The Secrets of Darcy and Elizabeth: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Victoria Kincaid

Author:Victoria Kincaid [Kincaid, Victoria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: austenesque, 1800 england romance, Regency romance, romance 1800s, pride and prejudice variation, austen variation
ISBN: 9780991668
Goodreads: 21798305
Publisher: Victoria Kincaid
Published: 2014-03-27T13:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Darcy was bewildered. “On who?”

“Do not play the innocent with me! Miss Bennet! I saw you on the terrace with her last night.” Richard was practically shouting, leaning over Darcy’s desk.

Damn! Darcy thought with a sinking heart. This will not be an easy conversation. “Saw but not heard?” He asked his cousin.

“I had no need to hear! It was obvious what was happening!” Fitzwilliam resumed pacing, agitation showing in every line of his body.

Darcy struggled to recall how he and Elizabeth had behaved as opposed to what they had said. At first he had attempted to embrace her and she had shrugged him off – several times. He had to admit it would appear potentially damning. “We had an argument—” he started to explain, but Fitzwilliam cut him off.

“That much was plain! I could see that she did not desire your attentions, but you imposed yourself on her again and again – until she finally acquiesced.”

Now Darcy could understand what Fitzwilliam thought had happened, but found his ire rising as well. “That is not what—”

Fitzwilliam had not finished. “And I could see that last night was not the first time this has happened. She knew she was in an untenable position and had to give you wanted eventually. What did you do to her? Is she accepting your ‘favors’ in exchange for your silence about how much you compromised her reputation in France? Or, did she agree to become your mistress because she knew she was too compromised to be anyone’s wife?”

“I did not—”

“To think I encouraged you to woo her! I thought your intentions were honorable! A woman like that— She deserves far better—”

As Fitzwilliam ranted, Darcy reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a piece of paper. He laid it on the desk in front of his cousin. “What is this?” Fitzwilliam’s voice seethed with hostility.

“It is self-explanatory.”

Fitzwilliam read the paper. “What is this?” This time he sounded stupefied.

“It is a marriage license.”

“You got married?” Now his tone was bewildered.

“Yes, we were married in France. My friend Thomas Whitmore, an ordained clergyman, performed the ceremony. And before you think I was imposing my will on Elizabeth, the wedding was her idea. Well, it was my idea to get married, but she was set on doing it immediately.”

“But why?” Fitzwilliam sank into a chair, trying to absorb the information, anger draining away.

Darcy sighed. “For several reasons. She thought it would make it easier for us to travel since we had no ready chaperone. And, she believed the French would be less likely to imprison me if I were a newlywed.”

“What a clever woman. Was she correct?”

“Indeed. With creative theatrics she was able to convince some French soldiers not only that they should not separate a newly married couple, but that she was practically dying and could not return to England without me.”

Fitzwilliam chuckled. “She is brilliant! What an actress.”

Darcy’s expression darkened. “Yes, although…She almost did die, Richard. She almost died in France. I spent an entire night by her bedside believing that each breath might be her last.

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