Chapter 43

CHAPTER FORTY-THREE

E lizabeth could hardly take it all in. The evening had begun so splendidly. She had been wearing the loveliest gown she had ever owned. She had felt beautiful, even standing next to Jane. The warmth and admiration in Darcy's eyes when he had greeted her had made her belly tighten and her toes curl. For the first time in her life, she had fallen in love, and her love was returned. He had loved her for all those years so steadfastly, it was almost inconceivable.

He had proposed, a sweet, simple, heartfelt proposal, and then all hell had broken loose. The monster had shown himself, and she was the object of his madness.

She had passed a wakeful night, although Hannah slept soundly at her side. She had arrived at Darcy House with nothing but her reticule. Now she and Hannah wore borrowed night-clothes, and maids were hastily altering some of Georgiana's gowns for their use.

They would assume the house was being watched, that Maltravers would not give up his quest for revenge given how far he had already come. Apparently, the man wanted to frighten her, to demonstrate that he had power over her as he had never had over Samuel. That was when he had begun acting out, pushing her at the Bazaar and standing where she could see him, taunting her with his presence. But why does he continue? Samuel is dead.

Elizabeth could see early morning light even through the drawn bed curtains. She rose quietly and, slipping through the curtains, took her first real look at the room she and Hannah had been placed in. It was enormous, and besides the entry door had three doors leading to other rooms. Even in the pale light she could see that it was exquisitely and expensively decorated. Her bare feet were on a thick carpet, not a cold floor. Although the furnishings were perhaps out of fashion, the walls were covered in a pale green silk that matched the bed linens. Antique Chinese porcelain graced the mantel shelf. A long-case ormolu clock ticked along quietly.

Her natural curiosity came to the fore. On tiptoe, she moved about the room. She stepped towards the windows but then remembered the admiral's instructions: do not stand at windows. Moving instead to the nearest door, she opened it. It swung silently on well-oiled hinges, opening into a large dressing room. The next door revealed a snug sitting room fitted with bookcases.

She crept quietly to the third door. It opened to a short passage with another door at the end. Reaching for that doorknob, she quickly withdrew her hand when she heard masculine voices on the other side. It was Darcy, talking to another man, perhaps a servant.

Her eyes widened at the realisation that she had been quartered in the mistress's chambers. Good Lord, what if she had not stopped to listen and had walked in on him? What if he were not even dressed? Elizabeth quickly tiptoed back out of the passage and into the bedchamber, disbelieving her own wanton thoughts. She was in terrible danger, Fitzwilliam was sheltering her at his own risk, and her foolish mind was busily picturing his unclothed body.

Her silent self-recriminations were interrupted by Hannah's voice calling her name.

"I am here, Hannah. I am exploring our quarters."

The older woman climbed out of the enormous bed. "Well, it is a bit larger than what we are used to, is it not?" She stepped into the centre of the room and looked about. "Well, I reckon Mr Darcy has put you in the mistress's room. Right where he wants you to be."

Elizabeth raised her arms in bewilderment. "So here we are in borrowed night-clothes, in Mr Darcy's house, because a man whom I have never met wants to harm me in order to avenge imagined wrongs committed by my husband—who has been dead these two years. Not only did Samuel not do anything to hurt him, he went out of his way to avoid him! And why avenge himself on me?"

"Lizzy, do let us sit down," Hannah said, and she gestured to the sitting room. Elizabeth followed her. Hannah settled on an upholstered settee and patted the cushion next to her. She sat.

"When you accepted Samuel's proposal, did he tell you about Maltravers?"

Elizabeth stared at her. What could she say without giving away Samuel's most personal secrets? "He said he had an enemy who wanted to ruin his career and possibly see him hanged."

"And he told you why?"

Elizabeth searched her friend's direct unflinching gaze. There would be no prevaricating. She took a breath. "Yes, he did."

"I thought so. Samuel was unaware that my husband and others of high rank knew there were rumours and did not care whether they were true or not. Your husband was a modest man and certainly never knew that there were those in power at the Admiralty who would have protected him as one of their best captains. Maltravers tried to destroy your husband time and again, and he failed. Instead, his own career ended in disgrace."

Hannah paused, then reached for Elizabeth, cupping her chin and meeting her eyes. "Maltravers knew about Samuel. Langley believes that his intent is to…possess you, in the way that Samuel…I assume never did."

Elizabeth stared at her friend, blinking, when with horror, she suddenly understood what Hannah was saying. "He…wants to…?" He wanted to use her body to exact revenge on Samuel? Was that why he had brushed against her at the Bazaar?

"It is possible," said Hannah.

Elizabeth shivered. The thought was terrifying, but she was being protected, was she not? Darcy, his cousin, Admiral Langley—all were there to keep her safe. What had they done after she had gone to bed?

A maid entered quietly with several gowns draped over her arm and seemed surprised to see the two ladies up and out of bed. "Beg pardon, Mrs Bancroft, Mrs Langley, here are a selection of gowns for you ladies to wear. They're Mrs Fielding's, and she's quite tall, so they've been hemmed up a bit. Of course, you'll need to be measured so we can alter them more to your size."

"I thank you," Elizabeth said. "What is your name?"

"I'm Helen, ma'am."

"These will suffice, Helen. I shall speak to Mrs Sanders, for surely we shall not need so many. It is my hope that we shall be able to return to our homes in a day or two."

"Aye, ma'am. Can I bring you anything from the kitchen?"

Elizabeth looked at Hannah, who shook her head. "We can wait until breakfast is served, thank you. Is anyone else up and about?"

"Mr Darcy and Mr Fitzwilliam are awake and dressed. They have gone to the stables."

Elizabeth gasped. "They are not leaving?"

"I don't think so, ma'am. They're talking to some riders."

"Oh." She looked at Hannah. "Perhaps we had better dress and learn what has transpired while we were asleep."

They did not see the gentlemen until they entered the breakfast room, where food had been laid out on the sideboard. Elizabeth and Hannah sat with the men and listened to their plans.

"We sent expresses out in an attempt to discover where the villain has been. It may help us determine what he will do next," Mr Fitzwilliam assured them. "We should receive some answers today."

Nonplussed, she stared at Darcy. "Truly, is all this necessary?"

He rose and extended his hand to her. "Come with me, and I shall explain all."

He tucked her hand in his arm and led her to the gallery, a part of the house she had not seen. They walked silently before a long row of portraits. She presumed they were all Darcys, for not one of them was smiling. At last, he stopped and turned to face her.

"You are tired," they both said simultaneously, then after a surprised moment laughed at each other and quickly sobered.

"Did you sleep, my dear girl?" he enquired gently.

She shook her head. "Not well. Although I have always thought of myself as a courageous sort of person, I have never had a personal enemy before. It is frightening to think that someone wishes me ill and wants to hurt me just because I am myself." She put her hand to his face and stroked his cheekbone with her thumb. "You did not sleep either."

"We discussed our adversary late into the night. We are fortunate to have two military men to assist us. Admiral Langley and my cousin have resources that I could never command in terms of strategic planning and experienced fighting men to call into service to protect the house. To protect you." He paused for several moments, holding her hands to his chest.

"Admiral Langley explained to me about this Maltravers and his obsessive competition with your husband." He bent his head closer to her ear and murmured. "He told me about the captain."

Elizabeth felt her heart sink and her skin flush hot. She had never imagined that Darcy or anyone else would find out. Did he find it distasteful? Would he cast her aside for having married a man like Samuel?

She dared to look at him. "Do you despise me now?"

"What? No! No, never! Elizabeth, how could you think that of me? Though I am curious as to why you married him if you knew? Did, um, you know?"

Elizabeth wondered whether she could ever explain. "It is rather complicated. Over the course of a year, after we came out of full mourning, my sisters had all happily married, and it was presumed I would go next to town and seek a husband. My feelings were so tangled… I did not wish to leave my father all alone, and I did not wish to leave Longbourn, but I was isolated and languishing there. I was not ready to settle for marriage and a conventional life in town. I wished for an adventure, something to test my mettle. Then Samuel rode all the way to Longbourn from London and told me everything and proposed. He was completely honest, even though I might have repudiated him and sent him away. He honoured me with his trust."

She sighed, still looking away from Darcy as she searched for words to explain. "Our family met him at Kitty's wedding. He had served with Henry's father and had been present when he perished during a naval action. He assisted Mrs Newfield when she needed it and paid for young Henry's education. We found him to be a good man.

"He was asking for my help, you see, and he offered me a chance for adventure, to see the world. He told me it would be a harder life than I had ever experienced, but I found I wanted, nay, needed a true test of my abilities. I knew I could trust him, and he trusted me. So, I accepted him."

Elizabeth raised her eyes to Darcy's, wary but resolute. "I am aware that many would find my decision to be repellent, even immoral. But I am a better, stronger person than I would have been. I have no regrets."

Darcy pulled her close, his arms encircling her as she wrapped hers around his waist. "Nay, Elizabeth, I know I have no right to be, but I am proud of you. I admired you when we first met, but now… Your strength, your intelligence, your courage, your confidence…" He searched for the words. "You humble me. I shall spend my life proving myself worthy of you."

She sighed against him, feeling stronger within his grasp.

"I find myself envious of Captain Bancroft, yet profoundly grateful," he said softly. "Whereas I was a prideful fool, he recognised your worth immediately. He cared for you and showed you the world. He protected you and fostered your growth."

Elizabeth nodded. "In a way, he raised me, almost as much as my parents did."

"And now I shall protect you, along with our friends. We will deal with this scoundrel once and for all."