The colonel signaled to the Impressment officers, who tied his arms.
“In the name of the King,” said the colonel, “you are hereby impressed into His Majesty’s Navy, to help protect us against Napoleon.”
Now that Wickham was being held safely, Elizabeth rushed forward to help Betty get up from the floor. She glared at Wickham.
“When you first met me,” said Elizabeth to Wickham, “you pretended to express sympathy with me over my scratches. You called Mr. Darcy a villain even though he had not directly caused my injuries. Have you seen the bruise you deliberately planted on Betty’s face? Take a good look at it. Is this the behavior of a gentleman?”
“She should not have locked me in.” There was no sign of remorse. He looked at Elizabeth with complete indifference.
“Take him away,” said the colonel. They watched as the burly men took hold of his arms and led him away.
“It is more than he deserves,” said the colonel, as they left the warehouse. “Let us hope he will not desert his ship and make his way back.”
“It will not be easy. In any case, you had better make sure you are informed if he does, so we will be ready for him. The Navy does not treat deserters kindly.”
After they settled Betty on the box of the carriage and the carriage went on its way, Elizabeth buried her face in Darcyshoulder. “That was horrible. Much worse than I imagined. I am sorry I could not keep up the pretense for longer.”
“You did well. You managed to fool him for long enough.”
They should not have used her for bait, thought Darcy. He had not imagined Wickham would turn vicious. His heart had nearly stopped when he heard the scream.
“It is finished now. Apart from poor Betty, it turned out the way we hoped.” He planted a lingering kiss on her lips. “Shall we go and tell Georgiana the good news? She will not need to worry about Wickham again.”
Chapter 28
“Have you heard the news? Netherfield Park has been let at last!”
Elizabeth and Jane exchanged glances. “Yes, Mama,” said Elizabeth. “It has been let to Mr. Darcy’s friend, Mr. Bingley. Do you not remember Mr. Darcy telling you?”
“Mr. Darcy has said a great many things. You cannot expect me to remember them all,” said Mrs. Bennet, irritably. “And why should I listen to anything Mr. Darcy says? He does not listen to me.”
“You know that is not true. Mr. Darcy listens to you, but he does not alwaysagreewith you.”
“Do not try to hoodwink me with words, Miss Lizzy,” said Mrs. Bennet, sullenly. “I know very well that you insist on having everything your way.”
A particularly sore point was that, despite Mrs. Bennet’s desire for a special license so they could expedite the wedding, Mr. Darcy had refused.
“I want no speculation about our reasons for a hasty wedding,” said Darcy, resolutely. “Particularly since Miss Bennet spent some time with my family. I prefer to do everything the proper way.”
It meant they would have to wait for the bans to be read over three Sundays, and the wedding would could not take place until a few days afterwards.
To Elizabeth, when they were alone, Darcy expressed a longing to marry quickly. “I do not understand this insistence on three whole weeks before marrying,” he grumbled. “Perhaps I should have listened to your mother for once. I am so impatient for us to be together.”
“It is a mere three weeks. And I do not think you should set a precedent of agreeing with Mama,” said Elizabeth. “If you start now, you will be forced to continue, and before you know it, your nerves will be all aflutter like hers.”
“My nervesareall aflutter— in your presence,” he murmured.
Elizabeth flushed. “As are mine,” she murmured back. “I love you, Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy.”
“I love you too, Miss Elizabeth Bennet.”
Mrs. Bennet’s mood improved dramatically when Mr. Darcy, who had gone to London for some business, returned, bringing with him the new tenant at Netherfield.
The Bennets were the first to be introduced to him, and Mrs. Bennet now had something to crow about in all the neighborhood. Not only had she met the mysterious Mr. Bingley, but he was in possession of a large fortune. Besides, she believed– and she was never wrong in these things – that he had been particularly impressed by Jane.
“For as you know, Jane is very pretty, and she cannot be pretty for nothing, and Mr. Bingley will be lucky if she will have him, since Lizzy plans to introduce her to a great many gentlemen in possession of a fortune.”
It did not take long to prove Mrs. Bennet right. Mr. Bingley attended the Meryton Assembly, and though he was polite enough to dance with a number of young ladies, he only had eyes for Jane.
