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Wickham was taken to the camp, stripped of his commission, then after his torso was made bare, he was bound between two posts and flogged by the Colonel.

He passed out before the tenth lash was administered and soiled himself.

Later that night, he came to with his possessions unceremoniously dumped next to him.

They had put salve on his wounds, but he knew with the imminent arrival of the Fitzwilliams that he needed to get away.

He took his rented horse and somehow made it out of Hertfordshire.

He found an inn and used the rest of his funds to get a room for a week and have the local apothecary attend him.

Through the haze of his pain, he had discovered one that he needed to revenge himself on and hated more than Darcy.

He made an oath that he would get his revenge on Lady Elizabeth Bennet, come what may!

~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~

Fitzwilliam Darcy was happy that his mother and sister would be joining him for dinner at Darcy House on Thursday.

It was very gratifying to see how happy his young sister was at the prospect of meeting all the Bennets the next day.

He knew that no matter how disenchanted Lady Elizabeth had been with him, she would never be unkind toward his sister.

In fact, he was certain that after his revelation of Ramsgate, that the lady would be protective of Georgie, which could only be counted as good for her self-esteem and self-confidence.

As he sat in the study waiting for them, he let his mind drift back to the lady who had taken him to task.

He knew, as he was not blind, that the words that he had used to get Bingley to leave him be, was the furthest from the truth he could have possibly uttered.

Not only was Lady Elizabeth handsome enough to tempt him, but she was also, in fact, the most handsome woman of his acquaintance.

Her older twin sisters were what some would call classically beautiful, but Elizabeth, as he thought of her, was magnificent.

She had wavy, sometimes curly, raven coloured hair that he recalled had some lighter brown that you would only see when the sun hit it just so.

Her eyes, those bewitching, fine eyes were hazel with green and gold.

Depending on the lighting or the sun, her eyes could seem to be any one of those colours.

The night that she had been so angry with him at the assembly they had looked green to him as they flashed at him in anger.

He knew that she was the first lady that he could ever have any kind of tender feelings for, and he knew without any having to tell him that his chance of ever winning her heart was tiny and to climb that mountain would take a lot of work.

More work than he was putting into correcting his behaviour and the way that he related to those who he was not already acquainted with or seemed to be below him in society.

He knew that he had made strides in his quest, something that he was doing for himself.

It was important to him that Lady Elizabeth Bennet see for herself that he was not just ‘paying lip service’ as she had intimated.

The changes he was making were not for her or anyone else, but for himself.

He heard the knocker and then the opening of the front door.

As he hurried out of his domain to greet his ladies, Killion welcomed the mistress and Miss Darcy home.

His sister flew into his arms and received a bear hug for her trouble, then he kissed his mother on both cheeks.

Georgiana repaired to her chambers to find some things that she required and was followed by her companion, Mrs, Annesley. Mother and son walked into the study.

“I cannot remember seeing you look happier since before my George passed, William,” his mother stated with obvious joy in her eyes.

“It is the best that I have felt in many a year, Mama. I feel as if a millstone has been lifted off my shoulders. Besides the work I am doing to banish the proud, arrogant, and taciturn man that I was, being able to be in society without the worry of being hunted like a fox is liberating,” he agreed with a big smile on his face.

“Did you hear that a woman attempted to compromise Lord Harry Smythe, the Earl of Granville, so he was the first to use what is now being called ‘the Darcy Compromise Liberator?”

“We did hear that.” Lady Anne laughed. “Andrew informed us, and he passed on that Granville is so appreciative, he would do anything for you.”

“I do not need anything; peace of mind is enough.” Darcy then recalled that he wanted to tell his mother something. “I leave for Pemberley on the morrow. It is just me and Carstens, so we will travel hard, and I will be home by Saturday evening.”

“It may be for the best, William. I know that Richard would have wanted you to stand up with him, but he understands your position and respects you for what you are doing,” Lady Anne agreed.

“I will be sad to miss both his and Andrew’s wedding, Mama, but it is for the best. I will not chance myself taking attention away from the couples getting married. My plan is to return to town just after the weddings, and I understand that everyone except the newlyweds will be here by then.”

“We will miss you at Christmastide, William,” his mother stated softly as she held her son’s hand.

“As I will miss you and Georgie, Mother,” he promised as he held her hand tighter in return.

“I wish that you could find someone who could give you as much happiness as your father gave me,” Lady Anne admitted.

“The funny thing is, I think that I have found the very lady, but whether she will ever see me as more than the proud, arrogant horse’s behind that I was. We will have to see,” he said wistfully.

“William are you referring to Lady Elizabeth Bennet ,” asked his astounded mother.

“Yes, Mama, I am. If I can get her to see the real man that I am, that I will be, then I may have a sliver of a chance to win her heart.” William offered a rueful smile.

“From what I have heard of her from the Fitzwilliams, if you can climb the mountain that you will need to, she may be your perfect match.” She smiled sadly, having little expectation of her hopes coming true, but hope she would as it would mean her son had a woman who would never be cowed by him, challenge him, and love him fiercely were he to win her.