“What is it that you dream of, my dear?”
Georgiana’s voice lowered.
“I see Lizzy standing against the wall with the poker raised. I see the door opening, so slowly, and Wickham walking in. He cannot see me, for I am well hidden behind the drapes, but when Lizzy strikes him, I come running out, and then I wake up screaming.”
He pressed her hand.
“Is it at that point that you struck his arm?”
She considered it, her brow drawn.
“Yes. When he seized her ankle, I struck his arm so that he would release her. It was horrible, Fitzwilliam. It felt monstrous to strike another person, and then to see his arm disfigured, and to hear him crying out in pain, writhing upon the floor.” Her eyes squeezed shut. “It was horrible.”
Darcy’s voice lowered.
“What was the worst of it, sweetling?”
She opened her eyes and looked at him.
“It was the sound,” she whispered. “The dreadful sound of bone breaking, and the feeling of flesh and bone giving way. I shall never forget it.”
She buried her face against his shoulder and wept. He held her close, listening without interruption until her sobs subsided.
“I am very angry with him, Fitzwilliam. He destroyed my relationship with Mrs. Younge, whom I had come to care for, and he terrorized Lizzy and me.”
“It is only natural that you should feel anger,” he answered. “He has caused you distress and pain beyond measure.”
She lifted her head.
“Brother, what occurred between him and Mrs. Younge?”
Darcy inhaled sharply, then rested his cheek against her curls.
“Kendall investigated. He found her in a boarding house, by Wickham’s direction. Her parents keep the house, and it was there she first met him, scarcely two months ago. He was on leave from his militia post. His charm won her over. He filled her mind with lies, lamenting that I had denied him the living he believed my father meant for him. He turned her against us, Georgiana, and he has used her as he has used other women.”
He coughed to tamp down his discomfort as he related the facts. “Mercifully, she did not fall with child.”
He pressed her hand again, his expression grave.
“And because Wickham has so often frequented brothels, he is most likely diseased, and she may be as well. The worst of such afflictions is known as syphilis. She may yet pay a steep price for having consorted with George Wickham.”
Georgiana’s eyes filled.
“So, she was loyal to me for two years, save these last two months, and only because he deceived her?”
“Yes,” Darcy replied. “He is a skilled deceiver, my dear. Even our father was taken in by his pretenses. He is the only man I haveever known who can lie while his handsome face wears nothing but innocence.”
His voice hardened.
“Men like him are dangerous, and we ought not to judge Mrs. Younge too harshly for her betrayal. She was not wicked, only deceived.”
“What will become of her?” Georgiana asked.
“She will remain in her parents’ home and assist with their business. I warned her that if she ever hires herself out again as a companion, or tries to extort me, I shall call in the order I obtained and see her sent to prison.”
Georgiana nodded. “That is only right. She has proved herself unworthy of caring for innocent children.”
Her voice faltered.
