Page 32

Smiling, Elizabeth allowed herself one last moment in bed to reflect.

She had not realized that the thought of being introduced to Mr. Darcy’s circle in Society had worried her.

Truly, it had never even crossed her mind that they were not of the same sphere; he was a gentleman and she was a gentleman’s daughter.

However, her father’s reminiscences of his own time before marriage and suppositions on Mr. Darcy’s life away from Hertfordshire must have stirred some insecurity deep within her.

He might be a mere “Mister” like her father, but in hindsight it was obvious that his family’s vast landholdings and ancient lineage probably traced back to some Norman d’Arcy who had fought beside William the Conqueror.

Truly, his very name was as good as some paltry titles granted more recently.

The sound of a maid moving out in the hall drew Lizzy from her musings.

She rose and dressed quickly, hoping to head off the Gardiner children before they woke their parents.

In short order, she and the nurse had fed them breakfast and were herding Jonathan, Rebecca, Tommy, and Amelia off to the neighboring park.

Elizabeth did not consider her thoughts on the previous evening’s ball to be any great revelation, but she walked with a bit more assurance than she had known on any previous visits to London.

She still preferred country life but she began to have confidence that she could handle the ton without losing her sense of self.

The next day was Sunday and so, after services, Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner, their children, the nurse, and Elizabeth all crowded into the carriage to spend the afternoon in Hyde Park.

The two ladies spread blankets and unpacked the picnic lunch while the others fed stale bread to the ducks.

When it was determined that the fowls’ appetites were temporarily sated, everyone settled on the blankets and enjoyed the delicacies that their cook had packed.

Cutting an apple into slices for her young cousins, Elizabeth smiled at her aunt and uncle, leaning against the trunk of an enormous beech. “This park is wonderful. It satisfies even my need for trees and wilderness!”

Her uncle nodded. “Yes, old Queen Caroline did well by us, keeping some of the woods wild while landscaping the park.”

Mrs. Gardiner stroked the hair of her youngest child, asleep in her lap. “It is hard to believe how London has grown in the last decades. I remember my grandfather ranting on about the Grosvenor estate being broken up and developed into houses, however grand their architecture.”

Mr. Gardiner grinned and nipped a slice of apple from his niece’s hand.

“Ah, but wouldn’t we all be poorer if we did not have the architectural marvels of Mayfair and Park Lane?

” They all laughed for, though some of the houses were lovely, the facades of many had clearly been designed to impress rather than please the eye.

“Papa, come and play catch with us!” Nine-year-old Tommy Gardiner was never still for long.

When his father collapsed backward in mock exhaustion, Jonathan took charge of his younger brother and soon they were daring each other to toss the ball higher and farther between them.

When it rolled a bit too close to the duck pond, Lizzy and Rebecca joined them for a game of keep-away, after moving to a safer area.

When Jonathan overthrew their ball into a little bit of wilderness beyond the pond, Lizzy waved off the others and ventured into the shadows to retrieve the ball herself.

While the children were distracted by a troupe of ducklings, she found her prize lying on a faint path.

Grinning over what Miss Caroline Bingley would say of her now, Elizabeth couldn’t resist following the trail a bit to see where it led.

For once, Miss Bingley’s attitude would have been justified.

Ducking beneath a low hanging branch and around an azalea bush, Elizabeth was startled to find that she was no longer alone.

Unbeknownst to her, she had blundered into a favored staging area for local pickpockets.

Two rough men, neither very sober, were counting out their take from the Sunday crowds.

They were not at all displeased to discover an unprotected female stumble into their midst, particularly one who would not require payment to share her pleasures.

The lady in question froze until the men dropped their prizes and moved for her with evil intentions clear in their eyes.

Elizabeth was able to twist away when the first man grabbed at her. She ran but had no sense of which direction she was going. After stumbling through the undergrowth, she had just managed to break through the brush onto a wide trail when the other thief caught up to her.

Lizzy’s hope that she had escaped was lost when the ribbons of her bonnet tightened around her neck and jerked her backwards.

Shrieking, her hands went to her throat, leaving her unable to break her fall.

She landed hard but fear overcame any pain as a pair of mean eyes leered down at her and dirty hands grabbed at her wrists before she could fend him off.

The second man appeared at her feet and she had just managed to kick him between his legs, causing him to a turn away with a howl of pain, when she heard quick footsteps from another direction.

“Unhand her, you devils!”

The man holding her wrists was jerked away.

Finally free to loosen the bonnet ribbons about her neck, Elizabeth turned onto her side and took several gasping breaths before she was able to look around.

Meanwhile, her attacker received a sharp punch to the chin and gut before stumbling away to his comrade who was still bent over, nursing his own pain.

Elizabeth felt strong hands brush her shoulder and heard a concerned voice, gruff with worry; one she had never expected to hear again. “Miss? My God— Elizabeth? Are you hurt?”

She looked up to see none other than Mr. Darcy kneeling beside her, his eyes full of tenderness and shock.

Too overcome to form any words, she managed to smile wanly and move a hand from her throat to cover his hand and squeeze it in reassurance.

It seemed completely natural to lean into his shoulder and for his arm to come up behind her and gather her to his chest.

The sound of bodies crashing through the bushes caused both to look back in the direction of her attackers, just in time to see the two ruffians retreating into the inky shadows.

At the same time, Elizabeth’s uncle appeared along the main path, calling “Lizzy! My dear girl— what on Earth happened? Are you all right?”

Before he reached her, she smiled wanly. “It’s all right, Uncle. I’m only a bit shaken.” Feeling the arm around her tense slightly, she turned back to her rescuer. “Thank you, Mr. Darcy. I… I don’t know what to say… or how to thank you enough.”

By now, her uncle was also kneeling at her side and, with one hand steadied by each man, she was gently assisted to her feet. Without thinking, she removed her left hand from Mr. Gardiner’s and began brushing leaves off her dress.

Her uncle was still deeply concerned that his niece had been attacked while under his care.

Taking a moment to look her over, he noticed her scraped elbow and handed her a handkerchief that was larger and more practical than the small square of embroidered linen that she was using.

“Lizzy, I can see that your arm is hurt; is there anything else that pains you?”

“My side aches a bit where I fell, and my neck—he grabbed my bonnet and jerked the ribbons backward— but nothing lasting, I believe.” Lizzy’s spirits were beginning to rise again and her smile was a bit more believable.

“That is a relief, my dear, but tell me what on Earth happened? One moment you were playing with the boys, and the next you had disappeared and I heard a shout.” Mr. Gardiner’s fear had begun to recede and he took more notice of the tall, serious young man who was still standing with a hand hovering at Elizabeth’s back and intense eyes watching her every movement.

“And you, sir. I’m not certain what exactly has occurred but clearly I must thank you for your protection of my niece.

” He was not sure whether to be concerned or amused when both young people blushed.

Although every fiber in his being screamed to do just the opposite, Darcy forced himself to release the lady’s hand and take a step back. He felt oddly gratified when she swayed toward him involuntarily before straightening and looked discomposed for an instant.

With Mr. Darcy standing at a slightly more proper distance, Elizabeth forced her mind to steady and turned back to her uncle and his question.

“Tommy overthrew the ball into the little wilderness there. I was closest and believed I could find it easily. Unfortunately, I was not far in when I stumbled upon two men in a clearing. They tried to grab me and I ran without paying attention to the direction. I was fortunate enough to break through to this path, where Mr. Darcy rescued me. Mr. Darcy, may I present my uncle to you?” At that gentleman’s nod, she made the proper introductions.

“And Uncle Edward, this is Mr. Darcy. We met when he visited his friend, Mr. Bingley, at Netherfield in the autumn.”

Mr. Gardiner was nodding in recognition of the names and the two men shook hands, Darcy rather stunned at how easily Elizabeth had just handled the social niceties at a moment when most women (and many men) would be in hysterics, or worse.

At that moment he felt a soft touch on his elbow and, glancing back, was astonished to realize that he had entirely forgotten about his own sister.

Squeezing Georgiana’s hand to his arm, Darcy couldn’t help but kiss her forehead as he drew her foreword.

“Mr. Gardiner, I am honored to meet you although I wish the circumstances were different. May I introduce my sister, Miss Darcy, to you both? Georgiana, this is Mr. Gardiner and his niece.” Darcy couldn’t help but take a breath before making the introduction he had long desired between the two most beloved females in his life.

“Miss Elizabeth Bennet, this is my sister, Georgiana.”

For once, Georgiana Darcy felt none of the timidity that normally froze her when faced with a new acquaintance. Instead, she stepped forward with hands outstretched to take the other lady’s in her own. “Miss Bennet, I am so happy to meet you at last! You were so brave! But are you hurt?”

As the two young ladies checked Elizabeth’s dress for rips and repaired a loose hairpin, the two gentlemen turned to assess each other.

“Again, sir, I must thank you for your assistance…”

Darcy couldn’t help but interrupt, barely able to remove his eyes from Elizabeth. “Truly, Mr. Gardiner, I thank God I was here. I only wish that I had been able to reach her before those scum could touch her.”

Lizzy’s uncle could barely restrain a smile at the younger man’s fervor. “Yes, well, let us thank Providence for what we do have.”

Upon Darcy’s agreement, Edward continued, “Do you have any idea who they might have been? This area is usually quite safe—I wouldn’t bring my family here after dark but on a Sunday afternoon in broad daylight I would never have expected such a thing!”

Darcy shook his head. “As you see—I brought my sister here myself.”

“Brother?” Both men turned to Miss Darcy. “We must take Miss Bennet home to clean up and have a cup of tea.”

Elizabeth couldn’t help but quirk an eyebrow—it sounded rather as though Miss Darcy was informing her brother that she was bringing home a stray kitten.

Mr. Darcy, however, was immediately nodding. “Yes, please do. We live but a few minutes’ walk from here, just beyond the Brook Street Gate.”

His dark eyes were so earnest that Elizabeth was agreeing before she could think .

Her uncle answered more carefully; “That is very kind of you, sir, and I would like to accept, but my wife and children will be concerned if we don’t return soon...”

“Oh, dear Aunt Maddy… We mustn’t worry her…” Lizzy was torn between a feeling of responsibility toward her relations and her unconscious desire to remain with Mr. Darcy.

Georgiana looked to her brother and was amused to see him shift from one foot to another, staring rather desperately at Miss Bennet.

She had never seen him look less like the Master of Pemberley…

more like a mooncalf. She decided to speak before her brother simply picked up the young lady and carried her off like some American savage. “Mr. Gardiner? Is your family far?”

The gentleman waved back up the path from whence he had come. “Just around the bend a bit. We were picnicking under the big copper beech by the duck pond.”

Just then, a burly manservant came jogging along the path and seemed relieved to see Mr. Gardiner.

“Ah, Burt. Did my wife send you to track us down?” At the man’s nod, Mr. Gardiner turned to the Darcys and made a quick decision.

“Why don’t the three of you go on to Brook Street.

Burt shall accompany you, if you don’t mind.

I will go collect my brood and be along in a few minutes.

” He looked carefully at Elizabeth to see if she had any qualms with this plan, but she was already nodding.

“Thank you, Uncle.”

Trying not to look as eager as he felt, Darcy replied with every shred of gravitas he could recover. “Excellent, sir. We are at number seventeen; just up Brook Street, about center of the square on the north side.”

Mr. Gardiner smiled at such precise directions and thanked him, then turned to his niece and couldn’t resist hugging her. “I’ve an inkling that you were very lucky today, my dear. Now run along for a nice cup of tea. I’ll bring your aunt to fuss over you as quick as I can.”

And so, the group parted with smiles. When Mr. Gardiner looked back over his shoulder for a moment before rounding the corner, he was pleased to see that the Darcys had arranged themselves protectively on either side of his niece, each taking her arm.

He rather suspected that he might need to become accustomed to such a view.