It was a sennight until the end of January, and then William, who had said he would return on the first day of February, would be back in London, less than a half mile away at Darcy House. Elizabeth was counting the days, almost the hours, until she would see the man whom she now freely acknowledged that she loved very deeply and not as a cousin.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Lieutenant George Wickham made sure he read the society pages each day to be able to see if there were any mentions of the hated one. He sought information that would help him plan how he would finally take his long overdue revenge.
It was not that life was bad in the Devonshire Militia. But that was not the point. If it were not for that foundling bitch, he never would have had to lower himself to follow his late father’s order and take an apprenticeship and always be short of blunt. Neither would he ever have needed to join the militia in the first place. Damn her! She lived the life of luxury which was his due. His desire to force the chit to marry him had not dimmed; only deferred. That deferral was all because Karen could not stick to his brilliant plan.
With that experience behind him, Wickham knew that the next time he would not fail because he would do what needed to be done himself.
The only thing about the Carringtons of late had been articles about the older sister marrying Richard Fitzwilliam. He begrudged them the life of luxury they lived as the master and mistress of Rosings Park, but there was more than one reason he would never move against them. Firstly, he was petrified of Fitzwilliam, and secondly, the older sister had not been the one to negatively impact the trajectory of his life.
For months that was all he had seen, until this very day; the newspaper was four days old, as was normal for the London papers in this part of the country as they were encamped near a fishing village in Cornwall. It mentioned that the hated one would be entering society soon and the expectation for a brilliant match was high.
Not if he had anything to say about it!
At least, there was time. It seemed the parents would not allow their foundling daughters to marry until their eighteenth birthday. Thanks to that, he had as much time as he needed to form another infallible plan and execute it.
Yes, George Wickham would get his due.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
As he had said he would, William arrived in London on the first day of February, where his parents warmly welcomed him to Darcy House. It did not surprise him that Anna was not home but rather was at Holder House visiting her cousins, and if he had any say in the matter, her sisters at some point in the future. He would not be able to speak—thanks to his self-imposed limits—about his feelings—which were the deepest and most ardent love for Elizabeth—until, at least, the end of her season, which ended in July, that is.
Until then, he would have to watch other men try and attract her attention. Like Richard had been with Jane, William was fairly sure her head would not be turned by another; however, until it was certain, nothing was assured.
He washed and changed, urging his valet, Carstens, to make all speed. Once he was ready, he sought out his parents in Father’s study and informed them he was for Holder House so he would be able to see and greet Anna. As much as he hated disguise, he told himself it was not a lie; just a partial truth.
Lady Anne and Robert Darcy exchanged knowing looks as they watched the retreating back of their son. They had no doubt what—or who—his primary reason for the urgent call was.
Although she would keep her word to Edith and not repeat their conversation to anyone outside of her husband, Lady Anne was aware William would not have long to wait before declaring himself to Lizzy. She and Robert agreed that Lizzy was William’s perfect match. For some years, they had speculated about the two coming together, but now it was certain both had deep feelings for the other, and it was no longer conjecture. They predicted that the two would enter a courtship a few days after Lizzy’s coming-out ball.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
When William entered the drawing room, Elizabeth had to fight her inclination to follow Anna and spring out of her seat and throw herself into his arms. She envied that Anna was allowed to do that, but she believed it would not be too much longer before she had the right to be in his arms.
After kissing the top of his sister’s head—he could not believe that by the time Lizzy was presented and came out, his baby sister would be thirteen already—William greeted those in the drawing room at Holder House.
Neither Jane and Richard Fitzwilliam nor Charlotte and Jamey Carrington was present. The former couple would arrive from Kent the next day while the latter was already in London but presently at Hadlock House. Looking at Lizzy, William believed that he had never seen her look at him like she was at this moment. Unless he was only seeing what he wanted to see, there was love for him in her eyes. Seeing that, or what he believed it to be, caused his heart to thunder in his chest and his breath to hitch.
What a pity that he needed—no, he had decided—to wait until the end of the London season to speak to her regarding a shared future.
Soon he and Elizabeth were seated on a settee debating Felicia Dorothea Browne’sEngland and Spain; or,Valour and Patriotism. Although they disagreed with some of the content of the poem and argued their points of view vigorously, both agreed that it was a good work for anyone of any age—especially a young poet who was but fifteen when she penned the work.
Edith watched Lizzy and William, before she shot her beloved Paul a knowing look.
His look in return was one which said that he saw what she did, and he would not delay in speaking to William the Monday after the ball.
The younger four decided to go for a ride in Hyde Park—escorted by Biggs, Johns, and some of their men—leaving the Carrington parents alone.
“Paul, I have been cogitating on something,” Edith began. “As far as we know that despicable man, Wickham, was targeting Lizzy in his failed scheme, was he not?”
“Indeed, to what do you refer?” Holder responded.
“Just this: when, and it is when not if, Lizzy and William marry, I think that John Biggs and Brian Johns should go with her, as long as they and the Darcys agree. Mary will have more than enough men to protect her, and she was not the target of that man’s avarice and unholy plans,” Edith laid out.
“As always, you make eminent sense, my love,” Holder agreed. “As soon as William asks for some formal arrangement with Lizzy, I will speak to Darcy before I speak to Biggs and Johns. I am certain everyone will be in agreement.”
“In my opinion, Lizzy has a stronger bond with those two than any of our other children, so it would be right they remain with her.”
