His Uncle's Favorite (58 page)

“Did you read my letters?” he asked, his fingers playing with her hair.

“Oh, yes…yes I did…thank you,” she answered, lost under his gaze.

“I hope you enjoyed them, though there were things that are not easy to read or to forgive. I did not want to conceal anything from you. I wrote them honestly with my heart and my mind open to you—my soul and my love in four letters.”

“I do love them dearly. And I wrote four letters of my own.” She smiled, and his eyes lit immediately. “I wrote down all of my thoughts, all of my feelings, day by day and moment by moment since the first day we met—just as you did.”

“I want to read them,” he said, and his eagerness made her laugh.

“You will—tomorrow. I brought them with me—my soul and my love in four letters.”

For some time they looked at each other in perfect silence. Then his left hand slowly caressed her face, and as gentle as a breeze, his fingers traced the line of her neck, slowly brushing over her bare shoulders then down to the edge of her gown. She shivered under his touch, and her breathing became heavier; their eyes continued to hold so each could read the other’s tumult of feelings. His hands continued their conquering journey with gentle tenderness, brushing tentatively through the silky fabric over her breasts, lingering a long, sweet moment; she moaned and closed her eyes though she was not certain whether he truly touched her or she merely craved the warmth of his hands.

His caresses glided further, still gentle and patient, down to her belly, along her hips, and over her thighs… Not for an instant did he attempt to remove her nightgown; his fingers only touched her bare skin where it was already revealed to him—on her arms, her shoulders, and her neck. His gaze eventually released hers as his lips slowly followed the burning trace of his fingers; countless kisses covered her face, neck, and shoulders until his lips, warm and moist, reached the edge of her gown. Against her desires and hopes, his kisses travelled back until his yearning mouth found hers, and for a time their passion found release in a game of conquest and surrender, of demand and neglect.

Hardly catching his breath, his hands still caressing her with restless desire, he separated from her a little, watching her beautiful, flustered face, the sparkle in her eyes, and the moist redness of her swollen lips.

“It is time to stop now, or we might not be able to stop soon enough,” he whispered.

She daringly held his gaze, her hands encircling his neck. “Do you wish to stop?”

“I wish nothing more than to continue, my love. But I made a promise to your father, and I plan to keep it. Besides, I certainly do not want to remember our first night together connected to the painful distress you had to bear because of Wickham. Let us sleep now, shall we? I will stay with you a little longer if you wish.”

“Thank you for your care, my dearest Mr. Darcy. And for your wisdom and for your tenderness and…”

“I believe you should stop, Miss Bennet, or I shall be lead to believe that I truly am a man without fault.” He laughed, caressing her hair.

“It pains me to admit it, but I am afraid Miss Bingley might have been right. I shall acknowledge my error to her the first time we meet again,” she said, and he laughed again, accusing her of being mean and vicious while she sighed in delight as she found a perfect spot near his heart to rest her head.

“William?”

“Yes, my love?” he replied, surprised that she was not yet asleep.

“I love Lydia, and I would do anything to help her. I wish nothing but the best for her.”

“I know… I never doubted that…”

“Then how is possible that she is in such a dreadful situation and I can think of little else except how happy I am to be in your arms? How can that be?”

He kissed her hair and pulled her even closer to him. “I will bring Lydia to speak to you and Mrs. Gardiner tomorrow. Anything you decide—anything she wants and it will be accomplished. That I promise you.”

He felt her place a kiss on the spot where his heart was as she whispered, “Thank you.”

She soon fell asleep, sighing from time to time, tightly cuddled in his arms. As she moved in her sleep, her nightgown shifted, and for a moment, the splendour of her soft, silky breasts was revealed to him. He pulled the gown back to her shoulders and arranged it carefully while he covered her with the sheets.

He watched her sleeping, rejoicing in the greatest success of his life; soon, they would be bound together in all ways and for all time, and they would have nothing else to worry about. If only the next day would pass as he planned…

Darcy did not sleep at all; his mind was fully preoccupied with the next day’s events while trying to command his tortured body to resist the painful, delicious torture of having her so close.

It was finally morning.

Chapter 21

Mrs. Gardiner was stunned when the servant announced that Lord Matlock was calling. It was so early that she had barely left her bed, a terrible headache troubling her after the long discussion with Mr. Bennet.

She could not possibly send the earl away, even more so as she suspected something of great importance must have happened. But what could he possibly need to drop in unannounced at that hour? As if guessing her thoughts, the servant explained that the earl had asked to see Mr. Bennet, a fact that immediately made Mrs. Gardiner suspect the reason for his call.

She sent the servant to fetch her brother Bennet while she prepared herself as quickly as possible. Her hands were slightly trembling as she arranged her hair; she could not decide whether she felt composed enough to meet him alone, so she intentionally delayed her appearance in the parlour as long as possible.

When she finally appeared, the earl greeted her then hastily apologised for barging in so unexpectedly. She assured him no apologies were necessary and asked whether something had happened. A short glance was enough to prove to her that the earl was equally uneasy and distressed by their meeting. Before the earl had time to respond, Mr. Bennet entered.

“Lord Matlock—what a surprise!”

“Mr. Bennet—I am very pleased to see you again, sir, though I suspect your sudden arrival in Town does not have a pleasant cause.”

“Unfortunately, you are correct, sir, but I am happy to see you again nevertheless.”

“Forgive me if I presume too much, but…I had an argument with my son last night, and he briefly mentioned you were in town; dare I presume this has something to do with George Wickham? Forgive my intrusion, but if it is so, I believe I might be of some help.”

“I see no reason to conceal the facts from you, your lordship, or to doubt your secrecy; Mr. Wickham… He eloped with my youngest daughter a couple of days ago.”

The earl’s surprise, as well as his disbelief, was clear. He immediately asked for more details, and Mr. Bennet related to him everything that had happened in the last two days.

“I cannot imagine what might have occurred to make him do such a thing. I have known Wickham for many years, and I know he is sometimes reckless and impulsive, but he is not as bad as he might appear. I am certain I can reason with him.”

“Forgive me, but I doubt that very much. Mr. Darcy suspects that Wickham planned this scheme when he knew of Elizabeth’s engagement, and after our discussion yesterday, I am convinced he is correct. Wickham almost forced us to accept his demands, and he seemed to know what to ask for and how. We are certain he intentionally hid Lydia, so we could not speak to her until he had the chance to negotiate his requests.”

“That is quite extraordinary, sir; I do not doubt your words, and I know Darcy might have reason to suspect the worst, but I still hope there is some kind of misunderstanding.”

“Well, you are more than welcome to join us, sir, and see for yourself. I must confess I am deeply ashamed; my family put Mr. Darcy in this horrible situation. Wickham actually forced him to pay all his expenses, to assure him an occupation and to accept him as a future brother. In truth, I would not be surprised if Mr. Darcy should break his engagement and run as far as he can, if only to escape Wickham’s plans.”

“Please do not think so tragically; I thank you for your trust, sir. I shall leave you now, but we will meet again very soon. Mrs. Gardiner, I apologise again for my intrusion.”

Lord Matlock’s dark countenance and troubled expression worried them. Despite the earl’s confident words, his expression was disturbing.

However, there was little they could do for the moment except wait and hope.

***

Darcy poured himself a second cup of coffee while listening to the colonel’s complaints. His cousin had arrived earlier, and a short glance was enough for Darcy to see that the colonel also had not slept much the previous night. Troubled and angry, the colonel confessed the argument he had with his father, and Darcy chose to listen in silence.

“So, you think the earl guessed what happened?” Darcy inquired.

“Probably but that is not what bothers me. I know my father to be a man of his word, and I do not doubt his discretion. But his blindness, his partiality to Wickham—”

“That is something we cannot change, and you should not argue with the earl about it. Let us finish our breakfast; I want this situation solved today.”

“It will cost you a great deal; I hope you are aware of that.”

“I am aware, but what worries me more is to find a solution that avoids further trouble in the future. Wickham will never change. Should we allow that girl to marry him?”

“First we should talk to her and see what she wishes. Do you think your men could find her in time? It would be helpful to have her before we negotiate with him.”

“I will send Miles to collect the reports, but I doubt there is much news; if she were found, I would already have been informed.”

“If nothing else works out, we can make her a widow at any time. For a hundred pounds, I can have someone take care of Wickham.”

“Surely you are joking, Robert!”

The earl’s voice startled them both, and they had no time to respond before Lord Matlock closed the door behind him and took a seat at the table. The earl watched them closely; the colonel rose and moved to the window.

“No, I am not joking!” he said coldly.

“Good morning, Uncle, how are you? Would you like to have breakfast with us?”

“I need to speak to you both; I went to visit Mr. Bennet in Gracechurch Street.”

“What is it you wish to discuss, Father? Darcy will pay off Wickham—as he always has—and then we will hope that Wickham changes for the better—as we always do—and nothing will change. He will always be the same worthless man; everybody can see that except you. And do not worry, I will not murder your favourite,” he said bitterly.

“Robert, why are you so angry with me? I imagine you believe it is my fault, but—”

“Of course it is, Father; it was always your fault! You allowed him to take advantage of you for years—as he did with Darcy—but at least Darcy was never deceived by his shameless hypocrisy. You spent your life finding excuses for Wickham’s wild behaviour, even when he asked Darcy for compensation for the living and then shamelessly returned to demand his inheritance, even when he attacked that servant girl, even when he was almost thrown in jail because of his gaming debts. You always refused to see the truth, and the scoundrel is so confident in your blindness that he dared to harm your own family!”

“Robert, let us all calm; there is no use to start this argument now…” Darcy intervened, but the colonel, furiously pacing the room, did not hear him.

“What do you mean, Robert? How did George harm my family?”

“Surely you cannot believe his eloping with that Bennet girl was his first attempt! He always did everything in his power to be admitted into our family! He first tried to seduce Selina, but my sister was too smart for him; then he did the same with Georgiana, and only Darcy’s intervention prevented a tragedy. Now, as soon as he discovers Darcy’s engagement, he elopes with Elizabeth’s sister! Even you must see it was a well-prepared plan! What excuses will you find for your protégée, your lifetime favourite now? What a joke—your favourite! Do you believe us all fools? We have known for many years that he is your son; why the hell did you not acknowledge him from the very beginning and be done with it? You obviously love him more than your other children, so why not do it openly?”

The colonel filled his glass again, emptied it in one gulp then threw it in the fireplace.

The earl, now pale, looked at his son in complete shock, immovable in the middle of the room. He tried to find something to support himself, and with great difficulty, he found a chair. Darcy hurried to help his uncle; the colonel glanced briefly at his father but did not move towards him.

Darcy offered the earl a glass of cold water; he took it with trembling hands, and for some time it seemed that he struggled to breathe. Eventually, he broke the heavy silence.

“You believe George is my son? And you believe I love him more than I love you? My dear boy, you could not possibly be more wrong. There is nothing more important in the world than you three are; I do care deeply for George, but I am surely not his father.”

His words fell like intense darkness over the room, and only their breathing was heard. The colonel stared at his father in disbelief, and the earl held his distrustful gaze. Darcy stood near his uncle, lost and troubled, wondering what he should do while a thousand thoughts spun in his tired mind.