She began to sob.
Darcy stared at her in horror, trying to comprehend what she was saying. He could not believe that she had uttered these words. He must have misunderstood.
“I beg your pardon, Georgiana, but I did not hear what you said.”
She looked up. “Don’t you see? William, Miss Bennet might have saved my life.”
Chapter 4
Elizabeth left the house quickly, driven by a mix of alarm and distress, his threat to hand her over ringing in her ears. If they accused her of theft, what defense did she have? It was a gentleman’s word against the word of an unknown stranger. Here in the depths of Derbyshire, where Mr. Darcy was very likely related to the Justice of Peace, how was she to defend herself against him?
Only when she was some way from the house did her alarm transform itself into an intense sense of humiliation. Distress gave way to indignation. To have turned her out of the house without any attempt at civility! To have accused her without proof, completely ignoring her explanation! Mr. Darcy, she decided, was the most unpleasant gentleman she had ever met.
Elizabeth felt sorry for Miss Darcy. It must be very difficult to live with such a churlish brother. Not that Miss Darcy’s situation was any concern of Elizabeth’s. If she had minded her own business, she would not have felt sorry for Miss Darcy, and she would not have accepted her invitation to dinner. It had been foolish of her to agree to it. Of course, she would never have accepted if she knew Mr. Darcy was there. From Miss Darcy’s description, she already knew that Mr. Darcy was a cold, uncaring person who had abandoned his sister just when she needed him most.
Little did she know when the carriage came to pick her up from the inn at Lambton that she was about to be treated like a common criminal and cast out to make her own way across the fields.
It was summer, and a trek of three miles to the village was nothing to someone who was used to walking long distances. Normally, she would have thought nothing of it. The problem was, Elizabeth was wearing the only dinner dress she had brought with her, and she would have preferred not to ruin it by stepping on the hem and tearing it. And to make matters worse, she was wearing her evening slippers, which were not meant for walking at all. They would surely be shredded to bits by the time she arrived at the inn. The only solace she could derive in her circumstances was that the ground was dry, so she did not have to make her way through the mud.
She should have asked for the carriage before she left, but with those horrible accusations ringing in her ears, she had not wanted to spend a moment more in that household. Well, it was too late now.
Her anger at Mr. Darcy increased threefold. No wonder Miss Darcy had been so desolate, with such a brother! He was a despicable tyrant.
She stalked across the field, pausing only to make sure of her direction. What if it had been dark, and she was forced to walk alone? Without a moon to guide her, she would have fumbled in the dark, unable to find her way. Fortunately, the sun was a long way from setting.
At first, she hoped – nay, expected – that someone would come after her. Surely Miss Darcy would convince her brother to at least send someone after her to guide her to Lambton. Surely, once the first heat of anger was over, he would remember that she was a well-bred lady, and she should not be left to go home alone. But as time passed and no one came, she began to feel more and more ill-used. After the assistance Elizabeth had given Miss Darcy, surely she could have secretly sent a conveyance of some sort – a dogcart would do – to take her back? Was Miss Darcy so self-absorbed that it had not even occurred to her to do so?
Her resentment began to fade as she thought it over. She could not, in all fairness, put the blame on Miss Darcy, who had been very considerate earlier. She had arranged for the carriage to take Elizabeth to Lambton, then sent the carriage to bring her back to Pemberley. No doubt she was too intimidated by her brother, or too upset by the whole thing to even think of it.
No. Miss Darcy did not deserve Elizabeth’s anger. There was only one person who did, and that was Mr. Darcy. The very name brought bile to her throat.
By the time she limped into the inn, her feet were bleeding, her toes bruised, and her dignity shattered.
“Allow me to assist you,” said a gentleman in the doorway. “It seems like you have been victim of an accident.”
He took her arm firmly and guided her thoughtfully to a seat in the corner of the inn of the taproom.
Elizabeth was so exhausted by her ordeal, and the pain in her feet so strong, she felt her eyes prickling with gratitude at the kindness of a stranger.
“Thank you, sir.”
“There is no need to thank me. I have done nothing,” said the young gentleman, with a self-depreciating gesture. “It is apparent that you are a well-bred young lady. How could I not aid you when you are in an unhappy situation?” He looked around. “May I call for someone? Do you have a maid staying here, perchance? Or is she following behind you with the luggage?”
“My aunt and uncle are here. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner. If you would be kind enough to send someone to fetch them, I would be most obliged.”
“I would be more than happy to do so.” He bowed and went in search of someone to look for them.
A few moments later, he returned to her side. “The chambermaid tells me they are out walking, but she will send a boy after them.
He drew a chair closer to her. “At the risk of seeming too forward, may I ask what happened?”
Elizabeth had not even introduced herself. She had no intention of revealing anything to a complete stranger, even if he was a real gentleman, unlike someone else she had encountered. “Nothing happened.”
“It cannot be nothing. I can see you are in some distress. Did you fall off a horse? Were you accosted? I would like to help.”
The kindness in his voice made her want to tell him, but what could she say? She could hardly tell him she had been accused of being a thief.
“Nothing like that. Let us just say, I had an unpleasant conversation with a proud gentleman.” She was careful to nameno names, and to make it clear that nothing untoward had happened. She needed to guard her reputation.
