The Measure of Honor: A Pride & Prejudice Variation (The Measure of a Man Collection) by Alix James

Author:Alix James [James, Alix]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Winsome Wit Publishing
Published: 2024-10-14T00:00:00+00:00

Darcy’s stomach was queasy after Elizabeth’s confession. He sat quietly for a moment, staring at her across the room as the firelight flickered against the walls. The idea of his brother, who had always carried himself with honour, being drawn into something so dark, sat ill with him. Harry had always been something of a golden child, kissed by good fortune, never touched by scandal or corruption, even when the army called him away.

And yet, Elizabeth’s account rang with truth—apart from a chillingly accurate description of her attacker, there was no falsehood in her eyes, no trace of manipulation. Only pain.

“Were you injured?” he asked in a tight voice.

Elizabeth’s eyes wavered and fell. “The… ah… when he cut my gown…” She lifted a shoulder. “It is not quite healed. Nearly—it was not deep, but it was long, and a tender place to…” She cleared her throat and kept her eyes on the floor, her cheeks scalding red.

“Wickham,” Darcy growled. “That lieutenant... I know who he was.”

Elizabeth looked up, her brow furrowing slightly. “Who?”

“George Wickham,” he said, the name bitter on his tongue. “A man who grew up alongside us. My father treated him like a son. Harry viewed him very much like a brother—the only time I ever knew him to misjudge anyone. Sentiment, I suppose. But Wickham... he never cared for honour or loyalty. His resentment toward Harry and me festered for years, and he has always sought what was not his.”

Elizabeth frowned. “Why would he threaten Harry? What could he gain from it?”

“Your guess is as good as mine. They were always ‘friendly’ as far as I knew. Too friendly for my taste.” Darcy let out a slow breath, his fingers tapping lightly on the arm of his chair as he considered the question. “Wickham is the sort of man who seizes every opportunity, no matter how vile. He must have seen Harry as a threat—someone who might expose him, though Heaven only knows what for.”

Her lips parted slightly, and she looked down again, her fingers tracing the spine of the book in her lap. “After that night, I asked Harry who the man was, what they had been arguing about. But he would never tell me. He said it did not matter.”

Darcy’s gaze narrowed, his mind piecing together the puzzle with increasing clarity. “Harry was protecting you. Wickham had already used you as leverage once, and would not hesitate to come after you again. Harry knew it. He kept you in the dark because it was safer for you not to know.”

Elizabeth’s hands tightened around the book. “I see that now,” she said, her voice soft. “But I should not have been involved at all. I should have returned to the ball at once, but I thought I was helping. Instead, I put myself at the centre of it. I made it worse.”

Darcy leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees as he studied her closely. “You were not to blame. You made a decision in the moment, as anyone would.

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