The clergyman drew himself up with as much dignity as his diminished circumstances allowed. “I see that reason will not prevail here. Very well. I shall depart, but I maintain my complete innocence in this matter.”
Without waiting for the footman, he opened the study door and exited, clearly eager to depart. As he approached the entrance hall, he wheeled around, his obsequious nature reasserting itself.
“Mr. Darcy, I implore you to reconsider.” His voice resounded through the corridor. “My livelihood, my reputation, my very future depend upon clearing my name of these false accusations. Whatever gentleman fathered Miss Elizabeth’s child, it was not I.”
Darcy rose to physically remove the impudent parson from the farmhouse when a flurry of skirts and indignant eyes stopped him. Elizabeth, her sister, and William had returned from their walk, stopping at the sight of Mr. Collins.
Collins followed his gaze, his expression changing from indignation to shock as he spotted Elizabeth approaching with William.
“Cousin Elizabeth!” he exclaimed. “You are indeed here! But what is this about a child?”
Elizabeth hand went to her throat, her face paling as she registered Collins’s presence. William, oblivious to the tension, continued running toward Darcy.
“Da-see! Da-see!” the boy called happily, arms outstretched. “Up! Up!”
Georgiana descended the staircase, and the front door opened. Lady Eleanor’s footman escorted her into the entrance hall.
“Fitzwilliam.” His aunt observed the disarray. “What precisely is happening here?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
MORAL RECKONING
Elizabeth assessedthe assembly placed before her. One moment, she and her son, along with Mary had enjoyed a brisk autumn walk through the sheep fields, peaceful and pastoral. Now, as if stepping onto a stage, she surveyed the actors staring at her. Mr. Collins—that obsequious, pompous man who had once proposed to her with all the sensitivity of a farmyard rooster—faced Darcy with a hostility unbefitting a man of the cloth.
Lady Eleanor had just arrived and was still in her traveling clothes and Georgiana had descended the staircase, her eyes darting between her brother and Elizabeth.
But it was William who truly stopped her heart. Her son, oblivious to the tension crackling through the air, had spotted Darcy and was running toward him with outstretched arms.
“Da-see! Da-see!” he called happily. “Up! Up!”
She caught Mary’s arm, steadying herself from the storm of emotions raging within. The venomous words Mr. Collins uttered set her heart in a tumble.Whatever gentleman fathered Miss Elizabeth’s child, it was not I.
Of course, it was not the toad, Collins, but who had accused him? Darcy?
Mr. Collins recovered first.
“Cousin Elizabeth!” he exclaimed, his voice carrying that familiar tone of false solicitude that had always set her teeth on edge. “So it is true! You are here, and with a… a child?”
William had reached Darcy, who automatically lifted him into his arms while glaring at Collins as if he were a beetle to be squashed.
“Mr. Collins,” Elizabeth acknowledged with the barest civility politeness demanded. “I confess I am surprised to encounter you at Bellfield Grange. I understood you to be settled at Hunsford.”
“Cousin Elizabeth, I cannot express the relief I feel at finding you in good health. When I learned of your… unfortunate circumstances… I was most grievously concerned for your welfare. When I learned that Lady Eleanor Blackmore had taken you under her protection, I felt compelled by Christian duty to offer what assistance I could in clarifying certain misunderstandings.”
Lady Eleanor raised an elegant eyebrow. “Misunderstandings, Mr. Collins? I was not aware there were any requiring clarification.”
Collins straightened, apparently recognizing an opportunity to address someone of consequence. “Your ladyship, I am deeply honored by your attention. I have come to seek the intervention of Mr. Darcy in clearing my name of the most heinous slanders. It seems I have been accused of… of improper conduct toward Miss Elizabeth here, resulting in…” His gaze darted toward William with theatrical horror. “Circumstances which any gentleman of moral character would find abhorrent to contemplate.”
Elizabeth felt rather than saw Darcy’s gaze upon her, searching her face for reaction. She maintained a placid expression, feeling as if she were on trial.
“Perhaps,” Lady Eleanor suggested smoothly, “this conversation would be better conducted inside the drawing room, away from servants’ ears and young children’s understanding.”
“An excellent suggestion,” Darcy agreed. His hand had settled protectively on William’s back, a gesture so natural that Elizabeth’s throat constricted.
Mary stepped forward. “I shall take William to the nursery. He has had a long walk and should rest.”
“No!” William protested, tightening his grip on Darcy’s coat. “Stay Da-see!”
