Chapter 18
The Bennet family was drinking tea in the Longbourn drawing room when Jane, all smiles, arrived from Netherfield to join them. Lizzy was ecstatic—the house had seemed empty without her sister.
Since the wedding, Lizzy had fought her curiosity and left the newlyweds alone. Now, she had a thousand things she wanted to talk to Jane about. But she gave her sister space to visit with the family first.
“Where is my dear Bingley?” Mrs. Bennet poured tea for Jane. “Why is he not with you?”
“Mr. Darcy has returned from London.” Jane accepted the cup of pekoe. “He wishes to discuss some things with Bingley. So I thought this would be a good time to visit with all of you.”
Excitement shimmered through Lizzy at the news. Darcy back at Netherfield! She longed to see him. The week without him had left her feeling like part of her was missing.
“Did he find the maid?” she asked her sister.
Jane nodded. “He brought Minnie back with him. Mr. Darcy assured me that she corroborated everything I said about Mr. Wickham.”
Lizzy was glad but not surprised to hear that. The real question was, had Minnie said anything about Caroline’s involvement? That was the part Lizzy was eager to know.
“I’m relieved,” Mr. Bennet said. “I know you’re a good girl, Jane. Now the gossips can finally be silenced.”
“I doubt anything will silence some of them, Papa.” Jane spoke without rancour. “At least Bingley and his sisters know the truth.”
“Have his sisters returned from town?” Mrs. Bennet asked.
“They arrived with Mr. Hurst last night. Caroline and Louisa seem to be quarrelling about something, though I can’t work out what. Caroline looks pale and tired. A stomach complaint, I think.”
“Not the happy home you wished, then.” Lizzy sipped her tea.
Jane gave her a thin smile. “My expectations were not high.”
Mr. Bennet eyed his eldest daughter with concern and no little amount of fondness. “You and Bingley are welcome to move in here any time you like, my dear.”
Pensively, Jane nodded. “Caroline and the Hursts will go back to Grosvenor Street for Christmastide. Mr. Darcy has invited Bingley and me to join him at Darcy House.”
“Oh, how lovely!” Joy filled Lizzy’s heart at the prospect. “Will Miss Darcy be there?”
“I believe so.” A calm smile crossed Jane’s face. “She’s a sweet girl.”
“I’m eager to know her better.” Lizzy blushed at her own words. She quickly changed the subject, turning to her father. “Papa, we must do something to thank Mr. Darcy for restoring Jane’s good name.”
“A ball!” Lydia suggested. “We could hold a ball in his honour, and invite all the officers.”
“A ball for a man who hates to dance,” Lizzy said wryly.
Lydia countered, “At the wedding, he liked dancing with you well enough.”
A thrill shot through Lizzy at the recollection. Her skin grew hot. The desire to be close to him again was almost unbearable.
As much as Lizzy would enjoy a ball, it wasn’t what Darcy would wish. Perhaps she and her father could come up with a better choice to show their gratitude.
After tea, Mrs. Bennet and her younger daughters went out visiting. Two strapping footmen accompanied them as a precaution against Wickham’s wrath. Former military men patrolled the perimeter around Longbourn. A butler had been hired temporarily to ward off any unwanted visitors.
Lizzy and Jane stayed behind at the house and chatted for a long while about married life. They sat together in Lizzy’s bedroom for privacy, warming themselves by the fire. Jane satisfied most of Lizzy’s curiosity but kept some details private.
At last, the conversation turned to the morning’s events. Lizzy asked, “Have you any idea what role Miss Bingley played in Mr. Wickham’s trickery?”
Jane’s eyes grew serious. “Mr. Darcy didn’t say. But he seemed very grim.”
“That’s worrying.” Lizzy was overwhelmed by the desire to see Darcy. Not just to learn what he’d discovered, but to soothe and drive away his cares.
“Do you think we could go to Netherfield?” she asked, losing patience, drawing her blue paisley India shawl closer around her. “Or will Bingley call on you here?”
“I think we had better wait.” Jane gave her a knowing smile. “I had the impression they required privacy.”
“Protecting your delicate sensibilities, I suppose.”
“Yes, but…” Jane’s fingers worried the lace of her gown.
“Lizzy, I fear it’s something truly bad.
The expression on Mr. Darcy’s face! There was no triumph in it.
Not like one might expect, after discovering what he’d searched for these past weeks.
I can’t imagine what awful things Mr. Wickham must have done to affect him so. ”
Chills ran through Lizzy at the prospect of it. Wickham had already harmed the Darcys through his scheme to elope with Georgiana. What might he have done to make it worse?
She remembered what Jane had said about Caroline’s stomach complaint. That, plus Caroline’s visit to the midwife…
Could that be Wickham’s hold over her? Might she be carrying Wickham’s child?
Lizzy didn’t want to think it, no matter what Caroline had done. Lizzy would put the idea out of her mind—at least until she learnt the truth.
∞∞∞
In the study at Netherfield, Darcy and Bingley sat in leather club chairs by the fireplace. Pine green walls contrasted with the wainscotting, painted a pale buff. The masculine room was illuminated by the dim light from two tall windows. The desk and pedimented bookcases were a sturdy oak.
Darcy poured more brandy into gleaming crystal snifters for himself and Bingley. If he was counting correctly, this was number three.
Neither of them spoke for a long time. Instead, Bingley stared at the painting of a hunting party on the opposite wall. While Bingley came to terms with the new facts, Darcy swirled his drink and considered his future.
Wickham was his brother. Darcy felt no familial responsibility towards the reprobate. He did, however, feel an obligation towards the baby Caroline carried.
He was less than convinced that Minnie was telling the truth about her babe’s parentage. Yet he was horrified that his own niece or nephew might grow up in her care.
“How did it come to this?” Bingley’s words drew Darcy from his reverie, his voice tight, his expression shattered. “What could have made Caroline so desperate?”
Darcy’s tone was flat, exhaustion seeping into his veins. “I’ve asked the same questions about Wickham a thousand times. We were friends once, and now he has become utterly debased. It’s impossible to know why. All we can do is move forward.”
“I can’t believe she’s irredeemable.” Bingley grew more animated. “She became obsessed. Even Louisa didn’t realise how bad it was. But marriage and motherhood will turn her attention in the right direction.”
The words sounded more hopeful than sensible. Yet in Caroline’s case, Darcy supposed they might be true. Her education had taught that the sole measure of female success was to marry and raise children. He’d never heard her voice a hope for any other future.
He couldn’t imagine Elizabeth conforming to such a conventional view. True, she would make an excellent wife and mother. But she was also learning about managing her father’s estate. She had a curiosity about the world Caroline didn’t share.
That was one of the many reasons he loved Elizabeth. And Georgiana was fond of her, too. They would make a happy little family, just the three of them, until the children started coming along. But he’d begun to envision a new sort of family—and he had no idea whether Elizabeth would consent.
“I’m not accustomed to this.” Bingley picked up his glass, then set it down again without drinking. “I’m the younger brother. I’ve never made demands on Caroline. She understands the rules of propriety. Outwardly, she has always followed them with no prompting from me.”
“It’s not an easy ordeal you face.”
Bingley shook his head, but determination set his features. “Her deceit has left me no choice. Only one thing will protect the family name. And by Zeus she will do it, or I’ll cut her off.”
∞∞∞
Caroline returned from a shopping trip to Meryton to find the house abuzz. Darcy was back at Netherfield! Her heart lurched at the news. Finally, she would have her chance.
She hovered outside the study where he was holed up with Charles. The murmur of voices from inside the room penetrated the closed door, but she could make out no words.
She gave up her fruitless eavesdropping. Instead, she put her time to better use. She ordered mulled wine to be delivered to her boudoir that evening. The spices would help cover up the taste of the laudanum, if it came to that.
Looking through her wardrobe, she searched for a gown suitable for seduction.
She chose a white silk Grecian-style confection—which she would wear without a petticoat.
A lace shawl would complete the ensemble.
She hadn’t quite worked out how to lure Darcy to her rooms after dinner, but she would come up with something.
Donning a straw bonnet that matched her red wool walking dress, she headed out to the garden. She wandered without attending to where her feet took her, lost in her thoughts. With a start, she looked up to find the gazebo in her path. Her mind turned instantly to Wickham.
Desire overwhelmed her, prickling her skin and tightening her belly. She ought to be repulsed by the man and how he’d deceived her. And yet, her body yearned for him still.
She’d given up all plans of being faithful to Darcy until she’d given him an heir and a spare.
After all, Wickham was his brother. It hardly mattered which of them fathered the next heir to Pemberley.
She would be discreet, and never cause Darcy any public humiliation.
But it was Wickham she wanted in her bed.
As if her thoughts had conjured the man, Wickham stepped out from a copse of trees. She gave a little gasp, but didn’t resist as he drew her into the shadows.