Your loving and devoted wife,
Elizabeth
William smiled to himself as he refolded the letter and placed it back in his breast pocket next to her handkerchief. His Elizabeth had become the light of his life, and while they were entwined in that last amorous embrace, she whispered how much she longed to give him another child. A man could ask for no finer gift−a woman who loved him without reserve and the hope of a happy future.
As much as he tried, however, those thoughts could not fully sustain him. Until he was back at Rosings Park and was assured his wife and daughter were safe from Wickham, he could not be at ease. When they were about three hours from the estate, he had sent forth one of his outriders to alert Elizabeth of his projected arrival time and to report back with her response. Closing his eyes, William prayed in earnest,Please let them be safe; let her be safe.
Roughly two hours later, the carriage came to a stop when William’s outrider returned with news from Rosings Park. Jumping from his horse, he ran directly to the carriage, handing William two letters. Not wanting to wake Georgiana until he had read the letters, William opened the door and exited the vehicle. To his complete horror, the first was not from his wife but from his steward, explaining that there had been a fire in the barnon Friday evening and informing him that Mrs. Darcy and his daughter were missing.
“Good God!” William exclaimed quickly breaking the seal on the second letter.
Nephew,
I trust you will be home soon. The estate is in an uproar and we are in dire need of your assistance following the fire which occurred last night. As you may surmise from reading your steward’s letter, the barn is no more and the timbers are still smouldering amongst the rubble. Be aware, Anna and Miss Bennet are nowhere to be found. They were last seen by Nurse Potter and the maid Molly. The enclosed message was left on Miss Bennet’s pillow, I assume written by George Wickham since it is signed GW.
I still do not understand the man’s involvement in all of this. As you know, he was always a good friend to my Anne, even when you were not.
“Good friend, indeed!” William spat.
I warned you about marrying that woman. For George Wickham to behave in such a manner, I suspect Miss Bennet has charmed him with her arts and allurements for some nefarious reason of her own. Meanwhile, I sent an express to Matlock House earlier today asking for my brother’s assistance.
Let it be known that I am holding you and that woman responsible for the trouble we now find ourselves in. I shall not rest until my granddaughter has been recovered and returned to me. You may be her father,but after this disaster with Miss Bennet, in my estimation you are no longer fit to be her guardian.
Lady Catherine
Cursing under his breath, William crumpled his aunt’s letter, shoving it into his pocket along with that of his steward. After quickly reading Wickham’s message, he hurried back to the carriage waking his sister and explaining what had taken place. While he wished to escort her the remaining distance to Rosings Park, he had no choice but to leave her care to his servants and go ahead by horseback.
“I am so sorry, Georgie, but I must leave you in order to learn whatever I can about Elizabeth and Anna before going on to London. Wickham is demanding money and says he will contact me at Darcy House when he is ready for the exchange. With Richard being in Town for several days now, I pray he may have some information for me to go on. Hopefully things will be settled swiftly.”
“Be safe, Brother. I shall be praying for all of you.”
“I know you will.” He leaned over to kiss his sister, and after squeezing her hand, left by horseback.
Rosings Park
As soon as William arrived at Rosings Park, he was met by his land steward, Mr. Parker, who quickly apprised him of the damages to the barn and assured William that there would be no problem disposing of the rubble and beginning repairs. Fortunately, not many workers sustained burns, no lives were lost and all of the animals were accounted for, save one horse. The man had a long history in estate management and was one whom William trusted to take care of things in his absence.
On finishing their conversation, William directed one of the footmen to make arrangements for another carriage while he went into the house hoping for more information about Elizabeth and Anna. Needless to say, by this time he was short of temper and curt with everyone he spoke to. Since Lady Catherine had sent all of her servants to assist with putting out the fire, no one could provide him with pertinent information. The last people to see his wife and child had been Anna’s nurse and Elizabeth’s maid, just as Lady Catherine had stated in her letter. It was the two of them who had discovered they were missing, though not until early the next morning after the fire was subdued and the house servants had begun returning to the manor.
The housekeeper had told William that Anna’s dolls had been left in her room and that his own room had been found in disarray. After taking a quick look around, he asked one of the maids to gather up certain items, including the dolls, and place them in Elizabeth’s small trunk before having it sent down to the carriage. Next, he quickly changed clothes and went directly to Lady Catherine’s study where a heated discussion ensued.
“Darcy, come in. I trust you have spoken with Mr. Parker and made arrangements for repairs to the barn?”
“The barn is the least of my worries, as you well know. Mr. Parker is more than qualified to take care of business on that end. My first priority is my wife and child. I specifically asked you in my express letter to arrange ample protection for Elizabeth and Anna at all times. Obviously, you ignored my request, since they have been taken by George Wickham. And why in heaven’s name did you not send a rider on to alert me earlier today, especially since you saw fit to inform my uncle by express?”
“Darcy, I do not appreciate your accusations. Who is to say that woman you married did not make clandestinearrangements with George Wickham to take Anna and extort money from all of us?”
“Preposterous!”
“She is not to be trusted. After all, her family is nothing!”
“Aunt Catherine, you are mad if you truly believe what you just said. It is obvious you would rather blame someone else for your incompetency on several scores, starting with the hire of Mrs. Younge, who is now dead by that man’s hand.”
She merely huffed and stated, “I have little to say on the matter. If you were so unsure of her character, you should have researched her references yourself. I am hardly your keeper. At the time, she came highly recommended and seemed more than adequate to supervise Georgiana’s studies while she resided in Ramsgate.”
“I agree, you are not my keeper and in hindsight, I should have done just that. The truth is, while we are family, I should never have trusted solely in your judgement.”
“Hrumph!” she said, pounding her walking stick in disapproval.
