Page 34 of He Taught Me to Hope (Darcy and the Young Knight’s Quest #1)
A nxiously, Elizabeth sat perched on the edge of the shabby, badly worn cushions with her eyes trained out of the windows of the rickety hackney coach.
That way she felt as though she was doing something of meaning.
Otherwise, she might surrender to the tears threatening to consume her, to cloud her judgement, and cause her to blame herself for her son’s going missing.
Any sign of a young child on the passing street corners and she knew she would take flight from the coach without a second thought.
Lurking about on poorly lit streets teaming with filth and garbage were hordes of nefarious characters—beggars, folks of ill-repute, and the like.
Silent blessings abounded as none of them turned out to be small children.
Elizabeth’s heart overflowed with despair.
By comparison to all those people, she and Ben had enjoyed a sheltered and privileged life.
People actually live this way. The prospect that her son, her heart and soul, was now lost amongst that world, alone and helpless, was too much to bear. Elizabeth cried.
Another long and uneventful day was shaping up to be yet another long and uneventful evening for Darcy.
Rarely did he venture farther than his sister’s establishment since his return from Kent.
The Season was well underway, but rather than revel in it and take advantage of all the excitement it offered, Darcy felt an overwhelming sense of dread.
Inevitably, when he felt that way, his thoughts tended quickly towards Elizabeth and her refusal of his hand.
Another Season meant another year on display for all the scheming mamas and their eager daughters. Might any of them even compare to Elizabeth? Darcy wondered. He doubted it was possible.
The rich echo of his austere butler’s sonorous voice interrupted Darcy’s reverie.
“Miss Caroline Bingley,” he announced, as she sashayed into the room, adorned in the latest fashion of the Season and looking quite fetching, a fact that Darcy would not deny, if pressed.
The butler, who quickly made his escape from the room, had no sooner closed the door than Darcy crossed the room and opened it. He looked up and down the hall, before returning his attention to Caroline. “Where is your brother?”
“Am I my brother’s keeper, Mr. Darcy?”
“I suppose not,” he uttered, nonchalantly. He walked over to take a seat at his desk and commenced composing a letter to his steward, hardly giving a thought to her presence. He looked up to find not only had she closed the door, she also was hovering on the edge of his desk.
“There are several chairs about, if you would care to choose one,” he offered.
“No thank you, sir. I am quite comfortable here,” she waxed, coquettishly. Caroline eased herself atop his desk and proceeded to smooth the indiscernible wrinkles in her gown.
“I warn you, Caroline, if you do not take care to mind your reputation, I certainly shall not.”
“That sounds promising.”
Darcy yanked himself from his chair and stood to give Caroline a hand down from his desk. Leading her over to the settee, he urged, “Please, have a proper seat. ”
“If you insist, Mr. Darcy,” she said. Caroline patted the empty space next to her. “Will you join me?”
“What brings you here, Caroline?” Darcy asked, ignoring her wanton invitation and moving instead to pour himself a drink. He took a long swig and eyed her intently.
“I was most eager to see you.”
“You were? Whatever for? What is it you want?”
“Have I not made myself abundantly clear,” she purred as she eased from her seat and flounced towards him.
“Please, not that again, Caroline.”
“For Heaven’s sake, Mr. Darcy, when do you intend to stop this game of cat and mouse?”
Darcy regarded her with an incredulous look, one that served to spur her on further. “You persist in leading me on. You speak to me as tenderly as you look at me. You even address me by my given name!” Caroline accused.
“That was only at your insistence. I see now what a mistake that was. Surely, you must know there is no chance for a meaningful future between us, and I refuse to take advantage of you.”
“No, I refuse to believe it. I am exactly what you need, if you would but give us a chance,” Caroline exclaimed as she threw herself into his arms.
Gingerly, Darcy took both her slender wrists into his hands and tried to release her hold on his body.
At that very moment, a knock at the door summoned his attention.
Taking note of the compromising position, he urged her apart from his person.
“Please, get a hold of yourself.” Allowing a few seconds to pass for her to compose herself, he called out, “Enter!”
His command went unheeded. There was yet another knock. Annoyed, Darcy walked over and flung the door open. “What is it, Mr. Brooks?”
“Pardon me, Mr. Darcy. There is a young woman here to see you.”
“Why did you not show her inside?”
“Your other guest insisted the two of you were not to be disturbed.” Darcy looked at Caroline, silently questioning her presumptuousness with his staff. She did nothing to dispute the butler’s claims but rather confirmed it with an unapologetic smirk.
Thoroughly exasperated, Darcy returned his attention to his butler. “Did the young lady give her name?”
“Yes. She is a Mrs. Carlton.”
“Mrs. Carlton?” Darcy stepped into the grand hallway and espied Elizabeth standing a few feet away.
“Eliza—Mrs. Carlton, I beg your forgiveness. I pray you have not waited long. Please, come inside,” he offered as he stepped aside to allow her to enter the room before him.
“I am so sorry to intrude, sir,” she began immediately. “Your butler said you were not to be disturbed, but I insisted. Please forgive my intrusion.”
“Do not concern yourself. You are always welcome in my home,” he started. A closer look gave him to know she was merely putting on a brave face. Something was terribly wrong. “You remember Caroline, pardon, Miss Bingley.”
Her initial astonishment was met with Caroline’s unwelcoming countenance. Elizabeth immediately questioned if she had done the right thing in coming. The two women merely nodded at one another in feigned politeness.
Taking note of the tension, Darcy interjected, “Yes, well, Miss Bingley was just leaving.”
“Was I, Mr. Darcy?”
“Indeed, you were.” Refusing to grant her any cause to linger, perhaps to discover the purpose for Elizabeth’s visit, he declared, “Come, I will see you to the door. I shall only be a moment, madam,” said he to Elizabeth, before coaxing Caroline from the room.
Darcy returned a few moments later and apologised to Elizabeth that she was made to wait.
The emotions she had fought to contain, after succumbing earlier in the hackney, now flowed with unbridled abandon.
Through unrelenting tears and muddled words, she cried, “Mr. Darcy, it is Ben. He has left my aunt and uncle’s home in Cheapside.
It has been many hours since any one last saw him .
“He has been asking to visit you. My immediate thoughts were he may have tried to venture here on his own.”
“I am sorry to say he is not here, but I will do all that is within my power to see you two reunited.” Darcy took Elizabeth into his arms to offer her some measure of comfort.
A moment later, he continued. “First, I will notify my staff to be on the lookout for his possible arrival, and then I will accompany you back to Cheapside.
Pray to God he has returned by then, but if not, I will organise a rescue party to scour the city in search of him.
“Please have a seat, whilst I pour you a glass of wine. It might help you relax whilst I summon my carriage.”
No sooner had Darcy helped Elizabeth to her seat, than the doors swung open, and in walked Colonel Fitzwilliam, with young Ben cradled in his arms.
He did not expect to see Elizabeth, of all people, there; yet, he whispered silent gratitude that she was. “Fear not, madam. The lad is merely sleeping. Exhausted, he wants for nothing more than a good night’s rest in a comfortable bed.”
“Praise the Lord,” Elizabeth uttered, crossing the room faster than even she could fathom, to gaze at her son. She smoothed his dark, unruly curls from his forehead and placed a light kiss thereupon.
Darcy quickly joined his cousin and Elizabeth, and accepted Ben into his arms. “I cannot thank you enough. Wait here until I return; there is an urgent matter I wish to discuss with you once I have settled this little fellow in a comfortable bed upstairs.”
Upon entering the hallway with Ben in his arms and Elizabeth by his side, he asked his butler to seek out his housekeeper so he might speak with her to arrange suitable accommodations for his guests and a nurse for Ben.
“Do not go to the trouble. I shall tend to my own son,” Elizabeth cried.
“This is no trouble at all. It is no less than I would expect that you wish to see to your son. However, you too are tired. You have suffered a horrid ordeal. I expect you to get some rest, as well, once you are assured of your son’s comfort. ”
After settling Ben into bed in a comfortable apartment directly across the hallway from his own, Darcy spoke to his housekeeper with directives on how best to accommodate his unexpected guests. He then went in search of his cousin, whom he found helping himself to his best brandy.
Upon accepting the offering of a generous drink, Darcy said, “I did not wish to alarm Elizabeth by being overly cautious, but I have taken the liberty of summoning my personal physician to take a look at Ben. It may be excessive, but it will certainly give me peace of mind.
“It may very well be only a matter of exhaustion. On the other hand, there is no telling what Ben may have experienced wandering about alone and vulnerable for the greater part of the day. I am unwilling to overlook anything where the child is concerned.”