Mr. Darcy's Bite (11 page)

The three ladies stood on the steps of the portico until Lady Helen's carriage went through Pemberley's wrought iron gate. A collective sigh of relief followed. Lizzy, who never stopped thinking about the plagues during her visit, felt as free as the Hebrews when Pharaoh finally told Moses that he would let his people go. Of course, they had all that Red Sea parting and wandering in the desert ahead of them, but one problem at a time.

“Lady Helen certainly makes the case for having a drawbridge built,” Lizzy said in an effort to lighten the mood. Although Anne and Georgiana laughed, it was a polite laugh, nothing more. When they went into the house, Mr. Jackson asked to speak to Anne, and so Lizzy and Georgiana returned to the drawing room.

“Georgiana, I can see that you are upset by Lady Helen's unfortunate comments, but in society, when a woman of her rank wants something, she usually finds a way of getting it. No quarter is given.”

“But some of the things she said put my brother at risk,” Georgiana said, still not believing the thoughtless words that had come out of the mouth of a fellow wolf.

“Her words put her at risk as well,” Lizzy said, defending someone who did not deserve it. “She was so intent on making her case for William marrying her that she became careless.”

“We have no worries on that account,” Anne said as she came into the drawing room. “Apparently, Lady Helen's dramatic entrance put Mr. Jackson on his guard, and he sent all the junior servants belowstairs. Nothing she said was overheard by anyone other than Mr. Jackson.”

“Will Mr. Jackson tell my brother?” Georgiana asked.

“Yes. I am afraid Nell is in for a reprimand of some kind.”

“I am glad to hear it,” Georgiana said with a fervor that surprised Anne and Lizzy. “I can understand her pursuit of my brother, and I can understand that in order to get rid of a rival, she would say anything to diminish Elizabeth. As Elizabeth said, no quarter is given. But it is what she said about Teddy that I find unforgiveable. My brother is always remarking on how attentive Teddy is to her in the wild, bringing her a mouse or rabbit because he knows she is always hungry. And has she forgotten the circumstances that resulted in Teddy becoming a wolf in the first place? He defended his master when a deranged werewolf lunged at him. I know that Teddy would do the same for Nell, and yet she talks about him in such a way,” she said with tears in her eyes. “Would you mind if I went to see Mrs. Brotherton? I would take great comfort in her company.”

“Please do, dear,” Anne said. Although she was only seven years older than Georgiana, in her brother's absence, Anne had taken on the role of her young cousin's guardian.

After Georgiana left the room, Anne turned toward Lizzy. “This is not entirely Lady Helen's fault. If you are told from the time you are a child that you are better than everyone else, you should not be surprised that the child eventually believes it and becomes conceited. I think her mother would have kept her in check, but she died when Helen was five. Lord Granyard's next two wives, wishing to curry favor with the father, doted on her excessively. The product of so much unearned praise is now before us. I almost feel sorry for her because she will be reprimanded, and the rebuke will come from William.”

“Do you really think he will admonish her?” Lizzy asked. She did not envy Mr. Darcy the task of disciplining a friend and neighbor.

“Without hesitation. He will not tolerate any behavior that jeopardizes another wolf. If he is willing to discipline the son of a prince, you can be assured he will not pause even for a moment to reprimand Lady Helen. But I have something else I wish to talk to you about.” Anne took a letter out of her pocket. “Mr. Jackson just handed this to me. It is from my mother, and it is not unexpected. Because of concerns for my health, Mama is sending a man for me so that I might return to Rosings.”

“I am concerned for your health as well,” Lizzy said, looking at the circles under Anne's eyes and her pale complexion. “These past few days have been a trial for you, and you need to rest. Besides, you and I both know that the chances of William returning in three weeks are not good. It took him six days to get to Scotland in June when the weather was fine. What is the likelihood that he will have the same good fortune in November? But what will he do about the next nightfall?”

“I imagine he will go to the estate in Northumberland and stay with the family who provided food and shelter for the wolf and her pups. There is also another family in Yorkshire who will take them in. You need have no worries on that front. They are quite safe. But what are we to do about Georgiana? When it comes to her brother, she can be very stubborn, and she will think it disloyal for her to leave Pemberley. I can just see her acting out, with great dramatic effect, William's return to an empty house.” Anne closed her eyes, remembering her dropping to the floor in Elizabeth's bedchamber when she had heard her brother's mournful howl. “Before all this unpleasantness with Lady Helen, she would have stayed at Granyard Hall with Lady Elaine, but she will have no interest in doing so now.”

“Are there no relations nearby?”

“The nearest relation is her father's sister, Aunt Marguerite, who lives near Leicester.” Anne started smiling. “She is quite a character. I like her a lot, but she frightens Georgiana. She has been wearing widow's weeds for ten years, and she will tell you why. ‘My husband died. I would like to think that he did that for me, so this is the least I can do for him.'”

Lizzy found that statement to be funny, and she started giggling and then laughing, and Anne joined in. They knew that it was not
that
funny, but it was proving to be cathartic. Of course, Georgiana would not find any humor in the situation, but while she was safely in the care of Mrs. Brotherton, the two ladies, now friends, could laugh as long as they liked.

After examining all the options, it was decided that Georgiana would have to choose between staying with Lady Elaine or Aunt Marguerite or going to Rosings with Anne. That afternoon, when presented with the choices, Georgiana was indignant, insisting that she was old enough to remain at Pemberley.

“I am not a child. In the spring, I will be out in society and will be encouraged to look for a husband, but you tell me that I cannot remain in my own home for a mere three weeks in a house teeming with servants.”

“You do not have to argue your case with me,” Anne said in a soothing voice. “I am just thinking what your brother will say to you when he finds you did not take our advice to stay with a friend or relation, and I am trying to think what I will say to him when he laces into me for leaving you alone in this great big house.”

“This is so unfair,” Georgiana said, pouting. And the sniffling began, and the tears flowed, but then Anne seized on the theme of her becoming an adult.

“Yes, it is unfair, but life is often unfair, and as an adult you will have your share of it. So what is your answer?”

But then a glimmer came into Georgiana's eyes. “There is another place I can go.” Turning to Lizzy, she asked, “Now that Jane and Lydia are married, will there be room for me at Longbourn? I have not met your family, and it is always so much better when one can put a face to the names of people one has heard so much about.”

Lizzy gave Georgiana such a look. “So Nell is not the only clever female in this part of Derbyshire,” she said in admiration at little Miss Darcy's maneuvering. “Of course, there is room. You are very welcome to stay at Longbourn.”

“Until my brother comes to Hertfordshire to get me.”

“Yes, until your brother comes for you.” And what would that mean for Lizzy?

The next day and the two days after that, Lady Helen sent a rider to Pemberley with a note asking if she should come for a visit. Lizzy was positive that the lady really did not want to pay a call. She just wanted to make sure that her rival really was returning to Hertfordshire. The thought of another morning or afternoon with Lady Helen hastened the packing, and everything was ready when the de Bourgh carriage pulled into the drive at Pemberley. Two days later, on a dreary autumn day, the three ladies and Mrs. Brotherton set out for Ashton Hall in Leicester, the first stop on their journey.

The house was a large unadorned three-story manor house built of stone but in no identifiable style. Attached to one side of the house was a turret with a flagpole flying a banner the color of sunrise that brought a smile to Lizzy's face. Lizzy would soon learn that the turret had been added to the manor house at the request of the newly married Lady Marguerite Ashton, its design influenced by illustrations from a book of French fairy tales.

Lady Marguerite's daughter Jeanne, a tall, pretty, and elegant lady, warmly welcomed the travelers to Ashton Hall and said that she hoped they would consider extending their visit, and it was soon apparent why she wanted her visitors to stay on. There was a war going on between her mother and her husband. George Wimbley was a man blessed with exceptionally good looks, but one with a wandering eye and a well-deserved reputation as a cad, and his mother-in-law was unhappy with her daughter for tolerating his dalliances.

“Kick him where it hurts and that will put an end to that,” Lady Marguerite had told Lizzy as they sat by a fire following supper. “But Jeanne's afraid of losing him. Nonsense! You can't lose people like him; they always find their way home. But never mind about them, I want to talk about
you
. William has been writing to me for a year concerning this beauty from Hertfordshire that he fell in love with.”

“Really? For a year?” Lizzy asked genuinely surprised, but pleased. “That would be when we first met at an assembly near my home.”

“He also told me how he had mucked up the marriage proposal, but I told him that that did not matter as long as he got it right in the end. So tell me, dear, how well do you know my nephew?”

“I know that he is a good man and…”

“No, that is not what I am asking you. I want to know if you
know
him.” She squeezed Lizzy's hand so tightly that it was getting mashed. What was she really asking? Surely, it was not about Mr. Darcy being a werewolf as Lizzy had been told that only Anne, Georgiana, and Colonel Fitzwilliam knew about his altered state. She finally just shrugged her shoulders and shook her head, indicating that she did not understand the question.

“Good!” she said, letting go of Lizzy's hand. “If you had just blurted it out, I would never have trusted you again. That shows you will protect him. The reason the others do not know that I am aware of his unique situation is I don't think of him in that way. To me, he is my wonderful nephew. No need to go on and on about that other business. It would be like telling the Prince of Wales he is fat. He owns a mirror; he knows he's fat. And I am sure you are not the most pleasant person to be around when your courses begin. It is the same thing with him. He is different for those two days.” She stopped talking and let out a hissing sound as her son-in-law went by, and he quickly walked to the far end of the room and sat next to his wife.

“I named my daughter after Jeanne d'Arc, a woman who led an army against the English and gave France a king, but who does she marry? A man who cannot pass a mirror without looking at his reflection. He has been unfaithful to her from the start. I am told his assignations are exclusively with women. You never know with these pretty men, so I thank God for small favors.

“Now back to my nephew. The reason I know about William is my brother told me what happened in the Black Forest. It gnawed at him, and he had to tell somebody. Since he knew that I was not on speaking terms with anyone in my family, his secret was safe with me. You see, David, William's father, felt responsible, and for the better part of a year, he dragged his son all over Europe looking for a cure because he did not want his mother to find out about the boy's transformation.”

“But how did Mr. Darcy's father know where to go for help?”

“He was given a list by a German doctor, the one who treated him for the bite in Baden, but then they found Dr. Wilkolak in Edinburgh. His wife is a she wolf, and he studies the phenomenon. If there ever is a cure, he will know about it, and he will share it with the community.”

“Did Lady Anne find out about William's condition?”

“Yes, God rest her soul. She was a frail thing for the last few years of her life, and when she learned what her son was, she passed out cold. But when she was revived, she told William that she would love him always no matter what, so when David said he had heard about yet another cure in Sweden, Lady Anne would not let the boy go. She told her husband that he was the only one who could not accept it, and he had to stop.”

Since her arrival at Pemberley, Lizzy had been trying to come to terms with the idea that the man she loved was a werewolf. Because that subject had occupied all her thoughts, Lizzy had not given any thought to how his parents must have suffered because of their son's affliction. Her heart was deeply touched by his father's efforts to find a cure for his son and his mother's unconditional love, and when added to the depth of caring shown by Georgiana, Anne, and all who served him, a picture of a man worthy of her love and respect emerged.

Lady Marguerite handed Lizzy her handkerchief. “Now don't go all weepy. William needs a strong wife, someone who can deal with the unexpected and unpleasant, which reminds me, did you meet Lady Helen?”

“Lady Helen? Well, yes I did. She is quite… She is quite beautiful and a…”

“Pain in the wide end of a horse.” Lizzy made no attempt to stifle her laugh. “God may have blessed her with great beauty, but as far as intelligence is concerned, he skipped over her entirely. She has been flirting up a storm with William ever since he came back from North America two years ago.”

“Mr. Darcy was exiled to North America!” Lizzy asked. She could hardly imagine him breaking any rules, no less one that demanded disciplinary action.

“No, no, no. He was not exiled. He went there on holiday. With Georgiana in seminary, he thought it was a good time to go, and he went with Teddy and two others. They traveled from Scotland to Iceland to Greenland to North America, and in the far north of that frozen land, he developed a taste for caribou. But you can't get it in England. He tells me that reindeer is a good substitute.”

Lizzy had never heard of caribou. If Mr. Darcy had a preference for the meat of the animal, she would have to learn more about them.

“It must have been a real challenge to live under such harsh conditions when he was not… You know, when he was not something else,” Lizzy responded.

“It did test him, but he came back stronger than ever. He was already handsome, and so when he came home tall, dark, lean, and with all those muscles rippling under his coat, Helen wanted him. I still have not decided if he is pretending that he does not know that she is after him, or if he is so immune to her charms that he just does not see what a flirt she is. But once he set eyes on you, she did not have a prayer of securing his affections. You knocked the legs right out from under him. You should have heard some of the things he said about you.”

“I can believe it. We had a rather rough start.”

“A harsh word about you has never crossed his lips, and it was that rough start that convinced him that you were perfect for him. Anyone who would say no to the benefits of his rank and wealth and the prestige of marrying a Darcy and the grandson of an earl would be able to handle difficult times. I can tell a lot about a person just by looking in their eyes, and you have what is necessary to make him a good wife.”

“I am not sure that is going to happen. There was an emergency concerning someone in the community that required that he go to Scotland. He thought I should reconsider his offer while he was gone.”

“Oh, Lord. He is being noble again. That is my fault. In my tower, I have all these books about King Arthur and all his knights, and we would go up there and read them together. But in real life, no one is that good. If they were, their presence would be intolerable. So if he says anything like that again, you tell him you are not in the mood for any noble speeches. As far as you are concerned, he asked you to marry him, you accepted, and that is the end of it. You tell him his aunt Marguerite said so.”