They had been pushing the horses as much as they could without more light.
"We will have to rest them soon sir."
"I know that!" Darcy instantly regretted his tone; it was not Wilke's fault they were moving intolerably slowly. He forced himself to speak more evenly. "A little further and then we will stop. Hopefully…" Suddenly he felt a surge of emotion from Georgiana as she went into a dive. He stood up in the stirrups "NO!"
He felt her change direction and sat down with a sigh of relief before saying to Wilkes, "Georgiana is coming for me. Once I am gone, please rest the horses and then return them." [i]
"Yes, Sir."
"Thank you, Wilkes. I appreciate all you have done tonight."
"I hope it all works out for the best, Sir."
Georgiana approached, and rather than stopping for him to mount simply picked him up with her claws and flew back in the direction she had come. It was a most undignified way to fly but that was the least of his worries. She was holding him by the back of his coat and he could only hope and pray that the stitching would hold.
Luckily the flight was not long and she was soon diving toward a widow. Realizing her intent, Darcy stuck out his feet and she sent him crashing through the window. [ii]
He landed on his feet barely catching his balance as he realized who he was facing. "Wickham!"
Several things seem to happen simultaneously. Georgiana had circled and landed on the Balcony. Wickham tried to grab Euphrosyne from Miss Bennet who was sitting on the floor cuddling her. Miss Bennet clung to Euphrosyne. Wickham pulled hard making the fledgling screech and Miss Bennet scream. Georgiana tried to launch herself through the window toward Wickham. Darcy threw himself in front of her, "NO!" Her beak cut into his cheek, making a large gash. Her regret washed over him even as he tried to make her feel his understanding, that it was not her fault, that she must take flight immediately "GO!" Georgiana flew away. Mrs. Younge slipped out of the room. Miss Bennet kicked Wickham in the leg and pulled Euphrosyne away from his grasp. Darcy lunged at Wickham and pressed him hard against the wall holding him there.
For a moment no one moved. Then Mr. Wickham smiled. "Quite a wound you've got there Darcy. That bird of yours is even more violent than I remember."
"She was only trying to defend her child." Miss Bennet hissed at him.
"Do you think there's a magistrate in the land who would care about that? A griffin who is capable of wounding a human is dangerous, Miss Bennet, and her own bonded too. He shook his head as if the idea grieved him.
"Do you think," Darcy growled "You would have the chance to come forward with your testimony? You would never make it to the magistrate to tell your tale or ever be heard from again."
Wickham narrowed his eyes, "Even if you had it in you to do something like that, you aren't that powerful, Darcy."
"But my uncle is and he would love to have an excuse to get rid of you. He has never forgotten your trick."
Wickham paled.
A strange man entered the room. "What is all this?"
The distraction was enough that Wickham broke free and ran out the door.
"He has a knife!" shouted Miss Bennet, "He cut my husband!"
Darcy attempted to look as if this were not new information. He knew she was only saying it for Georgiana's sake but hearing her call him her husband had almost made him smile. How had she come up with that story so quickly?
"I don't care about your lover's quarrel! Whose go'n pay for my window? That's what I wanna know!"
Darcy pulled a coin purse from his pocket and tossed it to him. The man poured the coins into his palm and tested the weight. Darcy knew it was more than what it would cost to repair the widow. He looked Darcy and Miss Bennet up and down. Probably noticing that even though they were rumpled and mussed their clothes were well made and spoke of their genteel status. Darcy glowered at him. The man shrugged, tucked the coin purse away, turned, and left.
Darcy breathed a sigh of relief and sat down without thinking what he was doing. "I am sorry you were exposed to all of this."
She sat beside him, balancing Euphrosyne on her lap, and held a handkerchief to the cut on his face. She was so close he could feel her breathing. "This should be looked at by a healer, or an apothecary."
"I can not risk their recognizing the true nature of the wound."
She did not reply but continued to hold the handkerchief to his face. It was such a comforting gesture, that he was tempted to close his eyes and lean back in the bed. The bed! They were alone in a room, in a disreputable Inn, sitting on a bed." He jumped quickly to his feet wishing to apologize but fearing he might only make things worse. "We should get back."
"Yes." Did he imagine a touch of reluctance in her tone? It was probably just fatigue.
He crossed to the window to study the balcony then turned back to Miss Bennet, "This balcony is large enough for a perch but it would be difficult to mount Georgiana from here, especially while holding Euphrosyne. I am afraid we will have to go out the front door."
Miss Bennet laughed, "Well, that is the customary way to exit a building."
"Yes, but I would have preferred to avoid… That is, after what you said, that man will think you were involved in scandalous activity, and I came after you."
"Ah, I know you abhor disguise of every sort. It must have shocked you my lying so easily."
"As to abhorring disguise of every sort, I stand corrected, I am more grateful than I can say for your having protected Georgiana. I was only concerned for your reputation."
"No one paid any attention to me when I came in. I think if you march out of here with an angry scowl and I follow, hiding my face as if in shame, that will be the end of it."
"That would only reinforce the impression that I am dragging you home in shame."
"Yes, and Mr. Darcy of Pemberley is single."
Darcy could not be comfortable with the idea but as he had no better alternative, he agreed, and they did as she suggested. A few people glanced in his direction, but his angry continence was enough to put them off. He had only to think of the way Mrs. Younge had deceived him to be sure of his expression remaining dreadful.
Once they were outside Miss Bennet said, "The place Georgiana landed before is not far off it is out of sight of the Inn."
"Good. She will meet us there." He gestured for her to lead the way.
Darcy was not in the habit of sharing his thoughts before coming to a decision but Miss Bennet at proven herself resourceful and this involved her too. "Miss Bennet, in light of tonight's events, I think it would be best for the safety of our bondeds if we reach Pemberly as quickly as possible."
"How soon can we be there?"
"If instead of going to bed at all, we leave early this morning, and do not encounter any unnecessary delays, we ought to be able to reach Pemberly in time for a late dinner."
"I will be glad to be on the road as soon as possible. I do not mind traveling so long in one day."
"I am glad of it, but it would also mean traveling without a chaperone. I cannot think of any way of replacing Mrs. Younge so quickly and having been so completely misled as to her character, I would not wish to rush the process."
"Of course. Rachel will have to do for now."
"Your maid? It could be argued that she is loyal to you."
"That is true, but our priority must be to reach Pemberley. If anyone learns of our traveling with only my maid and decides to make trouble, we will face the ramifications when they come."
"Very well." Once again, he was agreeing to that which he did not like for lack of a better idea. What was he going to do, propose again, just as they had been getting along? No matter how he phrased it she would believe him to be doing it for the sake of propriety rather than because he admired and loved her.
By now they had reached their destination and Georgiana joined them.
"I will need to make a sling for Phrosy."
"May I be of assistance?"
"Yes but turn around first."
He did as she asked and when he turned back, she had removed a skirt that had been covering the one modified for flying. There had been no real reason for him to turn around, but he supposed she would have felt as if she were undressing in front of him. He helped her tie the extra skirt around herself so that she could carry Euphrosyne safely while riding. Trying to ignore the way it brought them into such close proximity. When it was ready for her to tuck Euphrosyne in, she paused and looked up at him. "I think she will let you hold her while I mount if you are willing."
Darcy caught his breath, "I would be honored, deeply honored." He whispered. "But are you sure? I would not want to upset her." [iii]
Euphrosyne looked at him and made a tiny chipping noise. It almost sounded like a noise Georgiana sometimes made when she wanted to encourage him. Miss Bennet placed her in his arms and he rocked her gently. It had been so long since Georgiana had been this small. He would never have expected to hold one so tiny again. She purred. Remarkable. It was only a minute or so before he passed her back to Miss Bennet.
He swallowed a sudden lump in his throat. "Now that there is not so much rush you do not have to lean forward if you do not wish to. You may find it more comfortable to sit up straight."
Once again, he watched Georgiana fly off with Miss Bennet but this time it was with a sigh of relief, knowing they were safe.
i The bond Griffin's have with their human is even stronger than for their offspring. Darcy's reaction is likely the only reason Georgiana changed direction.
ii Their being able to execute such a move would seem to prove that Wickham didn't do any permanent damage to their bond.
iii It is extremely rare for a griffin this young to let someone else hold them besides their bonded. In the few cases where this has happened, it has been a close family member or spouse who their bonded trusts.