by C. J. Hill
“But I will make myself satisfied with the smallest of visits, Harriet. If Wickham will not attend the parties we do, I must attend those he does, must not I? Why do not you see that, Harriet? If you were my true friend you would be determined to help me, but I see that you are not.”
Harriet relented slightly.
“Perhaps I shall ask the Colonel if we might host a gathering at our house, if that would please you, Lydia. Then Wickham would be obliged to attend and you would have him to yourself all evening, if you can manage it.”
Lydia brightened a little.
“Ohh, yes! That would be splendid, Harriet.” Then remembering past occasions, added, “But he tends to leave as soon as I approach him. It is as if he does not wish for my company which is most unfair; everybody else finds me amusing, why does not he?”
“Perhaps you should temper your ‘amusing’ tendencies a little, Lydia. Perhaps he does not like to be so singled out; perhaps he would prefer to approach you rather than the other way about. Remember: gentlemen generally are the pursuers, not the pursued; you might want to restrain your obvious delight at seeing him in order to increase his interest. If you ignore him entirely, he might wish to know the reason for it, would he not, now?”
“You are right, Harriet. But it is so hard to be indifferent towards him, and if I am, then there are plenty of other ladies who will not be. But, if you will arrange it, I shall do as you say – for a while at least. I cannot guarantee for the whole evening.”
Harriet, relieved that all talk of visiting Mrs. Bracecourt’s establishment had ceased in favour of a party amongst friends, spoke with her husband that evening as they prepared for bed. Colonel Forster, although a most amenable man and eager to indulge any and all of his young wife’s fancies if at all possible, rather drew the line at her suggestion of a party and the reasons for it. Lydia’s desire to know more of Wickham did not entail his giving a party for her benefit.
However, he listened with closer attention when his wife also mentioned how little had been seen of Wickham socially since they had arrived in Brighton, and she hoped, innocently enough, that he was not getting himself into trouble at Mrs. Bracecourt’s – much was understood about that establishment but little actually known. Did her husband know the truth of the matter, perhaps? She was sure there could be nothing to the rumours but, from what she had heard in town, it was not a place for respectable young gentlemen of the militia.
Colonel Forster had heard the rumours and had visited the place himself at the beginning of their stay, to ascertain its suitability for his men: his visit had proved nothing. It appeared to be a house offering superior entertainments and company which should have excluded many in the military and their generally limited fortunes; learning that Wickham and his friends were spending all of their time there certainly was cause for concern, and he determined to speak with them about it as soon as may be.
He rounded up the usual suspects – the ones with whom he had had cause to speak regarding the very same concerns in Meryton – and included Wickham on the list.
He stared hard at them before seating himself behind his desk and waved them to stand easy.
“Gentlemen: While it grieves me to have to call you before me once again, some concerns about your conduct have been brought to my attention which I cannot ignore.
“While you are here in Brighton, you have job of work to do before any and all other calls upon your time. I understand that our work is easily accomplished - rather more easily than those Regiments preparing for overseas postings - but nonetheless, it is work that must be done to the very best of your ability – is that clear?”
Confused, as they believed that they had fulfilled those requirements, those before him all responded, “Yes, Colonel, sir.”
“I also understand that, due to your limited work demands, many of you have already made acquaintances here that enable you to engage in more pleasurable pursuits in the afternoons and evenings? I would not constrain any of you from enjoying what Brighton has to offer, just as I did not while we were in Meryton, but one venue in particular has come to my attention as being less than suitable for any man who wishes to remain in my Regiment.
“The house of Mrs. Bracecourt appears to be consuming a great deal of your leisure time – in what manner that time is spent I have no wish to understand - but as your attendance there is to the exclusion of all other gatherings, I believe it is something which needs to be curtailed immediately in favour of a more varied programme of entertainments. It does not do to so single out one person’s hospitality when there is so much of it to be had elsewhere. You will soon cause unpleasantness which will reflect badly upon the Regiment, and that I will not allow.”
He glared at each man in front of him to ensure they followed his meaning: they did.
“There is to be an assembly at the Old Ship tomorrow night – I expect that you will all attend - and any other card parties or assemblies you are invited to, on a regular basis.
“That will be all. Dismiss.”
The men came to attention, saluted and marched out of the office.
Colonel Forster watched them go, particularly Wickham, and wondered just how long it would be before he had to recall them into his office and dismiss some, or all of them. He could not absolutely forbid them to go to Mrs. Bracecourt’s but he hoped they understood his reasons and preferences for other venues. Young men, restless and bored, with too much time on their hands needed some way to pass the time; unfortunately, most of them could get no further than the nearest gaming house or inn to gain that relief, and while soldiers were notorious for their intemperate behaviour, he was determined it would not be acceptable in his men.
Imagine, then, Lydia’s utter delight upon entering the Assembly and seeing her favourite once again amongst the throng. His back was towards her, but she knew immediately it was he and could hardly restrain herself from rushing straight over and striking up a conversation. Understandingly, Harriet laid a warning hand on her friend’s arm and reminded her with a glance that she was not to notice he was in the room; indeed, she was to ignore him entirely tonight.
“Oh! But Harriet, what must it mean? Why is he here all of a sudden when he has not attended any thus far? I had forgot how handsome he is! He is so striking and tall and dashing! I can hardly stop myself from staring at him.”
“Well, you must! For once in your life, behave as a young lady ought to behave. While this will prove difficult, I have no doubt, it is for the best and is the most effective method of attracting his attention, I assure you; he will be confused by your sudden change in personality and may come to enquire whether you are quite well.
“Ah, here are some of your other admirers already. Try to behave, Lydia! I must go to my husband for a while; I leave you to your flatterers and entertainers.”
Lydia did not hear her friend, already engrossed as she was with her companions for the evening. Pratt, she noticed, was once again standing quietly on the outskirts of the group but gazing at her in his usual intent manner, where the others were loud and outgoing. But his aloofness was merely a cover for his painful shyness she had discovered, and that shyness only dissipated when he could be alone with her without his fellow officers jostling him and vying for her attention.
Lydia joked and laughed with the others, all the while keeping her eyes on Pratt, smiling at him in particular whenever she could manage it. He was an intrigue: his quiet good looks and manner were the complete opposite of other men who attracted her and it was clear he admired her a great deal. He was certainly suitable, as her sensible sisters would say, as, from what she had heard, he was to inherit two thousand pounds a year as the younger brother of a wealthy family. Their few times alone had been fleeting – during the absence of others all eager to prove their devotion to her on errands for a drink, or food, or a wrap against the chill of the evening – but he had managed to impress her with his quiet charm and manners and she thought she might have wished to know more of him,
if her heart was not already taken. His attention was a pleasant contrast where others took delight in ignoring her. She looked across the room where that other person was still engaged in conversation with Denny and Carter, his back still to the room but even so, clearly displaying his wish to be far away from his present situation.
Well! She would show him. She smiled brilliantly at Pratt, quite disconcerting him, and said:
“Pratt! Perhaps you would be so kind as to accompany me into the passage – I feel the need of some air, it is so close in here this evening.”
The others, stunned at such a singling out, clamoured to be allowed to accompany her as well, but Lydia would not be moved.
“No, I thank you all, gentlemen, but Pratt will be more than sufficient, I assure you. And if you all come, then my removal will be pointless, will it not now? Come, Pratt, let me take your arm. I will return soon, gentlemen, do not suffer too much in my absence!”
And smiling brilliantly, she made certain to bustle out of the room with enough disturbance to the surrounding groups that everyone was aware of her movements and direction.
Wickham, hearing the commotion and laughter, and knowing by whom it was being produced, resolutely refused to turn around. The last thing he needed was to be monopolised by Lydia Bennet, who, he could hear was her usual self: loud, self-indulged and foolish - he wanted nothing to do with her. He was very glad indeed that others were so eager to entertain her and thus kept her away from him. His only interest was to return to Julia as soon as possible with sufficient means to prove his independence, finally fix upon some sensible method of employment – he had decided the military was not a long-term solution for him – and thereby persuade her to marry him at last. He must convince her of his firm belief in their relationship and his willingness to put right all the wrongs he had committed thus far. He would present himself as a new man, one whom she could bring herself to trust and marry.
He did not wish to be here and suffered agonies knowing as he did the card games and opportunities he was missing at Mrs. Bracecourt’s. Although he had not won every night, he had been successful enough to be quietly confident that, at last, he had solved the problem of losing. He had learnt the benefits of staying quite sober while others became loose in their faculties, concentrating on the cards and memorising those already played, and occasionally keeping one of them aside, safely hidden in his coat sleeve for use later in the game. It was a trick he had taught himself early on in Cambridge, although he took care to only try it when all others at the table were not likely to notice; being discovered, he knew, would have rather unpleasant consequences.
After an interval of twenty minutes, Wickham heard and felt Lydia return to the room; great cries of delight and laughter erupted from her friends, and Denny, turning to observe, laughingly reported to Wickham that she was entirely surrounded by coats of every colour. There was not space for another man to get in.
“What Lydia Bennet does is of no concern to me, Denny, but I would have thought that the Colonel, as her guardian, would have stepped in by now to check her exuberant spirits and removed her from making such an exhibition of herself, keen as he is not to allow any character flaws of those connected to him to reflect upon his Regiment. Her unguarded and imprudent manner, now she is entirely beyond the steadying influences of her family, and especially those of her elder sisters, can only end in disaster.”
“Oh! Do not be such a gloomy fellow. It is all in fun, Wickham! They are all gentlemen, you know, and she has nothing other than her personality to entice them; as regards to money she has nothing as you very well know. She is an amusing companion; that is all.”
“Indeed! And all gentlemen act in a gentlemanlike manner, do they, Denny, when faced with such flirtatious behaviour? She does not know what she is doing and I should not wish for her to discover too late the error of her ways. You should intervene, for her sake and the sake of her family, Denny. At least with you she will come to no harm either to her person or her reputation.”
“I thank you for your good opinion of me, Wickham, but I do not think any intervention on my part will convince her to moderate her behaviour. She seeks fun and has found it. Let her alone – she will come to no harm while she is under the Colonel’s protection; no one would dare to challenge him.”
“Well, someone should speak with her about her behaviour; it is becoming embarrassing. Forgive me, Denny, I believe I shall retire early tonight; I have fulfilled my obligation to the Colonel and wish to observe no more of tonight’s nonsense. Good evening, sir.”
Wickham had no notion why Lydia’s behaviour should have caused such an angry response in him. Perhaps the memory of her sister’s quiet decorum, or that of Julia, made Lydia’s so shocking and reprehensible, even to him, a man with his own dubious past. What he could see was, as he had told Denny, Lydia unwittingly creating a future for herself; a future where she would be one of those females who would be censured and despised wherever she is known, rather than admired and desired, as she believed.
And where had she been with that officer, absent from the room for twenty minutes this evening? Even if she had merely been taking the air, surrounded by other revellers, he knew people would already be talking about it; everybody would be of the same opinion. Such an absence from the general crowd by a single young lady could only be construed in one way.
Chapter 29
Unfortunately, Wickham was given many more opportunities to observe Lydia’s declining reputation, ordered as he had been to attend not only that one assembly, but any others to which they were invited, and so for the next week he was obliged to attend card evenings, assemblies, musical evenings and suppers where he suffered under both his increasing awareness of Lydia’s worsening behaviour and the opportunities being lost at Mrs. Bracecourt’s; not one evening did he have the occasion to approve the former’s high spirits nor to slip away to hone his skills at the tables of the latter.
Lydia, on the other hand, was delighted at his sudden re-appearance at every evening’s entertainment. She encouraged the other officers as she always had, in particular Pratt whom she believed she had almost under her control and who would certainly ask for her hand very soon. But she did not wish to encourage him too quickly towards that point, as her plan to entice Wickham was certainly working in her favour – why else would he suddenly be attending functions where he had avoided them for so long? – and Pratt was serving a very useful service in the execution of that plan. The fact that she had several times caught Wickham looking in her direction, although he had not yet approached her, much less talked to her, was only more evidence, she assured herself and Harriet, of his desire to restrain and protect himself from her inevitable attraction! It could spell nothing less and she rejoiced in her success.
But he must soon speak to her – time was wasting away - and after a week of long-distance glances and observations – more upon her part than his - she decided that this evening would be the evening she would once again exercise her charms upon him and hope for a softening in his terse manner towards her after such an estrangement.
Taking the very greatest care with her appearance for the evening’s dance at the Assembly Rooms, she felt almost sick with excitement at the hope of once again having Wickham by her side. Added to those hopes was the smallest slip of information gained from Denny who had whispered in her ear the previous evening as she was laughing loudly at something one of the other officers had said.
“A certain friend has mentioned to me that he wishes you would moderate your behaviour a little, Miss Lydia; he fears that you are putting your reputation in peril by acting as you do!”
“Oh, dear Denny! Are you jealous, now? Do not worry: you shall always be my favourite! There is no reason to be so reluctant in expressing your opinions openly – I shall spend the rest of the evening with you only and not embarrass you once. How would that do?” she laughed, delighted at the notion of yet another conquest.
“No! You misunderstand me entire
ly, Miss Lydia. It is not I who authored the message – it is not my place to reproach you - but it is another gentleman who, truly, although reluctant to approach you about the matter, is most concerned about your behaviour and how it reflects not only upon you but also upon your family who are not here to remind you of it: he has spoken of it most energetically.”
“Well - that cannot be the Colonel; he has not said anything to me about my behaviour. He would certainly not hold back from reproving me – I am not his favourite, you know - I believe he thinks me spoiled.” She glanced about the room trying to gauge which was her concerned protector. How exciting!
“It must be someone who knows my family then. Some other gentleman from your Regiment, perhaps, Denny?”
But Denny had refused to be drawn; he had done as his friend had asked, and the outcome had been as he predicted. Lydia would take no notice except to assume it to be another indication of her desirability and power over any and all men.
Lydia had then spent the intervening hours mulling over who her advisor could be and discussing it with Harriet, and had finally come to the absolute and very satisfying conclusion that the only person must be Wickham! His attention to her had been carried out from afar, it is true, but here was evidence enough to show he had been noticing her every move, just as she had planned, and now he wanted her to know that he desired her to cease her flirtatious behaviour with all others and focus it instead upon him.
How delightful!
She would be Mrs. Wickham before very much longer if she managed to gain her purpose tonight: she would be quiet, demure, disinterested in any other gentleman; she would approach Denny and speak ostensibly to him, but keep her eyes only for Wickham. He would see her in an entirely different light and approve immediately!