Suddenly, Darcy’s words flooded her memory. He had found her intelligent, charming and even accomplished. He called her refreshing and stated he did not like deference. When he met Jane, he did not even spare her beauty a glance, preferring to gaze at Elizabeth. He was all kindness in the face of her mother’s antics and even alluded to embarrassing family of his own. His sister decreed him loyal and even Elizabeth declared him constant. If she had earned his admiration, she would not lose it.
She began to hope as she realized that if Mr. Darcy had truly desired a match like Caroline described then he could have easily married his cousin, Caroline or any other London lady by now. Perhaps he wanted a love match.
The only question remaining in Elizabeth’s mind was if she would welcome his attentions. She laughed to herself at the thought. No, there was no question at all! Without intentional thought she had been answering that question all along. She had truly, finally, met a man who inspired her respect and admiration and never before had she so earnestly desired its reciprocation. Elizabeth realized Wickham and Caroline had meant to frighten her, but her courage always rose with every attempt at intimidation.
*****
She did not hear Darcy’s footsteps as he paused to watch her. Her eyes had been closed. Despite the bonnet she wore, he could see some of her beautiful face bathed in the warm beams of the sun. He was fascinated by the variety of emotions which passed over her and was entirely enchanted by her laugh, pleased to see she was well.
Suddenly she opened her eyes and saw the earnest expression on his face, “Mr. Darcy!”
He bowed and smiled, “Miss Bennet.”
They stood facing each other, both searching for some sign. Finally Darcy asked, “I heard you were ill last evening. Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, I thank you. Are you well this morning?”
“Yes, quite.” Another silence ensued. “I was very sorry to miss our dance last night.”
“Forgive me, I was very unwell.”
“I am glad to see you recovered.” He paused for a moment and then acted on impulse. He pulled off his hat and tossed it under a nearby tree.
Next he looked at Elizabeth intently and asked, “May I?”
Elizabeth was unsure what he meant, but could deny him nothing and merely nodded her consent.
He stepped closer and reached to untie the ribbons of her bonnet. She could scarcely breathe between his closeness and the intimacy of his actions. Darcy gently pulled the bonnet off and placed it next to his hat and then smiled broadly, “Much better. I can see your whole face and your lovely hair.”
She blushed and he was charmed anew. He took her hand and bowed over it. ”Miss Elizabeth, may I have the honour of this dance?”
She laughed, “I hear no music, sir.”
“Do you not?” He began to hum the tune of a simple dance and was delighted when she joined in.
They went through several steps before he spoke again, “Shall we use this example of my obstinacy as a fault or a virtue, Miss Elizabeth?”
Elizabeth laughed again, “I suppose it depends on your level of conviction, sir.”
He met her eyes, “I have never been more certain of anything.”
“Then it must be a great virtue.”
“What makes you think so?”
She gazed affectionately, “Because I am assured of your character, sir.”
Darcy wished to alleviate her concerns on his affections and tentatively began. “I had a very…interesting conversation with Miss Bingley.”
Elizabeth blushed, “As did I.”
“I hope her words did not upset you.”
“What will you think of my vanity when I admit they did? I am acutely aware of my folly in allowing Miss Bingley and Mr. Wickham’s words to affect me.”
Darcy could not believe his ears. “Pardon me, did you say Mr. Wickham? George Wickham?
“Yes.” She could see he was distressed by the news. “He told me he was acquainted with you…”
“Miss Elizabeth, it is essential I escort you back to Longbourn immediately and then depart to Netherfield in all haste. It is probable I shall have to journey to London as well. I shall explain all when at Longbourn and I should like to meet with your father as well.”
The urgency and alarm in his voice combined with his hands upon her made her head spin.
“Very well, sir. I shall not delay you for an instant.” Darcy collected their hats before the pair walked briskly back to Longbourn.
They returned to the house just as the family had finished breakfast. Before Darcy could ask for his audience with Mr. Bennet, Mrs. Phillips was presented.
“Sister! I heard the most dreadful gossip concerning Lydia and Mr. Wickham!” She cried out, heedless of any who heard her.
Chapter Six
Mrs. Phillips, Elizabeth’s maternal aunt, was even more vulgar than Mrs. Bennet. She did not shy away from repeating the most disgusting gossip and in the most outrageous language, even if it involved one of her nieces.
Nothing could be understood through Mrs. Bennet’s shrieking, so she was promptly sent upstairs to be cared for by Jane and Kitty. Lydia was taken in her father’s study with Mr. Bennet staring her down, Elizabeth crying silent tears and Mr. Darcy gazing out the window. Mary consoled herself with the accounts of fallen women illustrated by Dr Fordyce.
Although Lydia was resolute no compromise or liberties were taken, she affirmed that Mr. Wickham approached her on the balcony outside the assembly the previous night. She even attested to her innocence by naming Miss Bingley as a witness.
The gossip was decidedly worse and grew with each retelling, as gossip generally does. There was no doubt a marriage would have to be created between Wickham and Lydia, but honour would never induce him and the Bennets did not have the income for financial motivation. Darcy paced about the room, quickly deciding that he would settle Wickham’s debts himself and find a new livelihood for him, away from Hertfordshire.
Darcy explained his history with Wickham to Mr. Bennet and Elizabeth. The scoundrel had always taken advantage of the Darcy family. From becoming the favourite of the late Mr. Darcy, spewing lies about a denied living about the current Mr. Darcy and even attempting to elope with Georgiana. He was also a known gamester and rake.
Darcy reasoned his need to offer assistance was due to his misguided loyalty to his father. In an effort to protect his family’s reputation, he never exposed Wickham. Internally, he knew Wickham harmed the Bennet family because he saw Darcy’s admiration for Elizabeth.
Mr. Bennet hesitated, but knew he could not refuse the aid. “You say Mr. Wickham is not very honourable, has debts all over, and is a practiced gamester. What sort of husband shall he make?” Mr. Bennet asked Darcy.
“I am afraid Miss Lydia’s future life may not be very content.” Mr. Bennet simply nodded in defeat.
Darcy was saddened to have to deliver any lady to the hands of such a man. Before exiting to take care of the matter with Wickham, Darcy took one long glance at Elizabeth. I can never deserve her now. My admiration has only brought her pain and my pride allowed a villain loose upon her family.
Elizabeth had watched as Darcy marched around the room. Her admiration grew tenfold when she heard his fixation on settling the matter. That he could conceive the fault lay with him instead of Wickham, Miss Bingley or even Lydia, was proof again of his superior character. He is too just a gentleman to become brother to a man like Wickham.
*****
George Wickham lingered in the officers’ common areas certain Darcy would be searching him out soon. Events went even better than he had planned. He had not taken Miss Bingley and her jealousy into account in his plot. Her zealous desire to be Mrs. Darcy served Wickham quite well. The news of his supposed compromise of Lydia Bennet at the Assembly the previous night had travelled fast.
As the time grew late Wickham grew uneasy as he had expected Darcy hours earlier. At last his eyes alighted on a familiar frame entering the room and h
e schooled his features into calm disinterest.
“Wickham,” Darcy growled out to the man.
“Darcy. What brings you here to this fine establishment?” Wickham returned.
“You know exactly what brings me here.”
“My, I cannot seem to recall the last time you took such an eager interest in my affairs. Hmm…oh yes, it was last summer and you had just come to visit your sister.”
Wickham delighted in baiting Darcy but knew better than to attempt to publicly smear Georgiana’s name or admit to anything.
Darcy reddened and he unconsciously clinched his fists. “Wickham, do not test my patience.”
Wickham could not resist going further. “Have you come to bring me news on your sister? Or perhaps just one you had hoped to make your sister?”
In Wickham’s most extreme dreams his latest plot against Darcy would both cause the man extreme misery, as he could not marry Miss Elizabeth due to the scandal, and would also prove to be a profitable endeavour for him.
He realized this was unrealistic, the whole point of the marriage was to hush up the scandal, and happily settled upon the notion of marrying Miss Lydia for a sizeable sum. If the scandal was avoided then Darcy would marry Elizabeth, and Wickham was hopeful that he would be able to drain more from the Darcy coffers through a lifetime as brother to Darcy. It would also serve as quite a blow to his nemesis’s pride and result in a suitable amount of revenge.
Darcy let out an uncharacteristic chuckle which alarmed Wickham greatly but the man was a true proficient at masking his thoughts. Darcy leaned forward and looked Wickham directly in the eye causing him to gulp and look away in uncertainty.
“I know your game, Wickham and you failed. It is true I have a care for the Bennet reputation and I am here to facilitate a marriage between Miss Lydia and yourself. But you will not find it very profitable. You see, since this summer my cousin, you remember Colonel Fitzwilliam, correct?” Darcy paused and Wickham merely nodded with a flash of fear in his eyes.
“Well, he has been reassigned to the war office in London and actually trained with Colonel Forster,” Wickham closed his eyes realizing that all of his plans had turned to dust but Darcy continued. “A commission as an ensign has been bought for you in the ____ Regiment. You are to report to Newcastle by the 27th and should know the regiment has orders to depart for Spain in the spring. You have seen the casualty rates, yes? You have no alternative and will not receive any financial inducement to marry Lydia. If you flee now then you shall be facing charges of desertion and my cousin will personally lead the chase.”
Wickham paled as soon as Darcy mentioned Colonel Fitzwilliam, and as Darcy continued his narrative a bead of sweat began to inch down Wickham’s charming face.
“What of Lydia? Surely the Bennets cannot wish for her to be a soldier’s wife and for her to remain friendless in the North. How shall I support her on an ensign’s pay? You would send your father’s godson to battle? What if there are children left behind after my death?”
Darcy laughed again. “Miss Lydia shall stay at Longbourn. I shall settle some money on her, my solicitor is drawing up the documents for Mr. Bennet. It shall be in her name and for her discretion alone should you survive the war and she ever seek to join your household. For now, there will be no possibility for children by Miss Lydia.”
He gave Wickham a hard look and Wickham entirely understood there would be no traditional wedding night. Darcy clearly did not desire any loose strings attached to Miss Lydia.
Additionally left unsaid was the fact that Wickham had several children by his conquests that he did not provide for and many more he had no knowledge of at all. Darcy and Wickham both knew that Wickham’s interest in money to raise a family with was fabricated; his only interest was for himself.
*****
Darcy travelled to London to prepare Wickham’s marriage to Lydia. He returned to Hertfordshire only to ensure the ceremony itself took place. Bingley was courting Jane Bennet and called constantly on Longbourn. Visiting Hertfordshire would mean spending too many hours either at Longbourn, torturing himself with the presence of Elizabeth, or at Netherfield with only the Hursts for company. Bingley had sent Caroline to an aunt in Scarborough for her part in the scandal.
Darcy could not bear to see Elizabeth. He once thought he would marry her but now he knew she deserved better. What type of honourable gentleman had he been?
He knew what Wickham was! He dealt with Wickham many times over and yet he never considered the threat Wickham was to the greater public. To know that Wickham targeted Lydia Bennet because of Darcy’s rumoured esteem for Elizabeth broke him.
In the past Wickham’s schemes always involved maligning Darcy’s name and reputation, but he firmly believed his character spoke for itself. Other than calling Wickham out, which was illegal and would jeopardize his family, Darcy had no recourse for Wickham’s slander.
After the attempted elopement, Darcy desired to protect Georgiana’s reputation. There was little he could do about the matter without enlightening the whole world to the affair. Was his sister’s credit more important than that of innocent and respectable people everywhere? What of the tradesmen who offered Wickham credit? How many ladies were ruined at Wickham’s hand? How many families were destroyed and left grieving? Darcy had never considered it. He had cared only for his family name and anything that might taint that made the cost too high. He let a villain run free.
Darcy had small hopes all of his efforts to ease Lydia’s pain at becoming Mrs. Wickham, in addition to time, would lessen his affront to Elizabeth but she would not meet his eye and was not encouraging during his visit to the area. They were not placed near each other during dinner or at the same card table later. Even while refilling his coffee Elizabeth remained resolutely silent and preferred the company of a gaggle of women to him. Darcy could not blame her in the least.
Despite Mrs. Bennet’s best attempts, the wedding breakfast was a subdued affair. There was much subterfuge involved in the handling of escorting Wickham and Lydia to London where she would stay with the Gardiners while Wickham continued on to Newcastle. To Darcy, Elizabeth appeared even less receptive to his attention during the attempted celebration.
When Darcy had met Elizabeth he realized quickly he was enchanted, bewitched even. On such a short acquaintance it was almost improper to ask for a courtship when he first intended, though his heart desired marriage even then.
After he left Netherfield, rather than face her rejection, he had much time to give the situation more thought. The fact was, he fell in love with her that day in the park as she twirled little Michael Gardiner around, with her petticoat six inches deep in mud. Before she even spoke, her mannerisms said much of her character. Surely their conversations detailed more illumination of character than many couples face in months of courting in a drawing room.
He thought back on Elizabeth’s words to Georgiana about love. If asked the day before the Assembly he would have declared there was nothing on earth to motivate him to face George Wickham again. And yet when the news of his plot against the Bennet family fell, Darcy barely gave any thought at all to dealing with the scoundrel just to give Elizabeth some form of peace.
While he was not in a position to give constant friendship, his respect and esteem for her had remained the same even after the excitement of being in her presence, of being the recipient of her dazzling smiles, disappeared. It was love and not mere infatuation, Darcy was quite sure and his heart was utterly broken at the thought of living life without her.
Georgiana saw her brother’s ill frame of mind. She attempted to persuade him to return to Hertfordshire and court Elizabeth but he refused to even speak with her about the matter. Darcy tried to hide it, but Georgiana easily saw that he felt guilty for Wickham’s actions and believed he was unworthy of Elizabeth’s esteem.
Georgiana believed he had entirely mistaken Elizabeth’s character. She was too kind to blame Darcy for the situation and sensible enough to se
e that he was not responsible for the actions of Wickham or any others.
After weeks of arguing with him, Georgiana took matters into her own hands with a timely letter to her cousin Anne. Not only was she certain Darcy and Elizabeth were a perfect match and in a fair way of being in love with one another, she was still determined to have Elizabeth as a sister.
Chapter Seven
Elizabeth had felt Darcy’s disapproving stare on her when he came to the dinner party before Lydia’s wedding. True, several weeks ago she had convinced herself that he admired her, was even humble enough to be interested in her when she had no lofty connections or dowry. Now she knew he was too honourable to stoop so low. Every just feeling must repel the thought of becoming related to Wickham, of attaching himself to a family now touched with scandal.
Although Lydia did not actually engage in anything awful with Wickham, Elizabeth was not at all convinced her sister never would have if given the chance at a later date. What man of sense would bring such a stain to his family in exchange for her sharp words and wilful misunderstandings? She felt as though she could never speak to Darcy again.
It was now six weeks since Lydia had married Wickham and Elizabeth had taken to solitary walks to Oakham Mount, even in the cold early December weather, so she could have the necessary peace required to imagine a life as Mrs. Darcy. It was not fine carriages and jewels of which she dreamed.
For many weeks now she had comprehended that Darcy was exactly the man who, in disposition and talents, would most suit her. His understanding and temper, though unlike her own, would have answered all her wishes. It was a union that must have been to the advantage of both. But no such happy marriage could now teach the admiring multitude what connubial felicity really was due to the preceding marriage of Wickham and Lydia.
Seven Days With Mr Darcy Page 6