Darcy scoffed. “No, I dare not return to England with a single woman. Springfield is half a mile beyond Gretna Green. That will do. I just could not stand to be in the same inn as them.” Wickham had probably already taken full advantage of his sister’s willingness on their drive north, but he needed distance between himself and their bedchamber.
“Do?” she asked with a little more alertness. “Do for what?”
She was in shock that Georgiana chose Wickham after all, even with the dire consequences that would follow. Elizabeth was so distraught, felt so much disbelief, that she had not yet reflected on her own situation.
“Miss Bennet, we have to get married.”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Married?” she repeated. “No. No, no, no. There must be something we can do.”
Darcy shook his head with the sombre air of a mourner. “The ‘something’ was convince Georgiana to leave Wickham, or persuade him he did not want her. Everything about what just happened…” Darcy tore off his hat and ran his hands over his face. “To say that it was worse than I expected is a laughable understatement. But I will not have it also wound my honour, my moral character, by us returning to England as anything less than husband and wife. How would it look to the world?”
It took her a moment to catch her breath and speak without stammering. Surely, she did not have to commit herself to Darcy. “But we know the truth. Nothing improper?—”
“That does not matter!” He sat up sharply to look at her. “No one will believe us. We know we did right in trying to rescue our sisters, but we were alone fordays. This was not an afternoon carriage ride alone or a stolen kiss. If we do not marry, my reputation will suffer and yours will be entirely destroyed. My character demands that I protect your good name.”
Elizabeth drew back at his tone, as though he were the one at adisadvantage. “So, you are doing me a favour? I should be grateful because you are at least an honourable man? I am aghast that I must tie my life to a stranger.”
“And I am tying my life to a woman of no family, no fortune, whom I have known for a week. I do not want you either.”
This was impossible. A marriage was forever, an unbreakable bond for life. “I am determined to yield neither my body nor my heart to a husband not of my own choosing,” she cried.
“How fortunate, because I am not interested in either,” he yelled right back.
She felt a pang of rejection that was entirely unwarranted. She did not want to be loved by Darcy, so it should not wound her to be told it would not happen.
Darcy sighed heavily. “I am purely interested in preserving our good names,” he said in a calmer tone. “Georgiana’s scandalous marriage will already be humiliating. I will not add absconding with a gentleman’s daughter and abandoning her in Scotland to the list of things that could ruin me.”
“It would bemyruin, not yours,” she said carefully as the full realisation of what she must do fell upon her. Who would connect themselves to her family if it were known she left London alone with Darcy? “You would suffer a few muttered asides, and some mothers would keep their daughters from dancing with you. But you are a man, and you are wealthy, and your uncle is an earl. You would survive the gossip and suffer a temporary disgrace. I could never return home, never show my face in public, never marry.”
She felt cold all over, and her hands shook. The only way forward was to commit herself to a prideful man whom she, at best, respected his principles and found handsome.
“This should not shock you.” Darcy sounded impatient. “We discussed this possibility yesterday.”
Yesterday, it was a notion, a far-off potential problem unlikely to happen. Georgiana was not supposed to be beyond their reach. Elizabeth had not considered such a consequence as this, but she should have. She had to accept responsibility for her reckless choices, for her own sake and for all of her sisters’. To the world, she had run off with aman just like Georgiana had—and no one would care about her intact virtue or noble intentions.
She felt Darcy’s stare, but she could not raise her eyes to meet his.
“I have no choice,” she finally said. “And I am terrified. You could grow to despise me, neglect me, shame me, and I have no choice but to remain with you and endure it. Who wants that sort of life?”
He was silent for a long while. “I have no choice, either,” he murmured. “You might hate me, humiliate me, fear me, and I have no choice but to take care of you, even beyond my death. This is not the life I wanted, either. But like with Georgiana, I cannot force you to do what I think is best. When this carriage stops, you must decide if you are marrying me and protecting our reputations, or returning to England as a single woman and enduring the consequences.”
“Even if I did not care for my good name, I care about my sisters’ and their future prospects. So I will marry you and endure as women have always endured, and will cope with the consequences: the physical, the emotional, the financial.”
Darcy started. “What manner of man do you think I am?”
“I don’t know,” she shouted, “and that is why I am frightened.”
He was quiet as he twisted the ring he wore. “Wickham will break my sister’s spirit and leave her destitute. She will grow to resent him and blame him for all her suffering. She will live a hard life whether they live together or ultimately live apart.”
Her heart broke for Georgiana Darcy. She had made a thoughtless choice, and the consequences would be long-lasting and dire. “I never wanted that for her.”
“You and I must live life together now, and although I am not prepared to ever make those promises that you might have expected from your chosen partner, I assure you that I will not break your spirit or leave you destitute.”
That was the best vow she would get. Financial support and to not oppress her. Not love or enduring affection, not someone to share burdens or laughter with.
Springfield was half a mile from Gretna Green and appeared to Elizabeth to be a one-street weaving town. The chaise stopped at theQueen’s Head Inn, and when Darcy handed her out, she got a better look at his face. There was pain in his eyes, a haggard, resigned look. He was no happier about this than she was, and he had lost a sister too.
