Chapter 43 The Crossing
Elizabeth drew the needle through the corner of the handkerchief, tied off the thread, and cut it.
The letters were small and plain.
E.D.
Across the room, Fitzwilliam stood near the window, already dressed for travel. Beyond him, Pemberley lay beneath a pale winter sky, the lawns silvered with frost.
She ran her thumb over the embroidered initials.
“I mean to leave this at Arbor Low.”
Fitzwilliam crossed the room and took the handkerchief from her.
“For Richard and Dr. Wynn? Proof that Elizabeth Darcy once existed?”
“If everything changes, there may never have been an Elizabeth Darcy.”
“There was, and she will live on in our memories.”
Elizabeth touched her wedding ring. “If our memories survive.”
“They will. We have written them down for that very reason.”
He drew her to her feet. “Have faith, Elizabeth. It worked for Samuel Grange, and it will work for us.”
She rested her head against his chest. The steady beat of his heart eased the racing of hers.
Fitzwilliam bent and kissed her hair. “All will be well, darling.”
Elizabeth slipped her arms around his neck and held him close. They had awakened before dawn and remained in bed long after the first gray light entered the room. Neither had been willing to surrender their last morning together.
When Fitzwilliam finally drew away, he rested his forehead against hers.
“I do not want to leave you,” Elizabeth whispered. “I cannot bear the thought that we may cross over and somehow be separated. You are the center of my life now.”
His arms tightened around her.
“But Papa was taken from us too young. I want to see him again. I want Lydia home and safe before Wickham can destroy her life. I want Georgiana safe.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I want all of that, Fitzwilliam, but I do not want to lose you to have it.”
“You need not make the crossing, Elizabeth.”
She looked at him.
“If you wish to remain here, say so. I will stay with you.”
Elizabeth looked around the room. She knew its furniture now, the pattern of the bed curtains, which board near the hearth creaked beneath her foot, and where Fitzwilliam left his watch at night.
A few months earlier, she had never heard of Pemberley or Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Now every familiar thing in the room reminded her of the life they had made together.
But it was not Pemberley she feared losing.
It was him.
Elizabeth lifted her cloak from the bed and handed it to him.
Fitzwilliam settled it over her shoulders. After fastening it at her throat, he smoothed the collar and let his fingers linger against her cheek.
Elizabeth tucked the handkerchief into her reticule. “Come, husband.”
He offered his arm. “After you, wife.”
* * *
Richard was waiting in the entrance hall with Georgiana when they descended.
Georgiana wore a heavy traveling cloak, and Richard carried another folded shawl over one arm.
“I have been informed that this must accompany us because Darcy requires that we pack sufficient wool to clothe an infantry regiment.”
“I heard that,” Fitzwilliam said.
Georgiana stood unusually quiet as Richard draped the shawl around her shoulders.
The servants believed the family was beginning their journey to London. Their luggage had gone ahead that morning with James Reeves and Jenny, and Mrs. Reynolds came forward as Fitzwilliam helped Elizabeth into her gloves.
“I hope you have a pleasant journey, Mrs. Darcy. We shall have everything ready when you return.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Reynolds. You have been very kind to me since I came to Pemberley.”
“It has been a pleasure to have you here, ma’am.”
Fitzwilliam’s hand settled at the small of her back, and she moved toward the door.
He helped Georgiana into the carriage before handing Elizabeth in. Richard followed, and a few minutes later the horses started down the drive.
Elizabeth watched Pemberley through the window.
The great stone front disappeared first, followed by the sweep of lawn. For a little while, she could still see the upper windows through the bare trees.
Then the road curved.
Fitzwilliam found her hand beneath the carriage rug and threaded his fingers through hers. She leaned against his shoulder and continued looking through the window until even the trees surrounding Pemberley were lost from sight.
* * *
Dr. Wynn was waiting when they reached Arbor Low shortly before noon. His horse stood nearby, and the physician wore a heavy coat, his hat pulled low against the wind.
Richard climbed down and greeted him. “Dr. Wynn, you came.”
“I considered remaining at home and pretending none of you had lost your senses, but I knew I would spend the rest of my life wondering if it worked.”
Fitzwilliam helped Georgiana from the carriage, keeping hold of her until she was steady upon the uneven ground.
Dr. Wynn had learned the whole of their intention the previous afternoon, and his objections had been persistent. He had argued most strongly against Georgiana attempting the crossing while carrying a child until she quietly informed him that she understood the risk and would go nevertheless.
He offered her his arm now. “Since you insist upon this travel scheme, I shall content myself with insisting that you sit when you become tired and tell me at once if you feel unwell.”
“Yes, sir. I will.”
The coachman had been told that the family wished to spend several hours at Arbor Low before continuing south. After setting them down, he drove on to Lambton, where he would wait at the coaching inn while the horses were rested and fed. He was to return shortly after sunset.
Elizabeth looked across the earthwork.
She had first come here searching for an explanation for three people who had vanished. Before the day was over, she might be one of three more.
* * *
They settled near the large flat stone where Jim Fletcher had last seen Samuel Grange.
The winter afternoon unfolded quietly. They passed the time sitting or walking among the stones, careful never to leave the circle. Sunset was their best guess, but there was no certainty as to the time of the crossing.
As the afternoon wore on, Elizabeth sat beside Fitzwilliam with her shoulder resting against his, while Georgiana sat on his other side. Richard and Dr. Wynn remained outside the perimeter.
Fitzwilliam reached inside his coat and withdrew two of the tokens. He gave Georgiana one of the Clementi receipts and Aunt Maddie’s letter to Elizabeth. Both young women tucked their tokens securely into their skirt pockets.
Then they waited together, watching the shadows lengthen across the moor.
No one had much to say, as the sun continued its slow descent toward the western horizon.
* * *
As the afternoon grew colder, Georgiana decided to walk within the circle to warm herself.
Fitzwilliam drew Elizabeth between his knees and wrapped his greatcoat around as much of her as he could. She settled back against his chest.
Elizabeth rested her hands over his and looked toward the sinking sun. “I have been thinking about our letters. You wrote that if I remember nothing, I owe you no affection merely because I was married to you in another history.”
“I meant it. I would not have you feel bound to a man you do not remember.”
“I know, and it was very honorable of you. That is precisely what worries me. If you find me and discover that I have forgotten you, do not abandon me.” She forced a laugh.
“Please allow me to decide whether I wish to keep you, but do not stand at a distance being noble while I remain ignorant that I have misplaced a husband.”
“I have no intention of allowing you to remain in ignorance where I am concerned, darling.”
He turned her in his arms and kissed her. Elizabeth smiled against his mouth, but when he released her, she touched his cheek.
She covered his hand with hers. “But what if you do not remember me?”
“Then I shall read my letter, come to Longbourn, and meet the troublesome young woman who apparently knows a great deal about me.”
“You may find her suspicious, sir. I have been known to be prejudiced.”
“Do not fret, Elizabeth. I managed to make you fall in love with me once. I shall find you and do it again.”
She turned her face and pressed a kiss into his palm.
“Very well, sir. I will trust you.”
* * *
The western sky had begun to change when Richard called to them.
Dr. Wynn checked with Georgiana one final time, and when he finished asking about her health, she surprised him by putting her arms around him.
“Dr. Wynn, thank you for everything.”
His expression softened as he embraced her. “Farewell, Georgiana.”
She kissed his cheek before going to Richard.
Her cousin opened his arms.
“I shall see you again soon, Georgie.”
“Yes, Richard. I trust that we will soon be together again.”
He held her tightly for a moment and kissed her forehead.
Elizabeth embraced Dr. Wynn next. “You have been very good to me, sir. Thank you for making all this possible and for taking us to Mr. Fletcher.”
“I regret ever mentioning him to you, Mrs. Darcy, but you had a right to choose how you wish to live your life.”
“You remind me of Papa, sir.”
Dr. Wynn chuckled and kissed her forehead. “I shall see you on the other side. I am certain of it.”
Richard stood waiting when she turned to him.
Elizabeth slipped her arms around him. “The handkerchief will be beneath the edge of the stone. If we disappear forever, keep it to remember us by.”
“I will.”
He released her and straightened. “But I have faith. I will see you again soon, Mrs. Darcy. Do not fear.”
“Thank you for serving as a witness to our madness.”
Fitzwilliam came forward and pulled his cousin into an embrace.
“Richard, thank you for being here.”
Richard clasped him tightly before letting him go. “There is no place where I would rather be, Darcy.”
Fitzwilliam returned to Elizabeth and took her hand.
“The sun is setting. Come, darling.”
He held out his other hand to Georgiana. She took it, and the three of them walked back toward the central stones together.
* * *
Elizabeth set the embroidered handkerchief beneath the edge of the large flat stone in the center of the circle.
When she straightened, she turned to Richard, and he nodded.
Then the three Darcys stood hand in hand and waited.
Together, they watched as the sun sank toward the horizon.
The wind moved across the henge.
Elizabeth tightened her hand around Fitzwilliam’s.
“What if I never find you again?”
He turned to her.
“What if neither of us remembers? You will be at Pemberley, and I will be at Longbourn. There will be no reason for our paths ever to cross.”
Tears slipped silently down her cheeks.
Fitzwilliam released her hand and drew her against him, keeping Georgiana’s hand clasped in his other. He rested his cheek against Elizabeth’s curls.
“I will find you, Elizabeth.”
She pressed her face against his chest, unable to stop her tears.
He kissed the top of her head.
“I love you, Elizabeth. Whatever happens, remember that. I have loved you with a love that will...”
The sun touched the horizon.
Light stretched across the winter grass, catching the tops of the stones and leaving the hollows between them in shadow.
The wind that had troubled them all afternoon faded.
Fitzwilliam was still speaking, but his voice had grown faint.
Elizabeth clung to him.
Then the last edge of the sun disappeared.
* * *
“Darcy!”
Richard reached the stone at a run.
Dr. Wynn came behind him with the lantern, its light sweeping across the place where three people had been standing only moments before.
“Georgiana!”
Richard jumped onto the stone and ran across the surrounding ground, shouting their names. Dr. Wynn went in the opposite direction, the lantern swinging in his hand as he searched among the stones.
Darkness settled over the henge.
When Richard returned to the central stone, Dr. Wynn was already there.
Neither spoke.
The lantern light passed across the ground and caught something white beneath the edge of the stone.
Richard crouched and picked up the handkerchief.
He unfolded it.
E.D.
His thumb moved across the embroidered initials before he folded the handkerchief and slipped it inside his coat.
Dr. Wynn stared at the empty stone. “I would not have believed it if I had not seen it.”
Richard looked toward the place where the sun had disappeared.
“They did it.”
The physician stood beside him for a moment before saying, “You should come back to Ashcroft tonight. Whatever has happened here, it is too late to begin a journey to London.”
“I have to go. If Darcy was right, he and Georgiana may need me.”
“And Elizabeth?”
“Her letter may take her to any of three days. Darcy will wait for her.”
Richard looked once more at the empty stone before turning toward the road. Dr. Wynn fell into step beside him.
A short while later, the sound of an approaching carriage reached them through the darkness.
“Darcy’s carriage,” Richard said. “I will take you back to Ashcroft, Doctor, and then I must be on my way.”
Dr. Wynn stopped him. “If you find them, tell them that I wish them well.”
Richard drew the handkerchief from inside his coat. For a moment, both men looked down at the embroidered initials.
“I will.”