All Hallow's Eve (61 page)

Caroline waved his comment away
, as if it were simply an annoying insect
.
“I am
only
guilty of
passing on
a bit of
gossip, but...”

“
A bit of g
ossip
!” Richard
caught the gaze of M
rs. Hurst
and barked out,
“Is she
truly
as simple-minded as her statement implies, or does she have a
special
talent for deluding herself?”

Mrs. Hurst looked
away to study her
place setting.

Elizabeth said,
“Lord Reginald
...
Richard
...
I have forgiven Miss Bingley
for
her part in
the incident
.
Ple
ase..
.
”

William
answered her.
“
No, Elizabeth.
It
matters not whether
we are
making a scene
,
and I realize that there are several
at this table
who
will be
made
to feel
uncomfortable
if this continues
, but she must be
made to understand
that she h
as committed
a crime.
If
she does not learn to take responsibility for her actions
,
who can tell w
hat she will
attempt
next
?
”

Elizabeth
hesitated a few moments
,
and then
nodded
her head once in reply
.

William
stood
, his
deep
voice resonating throughout the room
as he glared at Caroline
.
“
I
t seems
that
you have forgotten
your part in what happened to my wife
.
You, madam, are a criminal.
Y
ou
r
knowledge of
a
plan
to kidnap Mrs. Darcy
prior to its being carried out and
your
purposely
suppl
ying
the kidnappers
with information
to further their efforts
,
are
both
illegal
acts
.
U
nder the law, you
c
ould be considered
an
‘
accessory
before the fact
to
unlawful imprisonment
’
—
an offence
which assumes assault as well
, which would lengthen your punishment.

“
I
f Mrs. Darcy
or I
should give testimony against you, there is no question
that
you
would go to prison and be sentenced to hard
labour
for the duration of your
incarceration.
Perhaps
, at this very moment,
as you sit here enjoying your brother’s hospitality,
one of the
kidnappers,
now in custody and in fear f
or
his
very
life
,
might be confessing all that he knows
of your offences
to the authorities
!

“
Miss Bingley, w
hether or not the ladies of the
ton
tell you that it is so, all is
not
fair in the pursuit
of
a husband!
”

William held out his hand to his wife. “Come, Elizabeth.
We will never again sit at the same table as that woman.”

Chapter
22

Upon returning to their rooms, after an initial outburst enumerating the flaws
in
Caroline Bingley’s character
, William fell silent.
Elizabeth felt it would be more prudent to
hold her tongue
as he brooded
and paced their bedchamber
.

Finally, he
stopped and
spoke
,
“
I had requested that Bingley
detain
his sisters here until our marriage was announced
;
however,
now that
Cher-nog
has been done away with, I see no reason to keep it from
being
general
knowledge
.
I already have
written
a letter to Georgiana
as well as
the
declaration of our
marriage
. D
o you have any objection to having the London papers
run the articles
as soon as possible
?”

Elizabeth stood
and
cradled his
beautiful
face in her hands
.
“I could have no objection to telling the world
that I am
happy
and proud
to be your wife.”

Stepping up onto her toes, she kissed him gently
.
His arms encircled her and pulled her against his chest.
Hearing
the strong rhythm of his
heart
, Elizabeth sighed with content
ment
as she imagined it beat only for her
.

After a few moments, William
declared
,
“I have been thinking
. I
t
was wise of
your father
to
assign
only
trusted servants from Longbourn to attend George.
” Surprised at the abrupt change in subject, Elizabeth
moved to look at him and
raised an eyebrow.
He continued,
“
After what we told the magistrate today,
George must
remain
in
his rooms
—
he cannot be seen in Hertfordshire
ever
again
.
No one would ever believe that George himself was not acting in such a manner.
I am unsure about the Hursts, but I do know that
Caroline cannot be trusted to keep his presence
here
a secret
if she feels
telling others
will
be
of any
benefit
to
her
.
”

Elizabeth
answered,
“
T
he
re are not many places in England that
George
would be able to
go
without being recognized
, and i
t is unsafe for him to travel to Europe
at the present time
.
Do
you think it would be better for him to
relocate
to
the
America
s
?
”

“Perhaps
. Is there a port town that he could enter safely until a ship sails?
”

Elizabeth shook her head.

William’s
eyes brightened a little. “
H
as
George
ever been in the area surrounding Newcastle?”

Elizabeth
moved away from him and
spent several minutes
standing by a window,
searching her memories. “The
Olc
had
visited
there in the pa
st, but
as far as I
can tell
, it was
not as George Wickham.
George
could quite possibly
live a quiet life
there
, as long as no travel
l
ers recognize him.”

“My father had
provided for
George
’s education
with the
expectation that
h
e would
eventually
either
tak
e
his father
’s place
as steward of Pemberley
o
r become a member of the clergy.
As you know, i
f he
chose the
latter, he had intended on
bestowing a living upon George
.
Of course, t
hat is now impossible
as
many residen
ts
could
easily
identify him
.
But, w
e
do
own
a small estate near Newcastle
,
which
presently
is
left in
the hands of a
capable
steward
.
Mr. Colton
is growing older
and
has
recently
notified me that
he will be ready to retire
in about two years
.
I have been thinking
. I
t would be as near to
honour
ing my father’s original
purpose
as I can come
,
under the circumstances
,
if
George could begin again in Newcastle, training
to take
Mr. Colton
’s
place
. While i
t
seems
like an ideal situation
for George
,
I hesitate
to d
iscuss the situation with him
.
”

William ran his hand through his hair. “
I know that he is not to blame
for what happened
to him
, Elizabeth
, but
I
simply
cannot be comfortable appointing
him
to such a position
of responsibility
when he
has never accomplished anything on his own
.
It is an estate
that many people depend upon for their livelihood.
”

A minute or two later,
Elizabeth
offered
, “
Truly, George has been exposed to more in his limited number of years than most would experience in a lifetime
.
Having l
iv
ed
the way he did for so many years
,
G
eorge might make an exemplary steward
.
He is a fighter, William, and he spent his life
intim
ately acquainted with injustice—
wanting
nothing more than
to act honourably
.

“
On the other hand,
I do not
know if
he would wish to take on such an obligation
in addition to
the remorse that he
must
endure
.”

William nodded
.
“
If we look
at
the situation
from yet another perspective
,
should
George
be
identified,
he w
ould
have to leave the area
.
Can
I
, in all conscience, grant
such
a position to
a man
who
m I know
might
have to
abandon it
at a moment’s notice
?
”

“
Perhaps y
ou could send him to Newcastle to
work
with Mr. Colton.
After a few weeks of observation,
Mr. Colton
c
ould
advise
George
as to
which
vocations
he
might perform well
.
If y
ou
s
ee to it that
George become
s
an
a
pprentice
in
the
trade of his choosing
—one that cou
ld be useful in
any
community
—
you will be carrying out
your father
’s
inten
tions
within the constraints of what is possible
,
even in the event that he must leave Newcastle
.
”

William was lost in
thought
for several minutes before responding.
“
The
plan is sound
,
al
though I will improve
upon it
by paying him my father’s bequest once again.
Th
at which was
paid out five years ago
was not
used to
benefit
George
in any way
.
”

“
That is more than generous of you,
William
.” Elizabeth’s smile faded. “
I am sure you are aware that
George
will need time to recover before
travel
ling
t
o Newcastle
.
I
will
suggest
to my father
that after Charles’
sisters
depart from
Netherfield, my family
should
return to Longbourn
, and
George can go with them. It is a much smaller household
,
and
we
know
that
all
of the servants there
,
as well as the residents
,
can
be trusted
.
He will be safer there.”

A knock sounded
, interrupting their conversation. U
pon
William’s opening
the door, Hanna entered the room, looking more than a little
flustered
.

“Beggin’ your pardon,
Mr. Darcy
, but there
’s
a lady in the
drawin
’
room
waitin
’
to see you.”

“
Did she give
her name?”

Hanna nodded.
“Lady Catherine de Bourgh.”

~%~

William opened the drawing room door
as quietly as was possible
.
His aunt was
sitting
alone
, warming her hands by the fire
.
While s
he had shed her coat,
she
was still wearing a
bonnet
adorned
with
a multitude of flowers and such long
feathers
that
they
rendered the hat ridiculous
.
He sighed, expecting
that
she would
have
an especially cross temper during this interview
,
since
such a
bonnet
must have made travelling
with the low ceiling
of
a coach
most
uncomfortable.