Although complete opposites, Georgiana and Anne were very close—more friends than cousins. Anne loved Georgiana’s enthusiasm for just about everything, while the young Miss Darcy admired her cousin’s composure and grace. But the fragile Miss de Bourgh and the exuberant Georgiana did have one thing in common: They loved Fitzwilliam Darcy, and both had hinted that a union between William and Elizabeth would please them greatly.

On the journey to Derbyshire, their opinion of Elizabeth increased with each passing mile. From the couple’s playful exchanges, it was obvious to Anne and Georgiana how well suited they were to each other. Lizzy frequently teased William and invited the two ladies to join in. He finally held his arms up in mock surrender.

“I don’t have a chance,” he said with the half smile Lizzy so loved. “Three against one and with nowhere to go,” he said, looking out the carriage window at the passing countryside. “But be careful, ladies, when we stop at the inn, I might run into the woods to get away from you.” He turned and winked at his sister and cousin, and they returned the wink with knowing smiles.

When Lizzy got out of the carriage at Pemberley, a brilliant harvest moon was rising in the east. It was a fantastic shade of orange, and the face of the man in the moon was clearly visible.

“We shall have a full moon tomorrow night, Mr. Darcy,” Lizzy said, looking at the lunar wonder.

“No, the full moon will actually be the following night. I have an interest in such things, and I keep charts and a telescope in an attic room.”

“Well, I won’t disagree with you, but I must say that there are few who would recognize such a subtle difference.”

“Yes, but I am one of them.”

*   *   *

Of all the places in England that Lizzy had ever visited, none gave her as much pleasure as the landscape of Pemberley. An English garden and great expanses of lawn gave way to wooded paths with centuries old oaks and chestnuts paralleling them, and at the higher elevations, great towering pines claimed the ground. On her previous visit to Derbyshire, Mr. Darcy had taken Lizzy for a ride in a phaeton and had pointed out all the different types of fauna on the estate. From the humble field mice to red deer with huge antlers, Mr. Darcy knew so much about them, their habitats, and how much meat you could get from each.

“Surely, you are not implying that you would eat a field mouse?” Lizzy had asked. Mr. Darcy did not answer her question directly, but rather he explained how his interest in such things had come about.

“As a boy, I read Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, and I wanted to think that if I was ever stranded on an island or found myself lost in the wilderness that I would survive. When you look at it like that, then everything becomes food—field mice, voles, woodland birds. They are all meat. But you have to know their habits and where they nest and how to flush them out or you will starve. Of course, if you run with a pack, you can go after the bigger game, such as the red deer who graze in such numbers on the estate. But your timing has to be perfect, and then you are only likely to bring down a fawn or possibly a doe.”

“But the only animals that hunt in packs are wolves, and there haven’t been wolves in England for at least a century. They may exist on the islands off of Scotland or in Ireland, but they no longer roam the English countryside.”

“As I said, it was a boy who found interest in such things, but there is something about a wolf that inspires awe. They are powerful and resourceful animals, work well in a hierarchy, and mate for life. There is much to admire there.”

“Wolves mate for life? I did not know that.” Lizzy inched closer to Mr. Darcy, but she could not explain why she had done so.

*   *   *

The following day was most agreeably spent. After breakfast, Anne, Georgiana, and Lizzy went through a maze that was the focal point of the lower gardens. It had been reconfigured the previous season, and even Georgiana found herself getting lost. The fact that they were giggling all the time did not help their efforts to find the exit.

After lawn bowls and a light repast, Mr. Darcy drove the ladies into the nearby Peak District, a favorite of Anne’s. The rugged landscape was so different from anything she could see at Rosings, and Mr. Darcy would stop frequently so that Anne and Elizabeth might get out and view the great open expanses that went on for miles before disappearing into the horizon. He commented on how easy it would be for hunting dogs to trap any animal caught out in the open in such terrain. “They wouldn’t stand a chance,” and he smiled as if he had accomplished such a feat himself.

Georgiana and Elizabeth provided the evening’s entertainment. While Miss Darcy played the pianoforte, Lizzy sang some of her favorite ballads, and at one point, Mr. Darcy asked his cousin to dance. Because she had such weak lungs, this was something Anne rarely did, but with no one other than her loved ones about to make comment, she stepped lively—or as lively as one as frail as Anne could.

The day had been perfect, except for one thing. Whatever Mr. Darcy had wanted to share with her remained a secret, and Lizzy hoped that this would not prove to be the Pemberley equivalent of one of the gentleman’s parlor visits to Longbourn.

Chapter 2

When Lizzy went down for breakfast, the relaxed atmosphere of the previous evening was gone. Mr. Darcy fairly sprang out of his chair to greet her, and there was a nervous intensity in his manner that reminded her of Magic, the family terrier, who jumped up and down in front of the door whenever she wanted to go outside. On the other hand, Georgiana and Anne looked anxious. What was the reason for such a change?

After pleasantries were exchanged and the previous night’s entertainments commented upon, both ladies excused themselves, stating that they “hoped” to see Lizzy later in the day.

“What a curious thing to say. Why would I not see them?” Lizzy asked Mr. Darcy. “Surely, they will be here when we return. After all, we are only going for a walk in the gardens.”

“I think they meant to say that they hope you will want to see them after our walk. So shall we go?”

Lizzy found that statement to be even odder. What could possibly happen during a stroll in the park that would make Lizzy not want to be in Georgiana and Anne’s company, and she felt a queasiness growing in her stomach.

The pair did not walk alone. David and Goliath, Mr. Darcy’s whippets, were at their master’s heels. They were as lively a pair as Lizzy had ever seen, and they loved to run just for the pure joy of the exercise. It was truly a sight to behold when they went all out.

“You like dogs, don’t you, Elizabeth?” Darcy asked, following her gaze.

“I am very fond of dogs. At one time, we had as many as five of them in the house, but after each one died, Papa asked that they not be replaced. Since he now requires the use of his spectacles, he found that he was always tripping over them. The only one remaining is Magic, our little Scottie.”

“Do you know that dogs are descendants of wolves?”

“Yes, I did know that, but it is hard to imagine Magic running with a pack.”

“Yes, that would be hard to imagine because pack animals are not selfish. But it is true that dogs are domesticated wolves.”

Lizzy decided to let the comment about Magic pass. It would be difficult to defend the Scottie’s behavior considering that she basically ran the household and listened to no one, except Mr. Darcy, even though he spent so little time with her.

“You seem to have a real interest in wolves, sir. Is this another scenario you imagined as a boy—running with a pack of wolves?”

“Not a large pack—more on the order of one or two other wolves—or werewolves.”

“Werewolves!” Lizzy started to laugh. “Surely, you do not believe in such legends. Vampires and werewolves. They are stories made up to scare children into behaving themselves.”

“I agree with you that stories about vampires are utter nonsense and are believed only by the simpleminded, but a lot of legends have their roots in fact.”

“That is true of some things, but not werewolves.”

Darcy stopped and turned to Lizzy, and she looked into his eyes. They were a beautiful gray-green and one of the first things she had admired about him. But he had never looked at her with such intensity, and a sense of foreboding came over her.

“I love you, Elizabeth Bennet. Whenever I see you, I am filled with joy.” After stepping away from her, he continued. “I actually never thought I would fall in love for reasons I shall shortly explain. However, I am in love—deeply and profoundly in love—and if after I share my secret you have not run back to Pemberley, I shall have a question to ask you.”

“Mr. Darcy, you are making me nervous. What secret could you possibly have that would cause me to run away from you?”

“That is a good question, and my answer begins with an event that happened fourteen years ago when my father and I were traveling in the Black Forest in Germany. Our carriage became mired in mud, and while the men tried to dig it out, I went into the woods. Not very deep, but Nature called. This next bit is rather embarrassing, but it is necessary for you to understand what happened. Nature required that I have my pants down, and just at that moment, a wolf walked by. She had not seen me, and because I had startled her, she scratched me with her fang. I know that it was an accident because she began to cower and whimper.”