coach jostled her awake. Elizabeth shot a quick glance at her husband’s cousin. Although he pretended to sleep also, Damon Fitzwilliam scrunched his eyes shut; it was not the relaxed face of someone truly asleep. She realized she had spoken the words of her dream aloud, and the colonel had heard her declaration of love, but he pretended ignorance of it. Such speech should embarrass her, but Elizabeth was beyond denying her love.
Elizabeth had waited three hours for the wheel’s repair, but not before she had tried to let or even buy a horse of her own.Without an alternative, she reluctantly yielded to the only choice available.
Ignoring the colonel’s pretense, Elizabeth asked, “When shall we reach Stanwick?”
The man sat up immediately, overlooking how they had both chosen not to speak to her discomforting intimacy. “I estimate it will be several hours after dark. Peter is a skilled coachman and will get us there safely, but even he will need to exercise more caution on unfamiliar roads after nightfall.”
“Will Fitzwilliam be there?”Again, Elizabeth bit her bottom lip in distress.
The colonel wanted to lighten her mood by telling Elizabeth that her dreams always came true, but his earlier deception precluded it. “I am incontestable in my belief of my cousin’s speedy arrival in Stanwick; yet I cannot warrant his safety in doing so.”
Elizabeth looked out the window at the passing countryside. “This land has a savageness about it—not necessarily sinister—but definitely a harsh, unbroken fierceness.”
“Aye, it does. It is as if a person steps back in time to when life itself was ruthless.” Fearing he had said too much, he tapped on the carriage’s roof to tell Peter to pull up.“I think I will spell Peter for awhile; I want him well rested for the last part of the trip.”
Wickham patiently watched at the village inn throughout the day, but there was no sign of reinforcements on Darcy’s behalf. Darkness had surrounded the village for at least two hours, and no one any longer traveled the roads. Feeling more secure, he sauntered off towards his house. Evidently, Darcy had told the truth about Elizabeth Bennet’s withdrawal of her affection. Wickham had once thought that impossible, and had even considered how he might kill the two of them together. Now his only problem was how to dispose of Fitzwilliam Darcy. Wickham did not want to allow Darcy to become a vampire, because Wickham did not want to continue the struggle between them. He preferred to rule
A little after nine o’clock, the Darcy carriage rolled into the courtyard of the Blue Dragon in Stanwick.With the stops and the darkness, the seven or eight hours they had estimated had turned into nearly ten.“I will see to the room,” Colonel Fitzwilliam muttered as he helped the rumpled-looking Elizabeth from the coach.
“If Fitzwilliam has a room, I will be staying with my husband.” The colonel recoiled, as if slapped.
As they had on several occasions during this trip, they both pretended not to notice the exchange. “Ah, I no longer need to sleep on a pallet.”
Elizabeth blushed, although with the darkness, no one saw. Impulsively, she caressed his cheek. “I am sorry, Damon. I will forever be grateful for your interference and your gentlemanly concern. Although it was a bit awkward the first evening, I truly took comfort in knowing you were so close. I will never be able to repay you for your kindness.”
Damon Fitzwilliam fought the urge to turn his head and kiss Elizabeth’s palm. She was
“Let us go inside and see what we can learn of my husband.” Elizabeth took the colonel’s arm as they entered the inn.
Just as with all the other places they had frequented over the past few days, the innkeeper greeted them at the door and jumped to meet their needs. They had decided prior to leaving the coach that the colonel would ask discreet questions. “My cousin and I were to meet in Stanwick,” he began a bit aristocratically. “I escorted his wife, so that they might enjoy a holiday in Edinburgh. Would you tell me, Sir, if Fitzwilliam Darcy is a guest at this inn?”
The innkeeper glanced at the registry. “Let me see. We have a Mr. D’Arcy.” He turned the registry so the colonel could see the name.“He registered yesterday. Be that whom you seek, Sir?”
Damon was momentarily flustered, but he recovered quickly. “That appears to be him.”
“Very good, Sir. I be afraid no one saw Mr. D’Arcy today.The maid reports his bed remains unused.Yet Mr. D’Arcy’s belongings be still in the room. He paid for three days, so I kept the gentleman’s personal things intact.”
The colonel could feel Elizabeth’s fingers tighten on his arm, and he brought his free hand to rest on hers.“Did my cousin speak to anyone whom you noted?”
“The gentleman, he walked ’bout the village upon his arrival. He sat for some time with Mr. Bruce. Bruce be pro’bly the most knowledgeable man in the area, lived here forever he has.” The man puffed up with importance. “We be thinkin’ Mr. D’Arcy be attendin’ the St. Cuthbert dance last night at the assembly, but old Bruce say he not there.You not be thinkin’ somethin’ bad happen, do ye, Sir?”
The colonel smiled with confidence. “Of course not. My cousin is a learned man—very interested in history— more than
“Mr. D’Arcy be findin’ plenty of those.”The innkeeper chuckled as he made arrangements for their baggage. “I be puttin’ the lady’s things in her mister’s room.You be needin’ one of yer own, Sir?”
“That would be excellent. A comfortable bed would take care of all my travel woes.”
“Ye be starvin’, too, I ’magine.”
Elizabeth looked about her.“If it would not be too much trouble, something hot would be most appreciated.”
“Ye and the lady take yerselves into that there room. Me wife find ye some meat pies and some tea. She be happy to serve ye there.”
