His Uncle's Favorite

by Lilian, Lory

  “Mr. Bennet, before we take any other steps, you and Elizabeth must change and eat something. You will need to recover your strength and—”

  “Mr. Darcy, that will not be necessary; I would rather go and—”

  “Sir, please let us not argue; there is no time. As I said, you must refresh yourselves and eat something; I will not have it any other way. I shall send for Colonel Fitzwilliam; he will be very useful in our quest.”

  He suddenly resumed his place near Elizabeth and took her hands again. “Mr. Bennet, if it is acceptable to you, I would like for Elizabeth to remain here with Georgiana. I would not wish to leave my sister alone.” Mr. Bennet silently nodded, and Darcy continued.

  “Dearest, please show Elizabeth a room near yours and help her change and refresh herself. I shall have some food sent to your apartment, as I doubt you will wish to return downstairs. I trust you will take good care of each other while we are gone. I need to be certain of that; I do not wish to worry about your well-being. Will you be fine?”

  “I need to inform my aunt,” Elizabeth whispered, her gaze still on the floor.

  “Mr. Bennet and I will speak to Mrs. Gardiner. I believe it is the best way. Will you be fine?” he repeated, looking at both of them and they nodded in silence.

  Darcy called Mrs. Spencer and gave strict orders; when the housekeeper left the room with Elizabeth and Georgiana, Darcy hurried to the library, wrote three notes and rang for Miles.

  “Please take this to Colonel Fitzwilliam at once. After that, you will deliver these two notes; the directions are on them. This needs to be done with the utmost urgency.”

  Miles left without a single word, and only then did Darcy return to Mr. Bennet in the dining room and pour himself a glass of wine.

  “Mr. Bennet, you do look tired; I am afraid you are not well. I believe you should rest. I understand your worry, but there is not much you can do for the moment. I will attempt everything possible to discover them; please have no doubt about that.”

  “Surely you are mocking me, sir. I have done little but rest my entire life, which is why I have come to such a disastrous situation with my youngest daughter lost—perhaps forever—and my other daughters in despair. You must at least allow me to look unwell and tired. What pains me more is that I do not even have the comfort of knowing Lydia felt anything for Wickham. I believe she was so silly that she would have been fooled by any officer who smiled at her. What I cannot understand is why he would do such a thing? He could not possibly feel much for her, and he must know Lydia has little dowry, if any; he could not possibly intend to actually marry her. And if he intended only a brief distraction, why take the risk of choosing a girl who, as silly as she might be, is not alone in the world? He must imagine I would look for her, and he would be forever compromised in the militia and lose his only source of income. As much I think on it, I cannot understand his reasoning.”

  Darcy paced the room for some time, sat on the chair, then rose and paced again.

  “It is my fault, Mr. Bennet. First, because I refused to expose Wickham’s deceitful nature as I should have done long ago. And second, because I allowed myself to be overwhelmed by everything that has occurred lately and put aside my caution. I should have anticipated this. Since he knew I would marry Elizabeth, he would not hesitate harming your family to accomplish his plans.”

  “His plans? What plans are you speaking of, sir?”

  “To assure himself of an easy living, of course—and to revenge himself on me. The more I think of it, the more I believe he intends to marry Miss Lydia. In that way, he believes he will be part of my family. However, even if that is his plan, I fear things will not be easily solved.”

  “What you say astonishes me, sir. I believed Wickham to be a worthless sort of man, but I never imagined him capable of planning such a scheme.”

  “He is capable of anything if it is convenient for him.” The hasty appearance of the colonel interrupted their discussion. Colonel Fitzwilliam seemed equally angry and worried, and before Darcy had the chance to give him more details, he began to curse.

  “Robert, growing furious is not very useful. We must think rationally; if they are in Town, as Mr. Bennet rightfully suspects, there are few places he could afford to stay. If we are lucky, we shall receive news about their whereabouts shortly.”

  “I believe we should speak to my father; he might have valuable information about where Wickham might stay in London. You may trust the earl’s secrecy, Mr. Bennet.”

  “Please do whatever you think is necessary, sir. There are many things that worry me considerably more than the secrecy of this situation, even if I did not trust Lord Matlock.”

  “There is no need to involve the earl for the moment. I would suggest that we talk with Mrs. Gardiner and then have a word with Mrs. Younge.”

  “Mrs. Younge? I thought she left London last year after Ramsgate,” the colonel exclaimed.

  “Quite the contrary—she settled in London. She took a large house in Edward Street last year and has since maintained herself by letting lodgings.”

  “Then he surely must be there; let us go there directly,” said the colonel; Mr. Bennet looked at them both with little understanding.

  “Forgive me for a moment; I must speak to my sister before we leave. I shall return directly,” Darcy said and he almost ran up the stairs.

  He nervously knocked at Georgiana’s door; he found his sister alone and tearful. She glanced at him, uncertain whether she should dare to approach or not. He gently embraced her, and she started to sob in his arms wordlessly.

  “Dearest, why are you crying? Where is Elizabeth?”

  “I do not know…forgive me… Elizabeth said she wished to be alone. She is so upset and…I did not know what to say to her. I do not know how to speak to her.”

  He caressed her hair as he spoke gently. “I am sorry to tell you this at such a delicate moment, but there is something you should know. I told Elizabeth about Ramsgate…”

  She stared at him, her eyes wide and tearful. “You told her? When? What will she think of me now? Why did you tell her, Brother? I shall never dare speak to her again.”

  “My dear, I told Elizabeth in January… Believe me; it was necessary, but you should not let it worry you. She knows you were not to blame. And she thinks highly of you, as you well know. I dare say it is for the best; you may speak openly to each other.”

  “I do not believe she wishes to speak to me. She is so troubled, so distressed and—”

  “I shall talk to her briefly, then I must leave; we have not a moment to lose.”

  Darcy gently kissed Georgiana’s forehead and smiled at his sister as he closed the door behind him. He hesitantly knocked at Elizabeth’s door; he heard no reply, so he entered carefully. In the chair, staring at the window, lost in her thoughts, Elizabeth seemed oblivious to everything around her. He called her name, and when no answer came, he sat near her. Her eyes, red and swollen, finally dared to meet his.

  “Forgive me,” she said. “Forgive me for coming to you with our troubles and disturbing you. I am so sorry for hurting Georgiana; she seems so pained and… I still cannot understand how this happened. It is my fault; I could have prevented it had I but explained to my family some part of what I knew… Wretched, wretched, mistake…”

  He took her hands in one of his while the other gently caressed her face.

  “I would have been upset if you had not come to me directly. Never again apologise for coming to me with your troubles, my love. As for this stressful situation, I am the only one who should apologise. It is entirely my fault; I never allowed my business with Wickham to be known, not even by my family. That is why he succeeded in deceiving Georgiana and my uncle and now Miss Lydia. But that will all change today; we will find them, and I will be certain proper measures are finally taken.”

  “Perhaps we are both culpable in some way, but I am afraid little can be done. You know him too well; he will never marry Lydia. He has no interest
in her, and he will not take such a burden on his shoulders. She is lost forever and…what shall we do now?” she whispered, looking at him hesitantly, her hands trembling in his.

  He seemed scarcely to hear her; then he suddenly started walking up and down the room in earnest meditation, his brow contracted and his air gloomy. Elizabeth gradually observed that her power must be sinking while her eyes followed his movements.

  “What shall we do now?” she repeated, her voice weak.

  “I have sent people to make inquiries, and I hope to receive news soon. I will leave now with Mr. Bennet and the colonel. Please try to speak to Georgiana; she is upset and worried for you. I just told her that you know about Ramsgate. She is afraid that you might think ill of her… Please go to her and take care of each other…”

  “I will take care of her…but William, what shall we do? About our wedding…”

  “I am not certain; let us see what comes of this situation, and we will decide later about the wedding. I am afraid I cannot think clearly now; I am only thinking of the best way to solve this. We will speak more tomorrow.”

  “As you wish,” she answered weakly. He embraced her tightly and left in haste.

  Elizabeth remained unmoving in the middle of the room, her eyes fixed upon the door closed behind him. The question she feared most—the one that had tortured her since the news of the elopement—remained unanswered. Mr. Darcy seemed not to have an answer himself; he was obviously uncertain of his own decision. She did not doubt his feelings for her or his desire to share his life with her. But would his duty allow him to go further with that decision now that her family situation had changed so dramatically? Yes, perhaps he was right; perhaps it was somehow his fault that Wickham had not been exposed earlier. But in the end, it was Lydia’s lack of maturity and decorum that threw her into Wickham’s arms at his slightest notice, and the shame and disgrace had fallen entirely on her family. It was true that he had a duty to her, too, now that the announcement of their betrothal was made public. Would the duty to his family and his name overwhelm his duty to her? And if so, would she allow him to marry her only to keep his word? To force him to become Wickham’s brother? Every fibre of his body must be appalled at that horrible thought. Could she put him and Georgiana into such a painful situation?

  She did not fail to notice that he called her ‘my love’ but made no gesture of real tenderness. He did not kiss her nor even touch her as he used to. She covered her face with her handkerchief to hide her tears; her mind, her soul, and her body vividly remembered the happiness that had overwhelmed her those last weeks and now seemed lost forever.

  A few minutes later, she wiped her eyes and glanced at her image in the mirror. She promised him she would take care of Georgiana, and she could not disappoint him.

  The moment Elizabeth saw Georgiana, her own distress vanished; the girl’s pallor and her blue eyes—tearful, lost, surrounded by dark circles—created a disturbing image. Elizabeth gently embraced her young friend then took her hands as they sat together.

  “Georgiana, I think we should talk. There are not enough words to tell you how sorry I am for all the pain you must endure because of us. If there were any way to take your distress upon myself, I would not hesitate to do it…”

  “Oh no, please do not say that! It is not your fault! I am only upset for my own folly, my own silliness… It is true that I am pained but only because I imagine what your sister must be going through, how ashamed and how troubled she must be… I know that very well,” she whispered.

  “I feel sorry for her, too. I feel it is my fault that I took no better care of her; she is young and not very wise…”

  “Do you think he might have tender feelings for her? Perhaps he is in love with her.”

  “I doubt that. I saw them together many times, and I never observed any inclination on his part. I am afraid his motives are not as genuine as you wish to believe.”

  “Yes, I always tend to misjudge his motives…”

  “Please do not say that. I know what you are thinking, and you are unfair to yourself.”

  “No, I am not… I was almost in the same situation as your sister. It was only a fortunate happenstance that William arrived the day before we planned to elope. If not, I would have disgraced my family—my brother—forever. I still cannot believe that William forgave me. I certainly did not deserve it. I am not being unfair to myself at all; I have only begun to know myself. I am nothing but a silly girl who made a fool of herself—very much like poor Miss Lydia. Mr. Wickham never would attempt such a scheme with a woman with sense and good judgement, someone like you or Miss Bennet.”

  “Georgiana, please look at me,” Elizabeth said gently as the girl still refused to meet her eyes. “As I said, you are being unfair to yourself. You might have been correct when you said Jane would never allow herself to be deceived, but you were wrong about me. I did allow myself to be deceived by Mr. Wickham’s charming manners; I allowed myself to be flattered by his appearance of goodness, and I trusted him implicitly. I permitted and welcomed his stories about his past dealings with your brother without even considering how improper such confessions were. I believed the malicious words he did not hesitate to throw upon your brother, without questioning his motives or his character. I am quite certain I never would have agreed to elope with him, but other than that, I showed only a bit more maturity than Lydia, and there were likely many other women who fell for Mr. Wickham’s charms. So you should be proud of yourself for having the strength and maturity to report the intended elopement to your brother. That speaks highly of your worthiness and your character.”

  While Elizabeth spoke, Georgiana’s eyes expressed all the tumult of feelings inside her: shame, embarrassment, doubt, disbelief, relief, concern, and, finally, understanding. When Elizabeth finished her confession, burdened with guilt and distress, it was Georgiana’s turn to comfort her friend. They continued to speak to each other, sharing blame, guilt and hopes, and none of them noticed when midnight came and went or when dawn shyly appeared at the window.

  ***

  Inside Darcy’s carriage, three men found nothing to say to each other, so preoccupied were they in blaming themselves for the unfortunate elopement.

  Darcy’s thoughts were torn between anger and pain. Elizabeth’s despair, his sister’s distress, and his departure in haste without being able to comfort them only increased his fury against Wickham and against himself.

  They had briefly visited Mrs. Gardiner—who was shocked and frightened to see them at her door—and informed her about the events. She insisted she should go with them as she hoped she would be able to speak reasonably with Lydia if they found her, but the gentlemen refused her decidedly. However, Mr. Bennet promised he would return to her with all the details.

  They easily reached Mrs. Younge’s place, but speaking to the woman herself proved to be more difficult. First, she denied knowing anything about her old acquaintance and even less that he was there. They first tried a polite approach, and Darcy even offered a substantial compensation for her effort. But the lack of success made the colonel declare he would enter by force and knock on every door until he discovered Wickham, and his increasing anger left no doubt about the veracity of his intentions. Eventually, Mrs. Younge showed them to Wickham’s room, but his situation was not what they expected.

  It was a small chamber with only a bed, a table, and two chairs. A bottle of brandy, half-empty, betrayed Wickham’s occupation; he greeted them incoherently, a large smile on his face. “Mr. Bennet, gentlemen, what an unexpected pleasure.”

  “Where is Lydia?” Mr. Bennet inquired severely.

  “Oh, she is not here. I could not possibly bring her to such a place; it is surely not proper for a young lady like her. I assure you she is very well, resting in a friend’s house.”

  “Very well, put your clothes on, and let us go and fetch Miss Lydia immediately,” the colonel demanded.

  “I am afraid I cannot do that, sir. I would surely
not disturb my friend in the middle of the night. Besides, I dare say it would be better if Miss Lydia is not involved in our discussion; it is not a proper conversation for a lady.”

  “Then we are done here,” said Darcy. “There is nothing to discuss until we see Miss Lydia and speak to her. Send me a note when you think we can disturb your friend.” He rose to leave, and the colonel followed him.

  “I believe it would be useful to talk now, though,” Wickham replied. “There are things that must be settled tonight for the benefit of all.”

  “There is only one who might benefit from this disgraceful situation, Wickham,” said Mr. Bennet bitterly. “All I wish is to see my daughter.”

  “Mr. Bennet, I assure you Miss Lydia is unharmed. I understand you are upset, sir. I know I would be upset in a similar situation. I deeply apologise for all the distress I caused you; my only excuse might be that one cannot command the desires of one’s heart. Falling in love might be dangerous sometimes, and nothing can be done now except to make the best of it. I am well aware there is only one honourable thing to do, and I would gladly do it were my own present state not so desperate. I am afraid I am unable to support myself; I could not possibly afford to take proper care of a wife.”

  “And now it begins; please do share with us your misfortunes,” the colonel said sharply.

  “Mr. Wickham, I am afraid you have miscalculated,” said Mr. Bennet, “or you have given me too much credit. Whatever desperate situation you might have, I am in no position to be the remedy. Surely you must know I am a man of limited resources.”

  “I am well aware of that, sir, and it pains me to be forced to burden you further. Yet, I see no alternative. I cannot return to Meryton even if I wished to. There were some delicate problems that forced me to leave the regiment. I…sadly, I have some debts of honour that I was unable to cover, and I cannot possibly return until I am able to solve them. So you see, the small income I had in the militia is now gone, too.”