Imperative: Volume 1, A Tale of Pride and Prejudice (145 page)

“I did.”  He admitted and spoke quietly.  “I hated the thought of you marrying below yourself and I . . . knew the benefit it would bring to Pemberley . . .   I will not make excuses.  I was overbearing, cruel, angry . . .  I am grateful that you indeed came to your senses, because look at the woman you have married.” 

“Thank you.”  Darcy smiled and rubbed his ring.  His eye caught the glint of gold from his signet ring and he looked back up.  “But . . . the change in the entailment?  That was done because of my possibly marrying Anne?” 

“I am sure that had something to do with it.  I will not pretend to understand everything of my brother’s thinking.”  He closed his eyes and Darcy decided that the subject was far too painful to continue. 

By way of distraction, Darcy stood and poured out some port for them both, and looked back up at the landscape as he returned to his seat.  “I love that view of the estate.” 

Twisting his neck, Judge Darcy nodded.  “As do I.  I noticed through the years that you would often spend your time sitting there.”

“Hours on my own as a boy, far away but still within sight of the house, so I was safe.”  Darcy smiled and nodded at the painting.  “That is why I love it, the first sight of Pemberley is there.  I wait for it to come, you burst through the endless trees and suddenly . . . there it all is, laid out before you.  This is what our family has worked for and I am the temporary caretaker until the next man comes along.  I cannot wait to meet him and teach him all that I know, and all that I have yet to learn.”  He shook his head as his eyes roamed over the view. “I will not allow Wickham and Christmas to take the significance of that place from me.” 

Judge Darcy nearly choked on his wine.  “Pardon?  What do you mean?”

“Oh . . . I am sorry, the theory could be entirely wrong but it makes so much sense.  Richard and I feel that it was Christmas
and
Wickham who were here when the accident occurred.”  Darcy pointed to the spot where the carriage came to a rest.  “We think that Christmas was standing there, in the midst of an argument with Wickham.  We discovered that he had been calling on my cook at Darcy House, and asking odd questions about Georgiana, and then one day, his last visit I believe, he brought up Wickham in the conversation.  Our cook knew little of him, but that one mention is what piqued our thinking.  We have decided that Christmas knew something of Wickham’s seduction of Georgiana, and . . . perhaps even knew where he was . . . well in any case, we decided that he was blackmailing Wickham somehow and that if he wanted money, there is only one place for Wickham to get it, from me.  Probably blackmailing me to keep it quiet, and then paying his booty to Christmas.”  He shrugged.  “It is a theory, right or wrong, it . . . it makes me feel better to have something . . . I can think of no other reason for Christmas to be here.  Can you?”  He picked up his glass and took a sip, and they both started when there was a knock at the door.  “Come!”

“Fitzwilliam?”  Georgiana peeked inside.  “Are you busy?”

“No, no, not at all!”  He stood and saw her holding her new bonnet.  “Are you going somewhere?”

“Elizabeth just gave me all of the beautiful things that you bought for me and I . . . I just wanted to thank you so much!”  She hugged him.  “It was such a wonderful surprise.”  Turning to her uncle, she smiled.  “I think that Aunt was a little jealous, she was holding up the dresses to herself in the mirror.”

“Was she now?”  He laughed.  “Well I suppose that is a pointed hint to send my dear wife to the dressmaker’s with my purse.”

“Did Aunt Susan put you up to this, Georgiana?”  Darcy smiled.

“No!”  Her eyes widened.

“We are just teasing you; show us your new bonnet.”  She put it on and tied the ribbon.  Darcy stepped back and looked at her critically.  “Lovely.” 

“I concur.”  Judge Darcy smiled.

“Sir?  The post has . . .” Evans stopped in mid-sentence and scanned over the desk, not an inch of uncovered wood could be found.  “Where on earth will you put it?”

“Now that is a good question.”  Darcy sighed and sat back down.  “Is it all for me?”

“No, sir.”  Evans looked through the envelopes.  “I would say that almost all of it is for Mrs. Darcy, no.”  He handed an envelope to Georgiana, “here is one for you, Miss.”

“Oh, thank you!”  She laughed.  “It is probably one of my friends from school.  I am owed several letters and this feels quite thick.  May I go read it, Brother?”

“Of course.”  He smiled when she left and held out his hand.  “I will take mine and . . . please give Mrs. Darcy hers, along with my apologies, I am afraid that I will be working for some time.”

“And that is my cue to retire.”  Judge Darcy followed Evans to the door.

“No, Uncle, I am not tossing you out.”  Darcy set down his letters.  “Please, you are welcome to stay.”

“No, you have a great deal to accomplish if you insist on making this journey . . . and it should be soon by the looks of things.  My offer stands.”  He stood by the open door and nodded.

“I understand sir, and thank you.”  He thought of the bulge in his sister’s belly and then looked at the mess on his desk.  “I suppose I had better get to work.” 

GEORGIANA SAT in a chair opposite the unlit fireplace in her father’s old study.  The unopened envelope sat in her lap.  “George.”  She whispered and touched it, then quickly drew her finger away as if she had felt a shock.  She had instantly recognized his distinctive handwriting.  “What should I do?”  She looked up at the empty spot on the wall, her emotions tumbling as memories of the man she thought was her husband filled her mind even as the baby he had fathered moved in her belly.  Placing her hand over the spot, she whispered again, “What should I do?” 

Chapter 44

E
lizabeth sadly patted the trunk of an enormous oak marked for slaughter by the King’s men, and looked through the branches of the snow-covered trees to the river winding through the valley below. “What is that down there?  I recognize the cider mill, but I do not remember seeing that building in the distance?” 

Distracted from thoughts of expanding the walnut groves, Darcy followed Elizabeth’s pointing finger.  “It is our brewery.  We make all of the ale and cider for the estate there.  Do you see the men working?  We are just increasing the capacity a bit.” 

She looked at him speculatively, “Are you thirsty?” 

“Well, I have to be prepared in case Richard visits.”  Darcy smiled when she laughed, and holding her hand, he helped her to climb over a large boulder.  Before she could jump, he put his hands on her waist and lifted her down.  Her already pink face coloured a little more and taking her hand, he squeezed it as the walk continued.  “You are not used to being helped during your excursions.”

“I am not used to having a gentleman walking with me.”  She looked up at him and he nodded shyly while focussing on the path ahead.  “We needed this.”

“We need a lifetime of this.  I never dreamed of spending time outdoors with my wife in this way.  This is a gift.”  He saw her face colour more as her eyes cast down, but felt her hand squeeze his.  “It bothered me more than I can say to hear you confess to not feeling at home here.”

“I am so sorry, Will . . .”

“Shh, no, I . . . there is no fault, just a complete absence of opportunity.”  His lips lifted a little and she nodded, her smile matching his.  “I want to show you as much as I can before we go.”

Her head tilted, “On foot?  Is that not inefficient?”

“What better way to know every rock and tree?  Besides, riding is a challenge for us both right now.  Careful love!”  Elizabeth stumbled and his eyes twinkled when he stopped her from falling.  Embarrassed, she turned her head to glare at the root, and he tugged her hand.   “Perhaps we
should
have ridden?”

Smiling ruefully, she brushed her free hand over her coat.  “It seems that walking is enough of a challenge, I do not anticipate climbing atop a horse.  At least
you
know what you are doing.”

“Well, we will work on that in Scotland, we will have plenty of time to do so.”  His resigned look prompted Elizabeth’s arms to wrap around his waist.  “Thank you, dearest.”  His arm went around her shoulders and they leaned against each other as they walked on in silence through the trees.

“Will, have you noticed that something seems to be on Georgiana’s mind today?” 

“You mean besides the obvious issues?” 

“Yes.”  Elizabeth watched him thinking and then saw his head shake.  “I am probably imagining things.  I am sure that it is just the mood fluctuations that are common with her condition.” 

His brow creased as he read the concern in her eyes.  “Shall I speak to her?” 

“I will, I just thought that I would ask you before I said anything.”  He nodded and she continued, “Judy and Jennifer tell me that the only person who seems to be suspicious is Mrs. Reynolds, but she has not thought of pregnancy, only a problem with her weight, which is probably not surprising given Georgiana’s ravenous appetite.  The rest of the maids do not have much contact with her, and if they do, she is almost always seated.  We were right to replace Betsy.”

He nodded, “I think that keeping it from Mrs. Reynolds is key; she would not be able to hide her distress from anyone.  As for the rest of the staff, Parker says the same as Judy, and of course the footmen only see her at mealtimes.   I suppose that we saw the change more clearly after being away and also because we are looking for it.  How long do you think we have before we must depart?”

“Aunt Susan says not to delay more than two weeks, although the pregnant stay I brought her from London might help to contain her shape a little longer as she continues to increase.”  Darcy’s expression became blank and he looked back out over the property.  “She offered again to go in our stead.”

“As did Uncle.”   He said softly.  “I cannot give up my responsibility for her.”

“Perhaps . . . perhaps they could come for a visit sometime; and . . . we might return here for a week or two?  We have four months of waiting.  Perhaps sometime in May . . .” Reading the conflict in his face, she hugged him.  “Think about it, dear.  We may welcome the respite by then.  Or if you prefer, you could come home alone and I could remain . . .” His unhappy look stopped her in mid-sentence.  “It was merely a thought; I know that there is much for you to do.”

“We will cross that bridge when we come to it.  In the meantime, when we return today I will write the letters to reserve our rooms and then prepare for the changes as we make our journey.”  Sighing, he focussed back on the path and seeing where they were, he steered her down through the trees.  To her surprise, they stepped out onto the gravelled drive to Pemberley House.  Within moments they had crossed and stood at the spot of the accident.  He could feel her tension increasing with every step and taking a position standing directly behind her, rubbed her shoulders.  “Relax, love.”  He said softly. 

“If I had known that your suggestion for a walk would lead us here . . .
Must
we do this, Will?”  Elizabeth stood with her arms firmly hugging her body and her eyes tightly closed. 

Darcy looked around the brim of her bonnet.  “Yes, we must.  If you do not face this now, I will forever be clasping you to my chest when we come home, and while I really do not mind providing you comfort at any opportunity, I would rather you not be haunted with a memory I would like to forget.”

“So my fear forces you to relive it when you are trying to let the experience go?”

“Essentially, yes.”  He smiled when she turned.  “So the impetus is on you to exorcise your fear so that I may relieve mine.”

Studying him, she watched his eyes.  “Are you afraid, standing here?”
He quickly looked out to the manor below, “That is not the subject of this conversation.”

“It most certainly is!”

“But
I
am willing to stand here.”  His brows lifted and firmly, he grasped her shoulders and turned her around.  “Look out at that view, how could anything there cause fear?” 

She sighed, “It is not the view.  It is what lies below our feet . . .”

“And what is there?”  Taking her hand, he led her, pulled her really, towards the very edge.  “Trees.” 

“Rocks.”  She drew a shaky breath and he squeezed her hand hard.  “Jagged, evil . . .”

“But trees cover the rocks, and the trees saved me from falling further.” 

“I believe it was your becoming wedged in a crevice that kept you from falling further, and kept you from being found . . . evil rocks.”

“
You
found me.”   His head tilted and she looked down at her feet.  Seeing the sheer drop again, she quickly looked back up to focus on the house.  Darcy’s laugh just raised her ire and he hopped a little when she stomped on his boot.  “Careful, love.  Parker will have your head if you scuff those.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake!”  She crossed her arms defensively again and he immediately wrapped his arms around her.  “Why can I not harbour an unreasonable fear?”  He laughed again and hugged her even tighter.  “You are no help at all.”

“I think that I am a great deal of help.  You see, you are already calling your fear unreasonable.  What shall you call it in the next five minutes?”  He kissed her cheek.  “Are you not the one who tells me to remember the past as it gives me pleasure?  Well, the pleasure that I derive from this place is that I am alive to hold you in this absolutely wonderful manner, to look out over our home, and know that I have years and years of teasing you ahead of me.” 

“You would not know how to tease if I had not taught you.”  She glanced at the smiling man whose face was pressed to hers.  “I think that I made a great mistake.”

“So you can dole it out but not take it, Mrs. Darcy?” 

“I can take anything that you are willing to deliver, Mr. Darcy.”  Again his face lit up with a wide smile.  “Oh heavens, would you please stop looking so handsome when I want to be angry with you!  What idea has come to your mind?”  She gasped as his hand clasped over hers and he began running back across the drive and into the walnut grove.   “Will!”  She squealed.