Wickham's Wife

by C. J. Hill

  Naturally, when Wickham arrived the next day to hear his fate, he was more than a little disconcerted that yet another obstacle had been put in his way. An uncle had suddenly materialised! An uncle who would undoubtedly enquire intimately into Wickham's background and reputation around town and decide whether what Mary and her mother had been told was a true account.

  He smiled at this latest development as best he could, assuring both ladies that their caution was entirely unnecessary but he completely understood their reasons for it, and looked forward to meeting the gentleman when he could arrange to visit.

  Mrs. King was the most embarrassed by this delay, attempting to moderate the importance of the expected visit as merely that of a concerned uncle wishing to make the acquaintance of the prospective groom.

  Miss King, he could see with suspicion, was most relieved that her decision was to be placed in another's hands. If her uncle deemed Wickham a good prospect, then she would marry him; but only then. Apparently her interest in the matter was unemotional; her ambivalence towards either prospect showed an alarming lack of feeling. Marriage or spinsterhood was equally acceptable to her.

  Chapter 23

  It was not long before the answer to Mrs. King's letter was received: her brother would arrive within the next fortnight if his business allowed it. In the interim, he requested more information about Mr. Wickham than had been provided in Mrs. King's first letter, in particular his full name, if it was known; his rank in the Militia; and any other connections of which the ladies were aware. Mr. Liston was nothing if not cautious and thorough in everything he undertook, and having now been entrusted with the future happiness of his niece, had determined to leave no stone unturned in his discovery of the character of this Mr. Wickham.

  To his sister's judgment he awarded little merit and feared that her good opinion, so clearly stated in her first letter, was merely a reflection of her inability to understand the motivations disguised beneath the appearance of a charming and probably very handsome young man desperate to improve his situation through an advantageous marriage. In his niece, however, he perceived much greater discernment. Her insistence upon having him act on her behalf spoke volumes about her good sense and lack of emotional attachment; he was relieved he would not have to break her heart should his investigations throw up anything untoward about her prospective husband. He would make preliminary enquiries where he could while still in Liverpool, and continue them more particularly once he arrived in Meryton.

  His sister's second letter enabled him to begin those enquiries without delay: the provision of Wickham's full name, approximate age, and previous connection with the Pemberley Estate in Derbyshire was sufficient to prompt several letters to be sent to various associates in London and beyond, requesting any information of which they may be in possession regarding this particular person.

  The responses received were most illuminating - and shocking; especially those from one of his associates in London. Unfortunately for Wickham, this person was quite certain that there had been a man by the same name who had appeared rather well-to-do and who had frequented the same clubs as he. Rumours of unpaid debts of honour had circulated for quite some time before this Wickham had disappeared entirely.

  Another associate who travelled through Derbyshire in pursuit of his business also had heard of a young man by that name who had grown up on the Pemberley Estate but was not at all well-regarded in the local village. In fact, the more this gentleman enquired about Wickham the more egregious Wickham's faults became; they also all pertained to unpaid debts which eventually had to be honoured by Mr. Darcy of Pemberley.

  Mr. Liston read the incoming missives with growing perturbation: this man's character was already under question and he had yet to meet him in person. But he must not presume that all the Wickhams mentioned were one and the same; people could be mistaken in their recollections and confused about certain events once some time had passed. He must consider every possibility before he reached his conclusions but he sincerely hoped he would arrive in Meryton before his niece agreed to anything imprudent.

  Happily for Wickham, and Miss and Mrs. King, ignorance was bliss, as none were aware of the unpleasant discoveries being made in Liverpool and continued about their accustomed pursuits.

  The Militia was indeed to remove to Brighton, it had been absolutely confirmed by Colonel Forster, and the young ladies of the town were desperately attempting to enjoy every moment before the dreaded loss of their favourites occurred. Parties abounded, and society was so great that Spring that not one evening was it necessary to spend at home if one did not wish it.

  Mrs. Forster had long been threatening to hold a party in her capacity as wife to the Colonel and, after finally gaining permission from her husband, she set about arranging one with the help of her friend, Lydia Bennet, with whom she now had an intimate friendship. The party must be something unusual; something that no one else had thought of or done before. It must certainly be entertaining enough to eclipse some of their friends' recent arrangements.

  "I know what would be a great joke if we could manage it!" laughed Lydia as they thought of good plans. "Let us have a charade! Oh! Yes, let's! Who shall we introduce as a new person in town? It must be someone who will pass for a stranger but is utterly known by everybody in attendance, otherwise it will not be as amusing when they are discovered."

  "What about Chamberlayne?" giggled Harriet. "He would pass for a lady if dressed accordingly; he is so slight and fair skinned for a man, it would be easy to fool everyone. And he would never deny you if you asked him especially. But where would we get the clothing, Lydia?"

  "Oh, nothing so easy as that. My aunt has an old gown that she said she would give away to the church; it would certainly fit around Chamberlayne, and with room to spare. We will fit it with pins but he will have to take care not to sit on one of them. Oh! What a lark it will be, Harriet! Do ask the Colonel tonight if he can spare the poor gentleman to practise."

  "I shall ask him tonight, Lydia, without fail, I promise. What a fine joke - I wonder how long it will take for him to be discovered!"

  Lydia's attention wandered away from her friend's plans as something out on the street caught her eye, causing her no little excitement as she threw open the window and leant out.

  "Wickham! Wickham! Up here! We have not seen you for an age. Do come up and pay your respects to Mrs. Forster; she would like to speak with you especially. Indeed,… yes,… please do, for it is not possible to hold a conversation at this distance.

  "He is coming up, Harriet! Oh, where is your mirror? Is my hair tidy? Pinch my cheeks! I have not seen him properly since Lizzy left for Kent."

  "He has been much engaged by Miss King ever since," Harriet replied. “However, I now surmise from your present excitement that he has not been far from your thoughts, even if he has been unavailable. Ooh, Lydia, beware! Do not cast your affections in Wickham's direction - he is already spoken for, and most prudently, too; you cannot wish to interfere in such a beneficial match surely?"

  Lydia's response was not forthcoming as the gentleman in question arrived at the door, and proceeded to charm and delight his audience as he had always done. Although one of his listeners was much more attentive and animated than the other, who was trying to restrain her friend's flirting before she made herself ridiculous, Wickham appeared unaware of Lydia's excessive behaviour towards him: her wide smiles; her loud laugh at everything he said; her interested questions, all appeared as her usual manner to him. However, one of Lydia's next questions caused her friend to wince with embarrassment at its audacity.

  "And how is it that you have been so little seen these past weeks, Mr. Wickham? I had quite given you up as a married man before you have even got to church. Surely you are not so under the influence of Miss King that she refuses to allow you any little entertainment?"

  "Indeed not, Miss Lydia," Wickham laughed easily. "Miss King is kindness and consideration itself and we have been out in society several
times, as I am sure you have noticed.”

  "Well, there is no point if you are entirely taken up with one person all evening. I think it a great shame that you no longer go about with your friends as you used to do.

  “And is she not already making preparations for your wedding, Wickham? I am sure that I should not waste any time if I had a wedding to arrange; I would be very anxious to have it as soon as may be, so that I could be a married woman. Is not that what you wanted, Harriet? You were married quite soon after becoming engaged to the Colonel."

  Harriet smiled, slightly blushing, at her friend and her guest. "Indeed, I am sure that as soon as a wedding can be arranged, the better it is for all parties. When is the wedding set for, Mr. Wickham?"

  Wickham shifted himself uncomfortably in the chair before he answered, and Lydia listened with her heart in her mouth for his answer: if the date was set, then all was over.

  "There can be no date confirmed upon, unfortunately, until Miss King's uncle, who is in Liverpool, can afford the time to visit. I believe he is most anxious to meet me, as befits a male relative, and he refuses to give his consent for the wedding to take place until he has done so. We hope that he can visit very soon but we must patiently await further instructions from him."

  "Perhaps he will not like you, Wickham, and will send you off with a flea in your ear for bothering his niece!" laughed Lydia, delightedly relieved at the news; he was not yet absolutely engaged.

  "I am sure that will not be the case," interposed Harriet hurriedly. "It is, as Mr. Wickham says, only right and proper that he should have to impress Miss King's nearest relation with his character and motives, and once this uncle sees what level of affection there is in the match, and, of course Mr. Wickham's superior manners, I am sure he will happily give his consent. Let us hope he can visit very soon and relieve you both from this intolerable waiting."

  Wickham rose to take his leave, smiling his agreement at her words.

  "Now, Mr. Wickham, we hope to see you here again, next Tuesday night, with all of our friends; we shall have a little supper and some dancing. Please say you will come, and do invite Miss King as well; she is most welcome."

  Wickham bowed his thanks and promised to relay her kind invitation.

  The charade at the Forster's party exceeded Lydia and Harriet's expectations.

  Chamberlayne, although not entirely happy at being dressed in female attire in front of all his friends, including his commanding officer, and dreading the teasing he would have to endure afterwards, performed admirably on the night. As Harriet had observed, his frame was so slight, and not so tall, that he fitted easily into aunt Philips' gown along with the borrowed hairpiece and bonnet, and after several hours being coached by Lydia and Harriet in the confounding arts of walking and sitting like a lady, who loudly exclaimed their amusement and delight at the increasing ability of their student, announced himself as ready as he thought he would ever be; indeed, if the party was not that very night, he would have excused himself from the whole affair, citing his better judgment and perception as a soldier being thrown into doubt as two very plausible reasons. But, as with many of his fellow soldiers, he found himself quite unable to protest too much in the determined face of both ladies and spoil their delight in their hard work, so he submitted to their training with as good a grace as he could muster, gloomily predicting some extended banter at his expense for some months to come.

  He arrived at the party when all others were comfortably engrossed in conversation, and made his entrance as directed earlier by Lydia: "Enter slowly and look for me, Chamberlayne; act the part of a timid young lady. If I do not see you immediately, make your way over and then the fun will begin! Oh, what a fine joke we shall have on everyone!"

  He approached Lydia who was laughing at something said by one of the officers and tapped her arm. She span around and exclaimed loudly, "Oh! Miss Chambers! How delightful that you were able to attend our small event! Come, allow me to introduce you to some of my acquaintance. Here, you see are Captains Denny and Carter - they, and most of the company here tonight are from the Militia currently encamped in Meryton - perhaps you have seen them about? They protect us from the French, do you not now, Denny? Gentlemen, may I introduce a new friend of mine, a Miss Chambers from the North; she is visiting for a short time with her aunt. Harriet and I invited her to our small affair tonight."

  The two gentlemen, completely taken in, bowed most courteously to their fellow soldier and began politely enquiring how she found Meryton, how she liked the limited shopping, and was it, in any way, similar to her home town?

  Chamberlayne, responded as succinctly and in as dulcet tones as possible, keeping his voice at no more than a whisper which only had the added effect of increasing his allure; the two gentlemen set about entertaining her as well as they could with rival stories and anecdotes about their lives as soldiers, each out-doing the other in tales of bravery and skill. Lydia listened in with a beaming grin, hardly able to restrain herself from laughing out loud and divulging the identity of the lady they were trying so hard to impress. Eventually, amid many disappointed words of protest, she removed Miss Chambers from their company and introduced her to another group of gentlemen which included Wickham and Colonel Forster - this would be the real test since both men were already taken and would not be as eager to impress.

  Chamberlayne was not as sanguine in this company, with good reason, and tried his best to conceal himself partway behind Lydia, turning sideways and only murmuring his responses, almost inaudibly. His shyness, however, merely served to arouse the intrigue of Wickham who was the only person in the group who seemed to suspect something. He tilted his head and half-closed his eyes as if trying to get a clear glimpse of this new lady as he asked her a question about the length of her stay, and who was her aunt? Chamberlayne's response, mumbled from the depths of his fan, was utterly inaudible. Wickham leaned closer to hear better but was immediately intercepted by Lydia's laughing warning:

  "Ah, Wickham, do not get too close! Remember, you are an engaged man; it is not proper for you to seem too interested in another lady's conversation."

  Wickham stiffened and immediately drew back. "I merely wished to hear what Miss Chambers had to say; it is impossible to continue a conversation at such a distance and in as noisy a place as this. However, as your friend appears to be so shy I will not impose myself upon her any further. I must return to Miss King and attend to her."

  Lydia looked across to where Miss King was sitting with her mother, and crinkled her nose in dislike.

  "I do not think that Miss King finds much to amuse her here, Wickham. Her mother seems anxious to be friendly but her daughter does not follow her lead. Perhaps you should walk about with her and introduce her to your friends; someone's conversation must be of interest surely? She must smile on occasion, I hope?"

  "I assure you that Miss King smiles a great deal when she is amused; it is not her fault that she is uncomfortable in company. Perhaps I will offer to take her home since, as you point out, she does not appear to be enjoying herself. Good evening, Miss Lydia. I shall thank the Colonel and Mrs. Forster as we leave."

  Wickham returned to Miss King's side and after ascertaining that she would prefer to leave, proceeded with her to the door only to be arrested by a burst of laughter across the room. He looked around to discover the source of the commotion. The young lady who had appeared so strangely familiar to Wickham had suddenly wrenched the bonnet and hairpiece from her head and, bowing most respectfully to the assembled company, whose mouths were all now hanging open in a most unbecoming manner, revealed what they now could all see with their own eyes.

  "Your most humble servant, madam. Mr. Chamberlayne, at your service. My family is in the North -" but with that, chaos reigned, just as Lydia had hoped, and his remaining words were drowned in laughter, astonishment and shock.

  Wickham excused himself for a moment from Miss King and hurried over, joining in and laughing uproariously at the joke. Lydia,
delighted at his re-capture, immediately caught his arm and claimed the whole thing as her own idea.

  "What a fine joke, do not you think, Wickham? We had you all quite fooled, I am sure of it, and if Chamberlayne had more courage, he would still be undiscovered. He makes a decent lady, does not he?"

  "Aye! Unfortunately for him, he does. What made him agree to so strange a device, Lydia? I am certain I would never succumb to such nonsense."

  "Well, you clearly underestimate the power that I have over all of you men, Wickham! Beware! I am able to make you all do my bidding with very little as bait or bribe, other than of pleasing me. I am sure you would have agreed just as quickly as Chamberlayne if I had asked you first, for 'tis only a charade, after all, for a bit of fun and amusement, where there is so little to be had. You would not deny me such diversions, surely?"

  Wickham's face immediately lost its good humour, put there so recently by the unveiling of Chamberlayne, and grew more severe as he spoke.

  "Miss Lydia. I can assure you that you have very little influence over my actions and what I would do to make you happy. Perhaps Chamberlayne believes this foolishness to have procured your good opinion of him, and wishes to use it as currency in his pursuit of you, but as I have no such interest, I would never submit to such nonsense, I assure you."

  Wickham bowed curtly, returned to Miss King and her mother, and left the building without a backwards glance.

  Mary King was rather confused about the scene she had just witnessed and enquired of Wickham the meaning of it.

  "But surely he must be quite foolish to agree to such a scheme? Is he altogether out of his wits?"

  "I believe he could not refuse the entreaties of the ladies who wished to make a spectacle of him for their own amusement, Miss King. Some men think that being agreeable in such a matter as that will ensure their intrigue in the lady's eyes, which, of course, is never the case. Especially if the lady is Lydia Bennet; she merely flirts for her own gain which poor Chamberlayne will now learn to his cost. He will not live down this exhibition of his weakness any time soon. I feel sorry for him, but some men cannot refuse a lady’s requests however ridiculous they may be."