Vampire Darcy's Desire (22 page)

“Yes, Mr. Darcy.” The man retreated into the shadows of the public room, while Darcy made his way to a window to use the natural light to read.

Darcy’s throat tightened and he gasped for air.
Elizabeth!
Could Wickham have Elizabeth?
I abandoned her!
he chastised himself. “Lucas!” he shouted.

“Yes, Mr. Darcy.”The servant appeared immediately.

“Did you order a fresh horse?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“
Get it,
man. I need to leave at once.”The servant scrambled to do his bidding. Darcy’s thoughts raced as he tried to make sense of what he needed to do. Mrs. Annesley had saved Georgiana; with her warning and with luck, he would reach Elizabeth in time. Impatient for action, he returned to the table. “Bingley, a situation has arisen that I must attend to. Lucas will ride back to London with you.”

“Of course, Darcy.” Bingley hastened to his feet. “May I help somehow?”

Darcy headed towards the door, consumed by his need to reach Elizabeth. “It is a family matter,” he told Bingley. “I must go.”Then he bounded from the room to find the waiting groomsman.“Ride back to London with Mr. Bingley,” he ordered as he mounted, and then Darcy rode off towards Hertfordshire. He did not care that both Bingley and Caroline noted the direction he took. Neither of them spoke of it, however, as they boarded Bingley’s chaise and four.

Darcy rode low in the saddle, trying to speed his way back to her. His senses told him Elizabeth was indeed in dire straits. He reproached himself for leaving, but he never broke stride. He prayed for God to protect her, but he never broke stride. He cursed the Fate that placed her in danger, but he never broke stride.When he rode onto the graveled pathway leading to the manor house, the horse was lathered in foam. Darcy slid from the saddle, hurriedly tied his horse to a post, and ran to the house.

He burst through the front door, begging not to be too late.
“Elizabeth!” he bellowed repeatedly as he dashed from room to room. In the billiards room, the blanket upon which they had lain was draped across the small table. Automatically, Darcy grabbed the rapier, removing the tip as he continued his search.

A thump—a muffled sound from above—told him where she was. Leaping over the lower banister, he bolted up the stairs. Breathlessly, he swung the door open.As it banged against the wall, a terrible drama opened up in front of him. Elizabeth’s limbs—her arms and her legs—were tied to the four posts of the bed. She was stripped down to her chemise—her face rigid with terror from what she experienced at Wickham’s hands. Her shining eyes, misted with tears, flooded his heart with anguish.Wickham himself sat in a wing chair next to the bed. He caressed Elizabeth’s arm lightly with his fingertips.

“Darcy? You came back.” Wickham’s smile increased by the moment; the changing scenario pleased him. “It is as I said, Miss Elizabeth; he cares for you.”

Tears streamed from Elizabeth’s eyes.“I am sorry, Fitzwilliam.”A slight shake of his head told her he did not blame her; Darcy blamed only himself.

“Leave her be, Wickham; you seek me.” Darcy’s eyes searched the room, trying to find a way to save Elizabeth.

Wickham stood casually; to taunt Darcy, he ran a fingertip along Elizabeth’s breasts. “Of course, I want you, Darcy, but not enough to give up Miss Elizabeth. You would gladly die in her stead, but that is just it; you would
gladly
die. In fact, you want to die to end this. However, when I kill the woman you love,
that
will hurt you.”

Wickham spoke the truth. Darcy would happily sacrifice himself to save Elizabeth.With no other choice and without preamble, Darcy grasped the sword tightly and charged the apparition lurking beside the bed. Barely two steps into the room, a jolt of gale force winds hit his chest, sending his body flying through the air like a rag doll—and like a rag doll, Darcy slithered down the wall in apparent defeat.The rapier skidded away towards the bed.

“Close your eyes, Elizabeth,” he ordered as he staggered to his feet. Darcy brought his arms out to his sides and pivoted to bring forth the power within him; Wickham was strong, but Darcy would not die until Elizabeth was free. It was suicide to attack Wickham; however, he vowed to end this, and end it he would. His death would mean life for Elizabeth. She depended on him; and her determination—her passion—made him strong. Like Wickham’s wind, Darcy’s light held an energy of its own—potent and formidable. It bent Wickham backwards, knocking him from his feet and momentarily blinding him with its power.

Shielding his eyes, Wickham teetered for a moment before regaining control. Mockingly, he challenged,“Excellent, Darcy, but you are still no match for me.” Again, a whirlwind skittered across the hardwood floor towards Darcy, followed by a biting, sucking sound intended to rip the skin from his body.

Intuitively, Darcy tucked and rolled away, trying to draw the power away from where Elizabeth lay. Attempting to free herself, she wriggled, but for naught.The knots held her captive to whatever would come.

As he escaped the evil sent at him by Wickham, Darcy grabbed the rapier, which was resting by the foot of the bed. Excitement swirled around them—shadows prowled the corners of the room as he and Wickham evaluated the situation.Their bodies tensed—their muscles flexed for response—their hearts pounded in their ears. Steel grey eyes met ice blue ones, and pure energy crackled between them.The minutest movement took on great importance. The only noise in the room was Elizabeth’s shuddered breathing. And as quickly as the battle had stopped, it began again.Wickham lunged to reach him first, and, mechanically, from his place on the floor, Darcy plunged the sword into Wickham’s chest, pushing up on it to open the wound more.

Wickham’s face contorted in obvious surprise, knowing the folly of his attack on Darcy. “Die!” Darcy roared as he clamored to his feet, pushing the rapier deeper into Wickham’s heart.

Wickham snarled a smile—a mixture of pain and defiance.
“After
you,
Darcy.” With a mocking salute and a blast of absolute power, the whole room swirled—rotated. Darcy grabbed for the four-poster, diving onto the bed to protect Elizabeth at all costs.

“I have you,” he growled as he draped himself over her.

Within seconds, it was over. Silence ruled where chaos had been.The room stood still, and the roar of the wind miraculously vanished. Only the echoing sound of the broken sword hitting the floor remained in the room. For Darcy, the darkness of a moment ago disappeared with the sunlight of knowing Elizabeth to be alive.

Her muffled cough brought him back to reality. Darcy rolled from her, straining to right himself and his world. “Elizabeth?” He pushed the hair from her face.“
Elizabeth!
” He kissed the side of her face, needing to feel her closeness. “Tell me you are well.” He caressed her jaw line in the palm of his hand, searching for the woman he cherished.

Sounding frightened and a bit childlike, she managed to whisper, “You came. I thought you were gone.”

“Oh,Vixen,” he moaned as he drank of her lips tenderly.“I will explain it later.” His mouth rested only inches above hers. “We must leave now.”

Elizabeth nodded, unsure what it all meant, but glad to be back in his arms again. Darcy reached for the knots that held her.“Please tell me the blackguard did not—harm you.”

“Just frightened me, Fitzwilliam.”

She watched his face contort with self-blame as he loosened each of the bindings. Gently, Darcy massaged the welts. “How can you ever forgive me?” he whispered before kissing the inside of each wrist.“How may I make this up to you?”

Sitting up in bed to survey the damage strewn about the room, Elizabeth did not answer. Instead, she helped him loosen the rags that bound her legs.

Afraid of what he saw in her face as she worked the last knot, Darcy backed away from her, thinking she wanted only freedom from him forever. He could not blame her, but it stabbed his soul nonetheless.“I am sorry, Elizabeth,” he murmured before dropping
his gaze from hers.

But as soon as she was free, Elizabeth bolted from the bed into his arms. Darcy staggered backwards, absorbing the impact of her impetuous move.The surprise of her bold attack radiated through them both, and he laughed before pulling her to him and lowering his head to kiss her. He trembled against her and muttered something incoherent before sinking his tongue into her mouth. “I missed you,Vixen.”

They touched heaven as they pressed against each other. After they took their fill, Elizabeth whispered,“We did this last night.”

“Not enough.” Groaning, he pulled her closer still and stroked her hair.“I must get you to safety,” he said gently, and she nodded.

Darcy helped to find her discarded clothing and quietly aided her in restoring her appearance. “Turn,” he ordered as Elizabeth worked to secure the bodice of her dress. As he laced up the last of the eyelets, Darcy kissed the nape of Elizabeth’s neck.“I nearly lost you today.”

“I was so happy to see you.” Impulsively, she turned in his arms, and the passion began anew.

Lost in the kiss, neither of them heard the intruders surreptitiously making their way up the stairs until a voice came from behind Darcy. “Mr. Darcy, kindly remove your hands from my daughter.”

Elizabeth froze, but she did not release the hold she had on Darcy’s jacket. “Papa, let me explain.” Her voice held a resolve that startled both Darcy and Elizabeth’s father.

Mr. Bennet turned to hustle his servants from the room before he answered her. “There is little to explain.” He closed the door after their departure. “It appears you and Mr. Darcy are more intimate than any of us suspected. How long has this clandestine affair been going on?” His voice was unaccustomedly grave.

Darcy did not turn around; he let Elizabeth take the lead. When he had ridden back to save her, he had committed himself to this moment.

Elizabeth took a half step to the side, but she left her right hand
resting on Darcy’s chest. “Papa, this is not what it looks like,” she began.“I went out to give Ceres an apple in the barn.When I left, I spotted someone along the far hedgerow. I should
not
have—I know that now—but I followed him. At first, I simply wanted to know why he watched the house, but the closer I got, the farther away he moved. My curiosity and my anger got the best of me, and I followed the man deeper into the woods.”

“Who was it, Child?”

Elizabeth shot Darcy a warning glance. “I do not know, Papa. He was dressed as a gentleman. Before I could turn around, he grabbed me from behind and hit me in the face.” She touched her bruised lip for effect.“He brought me here and tied me up.”

“Tied you to the bed?”

“Yes, Papa.” She raised her arm for him to see her wrist.

Mr. Bennet’s gaze focused on the obvious abrasion. “How did Mr. Darcy come to be here with you?”

“I rode back to Netherfield because I forgot something important.” Darcy’s voice held a calmness he did not feel. Elizabeth’s hand rested over his heart, and she knew it raced as violently as hers.

Elizabeth spoke again. It would be
her
lie, not his. “Mr. Darcy saw the strange horse tied up in the front of the manor house and came to investigate. That is when he found me. He and the man fought, but my attacker escaped.”

“Could you recognize the man?” Mr. Bennet asked as he surveyed the damage to the room.

Darcy’s did his best to follow Elizabeth’s lead.“I do not think so, Sir. It all happened so quickly, and the man wore a mask. My only concern at the time was your daughter.”

“Mr. Darcy saved me, Papa.”

“It seems Mr. Darcy does a great deal of
saving
where you are involved, Elizabeth.” Mr. Bennet did not want to reproach Darcy’s behavior, but he would not allow Elizabeth’s reputation to be sullied. He cleared his throat, trying to find the right words with which to approach a man of Darcy’s standing. As her father moved away towards the window, he casually inquired, “May I ask, Mr.
Darcy, why you returned to Netherfield? What did you forget, Sir?”

“
Me,
” she blurted out before Darcy could respond. “Mr. Darcy came back for me, Papa. He has just asked me to marry him.”

“Elizabeth?” Darcy’s words were barely audible to Elizabeth. “How can we?”

“Fitzwilliam,” she whispered, “we have no choice. Wickham knows who I am. Even if you leave again, I am in danger. He will not rest until I am dead—he will do anything to hurt you—hurt you through me. I am safe only in your arms.”

“I never meant to bring you into this,” he said sotto voce.

“I am in it, nonetheless.Will you protect me with your name, as well as your body? I told you before you need me if you are to defeat Wickham.”

Darcy caressed her chin with the palm of his hand. “I would give you anything, Elizabeth.”

“Then we will find a way.”

“How will this work?”

Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder at her father, who appeared to be no less astonished than Mr. Darcy. “I do not know, but only when we are together does this madness seem under control.”

Darcy nodded his agreement. “Mr. Bennet, may I speak with you?” he said, more loudly.