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E lizabeth groaned, her stomach turning fitfully before she even opened her eyes.

“Lizzy?”

She squinted into the morning light. The fuzzy outlines of Jane’s concerned face gradually became sharper. Her sister was leaning over her, eyebrows drawn into a worried frown.

“Hand me the wash basin. Hurry!” Elizabeth’s voice was raspy and urgent. She closed her eyes again, her hand covering her mouth.

Jane disappeared and Elizabeth felt the cool porcelain bowl in her hand. She sat up quickly and emptied the contents of her stomach, which was precious little, into the basin sitting in her lap.

“Oh, lord,” she whimpered, setting the bowl on the floor away from her. “I feel awful.”

“I’m getting Mama. You’re sick.”

Elizabeth put out a hand to stay Jane’s departure. “No, please! Don’t get Mama. I-I think I know what might be wrong.”

“Did you have something bad to eat?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“An influenza?”

“No, it’s nothing like that.”

“Are you homesick, honey? Do you miss William?”

Tears pricked Elizabeth’s eyes. “I was so wrong about him, Jane, so terribly, awfully wrong, about everything—well, most everything.” She remembered his unwanted interference with Bingley, but she couldn’t very well relate that story to her sister.

“Then tell him. I know he cares about you. He’ll want you to go back home to Pemberley.”

“I probably should, but I don’t know what to say to him.

I can’t…I can’t seem to think straight.I’ve been so hurtful, and I’m afraid I’ve ruined everything.

If he truly loved me, like a husband loves a wife, he might be able to forgive me.

But you know and I know he doesn’t love me like that.

” Her voice began to quiver. “I’ve been so foolish, and now I’m—” She sobbed quietly.

Jane retrieved a handkerchief out of the bureau and put it in her sister’s hand.

“Oh, Jane, you have to promise not to tell anyone this. Not Mama or Papa or William.”

Jane’s voice became solemn, her face somber. “What is wrong?”

Elizabeth lowered her voice to a whisper.“I think I might be pregnant.”

Jane’s eyes opened wide. “How do you know?”

“That’s the thing—I don’t know, not for sure.

I know that your courses stop when you’re going to have a baby, but mine have never been regular anyway, so I didn’t think anything about not having one.

Then a few days ago, I started feeling so terrible in the mornings, but I don’t have a fever or anything, and I’m fine by lunchtime.

I need to ask someone, someone who knows. ”

“Mama—” Jane began.

“ Not Mama,” Elizabeth insisted. “She’d send me back to Pemberley before I could say ‘baby booties.’ And William will feel obligated to take me back because of the baby.”

“So?”

Elizabeth balled up her fists in grim determination.

“I don’t want him to take me back out of pity or obligation.

I didn’t mind it when we first married. I thought then that I could live that way, knowing that all we would ever have was a distant, respectful friendship.

Because at the time, friendship was all I felt for him.

But now”—two fat tears rolled down her face, and she swiped at them viciously—“I want more, God help me. I love him, and I want him to love me back.”

“Oh, Lizzy.” Jane sat beside her and enclosed her in a comforting embrace.

Elizabeth said nothing, just sniffed and wiped her nose.

“And what do you think he’ll do when he finds out you’re pregnant? That’s his child, Lizzy.”

“He’s wanted a child so much.He was looking forward to starting a family.

” She let out a dejected sigh. “I know it’s probably too much to hope for, but I want him to ask me to come home before he finds out about the baby—because he loves me , not just because I’m carrying the heir to Pemberley.

I don’t think I could bear to live in the same house with him and know that he only tolerates me. ”

“What will you do?”

Elizabeth hugged her knees to her chest and sighed.

“I don’t know.” After a long minute, she set her chin on her knees.

A determined expression grew in her eyes, and she set her jaw firmly.

“First thing I have to do is find out what I’m dealing with.

I need to find out if I’m pregnant. I can’t ask Mama, that’s for sure, but”—she raised her head, eyes wide—“I could ask Georgiana.”

“Won’t she tell William?”

“If I don’t, she eventually will, but, lord, Jane, this is a small town.I couldn’t hide it from him anyway, at least not for long. Besides, Mama would never keep a secret like that, and I certainly won’t be able to hide it from her much longer.”

Jane’s lips twitched. “That’s true.”

“And if anyone knows how to handle William, it’s Gi. Maybe she can give me some advice. I’ll get some breakfast in me, and by lunchtime, I should feel well enough to walk over to the cottage. And then, I’ll just have to see. I can’t think ahead any farther than that, or I’ll go crazy.”

Jane reached over and stroked her sister’s hair. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s get you cleaned up a little.”

Elizabeth trudged up the driveway to the cottage.

The hot summer sun was beating down on her, slowing her pace considerably.

She stopped and sent a wistful look toward the big house on the hill.

It felt like her home now, not because her clothes and her garden and her other things were there, but because it was where William was.

A gentle breeze blew across her face, bringing some strands of hair with it.

She resumed walking toward the cottage but stopped short when she saw an unfamiliar car parked behind a grove of trees.

A strange sense of foreboding stole across her mind.

She continued up the drive, listening intently, and broke into a run when she heard crying and raised voices.

It was not Ruth’s toddler screaming that urged her to hurry but the unheard-of-sound of Maggie’s tears.

Maggie never cried; something must be very wrong.

What Elizabeth heard right before she reached for the door made her halt abruptly, and her blood run cold. A man’s loud voice could be heard through the open window. She flattened herself against the side of the house and peeked through the lace curtain, careful to conceal her presence.

“Just come with me. We’ll make a new start somewhere. It’ll be different this time, I promise. We’ll have your money to live on.”

“Get out of here, George. Now!” Georgiana’s voice was quivering slightly, but her tone was firm.

Elizabeth gasped. Oh God, what is he doing here? Her heart pounded in her chest. What do I do?What do I do? Her panicked inner voice repeated that refrain over and over. She stopped and shut her eyes tight.

Her eyes popped open. William! But should she leave the girls and Georgiana alone with Wickham?

I can’t help them by myself, but William can help, and I can call the sheriff from the big house.

She looked up; the house was almost a half a mile away.

She could be up there in ten minutes, even less time if she ran.

She eased off the porch without a sound. Once she was far enough away that she couldn’t be heard, she broke into a sprint. She only prayed he was in or near the house when she got there.

As she rounded the last bend in the drive, she saw him walking up from her garden. She nearly cried with relief.

“William!”She felt like she was screaming but given that she was out of breath from running, her voice was barely louder than normal. She began waving frantically and tried again. “William!”

He stopped and stood, staring at her in disbelief. She put the last of her effort into running and fell into his arms. He grabbed her elbows and pushed her back to look at her.

“Elizabeth? Why are you running?”

She was too out of breath to speak at first.

Suddenly, he processed the panic on her face. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

She pointed behind her. “Georgiana—Wickham—he’s at the cottage. He’s trying to make her go with him. The girls are crying. We have to call the sheriff.”

He stood for second, as if deciding what would be best.He looked toward the cottage.

“Is he armed?” he asked her.

She looked up at him, horrified.

“Elizabeth!”He shook her slightly. “Tell me! Is he armed?”

“I-I don’t know. I didn’t see.” She began to cry.

He took off toward the big house, shouting directions to her as he ran.“I’ll get my rifle.”

She followed him as fast as she was able.

“You go in and call Richard. His number is by the phone. Then you stay at the house until he gets here. Do you hear me?”

“I hear you.” But I don’t want you to go down there by yourself.

They split up at the foyer. She ran into the parlor to dial the phone, while he retrieved his gun from his study. She heard the front screen door slam behind him barely seconds later as he dashed down the porch stairs and made for the cottage.

Mrs. Reynolds hurried from the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron. “Mrs. Darcy! What—?”

“Mrs. Reynolds!” She grabbed the older lady’s arm and relayed William’s directions.

“Of course.” The housekeeper was already reaching for the phone.

Elizabeth sat down, trying to wait like she was asked, but after a few desperate minutes she could stand it no longer. She jumped to her feet and ran to the door.

“Mrs. Darcy, where are you going?”

“I’m going with him!” Elizabeth shouted over her shoulder.

By the time Elizabeth reached the cottage drive, William was nowhere to be seen. She hid behind a tree, searching, and saw Richard’s truck was already parked down on the road, away from the house.

Thank God! He must have been coming out here anyway. Suddenly a large hand came around her from behind and covered her mouth, preventing her scream from escaping.

A low voice sounded in her ear. “I told you to stay at the house.”He let her go, and she turned around, returning William’s fierce glare with one of her own.

“No.”

“No?”

“No.”