Netherfield Park Quarantined (10 page)

“I am surprised at Lord Matlock’s behavior.” Darcy stated, looking at his
cousin. “Why would your father believe his sister’s foolishness?”

“Father has been ill. He has not wished anyone to know, but he had a
bout of apoplexy. It was mild, and he has recovered. Now he wishes to see
everything in his life set in perfect order, in case he were to die any day.
Father knows Aunt Catherine is off her rocker, but he wishes to see Anne
protected in marriage and you settled down and taking your rightful place in
society. You have kept out of Town as much as possible to avoid society. My
father does not understand why you would throw all of that away.”

“What do we need to do to make him understand the truth of the
matter?” Darcy asked.

“We will need to make him see how happy you are in your marriage and
that your wife is not taking you for your money and nothing more. I can see
the devotion each of you have for each other, if only my father could see this.”
Richard smiled as he spoke.

Bingley chuckled. “I never would have believed our boy, here, would
ever be such a besotted puppy, but you can see for yourself, he is so. And
Elizabeth is very much in love with him. When he took ill, she was beside him
night and day, tending to his every need. She is completely devoted to Darce.”

“Well, then, I have only two objections to this marriage. The first is that
my cousin has yet to introduce me to his very beautiful wife, and the second is
that I did not met her first.” Richard bowed as he joked to his cousin.

“Forgive me, Richard, but with such beauty before me, I cannot help but
ignore such a rough looking scoundrel such as you. And I am pleased you did
not meet her first. With your easy way of charming the ladies, I would never
have stood a chance.” Darcy said and he stood with his wife. “Lizzy, dearest,
this is our cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam. Richard, this beautiful
enchantress before you is Mrs Elizabeth Darcy, nee Bennet, formerly of
Longbourn estate, which is the nearest neighbor of Bingley’s estate.”

“Mrs Darcy, it is a pleasure to meet you. If the sour demeanor of my
cousin becomes too great for you, please know you are welcome to turn to me
to lighten the load.”

“Colonel, I have heard many stories of your childhood years with my
husband. If only half of the stories are true, I am amazed either of you
survived your youth. It is a pleasure to meet you. I know you are a dear
friend to my husband.”

“And I share guardianship of your new sister as well. Uncle Gerald
determined it would be best for William and I to hold the position rather than
our elders, which was a major bone of contention with my father and our
aunt.” Richard laughed.

“Colonel, would you like something to eat? We ate at Longbourn, but I
am sure my staff could put something together for you.” Bingley said.
“Bingley, I would be grateful for any morsels you could come up with.”
~~ ** ~~

The following morning, the Netherfield party had made its way to
Longbourn, to discuss with Mr Bennet the news from London. Not long after
everyone had enjoyed a midday meal, Darcy’s personal courier was shown
into the dining room.

“Mr Darcy, I have urgent news. It is Miss Darcy.” Timmy said as he held
out the letter that had been delivered to Darcy House earlier that day.

Darcy and Richard were on their feet in seconds, making their way
around the table to the courier. Darcy took the letter and began to silently
read. Richard had been reading over his cousin’s shoulder and fury was
apparent upon his expression.

“Good God, you should have allowed me to deal with that scoundrel
years ago.” Richard spat out. “When I get my hands on him, I promise you this
much, he will never bother us again.”

“William, what has happened?” Elizabeth asked as she moved towards
her husband.

“Georgiana has been abducted, by a man I have known all of my life. Mr
Bennet, might we go to your study to discuss this situation further?” Darcy
asked his father in law.

“Of course.” Mr Bennet moved towards the door of the dining room.

As soon as the men and Elizabeth were seated in the study, Elizabeth
asked her husband who the man was. Darcy stood and began to pace about
the room.

“George Wickham is the son of my father’s steward. Mr Wickham was a
good man, and a loyal employee. In honor of Mr Wickham’s dedication to
Pemberley, my father became George’s godfather. George is a year younger
than I am, and we were friends when we were children. My father paid for
George to attend school and the university, receiving the education of a
gentleman. Mr Wickham was grateful for all my father promised his son,
grateful for the advantages George would have to make his future a promising
one. Unfortunately, Mr Wickham died during George’s first year at the
university. George’s mother wished to live close to her son, so my father
purchased a small house that was less than a mile from the university.”

“Mrs Wickham was a greedy woman. She felt she should have received
more from my father, more than a house to live in and a monthly stipend to
live on. And she felt George was meant for far greater things. In her mind, the
reason my father paid for such a fine education for her son was to make him
more appropriate to match with my sister or other young ladies of the
ton
,
ladies who had large dowries or property. Mrs Wickham filled George’s head
with talk of his future, a future filled with all the advantages of the wealthy
and no effort on George’s part. He began to believe he was entitled to
everything, that he was owed the good life and need not put any work into
earning such a life.”

“When my father died, George was convinced my father would leave
him an estate or large amount of funds. My father bequeathed him a very
valuable living, if he chose to take orders, as well as a thousand pounds.
George had no intentions of taking orders, and I gladly gave him a monetary
settlement instead. He signed papers relinquishing any further rights to the
living, and received three thousand pounds settlement, in addition to the
original thousand pounds. I had hoped all connections between us to be
severed after he received the funds. Unfortunately, last spring, the living came
available and George showed up at Pemberley, demanding to have his
inheritance. I refused him the living as well as any further financial assistance,
which angered him. George began to accuse me of trying to destroy his future,
saying that I was jealous of his relationship with my father. It was obvious
George was delusional, for my father did not think as highly of the son as he
had Mr Wickham, and only did what he did out of respect for the father.”

“I had George removed from Pemberley, and I told him never to return
again. That is the last I heard from him, until this. He must believe he is
entitled to more from me. If he harms Georgiana, I will never forgive myself.”

Elizabeth turned towards Richard. “Why would you have wished to
harm this man prior to this event? You sounded as if there were something
more to this situation.”

Richard nodded his head. “George Wickham is not to be trusted around
young ladies. I spent a large portion of my childhood at Pemberley with
William, and I saw how Wickham treated the maids. Then, when we went to
the university, I learned the true nature of the animal Wickham had turned
out to be. One of my friends at the university had a very sweet and pretty
younger sister. Miss Roberta Meadows. When she was visiting, she met
Wickham. Two days later, she was raped and beaten to death. We could
never prove it, but I know it was Wickham who attacked her. He leered at her
when he met her, nearly salivating. After Miss Meadows was discovered,
Wickham had scratches on his neck and cuts on his hands. He claimed he had
been with a barmaid, and we could never prove differently. William and Mr
Meadows kept me from killing Wickham with my bare hands. I will not be
stopped this time though, especially if he harms Georgiana.”

“What is this man asking for the return of your sister?” Mr Bennet asked.

“He asks for my sister’s dowry, thirty thousand pounds. I would pay
that amount and more to bring Georgiana home safely, my only concern is
what he will do to her. I do not trust the man.”

“When will we leave for London?” Elizabeth asked.

 

“Lizzy, perhaps it would be better if you were to remain here, with your
family, until we return with Georgiana.” Darcy attempted to persuade his wife.

“No, William, I will be there with you. You need me there, even if it is
only to reassure you and give you comfort. Do not leave me behind. I wish to
do what I can to bring your sister home safely.” Elizabeth moved to Darcy’s
side, placing a hand gently on his arm. “Please, William, do not shut me from
your life. Allow me to be with you.”

Darcy nodded his head. “We had best return to Netherfield and pack
our belongings. We will leave for Town this afternoon.”

“If there is anything you need of me, William, you need only send word.”
Mr Bennet said and he shook his son in law’s hand in farewell. “Keep safe, and
watch over my daughter while you are retrieving your sister.”
“I will do everything to keep Elizabeth safe.”

“I trust you, William. Lizzy, you do what your husband tells you, for he
will do whatever he can to keep you from harm. Do not give him any
problems.” Mr Bennet embraced his daughter.

“Yes, Papa. I love you. We will send word as soon as we know what is
happening.” Elizabeth said as she placed a kiss on her father’s cheek.
“I love you, my Lizzy. Be safe.”

 

~~~~~~~ ** ~~~~~~~

 

Chapter 9

Darcy, Elizabeth and Richard were packed and their carriage was ready
to leave within an hour of their return to Netherfield. Bingley promised to
keep a close watch over Longbourn and the Bennets, as he planned to spend
as much time there as possible. He had acquired permission from Mr Bennet
to officially court Jane Bennet, and he intended to win her heart.

The carriage was off and Darcy sat beside his wife, his arm wrapped
around her, pulling her slender body to his. “Have no fear, my love. We will
find Georgiana and bring her home safely. Wickham will never again harm
our family.”

“I am worried. Not only because of Georgiana’s situation, but also your
aunt and her brother wishing to dissolve our marriage. It seems like everyone
is attempting to destroy our happiness.”

“Elizabeth, listen to your husband.” Richard chimed into the
conversation. “There is nothing to fear from my father and aunt, as there is
nothing legally they can do, and my father is very staunch about what others
think of him. He will not wish to do anything which will make the family look
bad in society. Lord Matlock does not wish to have any scandal touch the
family, and, with your marriage being publically announced in the papers, to
annul the marriage against your wishes, would cause a huge scandal.”

“And Lord Matlock has power over his sister, as he is the head of the
Fitzwilliam family. He will keep Lady Catherine from making a public scene.”
Darcy agreed with his cousin. “Once we have Georgiana with us, we will leave
Town and make our way to Pemberley. I want to go home with my two
favorite ladies and ignore the outside world as much as possible.”

“I would dearly love to hide away at Pemberley with you, William. From
everything you have told me of your estate, I can see myself living there,
happily, for many years to come.”

“It is our estate, my love. You are my wife, and what is mine, is yours. It
is your home, do not forget that.” Darcy said as he kissed Elizabeth’s lips, with
his cousin watching in shock. Richard would never have thought it possible
that his strict and proper cousin would behave in such a manner outside the
privacy of his home.

“Mrs Darcy, I do believe I have already witnessed a tremendous change
in my cousin’s behavior, and I am very pleased with what I have seen. I fully
support you and William, and pray you have a long and happy life together.”

~~ ** ~~

The feel of the carriage coming to a halt woke Darcy from the nap he
had unexpectedly taken. The feel of his wife’s warm body cuddled into him, as
his head rested on top of her hair, gave Darcy a sense of comfort he had never
known before meeting Elizabeth. A soft chuckle was heard from across the
carriage.

“You two have such an appearance of love. If I did not know better, I
would have thought you had been married for years.” Richard smiled as he
watched his cousin.

“With Elizabeth, I can speak openly, be myself. We have had our
misunderstandings, but have been able to talk about them and learned of our
mistaken beliefs. I feel as if I finally am whole, now that she is in my life.”

“I envy you, Wills. For the first time in my life, I wish I were you. I have
never wished for your money, or property, my family has its share of wealth
and things. But to be loved, to have a beautiful woman who cares for you in
such a way as Elizabeth obviously cares for you, that is the greatest treasure in
the world.”

“You are completely correct in that, cousin.” Darcy said as the door
opened on the carriage. Richard exited from inside first, and Darcy picked up
his wife in his arms, carrying her to the house. Inside the door, the butler and
housekeeper of Darcy House were waiting for them. “Mrs Whitaker, I hope
the Mistress’s suite is ready for my wife. She is exhausted, and I will take her
upstairs. I will then meet with you and Mr Crossman in my study. Richard,
you will join us, will you not?”

“Of course. I wish to send a message to Mother, so I will head to the
study to write it.” Richard walked quickly down the hall, while Darcy took the
stairs leading to the second floor, and down the hallway to the family wing.

~~ ** ~~
“So, Mrs Younge has vanished as well?” Darcy asked his housekeeper.

“Yes, Sir, we have had no word from your sister’s companion since the
abduction. When I searched Mrs Younge’s rooms, after we received the letter
from Mr Wickham, I have discovered most of her belongings are missing.
Yesterday, Mr Crossman saw her carrying a rather large box out of the house.
When he asked her if she needed assistance, she declined. Mrs Younge stated
the box contained several gifts for her sister and her children. When Mr
Crossman informed me of this, I thought it was peculiar, as I remember Mrs
Younge telling me, when I interviewed her, she had no family. She told me
that she had one sister, but that she had died five years ago, in a fire at her
family’s home. The sister, her husband and their three children were said to
have perished. That is not something I would easily forget, so when I heard
what Mrs Younge told Mr Crossman, I was instantly concerned.”