Bingley,” he said dryly. “But we can discuss this further at a later date; I know you must be tired after your long journey. Tomorrow I will be meeting again with… your husband to discuss further steps we might undertake to discover Lydia; perhaps I shall see you at some point as well?”
She glanced at Darcy before nodding her assent.
Elizabeth’s feelings on the journey to the Darcy townhouse were far more complex than she would have anticipated; it was not until the moment when she left her father and uncle behind to go to her husband’s home that she felt the true extent of how her marriage had changed her life—that she had left her old life and her family behind, and that Darcy’s views now must take precedence over her father’s. It would not, under normal circumstances, have been an unusual discovery, but since at Pemberley her marriage had entailed only a change of bedroom, it had not felt true to her until now.
They arrived at Brook Street just as darkness was falling. Though curious to behold the place where she could expect to spend a great deal of time in the future, Elizabeth nonetheless held back slightly as the butler met them at the door.
“Mr. Darcy!” Philips said in surprise. “We had not been expecting you, sir.”
“I apologize for failing to send notice, Philips; we left Pemberley rather unexpectedly,” said Darcy, handing over his hat and coat.
“I will have your rooms prepared immediately, sir. Would you like some refreshment?” Philips glanced toward Elizabeth, wondering about arrangements for this unknown guest.
“Yes, if Cook could put something together, I am sure we would all appreciate it.”
“Right away, sir. And, Mr. Darcy, I should mention that Colonel Fitzwilliam has been staying here; I hope that is not a problem, sir.”
“Not in the least,” said Darcy, wondering what would have brought his cousin to town again so shortly after his last visit, as the gentleman himself appeared in the hallway to check on the commotion.
“Darcy!” Colonel Fitzwilliam exclaimed. “What brings you here?” He kissed Georgiana’s cheek warmly, and then, noticing Elizabeth, started in surprise. “Miss Bennet, this is an unexpected pleasure,” he said, bowing over her hand.
“I fear that I shall have to introduce you again; you do not have her name correctly, Fitzwilliam,” Darcy said significantly.
A puzzled look crossed the colonel’s face as he looked back and forth between Darcy and Elizabeth, then, as light dawned, he glanced down at her hand. “Not Mrs. Darcy,” he drawled, shooting a pointed look at Darcy.
Elizabeth smiled and curtsied. “It is indeed a pleasure, Colonel Fitzwilliam.”
“Well!” he exclaimed with a broad smile. Turning his attention to his cousin, he said, “Darcy, you dog! And without even inviting me to the wedding! Does this mean that the pistols at dawn are off?”
Darcy looked pleased. “Yes; I have decided to wait until you challenge me instead—then I can choose rapiers and spoil your pretty looks for you, cousin. Now, may I sit down in my own house, or are you planning an inquisition before you let us past the door?”
Shaking his head in disbelief, Colonel Fitzwilliam allowed them pass. Darcy, spotting a stunned-looking Philips still hovering, took a moment to introduce him to Elizabeth properly before leading her to the large sitting room.
Once they were all settled, Darcy asked, “So, what are you doing here, Fitzwilliam?”
“Apart from drinking your port? Well, you know that I went back up to Newcastle, and no sooner had I arrived than his lordship sent me straight back here to indulge the Major General again, and then we repeated the whole cycle one more time, after which I told his Lordship that I thought it would be far more efficient for me to remain in London while he sent me instructions by post, rather than keeping the instructions in Newcastle and sending me back and forth by post. So, since you were away, and planning to shoot me at dawn as well, I imposed upon Edward—my elder brother, Mrs. Darcy—and stayed with him for two days, after which I thought it unlikely that I would survive long enough for you to shoot me, so I decamped and threw myself on the mercy of Philips, who took pity upon me and took me in. He has not allowed me to drink
“Fitzwilliam, you are welcome to every last drop of my port, and the rest of the wine cellar as well,” Darcy said meaningfully, with a glance at Elizabeth.
The colonel inclined his head. “Always happy to be of service. But I suspect that you have a more interesting saga to tell, Darcy. Have you come from Hertfordshire?
Darcy laughed. “I fear it is far more complex than that. We spent some weeks in Hertfordshire, where, after a certain amount of persuasion, I managed to convince this lovely lady to accept the offer of my hand,” he said, pausing to take Elizabeth’s hand and kiss it lightly. She looked at him with the tender smile that always made his heart beat faster, and their eyes locked for a moment.
“You will have to become accustomed to this, Richard,” interposed Georgiana. “I am afraid that they do it quite constantly.”
Elizabeth colored lightly. Darcy kissed her hand again, then held it in his own, staring at Colonel Fitzwilliam as if daring him to object. The latter merely raised an amused eyebrow. “That must have been a very short engagement, then, cousin.”
“Well, I confess that we had originally intended it to be somewhat longer, but, as it happened, Elizabeth was by great coincidence about to travel with some of her family to Derbyshire, and we convinced them to stay at Pemberley. And, of course, once I had Elizabeth at Pemberley, I was not about to let her leave again, so we imposed upon your old friend the bishop to remove the remaining obstacles to immediate matrimony. Your parents attended the wedding.”
Elizabeth was relieved that Colonel Fitzwilliam did not seem to find this tale in any way remarkable, and noted for future consideration what it might mean that, while the entire world saw Darcy as always behaving in a studied and careful manner, his relations all seemed to think it perfectly natural for him to be madly impulsive.
“And no one saw fit to so much as mention it to me?” Colonel Fitzwilliam said in mock indignation. “I
“It was only two days ago, Colonel Fitzwilliam,” Elizabeth said amusedly.
“Two days? What in heaven’s name are you doing here, then?” He sounded mildly scandalized.
“Excuse me, please,” Georgiana said abruptly, and exited the room.
Colonel Fitzwilliam looked after her in concern. “Did I say something I should not have?”
Darcy looked at Elizabeth as if for permission. In response to her nod, he said, “I believe that she wished to avoid hearing the answer to your question, which touches on the unpleasant subject of George Wickham.”
Colonel Fitzwilliam’s face looked grim. “What has that blackguard done now? If he has so much as spoken a word to Georgiana, I swear that I will… pardon me, Mrs. Darcy, I am afraid that my temper has been known to get the best of me on this subject.”
“I understand completely,” said Elizabeth dryly.
“He has not attempted anything with Georgiana; I fear he is trying his hand at a new route to tormenting me,” Darcy said, tightening his hand around Elizabeth’s. “He somehow managed to convince Elizabeth’s youngest sister to elope with him—he does seem to repeat the same patterns again and again—and they have been traced as far as London, but apparently have gone no further, hence our arrival today.”
“I am very sorry to hear it, Mrs. Darcy,” he said, his voice concerned. “Do I take it, then, that he knows of your marriage?”
“Not that we are married, but we believe that Lydia was aware of our engagement, so we must assume he knew as well,” Elizabeth replied. “I cannot imagine otherwise why he would choose her; she has no dowry to speak of, and my family can offer him little.”
“I have a few ideas of how to discover him,” Darcy said. “Tomorrow I will meet with Mr. Bennet, who is also in London, to discuss how to resolve the situation.”
“Indeed. Perhaps I should join you, Darcy. I might have a bit to add myself,” said Colonel Fitzwilliam.
Darcy frowned. “Although I appreciate your willingness to help, I fail to see what you might know that I do not.”
