It was Darcy’s turn to jump to his feet. “This is mywifeyou are slandering, Devereux. How dare you accuse her of unmanning me? How dare you call her the enemy? You will take your words back, Devereux, and apologize, or you will answer to it. I will demand satisfaction.”
Elizabeth was frozen in her seat. How had things reached here so quickly? She had to stop Darcy from doing something foolish.
“Darcy, let us stay calm, you cannot—"
But her words were drowned by others. No one took the least bit notice of her. It was as if she was invisible.
“Come now, Darcy. We cannot fight amongst ourselves for such trivial reasons. Nothing good can come of it. Are you not willing to let it go?”
Lord Sudbury’s quiet voice only seemed to make Darcy more agitated.
“Trivial reasons?Mr. Devereux owes my wife anapology.”
Hiswifewas standing right here. If only Darcy would look in Elizabeth’s direction, she would signal him that she did not care whether she was insulted, so long as Darcy did not put himself in danger. She had never seen him react so strongly before. Darcy usually held tight control of his feelings.
“I am simply stating the truth, Darcy, even if you cannot see it. I am more than willing to answer to it. I will not take back my words. And I will not apologize.”
“You have impinged upon my honor, and the honor of my wife and Twin. You have left me with no choice, sir. I must challenge you to a duel.”
“Gentlemen,” said Matlock. “Let us discuss this calmly and reasonably.”
“Stay out of this, Matlock!” Devereux was openly defiant now, his eyes sparkling dangerously. “Darcy must be made to pay for his role in the destruction of Founder’s Hall.”
“We must be sensible, gentlemen,” said Lord Grayson. “Is it not enough that the French seek to destroy us? Must we destroy ourselves from within?”
There was a sudden silence, and Elizabeth allowed herself to hope.
Darcy looked like a stone. There was no possibility of retraction from his side.
“I have said what needed to be said, and what I know many of you are thinking, nothing more, nothing less,” said Devereux, with a cold smile. “I will not retract a word I said.”
“So be it, then,” said Darcy. “We will meet at dawn. Choose your seconds.”
Nooo!Elizabeth wanted to stand up and shout, to rush over and shake Darcy and tell him not to be foolish, but she knew that trying to influence him publicly in any way would only make matters worse. She had never felt so hopeless in her life. If only she could do something. She looked around, trying to find someone that would put an end to this madness, but no one would meet her eye.
Instead, the Council members had taken Darcy’s words as a signal to disband. Clearly, it was no longer Council business. Everyone came to their feet and broke up into separate groups. A few drifted towards Darcy, while others went to Devereux.
Darcy was fighting overher. She could not bear it. When he had promised he would always take her side, this was not at all what she had expected.
She could not allow this duel to happen. There had to be something she could do. She looked around. Who could she talk to? Reason with? The few ladies on the Council had not said anything, but two of them were speaking to Devereux. From what she could hear, they were supporting him.
It was no use trying to talk to anyone on the Council. They were too fragmented, too set in their opinions to see anything but their own perspective. Her only chance was to seek out others who had not witnessed the scene and who could do something to put a stop to this madness.
She slipped out of the room unseen and went in search of someone to talk to.
***
IN THE END, THERE WASonly one person she could talk to. Darcy himself.
She waited outside the breakfast room for an interminably long time before he finally emerged. He was accompanied by Tonkin and Grayson. She gestured to Darcy that she wished to talk to him, and he took his leave from the others.
“I can only spare you a moment, Elizabeth. I have to sort out my seconds and ensure that I know the rules.”
“This will not take long. I have been thinking about it, and I know what I must do. I must leave Netherfield and return to Longbourn.”
He scowled. “Of all the dimwitted things you could have said to me, I did not expect that, Elizabeth.”
“If you are worried I will reveal the truth about your location, I am willing to submit to any spell that would ensure my silence.”
