Chapter III #2
“With that, I cannot disagree.” Elizabeth fixed him with a frank expression that made him uneasy. “So, your sudden epiphany had nothing to do with Miss King’s uncles taking her to Liverpool?”
The color drained from his face as he realized belatedly that she may have heard something of the matter from others. Though he peered at her, he had no notion how to respond, how to rescue his mistake. Elizabeth was not about to allow him to try, for another notion had occurred to her.
“Oh!” said she. “I have remembered something else. When I was lately in Kent, Mr. Darcy, Lady Catherine, and Miss de Bourgh were not the only members of the family present. Mr. Darcy’s cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, also journeyed to Rosings in his company.”
Whatever she had expected, it was not an even greater pallor than even when she revealed her knowledge of the Mary King affair. As he seemed no more capable of responding now, Elizabeth continued, hoping his discomfort would reveal something more.
“The colonel is quite a different man from Mr. Darcy, for he is open and engaging, a genuine delight to know. Tell me, Mr. Wickham—are you at all acquainted with him?”
“I am, in some respects,” replied Mr. Wickham, finding his voice at last.
“Then perhaps I ought to have mentioned the acquaintance,” said Elizabeth, giving every impression of sincerity.
“My acquaintance with him is not profound,” Mr. Wickham hastened to say.
“Ah, then there was no point.”
Mr. Wickham appeared to reclaim some of his composure. “None at all. After all, Colonel Fitzwilliam is the son of an earl. You could not have expected him to pay attention to the son of a steward.”
“Really, Mr. Wickham!” laughed Elizabeth. “By your account, Colonel Fitzwilliam is insufferably proud when he struck me as a fine man unaffected by pretension.”
“No, I would not say that,” replied Mr. Wickham. “But he is of a high and privileged class, whereas I am not.”
“I suppose,” replied Elizabeth, unconcerned.
The way Mr. Wickham now peered at her, Elizabeth suspected he was growing suspicious.
“You suggested that you thought better of Darcy after seeing him with his family. Is it his behavior with Fitzwilliam that led to this change? I doubt Lady Catherine and Miss de Bourgh can induce a lightness of character in him.”
“You have the right of it,” replied Elizabeth.
“Then I am pleased you saw something good in him.” Mr. Wickham affected nonchalance. “Perhaps he has improved, though I hope you will understand my opinion of him cannot undergo such an easy transformation.”
It was time to end this, but not give Mr. Wickham any reason to suspect her plans; she was tired of listening to him. For a moment, Elizabeth considered how best to do it, then decided on a dual approach.
“But you esteemed his father.”
A smile settled on his face, and Elizabeth might have thought it genuine if she did not already know the truth. “I did, Miss Elizabeth. As I said before, he was the finest man of my acquaintance. Unfortunately, his son did not inherit his character.”
Elizabeth watched him, her pique growing the more he opened his mouth. “Then I wish I could have known him, Mr. Wickham. I also appreciate your forbearance for not exposing Mr. Darcy when you have every reason to resent him. That is what you promised, is it not?”
The man grew uncomfortable again, alternating between peering at her and looking anywhere else. Elizabeth had left enough ambiguity to make him pause, but had said enough that he must wonder if she knew how much he had spread the story.
“Regarding Mr. Darcy,” continued she, “my opinion of him is better than it was before, though I still do not consider him a friend. Of Colonel Fitzwilliam, I have the warmest regard. He also spoke of Miss Darcy, who sounds like a wonderful girl.”
With a shrug, Elizabeth said: “Perhaps Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley will return to Netherfield. If Georgiana Darcy comes, I should like an introduction.”
At that moment, the officers spoke of their need to depart, sparing Mr. Wickham the need to reply.
Though he bowed to her, Elizabeth could see his tension.
She had given him something about which to think, not only about Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam, but about his comments to her about Miss Darcy, which she now knew as false.
As he departed the room, Elizabeth determined to put her plan into motion the following day. There was no sense in waiting longer.
“Lizzy!” Lydia’s whining voice broke the silence. “What do you mean by keeping Mr. Wickham to yourself? Do you not know that I want to speak to him too?”
“Perhaps you do not recall,” replied Elizabeth, “but Mr. Wickham approached me, Lydia, not the reverse.”
“And yet you kept him beside you and did not allow him to withdraw.”
“Mr. Wickham could have withdrawn the moment he chose,” replied Elizabeth. “To own the truth, I care little for his company and have no wish to have his attention.”
Lydia’s expression was openly skeptical. “Did you not praise him to the skies when he came? As I recall, he was your favorite until he started pursuing Mary King.”
“I have no notion of what constitutes a favorite, Lydia,” replied Elizabeth. “Perhaps I esteemed Mr. Wickham, but I did not miss his absence.”
“Mr. Wickham is a handsome and amiable man,” said Mrs. Bennet, interjecting with a comment Elizabeth did not think quite proper. “I declare that I have never met a man so charming.”
“That is the problem, Mama,” said Elizabeth, deciding to reveal a little more.
Confused, Mrs. Bennet said: “What do you mean, Lizzy?”
“Only that sometimes the most charming men are those who possess the most facility for misdirection.”
Taken aback, Mrs. Bennet regarded her through wide eyes. “What do you mean, Lizzy?”
“Nothing in particular,” replied Elizabeth. “It just occurs to me that Mr. Wickham has portrayed himself as a charming and amiable man, but we know little of him other than what he has said himself.”
“You think him capable of falsehood?”
“Everyone is capable of falsehood, Mama,” replied Elizabeth. “All I suggest is that we reserve judgment until we have all the facts. Mr. Wickham claims to be a good man, but I do not think it is sound to believe another implicitly.”
“Well, you may believe what you like,” huffed Lydia. “Such a handsome and amiable man cannot be false, so I shall continue as I have.”
That Lydia would say such a thing was not beyond Elizabeth’s understanding of her sister.
A handsome face was all that mattered to Lydia.
Had it been only the day before, Elizabeth would have thought the same of Kitty.
The way Kitty watched the scene, her nod in response to Elizabeth’s glance told her that her second youngest sister was not bedazzled by Mr. Wickham’s white teeth and twinkling eyes.
Kitty would do as she said—watch Lydia and intervene if necessary. Elizabeth was grateful she had an ally.
Protecting the neighborhood was Elizabeth’s prime concern, but a large part of that was preventing her silly sister from bringing ruin upon the family with Mr. Wickham, or any other man. The best way to do that was to expose Mr. Wickham to whatever consequences awaited him.
“I am curious, Lizzy,” said her father later that afternoon. “You appear to have experienced a change of heart toward Mr. Wickham.”
Though Mr. Bennet was not in the habit of enduring much society, she had noticed his presence in the sitting-room during the officers’ visit.
Perhaps her father saw something of their behavior and wished to prevent anything overt from happening.
That would be more effort than he usually expended, but not unwelcome.
“Not so much a change of heart as an expanded understanding.”
“Oh? And this came during your visit to Kent? As I recall, Lady Catherine de Bourgh is Mr. Darcy’s nephew—did she speak of the man sufficient to alter your perception of him?”
“What I learned about Mr. Wickham did not come from Lady Catherine.”
Mr. Bennet watched her. “If you mean to keep your secrets, I shall not press you, Lizzy, but I should like to hear them if you will share.”
Elizabeth weighed the benefits of telling her father what she knew.
Mr. Bennet was better positioned to deal with Mr. Wickham than she was herself, but she also understood her father’s character and did not suppose he would act unless he considered it necessary.
There was no reason to stay silent, so Elizabeth resolved to tell him.
If nothing else, should Mr. Wickham retaliate, her father would have the knowledge to step in.
As there was no reason to speak of Georgiana Darcy, Elizabeth refrained from relating that business to her father, though she suggested that Mr. Wickham’s actions toward Mary King had not been his first attempt at gaining a fortune.
Everything else she laid bare, from Mr. Wickham’s debts to his careless and even predatory behavior toward ladies.
Mr. Bennet listened, his curiosity turning to concern the longer Elizabeth spoke.
The sight gave her some comfort—she would never suspect her father of misunderstanding the danger; she only questioned his determination to do something about it.
“That is concerning, Lizzy,” replied Mr. Bennet, watching her closely.
“The first point I wish to confirm is the veracity of this account. I suppose you must believe it, though that is a sharp departure from your former opinion. What makes you think that Mr. Darcy is more believable now when you considered him the worst of men only a few short months ago?”
It was, Elizabeth thought, not an unreasonable question. Had she been more temperate in her comments about Mr. Darcy, her father might have taken her account and her obvious belief without comment, trusting her judgment as he did. Now, however, there was no choice but to explain her reasons.
“The reason I believe Mr. Darcy,” said she, “is because there are holes in Mr. Wickham’s story that I never had the wit to see, and Mr. Darcy’s account fills those details.”
“Your wit is not in question, Elizabeth,” replied her father. “A skilled liar can portray himself in such a light that even the most discerning of us cannot detect falsehood. You mentioned details—what do you mean?”
“The business with the living,” replied Elizabeth.
“Mr. Wickham said Mr. Darcy refused to honor his father’s wishes, but to the best of my knowledge, he has never attended a seminary to take orders.
Then there is the business of Mr. Wickham claiming to revere Mr. Darcy’s father so much that he would never defame him while doing just that in relating the matter to me. ”
“Yes, that makes sense,” agreed her father, considering her account.
“Furthermore,” said Elizabeth, “Mr. Wickham claimed that Georgiana Darcy is a proud and disagreeable creature. Colonel Fitzwilliam and Mr. Darcy both told me that she is only shy. I have never made her acquaintance, but such a judgment against his patron’s daughter suggests a desire to criticize rather than an honest assessment. ”
“You may be correct, though I would not use that as proof of Mr. Wickham’s worthlessness until you make her acquaintance.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “I know, Papa. Yet I cannot but suppose that I made an error in judgment when I spoke warmly of Mr. Wickham and decried Mr. Darcy. The gentleman is not so terrible as I thought, and Mr. Wickham has shown himself to be a bounder. His behavior when I spoke to him showed obvious guilt—I have no doubt that Mr. Darcy told me the truth.”
“Very well, Lizzy,” replied Mr. Bennet. “Your judgment was never in question, just your perception.”
With a nod, Elizabeth fixed him with a frank look. “The question is, what should we do?”
Mr. Bennet’s responding expression was no less than knowing. “If I am not mistaken, Lizzy, I suspect you already have a plan to deal with Mr. Wickham.”
Disappointed though she was, his response was not unexpected. “Your assistance would be invaluable.”
“Hmm, perhaps it would be,” mused Mr. Bennet. “I wonder if that is wise. You and your sisters have nothing to offer such a man, your safety resting in the lack of the one thing he lusts after. Assailing Mr. Wickham’s reputation may provoke retaliation.”
“That does not mean he cannot cause damage,” chided Elizabeth, ignoring his comment about retribution. “What if he importunes Lydia? Kitty will not give him the time of day, but Lydia would offer no resistance.”
“Lizzy, your sister is not so senseless.” Mr. Bennet cocked his head to the side. “Why is Kitty in no danger?”
“Because she understood more than I expected when I spoke of Mr. Wickham. Kitty has agreed to watch Lydia and ensure nothing happens.”
Mr. Bennet chuckled, not bothering to hide his diversion. “Kitty might overestimate the influence she possesses. Lydia does not listen to me, let alone the sister she has led for years.”
“Kitty may surprise you, Papa,” replied Elizabeth.
“Be that as it may, I shall need to think about this before I decide what to do. In the meantime, I know you have something planned. Go ahead and show Mr. Wickham what awaits him. I have no doubt you will bring the consequences down on his head sufficient to render him sorry he ever lied to you.”
And with those words, Mr. Bennet arched his brow and retreated from the room, leaving Elizabeth annoyed that he had not agreed to act at once, and diverted at the same time. It appeared there was nothing to be done, so Elizabeth determined to proceed.