Pointing his gun, he shouted, “Wickham, drop the knife and stand back from my wife if you know what is good for you!”
As Wickham turned to face William, Elizabeth frantically began pulling on the thick leather straps which were tightly binding the trunk. The buckles holding the straps were badly rusted and she could not seem to budge the prongs. Meanwhile, Richard’s men had followed and were engaged in combat with Wickham’s two other men. Without anyone to hold the unstable cart in place, it began to roll backwards, jostling Elizabeth and hitting another cart in its path. From there it swerved toward the side of the plank where it teetered precariously over the edge.
“No,” Elizabeth screamed, desperately reaching for the trunk. “William! Help! Anna is trapped!”
When Anna heard her mother calling for help, she began crying. “Mama, Mama, take me out of here, I am scared.”
At the sound of Elizabeth’s scream and Anna’s pleading voice, William let down his guard and Wickham took advantage, hitting him squarely in the jaw and aiming his knife at William’s chest. When William deflected the hit with his arm, the gash he sustained through his jacket sleeve was enough to draw blood. At that moment Richard lunged at Wickham from the rear, taking him by surprise. As they struggled, the two of them toppled over the side and into the choppy water where they disappeared beneath the surface.
Without a moment to lose, William was at Elizabeth’s side tugging at the trunk. Just as they were about to pull it from the lopsided cart, the cart gave way, sliding over the edge of the plank and taking the trunk with it. William and Elizabeth both followed, jumping into the water, pushing containers and packages out of the way as they swam towards the trunk.
“Mama, Mama,” Anna coughed. “The water is choking me.”
Reaching the trunk which was rapidly taking on water, William shouted, “Mama and Papa are here, Anna. Be brave, little one. We shall get you out!”
Meanwhile, the trunk was being pushed along the side of the ship’s hull by the increased wave action making it more difficult for William and Elizabeth to hold on. Although they were not far from the landing, the water was quite deep and with nothing to stand on, they could barely keep the trunk from sinking.
“Elizabeth, I am going under the water. When I push up on the trunk, undo the buckles on the side and release the lid.”
“Hurry, William!” she shouted.
Taking a deep breath, William submerged beneath the trunk where he did his best to brace himself against the hull of the swaying ship while treading water and pushing up with all of his might. When William surfaced to take another breath, Elizabeth had successfully released two of the straps. Trying their best, they could not force the lid open enough to get Anna out.
“Just one more, William,” Elizabeth panted.
“Mama, the water is cold and everything is dark.”
“I know, sweetheart. It will only be a few more minutes.”
Taking another breath, William went back under the water. Moments later Elizabeth was able to release the buckle on the last strap and pull Anna from the trunk. Resurfacing, William pushed the sinking trunk out of his way and reached for his daughter.
“Papa, Papa!” Anna cried holding onto his neck. “Please, take us home.”
“Yes, sweet one, I promise, we will be there soon.” Continuing to hold Anna, both he and Elizabeth pushed more floating debris out of the way as they swam towards the embankment where Mr. Gardiner and a few others were waiting to pull them from the murky water.
“Elizabeth,” shouted Gardiner through the howling wind and rain, “thank God all three of you are safe!” He quickly took off his great coat and wrapped it around Elizabeth and Anna, who were shivering.
“My carriage is not far,” he continued. “Let us get all of you out of this storm and back to Darcy House.”
Although Mr. Gardiner had not participated in the actual fight, as soon as he saw William and the rest of the men charge up the plank from the loading dock, he alerted the Wharf police into action. By the time William, Elizabeth and Anna were back on the dock, Wickham’s men had been apprehended and most of the plank cleared of debris.
“Gardiner, you go on ahead with Elizabeth and Anna. I will meet you at the carriage as soon as I find out what happened to my cousin and Wickham.” William quickly kissed Anna on the forehead saying, “I love you, little one. You were very brave today, my girl. Stay with Mama until I come back.”
“Yes, Papa.”
Then to Elizabeth he whispered, “I love you more than you can possibly imagine, Elizabeth Darcy.”
“I love you, too. I knew you would come for us. Go ahead, find the colonel. We shall be waiting.”
Running towards Dobson, William called out, “Where is my cousin?”
“The colonel and Wickham fell from the plank and it seems they were caught in the current. With the storm, the water along the dock is unpredictable. Two of our men who are good swimmers went after them.” He continued to scan the area. “Wait, I think I see the colonel and our men a little further down. They are being pulled out of the water and onto the next landing.” Both men ran in that direction.
Richard staggered as he and the others hoisted an unconscious Wickham out of the water, his head bleedingprofusely. After speaking briefly with the wharf police, Richard turned to William, asking, “Are Mrs. Darcy and Anna well?”
“Yes, and they are waiting for me in Gardiner’s carriage. I am glad to see you alive, Cousin. What happened?”
Still trying to catch his breath, Richard raggedly said, “Wickham hit his head on a piling or some other debris in the water when we fell from the plank. As you can see, he sustained a nasty gash. Blood was spouting everywhere and an undertow pulled us further down. It took all my strength to get him back to the dock.” He shrugged. “For my part I could have let him drown, but….”
