Wickham's Wife

by C. J. Hill

  "Of course, Miss Darcy! You will have my full attention this evening, I assure you." Wickham bowed, smiled, nodded discreetly to Julia, and was gone, leaving behind him two very affected admirers, both anticipating an evening of delightful company; Georgiana during the party: Julia after it - if she could get away. She had so much to say and ask, along with other matters that could not be put off until the next day.

  That evening was to be the model upon which each succeeding evening was to be spent and Georgiana relished being the envy of all the young ladies; even if Mr. Wickham was not attired in regimentals, his charming manner and elegant dress were far superior to any other gentleman in the room and he attracted much interest everywhere he went. Julia watched quietly in the background as young ladies flocked to him, giggling, vying for his attention, fluttering behind their fans, content in the knowledge that he was hers, however secret their attachment may be, and that nothing would tempt him otherwise, as he had lovingly assured her only the previous evening.

  Georgiana, for her part, was in heaven: she felt the strength of Wickham's attention - he spent every waking moment in her company. He called every day; met her as if by accident along the boardwalks; escorted her to every evening event and charmed all of her acquaintance. He even insisted on accompanying her back to Albion Place to ensure her safe return, even though Mrs. Younge was always in attendance and had proved herself more than capable of watching over Georgiana's safety before his arrival. Indeed, sometimes she wished that Mrs. Younge was not quite so attentive and would catch herself a cold, forcing her to stay home, so that she would be entirely under Mr. Wickham's protection. How delightful that would be!

  But Mrs. Younge remained determinedly healthy and in attendance at all events, day and night. Geogiana even went so far as to hint that Julia’s attendance was not entirely necessary at every party, walk, or country outing but those hints fell upon deaf ears; Mrs. Younge remained stoically by her side.

  Most vexing were the times when Georgiana was engaged by some barbarous friend or other, and Wickham, being the gentleman that he was, felt obliged to remain by Mrs. Younge's side. They chatted and laughed most amicably, Georgiana noticed, as if she were not absent at all; as if he did not care that he had been deprived of her company; as if Mrs. Younge were an equal to her in conversation and looks.

  After a while, Georgiana finally decided that enough was enough: she wanted to have Mr. Wickham to herself at least once without her chaperone constantly in the way and determined to make her feelings known to Mrs. Younge. As they were walking towards town one bright morning, expecting at every moment for the man in question to appear as he usually contrived to do, Georgiana stopped and turning to Julia began rather forcefully:

  "Mrs. Younge. I do not wish to shock or surprise you, but you must have noticed a certain level of attention by Mr. Wickham to me and for my amusement this last week? He has made it his business to attend to my every wish and need in the role of a most considerate and selfless friend - perhaps more than a friend! I do not know exactly what his intentions are, he has not, as yet, explicitly stated them, but judging by his attentions to me thus far, I can only assume that they are of the most interested nature. I do not wish to alarm you and perhaps he will not dare to make his feelings known so soon, knowing as he does how much I shall inherit upon marriage, but if he does, I shall endeavour to relieve him of any scruple he may have on that score. He is so charming and elegant that his lack of fortune only elevates his worth in my eyes."

  Julia stared aghast at her charge. That Georgiana found Wickham to be an amusing and attentive companion, she was entirely aware. But to think his attentions were in any manner portending undying love and marriage prospects was utterly absurd; however, remembering how easily Georgiana had been convinced of the same level of attraction from Mr. Bingley, not so very long ago, through an equally disinterested concern for a young girl of his acquaintance, Julia thought quickly as to how this latest fixation could be crossed before it escalated into something more serious and mortifying for all concerned.

  "Oh! Miss Darcy! I think you are over-imagining the situation. And as to fortune - even if Mr. Wickham should propose marriage to you, about which I am certain you are entirely mistaken, he would have to gain the approval of your brother. And that is hardly likely, is it now? Mr. Wickham is charming, to be sure, but he has a great deal to accomplish before he can think of becoming a married man, even if he is fortunate enough to find a wealthy lady such as you to be his bride.

  “No! You are very much mistaken, believe me. I have known Mr. Wickham for some time now and I know he is not a suitable match for you. Do not set your sights upon such a man as he has been, and will continue to be for some time yet." Julia protested as she turned away to conceal the shock and anger she felt at Georgiana's stupidity. At one time she had thought Miss Darcy to be a sensible, shy sort of girl, but now everything pointed to the complete opposite, and Julia rather wished for the holiday to arrive at its conclusion so she could return to London, receive her wages, and leave the Darcy's employ.

  Georgiana hurried angrily after Julia. "Oh! You are jealous, I see it now! You think that because he has included you in our talks and outings, because he has felt sorry for you, not wanting to leave you alone, that he actually cares for you! You? A widow and a governess. What can you offer him that I cannot offer tenfold? Twentyfold? My wealth and my youth are two things that are entirely in my favour and with which you cannot compete, Mrs. Younge! Do not try to warn me against him by pretending prior knowledge for I have known him for all my life and I know very well what he has been, and is: he is a charming, handsome, amusing gentleman and nothing you can say will convince me otherwise. Oh! You are all alike. The Bingley sisters do not care for him either. They claimed all sorts of dark secrets against him but they could never actually say what they were. You are all in a conspiracy against me! First their brother and now Wickham. Well, it shall not be so. I shall decide for myself."

  Georgiana stalked off in the direction of the pier where she later met with several of her friends where she, no doubt, complained bitterly about her interfering governess and all of her faults, but hopefully without any particular details for those complaints.

  Julia lingered close by Spencer Square where she knew Wickham often waited for them to pass. He had mentioned he had found out where his friends, Carter and Denny, were staying and had met with them on several occasions, renewing their friendship started in Cambridge.

  Sure enough, after about ten minutes, Julia spied his elegant figure cutting through the crowds making a direct line towards her. His smile at seeing her alone quickly faded as he saw the strain on her face, and he enquired as to the reason for it.

  "You are the matter, my dear, as always!" Julia murmured as he bent close to her and discreetly brushed her ear with his lips. "You are too handsome and charming to be allowed out by yourself, I declare," she tried to joke but it fell rather flat. Wickham was confused. She proceeded to outlay her argument with Georgiana and by the end of it, Wickham, too, was in a state of shock.

  "But, that is absurd of her! I have paid her some attention, to be sure, but only in the regular way. If I had any notion that she was taking it all so seriously I would have made sure to have been extremely rude and offhand instead of flattering her. No! Do not cry, my dear! It is all nothing. She is young; this has happened before, as you told me, and not very long ago. She will recover quite soon and all will be forgot. How many times must she encounter male attention before she can accept that it is not all a precursor to marriage? We are not every one of us so enamoured with her that we fall in love, no matter how wealthy she may be."

  He gazed lovingly into Julia's eyes. "I, for my own part, much prefer a more mature, quietly beautiful, successful woman as my lover. One who is steadfast and caring and not at all given to emotional outbursts or flights of fancy based purely upon figments of her own imagination." He grasped Julia's hand and drew it through his elbow, continuing to hold it
tightly as lovers do, as they walked back along the front in comfortable silence.

  "I must return to London in a few days, my dear, and all of this nonsense will be forgot. I have enjoyed all of the delights Ramsgate has to offer in the Summer but London calls, and your business does not run itself, as you already know to your cost. I am sure that you will make up your differences with Georgiana and continue with your duties as you promised. Be assured, Julia, that she is nothing to me other than an old acquaintance. It is you whom I love. Now smile for me and prove you are recovered."

  Julia smiled, weakly, but was relieved to hear what she most wanted. Georgiana's attack had unnerved her more than she realised; what could she offer in competition with one such as Georgiana when so much was available through the Darcy fortunes? She had refused to marry Wickham several times - he was a free man, able to do what he wished, and if he wished to marry an heiress such as Miss Darcy and squander her money and live in luxury for the rest of his life, she could not blame nor stop him.

  Wickham escorted her almost the entire way home and, although they kept an eye out for Miss Darcy, she was not to be seen. They surmised that she would be visiting one of her friends, or chatting with others in the library or tea-rooms and concerned themselves only a little about her whereabouts. Before they reached Albion Place, Wickham drew Julia to him and tenderly pressed his lips against her forehead.

  "Come to me before I leave, my darling? I cannot endure being without you for another month before your return to London. Promise me that you will try?"

  "I will try, my dear, but I cannot say for certain: it depends upon Miss Darcy's mood when next I see her and what she wants to do this evening or the next. I will try, but I cannot promise. I will see you tomorrow?"

  "Yes, of course. I will be here for at least another few days but I shall not call upon Miss Darcy again. I have some new business to attend to with Denny which may lead to something promising. I just have to be patient for a while longer and bide my time before returning to London. Farewell for the moment, my dear."

  Julia left him standing on the corner and proceeded reluctantly down the street to the house.

  Chapter 13

  To say that a definite chill pervaded the air within a certain house in Albion Square for the whole of the next day, height of summer notwithstanding, would be an understatement. Georgiana took great pains to ignore Julia on every occasion, making breakfast and luncheon, when the two were most alone in each other’s company, quite uncomfortable. Any attempts by Julia at conversation were steadfastly ignored by Georgiana who remained mulish, maintaining her air of hurt pride with considerable determination and skill.

  Eventually, tired of enduring such childish behaviour, the like of which Julia had not experienced since she had been a governess for much smaller charges, Julia applied to Wickham that evening to resolve the matter, begging him to kindly explain the meaning of his attentions and make it clear to Georgiana that it had all been nothing more than polite consideration. Wickham protested vehemently, unable to imagine any possible way in which he could broach the subject without causing more ill-feeling, but Julia insisted, and for her sake, he agreed.

  The next morning, Julia mentioned that she had a headache and regretted that she would be unable to accompany Miss Darcy on her usual walk, to which Georgiana merely sniffed and continued eating her muffin, gazing fixedly out of the window behind Julia's left shoulder.

  "But, I know that Mr. Wickham intended taking a last stroll along the sands and the boardwalk before his return to London tomorrow," Julia continued. "I am sure he would be most pleased to have the opportunity to say goodbye to you, Miss Darcy, before he leaves."

  Georgiana sniffed again but was sufficiently mollified at this clear change of opinion by her companion to deign to look at Julia.

  "Perhaps he will see me, if I should decide to take my walk that way, or perhaps he will not. I expect Miss Lyons to call upon me this morning and so it will be of no consequence if you are unable to come. I shall go with her for my walk, and if we should happen to see Mr. Wickham, then it will be a most fortunate meeting for him if he is to leave tomorrow. I must get ready now." And she rose from the table in quiet excitement at the thought of a chance alone with Wickham.

  Julia watched her go off with Miss Lyons an hour later, with misgiving. Wickham would be kind, she knew, but he had to be firm which would cause Georgiana some pain, and that he never liked to cause in any person whom he considered a friend. The house was quiet and becoming stifling in the rising heat of the morning; even though the windows were flung open wide, there still was not enough air to cool the rooms.

  She looked at the clock as it crawled through the rest of the morning hours and into the afternoon: no one called; no letters arrived; and no Georgiana returned, distraught and disenchanted from her rejection received at the hands of Wickham. Julia consoled herself with the thought that whenever Georgiana was in the company of Miss Lyons they were always sufficiently amused with each other's gossip and silly notions that many hours could pass without them realising; it was entirely possible that they had not yet even met with Wickham, although he had promised Julia sincerely that he would make certain to meet them as he usually did.

  The doorbell rang and Julia jumped from her chair, expecting all sorts of terrors to arrive through the door. She stood, straightening her skirts and smoothing her hair as she heard the muffled deep tones of a male voice in the hallway interspersed with those of the landlady, and then heavy boots striding along the floor. The door was flung open and she found herself face to face with an extremely handsome, tall gentleman, who, from his faint resemblance to Georgiana, Julia surmised with a jolt of surprise, must be her employer, Mr. Darcy!

  She curtsied nervously and smiled a welcome.

  Mr. Darcy, for it was he, gave the room a cursory glance before returning his aloof gaze to Julia's face. "I am seeking my sister, Miss Darcy. She is not here I perceive. Would you be so good as to inform me as to her whereabouts?"

  Julia curtsied again. "Mr. Darcy! I am honoured to finally meet you, sir. Miss Darcy is out walking as she often does at this time every day; the exercise is most beneficial and she meets many friends whilst doing so."

  He frowned. "My sister is out walking, alone? Why pray are not you with her - it not that your role, what you are paid for - to accompany my sister? Or perhaps do I not have the pleasure of speaking with Mrs. Younge?"

  "Oh, yes indeed, I am Mrs. Younge, and usually Miss Darcy and I are constant companions here in Ramsgate, as we were in London, I assure you. Unfortunately, today I felt unwell and quite unable to accompany Miss Darcy: fortunately, one of her many new friends arrived to call upon her and they ventured out in each other’s company so that Miss Darcy was not denied her usual pleasures."

  Darcy looked at Julia, his expression inscrutable. "And at any point do you intend informing me of the likely whereabouts of my sister? Where does she tend to walk, pray? I wished to surprise her with my arrival."

  Julia hurried to give him the information he sought: her best estimation was that Miss Darcy would be either walking along the boardwalk or pier; or in the library; or tearooms; she apologised that she could not be entirely certain, nor more specific.

  Mr. Darcy bowed abruptly and swept out of the room, leaving Julia quite shocked.

  Of course his manners would be proud and perfunctory to those beneath him, but still, she was employed as a trusted companion to his sister and she had expected rather better consideration from him even after Wickham's many discourses upon the subject. How she hoped that Mr. Darcy would not come upon his sister as she had just been informed by Wickham about his true feelings. Oh! That did not bear thinking about!

  Julia fluttered about the room in a panic, and then, unable to wait any longer, donned her bonnet and gloves and set out in great haste along the now-familiar paths towards the town. She had no notion what she intended to do once she got there but assured herself that anything was better than remaini
ng inside any longer.

  In that estimation she was sadly mistaken: her carefully-laid plans had not and would continue not to work as she had hoped, and removing herself from the house would have no beneficial effect upon them.

  Wickham had loitered about the boardwalk and entrance to the pier for almost an hour, expecting Miss Darcy to eventually arrive in that area. Knowing what he had to impart, though, concerned him a great deal and he regretted very deeply the fact that he had to ruin a life-long friendship speaking what he must.

  His heart turned when he espied Georgiana and her friend approaching the pier - she was so young and happy - seemingly untouched by life and its ugliness. For a fleeting moment, he toyed with the notion of assuring her of his undying love, making her the happiest of women, whilst ensuring his own wealth for the rest of his life!

  He shook himself: this was not the way it could ever be, and he knew it, but the enticement was very great. How easy it would be to continue the pretence of love, spirit her away to Gretna Green without anybody's knowledge, and certainly before Darcy discovered them, and marry her and her fortune which, he knew, must be considerable. How angry Darcy would be to be so deceived; so powerless; so thwarted! The notion of such a revenge lingered temptingly for a while in the back of Wickham's mind as he greeted Georgiana, noticing as he did how animated she became. How had he never noticed her growing attraction to him, when it was so clear? It was not as if he were unused to the subtleties of the female sex.

  "Mr. Wickham!" she smiled as demurely as she could manage. "How fortunate you have found us; Mrs. Younge informed me that you intend returning to London tomorrow? That is unfortunate indeed; you will miss Ramsgate and everything it has to offer, will you not now?"

  "I am sure I shall, Miss Darcy! It has been a most enjoyable time but duty calls and business awaits; I can no longer afford leisure time. I shall leave early tomorrow morning."