"Oh, Miss Bennet, will it be all right if Lydia and I go to the shops?" asked Miss King. "I have a length of ribbon that I want to match."
Elizabeth looked into the face of Miss King, and wondered why she could not like the girl when she was always perfectly amiable.
She felt a little better when, after she had agreed to the expedition and the girls had left, Mrs. Younge turned to her and said, "I know that the girl cannot help her looks, but I always feel that she could be very sly."
Perhaps it was that last word that Mrs. Younge had used that made Elizabeth suddenly alert. At once, she scanned the assembly hall. Wickham had just come in and indeed was exchanging a few words with Lydia and Mary as they left. There was no sign of Denny. Before she had time to think about what this might mean and what she ought to do about it, they had been approached by a Mrs. Fernside.
"My dear Mrs. Younge, you will be wondering where on earth I have been over the past few days and feeling neglected, I'm sure, except that I am certain that Miss Bennet is not neglecting you, so if you have been neglected it has only been by me! Well, I have been to visit my niece in Bristol, and she has had such a pretty baby! A dear little girl, just like her mama, except that in certain lights she is like her papa, and at other times she looks like nobody in particular. How I do wish I could have brought a picture back to show you!"
"How pleased you . . ." began Mrs. Younge, but Mrs. Fernside, needing no help whatsoever, took up her story again.
"Oh indeed I was! But you know, however welcoming other people may be, there is nowhere quite like one's own home is there? And indeed I am very glad to be back for I can see that a number of people have arrived in my absence."
"Yes indeed," began Elizabeth, but Mrs. Fernside, having begun her performance as a monologue, had no intention of adding any other speaking parts at this stage.
"Colonel Fitzwilliam, for example! Now he is said to be a very warm man, and anyone can see that he has his heart set upon that pretty young sister of Mr. Darcy's, and a fine match it will be for her if it comes about. But I must not linger! I see Mrs. Bowles over there and I have not spoken to her for an age."
"Lucky Mrs. Bowles," murmured Darcy who had appeared during Mrs. Fernside's last speech. "Or perhaps not so lucky. She could easily be there till midnight. I wonder, have there ever been cases of anyone actually expiring whilst she was talking to them?"
"Mr. Darcy, really," exclaimed Mrs. Younge, trying not to laugh.
"Yes, really," he retorted. "Does she ever stop?"
"No, she just leaves," admitted Mrs. Younge. "Oh, will you excuse me? I see Madalene Rowley waving to me." She moved away from them.
"Have you warned your cousin that his intentions might not be returned?" Elizabeth looked up at him. His face was full of concerned interest, and suddenly the temptation to confide in him was too great to withstand. "He is quite determined, I think, but I cannot see that he has any hope of success—in pleasing your sister, I mean."
"From my observations I would say that his sentiments are returned," he replied. "But I do not know what good that will do either of them." They were looking towards where Wickham was talking to Georgiana and another young lady. Lady Susan did not look to be particularly welcoming, and the conversation taking place between them seemed rather labored. As they watched, the group was joined by Mrs. Clarke and Colonel Fitzwilliam.
"The Colonel does not look at all well," replied Elizabeth.
Elizabeth knew that she was naturally biased in Wickham's favor, but it would be a very strange young woman indeed who, on appearance alone, could possibly prefer that exhausted-looking middle-aged man to a fine young upstanding militia officer.
With Colonel Fitzwilliam's arrival, Lady Susan's manner underwent a marked change. She became more animated and her smiles were more forthcoming. Wickham she totally ignored, managing in the way that only an experienced society woman can to elbow him almost entirely out of the group. Eventually Wickham bowed and left, turning to approach Elizabeth and Darcy. The working of his face showed that he was furious.
"Come," said Darcy quickly. "Suddenly I feel an almost over-mastering desire to visit the Abbey!"
It was only a stone's throw from the assembly hall to the Abbey and in the ancient place of worship, often very busy but just now mercifully quiet, she regained her equilibrium.
"Thank you," she said eventually. "You are too good to me."
"It is my pleasure to serve you and all your family,” he replied evenly. His carefully neutral tone further calmed her spirits, even whilst something about his words made her a little uncomfortable, although she could not have said exactly what it was at the time.
" I do so wish that I could wave a magic wand and provide my sisters with enough funds for them to marry for love.”
"Yes, that I do know," replied Darcy harshly. "Do you think I am blind and witless? You would sell everything you possess, including your diamond pendant, if it would save your sisters from disappointment or disgrace."
Elizabeth gasped. Darcy, seeing her surprise, went on in the same manner, "Don't look so surprised! It is no secret that your father has gambling debts.”
Shocked beyond measure at his words, Elizabeth lifted her trembling hands to unfasten the clasp of her pendant, which she happened to be wearing that day.
“Take it back then," she said, in a voice that trembled as much as her hands. "I do not want to have what is not freely given. I never knew why you paid for it to be repaired in the first place!"
Before she could unfasten it, he took hold of her hands and brought them down, squeezing them tightly before releasing them.
"Did you not?" he said. His tone was gentle once again, his face calm. "Perhaps now is not the right time or place to tell you. Instead, I will ask you a question: you always want to protect everyone in your family. Tell me this— who protects you?"
She looked up at him, and suddenly it seemed as if she was on the verge of discovering something vitally important. Before either of them could say more, however, they overheard Mrs. Clarke's voice saying to someone, "My dear sir, never say you have not visited the Abbey!" Suddenly Elizabeth knew that she could not face her near neighbor at this point, however genial she might be.
"I think I shall walk home now," she said hurriedly. “I feel the need of some fresh air. Pray tell Mrs. Younge that I have gone."
Darcy made no effort to detain her, but simply said, “There is more to say, but now is not the time. However, please promise me this: if you hear of Wickham planning anything that you consider to be rash or foolhardy, you will tell me. It might be that my intervention will do some good."
Elizabeth nodded in agreement and hurried away, avoiding Mrs. Clarke and her companion by only seconds. She felt in need of reflection, and certainly did not want to make polite conversation.
As she walked home, she thought hard, not just about what Darcy had said, but about the tone of his voice. Never had he spoken to her so harshly! She had not dreamed that he had guessed why she needed the money or about her papa's gambling debts. There had been moments in their conversation when he had seemed to hold her in contempt, but at other times his view of her had seemed to be quite otherwise.
He had said that he had bought the pendant for her sake, it was true, but earlier in the conversation he had said that it was his pleasure to serve all her family. At the end of their conversation, he had refused to take back her pendant, and his manner had changed to one that was as gentle as his previous one had been harsh. Finally, he had said that there was more he wanted to say to her. Did he perhaps intend to berate her further on her protective manner towards Wickham?
So deep in thought was she that she missed her turn. Recalling that she needed to purchase some new ribbons anyway, she decided to walk there and give herself a little more exercise.
Her purchase made, she walked the rest of the way up the street, intending to turn right. It was here that Wickham had taken the lodgings along with Mr. Denny.
&n
bsp; As she reached the corner, she looked across the road at the buildings and suddenly stopped in her tracks. Coming out of one of the front doors was Lydia and she was escorted by Denny. There was no sign of Mary King.
Elizabeth took a deep breath. Confronting Lydia in the street would do no good and might even provoke the very scandal that she was now at pains to avert. Seeing that they were intending to cross the road, she stepped quickly into the nearest shop and waited until they had gone by, then resumed her journey. She did not want to bump into them; she would rather save what she had to say until she and Lydia were alone.
Hurrying along, her mind was now full, not of Darcy and Georgiana, but of Lydia. She cursed herself for being so preoccupied with Darcy's problems that she had failed to think carefully enough about those of her sister. She had guessed that Lydia was interested in Denny, but had fooled herself into thinking that it was only a passing fancy.
Never had she supposed that that interest would have led her into doing something so improper as entering a man's lodgings! She wondered how many times Lydia had visited Denny there, and if she had ever been seen. On reflection, she decided that it was unlikely. Elizabeth had already discovered that scandal traveled like wildfire in Ramsgate, and such a juicy tidbit would almost certainly have gone around. So involved was she with these thoughts that Mrs. Clarke had to address her twice.
"Miss Bennet!" she said merrily. "Have you been shopping? I am about to show Colonel Fitzwilliam the wonders of the local shops!"
Elizabeth looked at the gentleman upon whose arm Mrs. Clarke was leaning. She had to acknowledge that the colonel was by no means so ill-looking in the fresh air. His face had more color and animation now, and although he was not as handsome as Darcy, he looked kindly and dependable and his smile was warm.
"Do you find Ramsgate a wonderful place, Miss Bennet?" he asked with a twinkle. "I am by no means convinced that a gentleman's view would be the same as a lady's in that respect!"
"You may have a point there, sir," answered Elizabeth, trying to smile.
"Shame on you, Miss Bennet!" exclaimed Mrs. Clarke. "When we all know that a lady is always right!"
Colonel Fitzwilliam sighed. "Very well then, Valerie,” he said. "Lead on. I will promise to admire everything you recommend."
"No no, that will never do! I should be bored to death. I need an escort who will share in my interests, but still know his own mind. What do you say, Miss Bennet?"
Elizabeth was not at all in the mood for this kind of badinage, but she exerted herself to be agreeable.
"Why certainly, Mrs. Clarke," she answered. "The only solution is that Colonel Fitzwilliam should state his opinion, but he must not by any means contradict you. In other words, he must agree with you all the time, but really mean it."
Colonel Fitzwilliam passed a hand over his eyes. "I think I had better lie down," he murmured in failing accents.
"That might be as well, if you are to attend the Lockhart ball this evening," replied Mrs. Clarke. “I believe your party is to go, Miss Bennet?"
"We certainly plan to be there," said Elizabeth. “I hope I do not disgrace myself by forgetting the steps! I do not dance very much these days."
"Oh, for shame, Miss Bennet!" retorted Mrs. Clarke. "There is nothing for you to fear, my dear!”
“I am sure you will enjoy it very much," said Colonel Fitzwilliam. “I fear I must take my doctor's advice and cry off, however. Too many late nights are not to be attempted yet, I believe, particularly when he has told me that I must take a warm seawater bath every morning. I wonder whether Darcy might come to my hotel and play a hand of whist with me?"
Elizabeth was surprised at the lurch of disappointment that she felt at these words.
"Certainly not,” declared Mrs. Clarke. “I am sure you can risk an hour or two, Richard. And in any case, you cannot possibly deprive us of such a fine dancer as Mr. Darcy. Miss Bennet, lend me your support!"
Elizabeth blushed, to her great annoyance, murmured something non-committal, then hurriedly made her excuses and left them. She now had to admit to herself that she was strongly attracted to Darcy, and could think of no one with whom she would rather dance. Bad enough that this should be so, without Mrs. Clarke guessing it, and teasing her on the subject.
CHAPTER TEN
On her arrival back in Lilley Place, Elizabeth went immediately upstairs, knocked on Lydia's door and with very little ceremony, walked in.
Lydia was sitting at a table in the window reading a note, and when she looked up and saw her sister, she hurriedly folded it and put it away. The very secretive nature of this action caused Elizabeth's anger, already bubbling under the surface, to spill over.
"Not content then, with meeting Mr. Denny at his lodging, you must receive notes from him too! Lydia, I thought better of you."
At this, Lydia turned pale, but she met her sister's gaze steadily. "What makes you think that I have been meeting Denny?" she said, getting up.
"Oh Lydia, I saw you come out of his lodging in his company."
"You are forgetting that it is also Mr. Wickham's lodging," retorted Lydia, remaining where she was. "Did it not occur to you that I might be visiting him?"
"No, it didn't," said Elizabeth frankly. "And it still doesn't sound appropriate to me."
"Well, it is true," flashed Lydia. "I'm not lying, and you needn't accuse me of it!"
Elizabeth sighed in exasperation. "But why on earth should you need to go there?" she asked. "You had seen him less than an hour before. A message would find him if your business was so urgent. You know perfectly well that you should not be visiting a man in his lodgings, whoever he may be."
"I don't see why I should explain myself to you when you obviously think the worst of me, but I will do so, otherwise you might go telling tales to Mama. I met Wickham by chance outside his lodgings. He was so agitated that I insisted he tell me what was the matter, only he would not do so in the open street, so I went in with him. He told me all about the spoiled Miss Darcy and her abominable brother, and about how he is trying to pluck up his courage to offer for her. I tried to calm him down, then Denny came in and was as prim as you are about my being there at all. He insisted on escorting me home. It was just bad luck that you saw us."
"Yes, and it would have been very bad luck if anyone else had seen you," retorted Elizabeth. "We have no fortunes. If we lose our reputations, what do we have left?" She was silent for a moment, then went on, "Lydia, I want you to be honest with me. Have you been meeting Mr. Denny in his lodgings?"
"I don't know why I should bother to answer," replied her sister, turning her head away. "You have clearly convinced yourself that I have."
Elizabeth sighed. "That is not so. It's just that, well, I could not help but notice that you have been drawn towards him. I thought that your inclination for him might have led you into indiscretion." When Lydia was still silent, Elizabeth said, "Please, Lydia?"
"Very well," Lydia said, wearily. "If it makes you happy, I will swear to you that I have not been meeting Denny in his lodgings."
Elizabeth went over to her then and took her hands. “This is not to make me happy; it's so that I can discover how to help you." She paused. “I am on your side, you know."
Lydia smiled faintly. "Yes, I know. Truly, Lizzy, I have not been meeting Mr. Denny. And the note was not from him either. Do you want to read it?"
Elizabeth shook her head. “I am not Mama, and I have no wish to intrude upon your privacy, and no right to do so either. If you say it is not from Mr. Denny, then that is enough for me. Shall I come back later to help you dress for the ball?"
****
Wickham arrived at the house that evening to escort them to the assembly rooms, looking very handsome in uniform.
While Lydia and Mrs. Younge were exchanging a few words, Wickham managed to say to her, “I've been thinking things over, and perhaps I have been a little hasty. After all, Colonel Fitzwilliam clearly isn't well; one only has to look at his complexion t
o see that! Anyway, I don't want to spoil things by rushing, so I mean to wait for a little while and see."
"I'm so glad," answered Elizabeth giving his arm a little squeeze, I heard him telling Mrs. Clarke only today that he was to take a bath as well as take in the fresh air, so perhaps that is why he is here.”
“I don't intend to wait forever, though." he warned her. "I am thinking of speaking to Darcy in a week's time. Mind you, if I think that he's coming close to a declaration. I'll pop my proposal in quick."
Elizabeth smiled at him, knowing he would have no chance of winning over Darcy, but she did not want to do or say anything to shake this more hopeful mood.
“Anyway," he went on, "both you and Lydia warned me against rushing into things so I suppose I ought to take some notice."
“You shouldn't have encouraged Lydia to go into your lodgings, though. Mr. Wickham," said Elizabeth, suddenly reminded of the afternoon's incident. “And you certainly shouldn't have allowed her to leave with Denny."
"No. I'm sorry, I didn't think. I was so agitated these days," confessed Wickham. "I shan't do it again.”
Elizabeth said no more on the subject. If as she hoped, no one but herself had been witness to the incident, then there was no harm done. If someone had seen, then they would discover soon enough—probably at the ball.
Luck appeared to have favored them on this occasion, however. There was plenty of scandal circulating, but none of it concerned Lydia.
Wickham danced two dances with Lydia, but made no attempt to ask for more, and Elizabeth was pleased to see that he also danced with Mary King, among others, and resisted the temptation of keeping to Georgiana's side all evening.
For a moment Wickham and Denny stood side by side in the doorway. Even their stance was similar and they looked amazingly alike. Elizabeth happened to be standing next to her sister, and she turned to her, commenting on the likeness.
"Yes, they are alike, are they not?" agreed Lydia. “I could hardly believe it when I first saw Mr. Denny—side by side with his friend, I mean."
The Ramsgate Affair Page 8