by Lauren King
As Elizabeth and Georgiana make their way to the bookstore, they both hear someone approach them and asks, “Miss Darcy?”
Georgiana flinches at the sound of that dreadful voice because she never wants to hear that voice ever again – EVER! She pretends not to hear it, but Elizabeth also heard it; hence, she slows to a stop and looks up. Georgiana is forced into stopping too. When Georgiana looks up, she sees…George Wickham approaching her. She despises the sight of him. She cannot believe just how stupid and gullible she was six months ago. Now, he dares to try to speak to her in public. Good Lord, if William sees George Wickham, he will be furious, and there may be an altercation because of her. Afterwards, everyone will surely find out why, and then she will be filled with shame. People will gossip and ruin her family name. It will disgrace William and her entire family. God, what a big mistake she made.
George Wickham is an awful, horrid person; he is a common, conniving, horrible, despicable rake. How can he trick her like that when he was treated so well by her Father? It just shows that George Wickham is inherently a wicked, evil person; she would not even give him a second glance if she saw him lying in the streets. What is he doing here? What bad luck she has to run into him here, of all places.
Elizabeth stops to look at whoever is addressing Georgiana. She sees a man in gentleman’s clothing amiably addressing Georgiana as he approaches them, but Georgiana does not seem friendly towards him which is curious because she is always truly nice and kind.
“Miss Darcy? Is that you, Miss Darcy?” George Wickham says pleasantly as he comes closer. He is very glad to see Miss Darcy here; what a great coincidence. Who is this voluptuous young lady with Miss Darcy? Her new companion? This could be good; he can display his charms and get to know this new young lady. She is quite a beauty. This could be very good, indeed! Maybe he can get some money from Miss Darcy out of this encounter. Her brother owes him; the Darcys owe him. He was surely meant to get more than what was paid to him by Darcy. Darcy was just jealous of Wickham’s relationship with old Mr. Darcy; therefore, Darcy gave him a lower amount for the living that he was supposed to have. Damn that Darcy! Darcy will pay for it!
George Wickham is about fifteen steps away from them when Georgiana quietly says to Elizabeth, “Lizzy, we must not talk to this person. He is a very bad person. We must go get William, quickly.”
When Elizabeth hears what Georgiana said, she hastily and securely holds onto Georgiana’s arm as they turn immediately to leave without a word to this man. As they turn to leave, Elizabeth feels that Georgiana is being pulled, and then she hears Georgiana gasp in horror. Elizabeth stops and turns to see that the man is holding on to Georgiana’s other arm while he asks her to stop. How dare he touch Georgiana! Who is this atrocious man?
Georgiana stops instantly and is fearful, but she collects all her courage to irately yell at George Wickham. “Let me go this instant! How dare you touch me! You are a ghastly brute, George Wickham!” She tries to wrench her arm away from him.
Elizabeth is holding a bag of five large apples, so she swings it at this man’s head who has grabbed Georgiana’s arm. No matter whom he is, he should not be touching Georgiana, in any manner. Elizabeth knows that he is not a family member which means he is an attacker. The bag of apples hits George Wickham’s head, knocking him back a couple of steps. This unexpected action shocks him. His hat drops to the ground, and he stumbles backwards while his hand releases Georgiana’s arm. Georgiana, instantaneously and hurriedly, moves away from him,.
Elizabeth yells out, “Go get William in the bookstore, Georgie – GO!” In the meanwhile, Elizabeth continues to swing the bag of apples at George Wickham, and it hits him in the face, again.
George Wickham is once again surprised by this hit, so he stumbles and falls down onto the ground. His face really hurts; he tries to grab at the bag that is hitting him but he cannot, thus he tries to protect himself against her strikes. Elizabeth keeps swinging her bag of apples at him, hitting him in the head repeatedly. After three hits to the head, he is finally able to catch the bag. He powerfully yanks at it which surprises Elizabeth; consequently, she is pulled towards him. She feels like she may fall; hence, she lets go of the bag and catches her balance without falling. Now, she can see that this George Wickham looks very angry. At this point, she sees his cane lying on the ground near him, so she rapidly picks it up to use it to defend herself.
George Wickham furiously shouts, “You stupid girl!” Then, he throws the bag at her, and it hits her stomach.
Unfortunately, the bag of apples hits Elizabeth’s stomach hard enough to cause her to lose her breath; however, it is not for long. She knows not to panic about it. Elizabeth backs away from this man to try to catch her breath. She is bent over holding her stomach and tries to breathe while holding the cane to protect herself. After a few seconds, she catches her breath. She is about to run towards the bookstore for William when she sees him running towards her; therefore, she turns around and starts hitting George Wickham in the head with the cane, thus preventing him from fully rising off the ground. She is fearful but is also extremely angry at this awful man.
Simultaneously, George Wickham tries to get up from the ground when he sees Darcy running towards him, and then suddenly he feels a hit on his head. The girl used his own cane to hit him! His arm goes up to protect his head, but she repeatedly hits him. With all of his might he makes to stand, but Darcy reaches him before he can straighten out and kicks his feet out from under him. Wickham falls like a heap on the ground. He may have broken his hip or something; the pain is excruciating. At the same time, the girl continues to hit him on the head with the cane.
“Lizzy, back away from him!” Darcy yells out as he uses his own cane to forcefully strike George Wickham in the knees.
George Wickham screams out in dire pain; he is attacked by two canes. This girl is vicious! Now, his knees hurt insufferably. Finally, Wickham is able to grab onto the girl’s cane, thus stopping her hits to his head. However, Darcy’s cane hits him in his hand, instead. The pain is severe; he thinks his hand is broken, too. Wickham screams out in agonizing pain, again!
Elizabeth is so angry that she does not stop hitting this man until he catches the end of her cane. She becomes scared, but her outrage takes over, and she shoves the cane into him as he pulls on it. This causes the cane to hit his face and instantly he lets go of the cane to cover his face while bellowing in pain, yet again. Afterwards, Elizabeth backs up to William.
“He forcefully grabbed Georgie! He would not let her go until I hit him with my bag of apples.” Elizabeth hastily explains while breathing heavily.
Darcy holds onto Elizabeth’s arm as he gently guides her away from the immediate area of where Wickham is on the ground crying out in pain and bleeding from the mouth. Darcy will make sure Wickham suffers in prison if he has hurt Elizabeth or Georgiana.
“I know, Lizzy; Georgie told me. Come away from him. Are you well? Did he hurt you?” Darcy asks rapidly and worriedly.
At the same time, Georgiana comes to hold onto Elizabeth’s other arm to lead her away from the immediate area. “Lizzy, please come over here. Are you hurt?” Georgiana asks fearfully and anxiously.
Elizabeth sees William’s troubled and concerned expression. “He threw the bag of apples at me, and it hit me in the stomach causing me to lose my breath. Once I caught my breath again, I was fine.”
Elizabeth sees William become furious after he heard that Wickham threw a bag of apples at her. “William, I got his cane, so he was not able to hurt me after he threw the bag at me.” Elizabeth promptly explains so that it will calm William’s rage, and then she turns to Georgiana and asks, “Did he hurt your arm, Georgie?”
“My arm is not hurt, thanks to you, Lizzy. Thank you so much for your quick thinking.” Georgie hugs Elizabeth and thanks her again. She cannot cry out in public and cause more gossip.
“You are welcome. Who is he? Why did he grab you like that?” Elizabeth asks with great concer
n.
“I will tell you everything when we get to your home, Lizzy. I am sorry that you had to experience this. I am very sorry.” Georgiana says penitently and worriedly.
William moves to guard Wickham with his cane as some town people walk across the street in great curiosity at the sight of a man on the ground in apparent pain and bleeding. He is glad no one approaches them because he has to figure out what to do with Wickham. He needs to discern if Wickham will spread his rumors about Georgiana when Darcy turns him into the town’s authorities. He must threaten Wickham. Darcy bends down near enough to Wickham so that only Wickham can hear him.
“You are still the damn, vile rat you have always been – you damn bastard. I will warn you for the last time. If you breathe a word against Georgiana or anybody related to me, I will hunt you down like the dirty, rotten animal that you are, and then you will wish that you were never born.” Darcy grits out from his teeth. “Richard will not let you live a normal life if he catches up to you this time. You have offended me and my family for the last time. Test me and you will regret your pathetic, degenerate, useless life. I will no longer be a gentleman. I will use my vast wealth to track you down and make you pay for what you did. No one will miss your blasted life. Even in prison, I could make your bloody life worse than hell. You remember all this when you are tempted to open your filthy mouth about my sister or anybody related to me. Watch your back from now on, you repulsive sewer scum!” Darcy grunts out each sentence.
“Shut up, Darcy! You owe me! I am not scared of you!” Wickham grinds out each word as he tries to grab Darcy’s leg.
Darcy backs away, and then with his foot, Darcy fiercely stomps on Wickham’s left hand that is leaning on the ground. Wickham hollers loudly in anguish, again. Darcy thinks some of Wickham’s fingers may have broken.
Then Darcy grinds out his words to Wickham, “See if you will ever grab my sister or throw something at another young lady, again – you coward! You are a waste of a human life – a disgrace and a humiliation to your parents. They have probably turned in their graves a hundred times over. Your words mean less than the manure that will cover your grave when you die. You will answer to God for all the havoc you have wreaked on innocent people. I owe you nothing! You do not even deserve the air you breathe.” Darcy spits at Wickham who cradles his hand close to his chest, in pain.
Darcy asks a young man who is walking by to go fetch the town’s authorities. He should report that there is a thief that tried to rob two young ladies, and he hurt them in the process. Darcy says that he will reward the young man if he is quick about it. The young man runs off to do Darcy’s bidding. While waiting for the authorities, Darcy tells Elizabeth and Georgiana to go get his postilion Smith from the coach, immediately.
When Smith comes, Darcy tells him to take one of the security rider’s horses and leave for London without delay to let Colonel Fitzwilliam know to come to Longbourn in Hertfordshire directly if he is able. If it will be too dark today for Smith and Colonel Fitzwilliam to come to Longbourn today, then wait until tomorrow morning. Smith leaves straight away.
About a quarter of an hour later, the town’s constable and another peace officer comes to where Darcy is guarding Wickham. They ask what occurred. Darcy identifies himself and then explains what happened to his sister and his betrothed. The constable and peace officer takes Wickham in hand to bring him to the town’s detaining area. However, Wickham cannot walk; hence, the peace officer goes back to the detaining area to bring the wagon to transport Wickham. Darcy speaks to the constable and tells him that the constable’s office will surely be rewarded and hailed as great peace officers for catching this despicable criminal and protecting Meryton from such a debauched reprobate.
When the peace officer comes back to transport Wickham, Darcy informs the constable that he will come by the detaining quarters tomorrow. Darcy takes Elizabeth and Georgiana to the Phillips’ for a very short visit to announce their engagement and then to retrieve Jane, Mary, and Kitty to go back to Longbourn. He does not want them to stay in Meryton any longer.
They all make it back to Longbourn and the ladies separate to pursue their own activities. Elizabeth washes up, changes her clothes and then she speaks with Georgiana and William out in their garden on the bench for some privacy. William explains everything about George Wickham including the Ramsgate incident with Georgiana.
Afterwards, Georgiana is fully ashamed of herself for falling for such a dreadful man like George Wickham and believing his lies. She apologizes to William again and then looks over at Elizabeth.
“Lizzy, I know my gullibility and lack of mature thinking has almost ruined me and my family’s name, but I assure you both that nothing occurred between him and me – nothing.” Georgiana says penitently but very worriedly.
Georgiana is very uncomfortable to say any of this in front of William, but she has to make sure that he knows that she is not ruined; she is not a bad girl. She also hopes that Elizabeth will still want to remain friends with her and be her future sister-in-law. Georgiana could not bear it if William loses Elizabeth due to her stupid folly.
“Wickham is a devious, depraved, blackguard for deceiving you, Georgie. Generally, it was not your fault. You were five and ten years old and he was seven and twenty. He had no excuse, and he has no excuse to act so reprehensibly.” Darcy says with finality. “He will pay for what he has done.” Darcy states angrily.
Darcy reminds Georgiana that she should have known from how she was raised that she should not have gone against what she felt was correct or what she was taught in regards to these matters.
Georgiana nods penitently; she completely agrees. “I am very sorry for my folly. I did not know that he or any man could be so dishonorable and immoral.” She will have to live with her stupidity; she has thanked the Lord, everyday, that she was saved from ruin. She was foolishly naïve to fall for George Wickham’s sweet words. For the rest of her life, she could not feel anymore foolish than she has felt for the last six months.
Darcy continues to tell Elizabeth about Wickham’s background and how he is tied to the Darcys. Elizabeth is speechless when she hears about George Wickham. He is simply a wicked, unscrupulous degenerate. He has always coveted anything relating to the Darcys, especially their money. He even had the audacity to think that he deserved some of their wealth.
Elizabeth feels such pity for Georgiana’s ordeal. George Wickham is the worst of any man she has ever heard of – just as bad as that one man in Meryton who beats his wife and children and lets them starve while he drinks and gambles. George Wickham tricked a young girl and tried to ruin her all because he was envious of William’s wealth and status and wanted some of it for himself. Mr. Darcy, senior had treated George Wickham well his entire life when George Wickham lived at Pemberley with his parents; his father was the senior Mr. Darcy’s steward. Mr. Darcy even sent George Wickham to Oxford along with William. Mr. Darcy, senior did not have to bestow his generosity on a servant’s son but he did; yet, this is what George Wickham has become and has done to the Darcy family in return.
Elizabeth is a fair person; therefore, she hopes that George Wickham will pay dearly for all his wickedness. It sounds like he has done worse things to other young ladies, and unfortunately for them, they will surely pay for their mistaken trust in him.
“Georgie, George Wickham is a most horrible, detestable man not worth anyone’s continued goodness to be placed upon him. He will pay for all of his sins. God sees everything. I am sorry that you were deceived. I have to say that I agree with William; you should have thought about what you were doing and what you were taught; however, I do not doubt that you have learned your lesson very well. I am very glad that he was not able to achieve his goal and your reputation is intact.” Elizabeth hugs Georgiana warmly to show her support and understanding of Georgiana’s ordeal.
“William, do you mind if I explain my family’s ordeal to Georgie?”
“No, I do not mind if you do not mind.” Darcy
answers thoughtfully.
“Georgie, I want to tell you something that may change your outlook about me and my family now. I want you to know that I will understand if you are appalled afterwards. I hope that it will not change our relationship with each other because I dearly value your friendship. However, I will understand it if you are unable to tolerate it and wish to go separate ways.” Elizabeth says with as much dignity and serenity as possible.
Elizabeth explains Lydia’s situation, and it is Georgiana’s turn to be stunned. “Lydia was unguarded in her ways; as a result, the consequences are dire. I do not want you to be frightened that every man will be like these two men, but you do have to be guarded when it comes to dealing with such subjects. You can seek the advice of older women or if you are more comfortable with me, then I will be glad to help you in any way I can.” Elizabeth expels a long breath before continuing. “I am sorry that you may be affected by my family’s indiscretions, Georgie.”
Elizabeth feels guilty for being in love with William to the extent that she cannot let him go so that her family’s situation will not affect his sister. “I am most embarrassed and ashamed for my sister, but I love William so very much. He is the best man I know, and I hope someday you will be able to find someone as honorable and as good as William for your future. He is simply the best of men.”
Georgiana has never heard anyone proclaim their love for their intended so lovingly and so confidently. Goodness, Elizabeth loves William very much; that is obvious. Georgiana is very happy that her brother has such an admirable betrothed. “Lizzy, I understand. I do not blame you. We will support each other. I know William will protect us. He will not let anything bad happen to us. He is the best brother a sister could ever have.” Georgiana says sympathetically and tenderly with teary eyes while looking directly at Elizabeth.