His Choice of a Wife

by Heather Moll

  Bingley’s brow creased, and then a heartbeat later, his eyes widened in shock. “Darcy! You cannot be serious!”

  “I have never been more in earnest! Aside from what that man owes to Lydia, Mr. Wickham just insulted Elizabeth’s reputation to a room full of the wealthy and influential. I shall not stand by yet again and let that man proceed unimpeded! If he does not retract his slander and publicly recognize Lydia’s child, I see no other option for preserving their honor and mine. I will not allow it to be said that my wife—” Darcy broke off, too angry to continue.

  Bingley looked down Alfred Street and into the night, sighing heavily and shaking his head. Darcy watched him carefully and knew he would be refused.

  “Do not ask this of me, Darcy. I cannot be your second,” Bingley’s face showed his regret. “Do you not see why I needed to distance myself? There is no hope of keeping this silent—for God’s sake, even Hurst noticed! This will be whispered about in every gentleman’s club. I cannot be known to have defended the Bennets after…”

  “After your breach of promise to Jane.”

  “Miss Bennet released me! Although I won’t deny that was what I wanted, I must detach myself for the sake of my own family’s reputation.”

  “It is as likely that, in the sober light of morning, Mr. Wickham will recant and do what I require of him. If it does come to a meeting between us…” Darcy hung his head at the thought. “Bingley, I am offended you will not stand by me.” He could not keep the injured tone out of his voice.

  “I am certain that you will act honorably. Your cause is a just one. But I must think of my own name, and there can be no connection between my family and the Bennets. What about Caroline’s future? What of my own intention to live the life of a gentleman? I shall make a clean break of it. I am soon to return to Netherfield—do not look at me that way! I have an eligible purchase offer and need to meet with my agent. From that point forward, I have no need to return to Hertfordshire or interact with any member of the Bennet family.”

  Darcy stared at Bingley for a long moment before coldly replying, “Then I regret that here we must part ways, Mr. Bingley.”

  Darcy made his way back to Camden Place, feeling sorry for Bingley rather than angry. Nothing could restore Bingley to him with a faith unbroken, a character unblemished. Nothing could take away the knowledge of what Jane had suffered nor remove the truth of Bingley’s conduct towards himself. He had been forsaken by Bingley in his hour of need; and after so carefully, if not always appropriately, looking after Bingley’s interests, Darcy could admit to feeling wounded.

  Darcy was in no state of mind to entertain and was put out when his servant told him, upon entering his house, that he had a visitor. Darcy was amazed that anyone would call at such a late hour. Considering that perhaps Wickham had sent a man with a letter of apology, Darcy agreed to see the caller.

  “There you are, Darcy! I had begun to fear you might spend your evening dancing and gaming! As you see, I have arrived earlier than promised,” Colonel Fitzwilliam stood with a smile to greet him. “I say, whatever is the matter?”

  “Forgive me—I am truly pleased to see you.” He offered a wan smile along with his handshake then said in an impatient rush, “I require your immediate assistance, and if you forsake me as well, then I am at a loss.”

  “Anything—how might I help you?” His voice showed his grave concern at seeing Darcy distressed.

  Darcy hesitated to say the words aloud and glanced out the window. He saw his reflection in the glass, the vision looking back at him appearing pallid and weary. There is no denying it. He then turned back to his cousin. “I have challenged George Wickham to a duel, and I need you to be my second.”

  Chapter 25

  Longbourn, near Meryton, Hertfordshire

  Thursday, July 24

  My dearest Fitzwilliam,

  My impatience to be gone from Longbourn increases daily. The Gardiners have written to me about the loveliness of Pemberley and Derbyshire, and I am eager to see it myself. Shall I sit outside the church every morning in the hope that you return sooner than expected? I do not wish to waste a precious moment before becoming your wife in the eyes of God and man. You would not mind marrying me on short notice, I hope.

  My aunt wrote that Georgiana, with the help of Mrs. Annesley, was a delightful hostess. When your housekeeper learned that Miss Darcy was entertaining the relations of the soon-to-be Mrs. Darcy, she could not help but speak to them. I understand most of her conversation centered on you! Mrs. Reynolds has never heard a cross word from you, and she has known you since you were four years old. She adds that you are handsome and wonders whether anyone is good enough for you, that you are the best landlord, the best master, affable to the poor, and so on. You ought to have brought Mrs. Reynolds to the assembly in Meryton. Had I spoken to her before I met you, my first impression would have been more to your credit!

  My aunt also wrote that Lydia has become increasingly difficult. My first thought upon reading this report was that my sister was as self-absorbed as she has been known to be. It seems I am still too quick to judge. Upon hearing that Mr. Wickham was lately married and learning the disgraceful terms by which he was wed, Lydia has fallen into melancholy. I understand my uncle has written to you, and the arrangements for her removal to your estate in Ireland are underway. I have no doubt of your success in Bath, and once Mr. Wickham openly acknowledges Lydia and his child, we might put this affair behind us. Lydia may not be able to return home, but there is now reason to hope that the rest of my family may again be received by our neighbors.

  I believe you are capable of everything great and good and that you will do all that is possible for Lydia, and thereby my entire family, to preserve us from infamy. While you likely do not want it, you have my gratitude. Know that I love you and remain forever yours,

  E. Bennet

  To read that Elizabeth had the utmost faith in his ability to ensure her family’s respectability disheartened him. He was certain that never in his beloved’s wildest thoughts did she imagine he would challenge George Wickham to a duel. He could still hardly believe it of himself. He had waited for hours with no small amount of trepidation for Colonel Fitzwilliam to return with Wickham’s answer.

  Darcy was staring into the empty fireplace, his arm slung over the mantle, when his cousin strode in. Without looking up, he asked, “What was Wickham’s reply?”

  “‘When and where you please.’”

  He had suspected that Fitzwilliam’s being gone for so long meant that Wickham had declined to resolve this peaceably, but hearing the truth was still a blow. Why would that scoundrel not simply retract his defamation of the Bennet family?

  When Darcy failed to respond, Fitzwilliam continued, “I had to wait two hours before Wickham would see me though I heard his carriage arrive and suspected he was only just coming home from whatever hole in which he passed the night. That man drinks more often than he bathes. Can you believe that, when he came in to see me, he was carrying a walking stick and flipping open his gold watch? And I swear to you that the clothes he wore cost more than my commission. Such overt signs of imagined superiority were mortifying to witness. He has confused opulence with elegance. I know his calm demeanor was an act because, before he met with me, I overheard him cry out in alarm when his man handed him my card.” He laughed at the memory.

  Darcy could make no reply, and Fitzwilliam schooled his features and tone to fit the somber mood of his cousin. “Wickham told me in no uncertain terms that he would tell anyone who asked that Miss Lydia Bennet was a fallen woman and that he would not acknowledge any connection to her.”

  “And what of Elizabeth?”

  “He said he would be proud to take out a notice in the newspapers advertising the supposed lax morals of the Bennet girls. The man is determined to ruin your reputation as well as your future wife’s. He migh
t have been content to only slander your names in the card room, but now that you have challenged him, Wickham is eager to confront you. This duel is no longer about reputation for him.”

  He could scarcely believe that Wickham refused to apologize for his lies and insults. Darcy was still staring into the empty grate while he thought of that man’s cold-hearted viciousness. In order to preserve my family’s honor and settle this dispute, I might actually have to engage in a duel.

  “Darcy, do you hear me? I am confident Wickham wants to kill you!”

  Darcy ground his teeth and was deep in silent contemplation. That he needed to engage in the most elaborate and dangerous form of conflict resolution was no less astounding this morning than it was last night. Fitzwilliam rolled his eyes and sat near the fireplace. “I was shocked that Wickham chose to defend his conduct. I was confident that he would withdraw rather than meet you. Instead, he seemed delighted by the idea of staring at you over the barrel of a pistol. He wants you ruined, and if he can kill you, then he will leave the field a happy man.”

  Darcy finally looked up, his determination to face what had to be done back in place. “One fights a duel in order to say that one has done so. It is for a moral purpose, to defend one’s honor. I am not fighting to kill.”

  “Tell that to George Wickham! We both know he is destitute of principle and prone to all sorts of vice. You are the only one who considers this an affair of honor.” Fitzwilliam sighed as he sank into his chair. “What in heaven did you say to each other?”

  “How do you mean?”

  The colonel flushed but met his cousin’s eye. “You are a loyal friend, a liberal master, an honorable man…but you are used to having your own way. You are not always at ease with people. You do not have a welcoming way with them.”

  “Do you suggest that I walked into the card room with the intention of challenging Wickham to a duel? That my disdain for him and my reserved nature are the reasons I find myself here?”

  “No, I want to comprehend how your conversation unraveled into a quarrel that resulted in you having no other honorable option but to call the man out. I do not doubt he deserves it. I simply am surprised. You did not challenge him last summer after Ramsgate,” Fitzwilliam added quietly.

  “I could not risk exposing Georgiana. It was for her credit and feelings that I did nothing but write to Wickham and persuade him to keep his silence and his distance. But in this instance, the damage is already done. He has taken worse liberties with a girl who will be my sister, and then he defamed the character of my future wife. Lydia and Elizabeth require and deserve my protection.”

  “What did he say of Elizabeth Bennet? You cannot fool me, Darcy. You would not be in such a state if Wickham only refused to acknowledge his responsibilities to her ruined sister.”

  “He insinuated to all who could hear that Elizabeth entrapped me, that she was with child by another man, and that this was the only reason I was engaged to her. An insult to a lady is a far greater offense than had he made the insult to me, and I will not remain silent and do nothing.”

  “Even so, there is no truth behind what Wickham claimed.”

  “Such claims do not need to be absolutely proven. That they are suspected will cause gossip, and innuendo will be accepted as evidence. I will not have my wife’s reputation called into question by that poor excuse of a man.”

  “She is not yet your wife. Did you not consider that, when there is no Darcy child born before next summer, there would be no reason to give credence to Wickham’s claims?”

  Darcy turned away and hoped his cousin would presume he was embarrassed for not considering such an obvious fact in the middle of a heated moment. Their near relationship and constant intimacy made that an unlikely expectation. Seconds ticked by before Fitzwilliam gasped and cursed quietly under his breath.

  Darcy heard his cousin rise and take two quick steps closer. “Miss Bennet is not the sort of woman to ensnare you in order to provide a name for her child by another man. I am forced, therefore, to conclude that there is genuine reason to fear that Pemberley’s heir will arrive less than nine months from the day you marry Elizabeth Bennet?”

  How was he to put into words that their actions had at the time seemed perfectly natural, more than an appropriate expression of love and devotion, and unequivocally necessary? My choices with Elizabeth could lead to Wickham’s lies being accepted as truth. The greater blame for the whole affair, of course, fell to Wickham’s unprincipled behavior, but he had to accept his own role in finding himself in this lamentable situation. He could feel the eyes of his cousin piercing his back, and the uncomfortable attention compelled Darcy to turn to meet Fitzwilliam’s incredulous stare.

  “You are suggesting something that is only possible—not an absolute certainty.”

  “I am almost ashamed of you! I cannot comprehend how you had the opportunity to anticipate your wedding vows! And what sort of parents leave their unmarried daughter unattended? I cannot think of a time where I was alone indoors with a woman of quality for longer than half an hour, and certainly not where I ever presumed I had the possibility to—” He shook his head before he resumed speaking.

  “I am not surprised at the notion of a man being tempted by his betrothed. I am not a fool,” Fitzwilliam spoke in a calmer voice. “What I am amazed at is you being enticed. I cannot comprehend the notion of the very proper and fastidious Fitzwilliam Darcy seducing his wife-to-be. You are not the sort of man to keep mistresses and engage in careless dalliances. My God, Darcy, you could count all the women you have been with on one hand!”

  Including Elizabeth, the number is definitely less than that. And I was equally seduced by her. He suppressed a smile.

  “Well, that does explain some of your motivations.” The colonel sank back into his chair. “But it does not change the fact that tomorrow morning you have an appointment at dawn with George Wickham, and he wants to kill you. We spoke only briefly before he had a note sent to the man he chose to be his second, a Mr. Kenneth. You and Wickham will have no interaction but what the commonest civility requires. I have already seen Mr. Kenneth, a sycophant hoping to hang on Wickham’s wealthy sleeve. He would not attempt to find a way to avoid a meeting. Neither he nor Wickham has any interest in resolving this before shots are fired.”

  “I have no reservations about defending my honor and that of the Bennets. I enter this with a clear conscience, and I am determined to remedy this evil.”

  “Wickham’s second and I have selected the location of your engagement and the firing distance, as well as the number of shots. You will both fire one shot at the same time, and you will fire weapons immediately upon raising your arms, without taking aim. Neither of you are expert marksmen, and I shall not give Wickham further opportunity to do you grave harm. In any event, I have employed a surgeon for the occasion although I dearly hope he is not needed.”

  “I imagined there might be trouble engaging a surgeon willing to agree to be present at an illegal duel.”

  “A doctor was at Wickham’s home this morning, tending to the invalid wife.” They both shook their heads in sympathy for poor Mrs. Wickham. “The woman suffers from severe rheumatic fever that has made her, for the present, a cripple. On that account, she is tended by this doctor who, either from his own overhearing or from that of the servants, knew of your challenge. His name is Lockwood, and upon my leaving, he offered his assistance. I told him the time and place, and he will be ready to render his services.”

  Darcy considered the virtue in his pursuit of Wickham. Wickham did not regret any of his vicious actions: not for amassing gambling debts in the thousands, not for fooling Georgiana into believing she was in love, not for seducing Lydia, and not for defaming his and Elizabeth’s reputations. This was an honorable way to settle a problem that had no other solution.

  He was not left to ruminate for long before Fitzwi
lliam spoke after pouring them both a glass of brandy. “I understand Lady Catherine is not pleased with your choice of a wife.”

  “Lady Catherine wrote that I must have been enticed by Elizabeth and offered to her only in a moment of passionate infatuation. She dared to write that she would prefer me to marry Anne and keep Elizabeth as my mistress if I must.”

  “Good heavens. I imagine she was made exceedingly angry by your reply.”

  “Oh yes. I am content that all discourse between us is now at an end.”

  “Is Elizabeth Bennet worth the potential loss of your respectability and the strain of your familial connections? Is she worth dying to defend?”

  “You are the one who told me Elizabeth had a sense of joy that would be to my credit and not to allow the expectations of others to detract from the happiness she would give me. I had already formed a serious design before you endorsed it.” Darcy slammed his glass down and rose. “How could you imply she is not worth defending? I myself have a forthright disposition. Why is it any surprise that I would be drawn to her open manners and playful style? Her independent character is kept within the bounds of decorum. She does not put herself forward inappropriately, and you may fall in line behind Wickham if you suggest she deserves his slander.” Darcy’s voice had lost its usual calm. “So, yes, her charm and intelligence and beauty and everything I love about Elizabeth Bennet are worth my challenging George Wickham to account for his malicious misconduct!”

  Darcy stood with his hands clenched at his sides. While Darcy regulated his breathing, he realized that, although Fitzwilliam was staring at him in wide-eyed surprise, there was a smile tugging at his lips.