Chapter 26
“Mrs. Hurst, Mr. Bingley wishes to see you in the front hall as soon as possible,” the butler announced.
Louisa Hurst quickly set aside her book, Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, and hurried to her brother. Charles was standing with a supportive arm around Miss Elizabeth Bennet, who was wrapped in a rough blanket. The girl’s face was pale save for a large red knot on her forehead, and she was muddied and disheveled.
“Miss Elizabeth! What happened?” Louisa exclaimed in distress, rushing forward.
“Elizabeth took a hard fall during a walk,” Bingley explained.“Can you please help me get her upstairs and take care of her while I have a servant summon Mr. Jones?”
“Of course,” she assured him, rushing forward sympathetically. Bingley waited until she was at Elizabeth’s side and then moved over to whisper into her ear, “Louisa, do not allow the servants to observe the state of Elizabeth’s dress.”
Louisa suppressed a gasp and smoothed her expression, “Come upstairs immediately, Elizabeth. Charles, please assist us to the top of the stairs, and then we will be well. Gertrude, summon Mrs. Annesley and Miss Darcy to my bedchamber, if you would. I believe they are currently in the music room.”
/
“Miss Darcy, Mrs. Annesley, thank you for coming so quickly.”
Georgiana gazed in wide eyed horror at Elizabeth, whom Louisa was helping out of her tattered dress.
“What happened?” her companion inquired steadily, moving over to help Mrs. Hurst.
“I am not certain,” Louisa replied in a low tone, “but Charles told me that the servants must not see her dress. I think she was attacked by someone.”
“George Wickham,” Elizabeth said faintly, and suddenly she was trembling violently and tears filled her eyes. “He was lying in wait for me in the woods of Longbourn and he ... he … he would have taken my virtue if my saviors, Mr. Darcy, Mr. Bingley and Maxwell, had not rescued me.”
“Hush now, hush,” Mrs. Annesley soothed her. “You are entirely safe now. Miss Darcy, I believe the yellow dress can be quickly adjusted to fit Miss Elizabeth. Do I have your permission to get it for her along with one of your nightgowns?”
“Of course,” Georgiana gasped, her own eyes filled with sympathetic tears. That vile, foul man! And to think she had thought once that she loved Wickham!
“Where is Mr. Wickham now?” Mrs. Hurst inquired softly, pulling down the covers for Elizabeth and helping her into the bed as Mrs. Annesley departed.
“Locked in the stable,” Elizabeth murmured, her eyes closing. “Mr. Darcy promised me that he will keep Wickham quiet, though I know not how he will manage that. But I trust him.”
Georgiana finally found her voice, “Do not worry, Miss Elizabeth. My brother will make a way.”
A few minutes later, the door opened and Mrs. Annesley entered with two garments in her arms and a sewing kit in her hand, all of which she put down on a nearby chair, “Mrs. Hurst, Miss Elizabeth needs to be cleaned up but the servants must not see her torn dress. Do you have a suggestion?”
Louisa looked around thoughtfully before nodding, “I think it will burn well enough in the fire, will it not? Then we will summon Gertrude with warm water and soap.”
/
“Is Elizabeth all right?” Jane Bennet asked urgently as her beloved Charles handed her out of the Longbourn carriage.
“She will be well. Mr. Jones is just examining her now,” Charles assured her soothingly. “Mr. Bennet, I am thankful that you could come.”
His future father was pale with worry, “Will you take us to her?”
Charles hesitated briefly and then glanced at Longbourn’s coachman, who was sitting stolidly on the seat behind the horses, “I suggest you send your carriage back to Longbourn, sir. I will be pleased to bring you home in my own carriage later in the day.”
Bennet frowned at this but nodded and gave the order. Once the threesome were safe from curious ears, Charles quickly filled them in on the true situation.
Jane was so distressed that she swayed in place and might have fallen save for her love’s supportive arm, “I cannot believe it. Mr. Wickham attacked Lizzy? How could he do such a thing? And why?”
Bennet was furious and frightened, “Where is Wickham, Bingley?”
“He is in the stable, and is in quite a state after the beating he received at Darcy’s hands. Mr. Bennet, I urge you to entrust this vile man to me and Darcy. Darcy has long experience with the man, and I will soon be your son. Elizabeth’s reputation, and yours by association, will be protected so long as this dreadful affair is not shared with too many people including, I believe, Mrs. Bennet.”
“You are correct, Charles,” Jane agreed dismally. “Mama would not be able to keep silent on the matter, do you not agree, Father?”
“I do,” Mr. Bennet agreed, gazing longingly at the stable. He wanted, more than anything else, to go inside and beat the pulp out of the foul man who dared to harm his Lizzy, but Bingley was right, that would only cause tongues to wag.
“I will take you to Elizabeth now,” Bingley said, gently shepherding both of them into Netherfield Hall.
/
“Well, my dear Miss Elizabeth, that is quite a hard knock on the head you have, but you will be well enough with rest,” Mr. Jones said cheerfully, tucking the girl carefully back into bed. “Mr. Bennet, Miss Bennet, I urge you not to look so terrified. This is hardly the first time Miss Elizabeth had managed to harm herself, or perhaps you have forgotten the time she fell out of an elm tree and broke her arm?”
Jane forced herself to chuckle at this, “Yes, Mr. Jones, our dear Lizzy has always been a rambunctious person; I suppose it was too much to hope that she would grow calm with age.”
“Now Jane,” Elizabeth murmured sleepily, and Jones clasped Bennet by the arm and drew him into the corridor.
“Let her sleep, Mr. Bennet. That is the best thing for her.”
“You are quite certain she will be well?” Bennet demanded.
“Yes. Fortunately, she struck her head where the skull is thick and strong. Do not fear for her, sir.”
“Thank you, Mr. Jones,” Elizabeth’s father responded gratefully.
/
“Can I get you something to drink, Mr. Bennet?” Bingley asked quietly.
His fiancée’s father hesitated and then shook his head, “I think not, Bingley. I have only recently broken free from turning to alcohol in times of distress. It would be unwise for me to indulge during this catastrophe.”
“It is not a catastrophe, Mr. Bennet,” Darcy assured him, gesturing for Bennet to sit down next to the fire in Bingley’s office. “I promise you that Miss Elizabeth’s reputation will be unsullied by Wickham’s abominable attack.”
The older man wiped a tear off his withered cheek, and he shook his head, “I never should have let her wander so freely, but it did not occur to me that she would be unsafe on Longbourn land.”
“Wickham is an atrocious reprobate, Mr. Bennet,” Darcy declared gravely. “You are not to be blamed for failing to anticipate his abhorrent plan, and I understand from Mr. Jones that she will recover well?”
Darcy asked this rather anxiously, and Bennet nodded, “Yes, Jones says she will recover completely. I do not understand, though. Why would he attack my Lizzy?”
“He planned to coerce you into bequeathing Longbourn to Miss Elizabeth,” Darcy explained gravely. “He threatened to ruin her reputation if you did not agree to both the marriage and his preferred disposition of the estate.”
Bennet let out a hysterical crack of laughter, causing the younger men to exchange alarmed glances.
“My apologies, gentlemen. Elizabeth is indeed my heiress, but I kept that fact a secret as I did not want her harassed by prospective suitors. Perhaps if I had made her position generally known, he would not have taken such a violent path.”
“It would not have mattered,” Darcy assured him. “Wickham must have known you would never accept him as a son by marriage without some degree of coercion, and Miss Elizabeth is far too sensible to fall in love with a man who is a liar and a cheat.”
Bennet sighed, “I suppose so. What do you intend to do with Wickham, Mr. Darcy?”
“I have sent for my cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, the second son of my uncle, the Earl of Matlock. He is in London at present, and I anticipate that he will be here early tomorrow morning. He will help me deal with Wickham.”
“You are certain the scoundrel cannot escape his current prison?”
“He is well guarded,” Bingley assured him. “My coachmen and stable boys are reliable and discreet, and Darcy has two footmen who can assist in watching the rogue. Do not be alarmed. Indeed, I think it would be best if you returned home shortly, though if you could leave Jane here to help watch over Elizabeth, we would all appreciate it.”
“Of course,” Bennet said.
/
“Pledge me that this will not delay your wedding, Jane,” Elizabeth murmured softly from her bed in one of Netherfield’s guest chambers.
Jane tenderly laid another cool cloth on her sister’s knotted forehead, “Do not worry about that now, dear Lizzy. Charles and I can always wait a few more days to wed if necessary.”
“No, you must go ahead, with or without me. I will not let that disgusting, horrible, evil man disrupt our lives any more than he already has.”
Jane leaned over and planted a kiss carefully on her dearest sister’s cheek, “We both need you at the wedding, Elizabeth, not only because it is my greatest desire to have you in attendance, but because it would cause tongues to wag if you were not present. If you are not well enough to come, we will wait, so the best thing you can do is to rest and recover as quickly as possible.”
Elizabeth nodded and closed her eyes, only to open them again, “You will stay all night with me? Promise me?”
“Of course, dearest Lizzy. Of course.”