely Pemberley," Elizabeth said, a hint of jest in her tone.

"And I in turn will envy you the distraction that five sisters provide. But I have one more thing to share before I take my leave," Georgiana said, and pulled a small sketch book from the folds of her skirts. It comprised all of five sheets of thick paper, and on the pages were five beautiful sketches, rendered in watercolour, of the sights of Ramsgate. On the last page, Georgiana had faithfully captured a moment shared between friends, on a walk by the beach. The resemblance was uncanny, and Elizabeth was flattered to receive such a personal gift, created at great effort on her friend's part. And she would have a faithful likeness of Georgiana to take with her back to Longbourn. She expressed her delight to her friend, and Georgiana asked if a hug could be permitted. The two friends said farewell and promised once again to remain up to date via correspondence.