Page 30 of Wickham Likes 'Em Young
She felt unsteady, herself, and she heard Mr Wickham’s cry. She wished she could be certain where he was—had he fully fallen into the ravine, or was he holding onto a bush or boulder, or was he still inches away from falling?—but she felt even more compelled to run, and she did so, running towards Longbourn, using her weakened, strained voice to call for help.
Elizabeth had always been a strong walker, and she occasionally loved to run freely—although the opportunities to do so were severely limited now that she was grown and expected to display decorum at all times. But she loved the feel of her half-boots striking the forest floor and shooting her forward, and she loved the experience of weaving between the trees, confident in her knowledge of this beloved woodland, unerringly heading towards home. Suddenly she saw—“Fitzwilliam?”
“Elizabeth!”
He had been running, too, but towards her, and somehow, despite his disheveled, sweaty appearance, he had never been more attractive.
“Wickham!” she gasped. She pointed in the direction she came from, and she said, “I do not know if he is hurt or running away or…”
Darcy said, “Get to the house; I will look for him.”
Elizabeth stopped running, leaning down to breathe heavily, and she said, “He might have fallen into a ravine. I should show you….”
“Please, please go to safety,” he pleaded. She was startled to see that his eyes were wet, and he passed one arm across his face to clear his vision and asked one more time, “Please….”
So Elizabeth ran home while she heard her beloved run towards resolution…or possibly danger.
CHAPTER 13
6 November 1811
The wait for Darcy to return to Longbourn felt like agony but was, in fact, little more than an hour. When he arrived, still unkempt but flushed with success, Elizabeth flew into his arms before Hill could even announce him.
“Mr Wickham?” she asked.
Still holding her, cradling her body within a tender embrace, Darcy said, “He is injured and in gaol. He will be heading to debtor’s prison, and I believe that he will never trouble us again.”
She pulled away enough to look into his eyes. “Was he in the ravine?”
“Yes, my clever girl, he was.” Darcy’s eyes shone with admiration. “Wickham is close to double your weight, I imagine. How ever did you wrestle him into a ravine?”
“I cannot share all my secrets, Mr Darcy,” she said pertly. “I might need to wrestle you someday.”
He blushed but smiled in a delighted way, and she blushed, too, murmuring, “I did not mean anything by my tease, sir. You need not embarrass me with your superior knowledge.”
At that moment Elizabeth’s father appeared, and a frown flashed onto his face. “I might remind you two that you are notwed yet.” But then he smiled. “Still, you are both heroes, and I would love to hear the saga of what went on.” He explained to Darcy, “Lizzy would not give me the full report until you returned.”
“And I should like to know what you have heard from Miss Bennet,” Darcy said. “Shall we repair to the bookroom?”
“After you refresh yourself, sir,” Mr Bennet said.
A quarter of an hour later, the three were comfortably seated and sipping tea in the bookroom. Elizabeth related her entire story, and Darcy explained that he had heard Elizabeth’s scream as he approached Longbourn, after searching for andnotfinding Mr Wickham. “You spoke of a ravine, Elizabeth, and I found Wickham easily enough. I just followed the sound of his cursing.” Mr Wickham was scratched and bruised, but he had broken his leg rather than his head. “So he was quite lucky, really,” Darcy explained.
“Lucky enough to be locked away for the rest of his days,” Elizabeth’s father said.
“Truly, I imagine that Wickham will not mind Marshalsea so very much. I will pay to keep him in better, cleaner accommodations, under the proviso that he not be released during the day, as some prisoners are, and that he remain imprisoned until he can pay his debts; believe me, he willneverbe able to pay for his release. He will enjoy the gambling and camaraderie and…his usual private entertainments.” He shot a look of apology towards his beloved’s father but continued, “But being in gaol means that will not be able to hurt the general populace, including young girls.”
Elizabeth said, “By the way, I sent our footman Franklin to the vicarage, and Abby did return there safely. He reported that Mrs Raymondson seemed devastated, and she sent me a quick note that said they are sending Abby to a relative in Scotland….”
Everyone looked at one another, sobered by Abigail Raymondson’s possible situation and fate.
“And your elder sister?” Darcy asked softly.
Mr Bennet sighed deeply and said, “She says little. She claims that she met with Mr Wickham to discover the truth about the things you told her.” He nodded to Darcy and continued, “But she seems to want to maintain that what she did was righteous rather than the worst sort of folly. I am sorry to report that I am not even certain that she is grateful for your efforts in discovering her, sir.”
“Butweare incredibly grateful, are we not?” Elizabeth put in.
“We are.”
