Chapter 7
“This is madness,” Darcy eventually said, sitting down in his chair.
“I imagined as much. Let me pour some drinks and you can tell me what this is all about. And please be calm, I beg you. Nobody who knows you would believe such a fabrication.”
The colonel filled two glasses with brandy and offered one to Darcy.
“So?”
“There is no ‘so’, Richard. I am stunned by how ridiculous the story is. And I am not worried about those who know me, I am concerned about the harm this might cause to Miss Bennet. This is a true madness… I just hope people in Meryton have enough common sense to dismiss such obvious falsehoods. Even more so as everybody knew that Miss Bennet despised me.”
The colonel was confused. “Who despised you?”
“The lady in question.”
“The one with whom you were seemingly involved?”
“Yes, Richard… she despised me and everybody knew that—except me.”
“I feel I am losing my mind too. You must explain to me what is happening—as you said, this sounds like total madness.”
“There is not much to explain, Richard. It is a family with five daughters, whose estate is close to Bingley’s.
He was charmed by the eldest sister—Miss Jane Bennet.
The second daughter is the lady we are talking about.
Exceptionally smart, well-read, witty, easy in conversation, pleasant manners.
Quite outspoken. I had a small incident involving her the first evening we met and she has apparently held a grudge against me ever since.
I was not aware of it, so we had what I believed to be a normal relationship between new acquaintances. ”
“I see. You never mentioned anything of the kind.”
“There was nothing to mention, Richard. I did not spend much time with the family—the mother and the youngest sisters are quite insupportable. Loud, shallow, ill-mannered…the father is a country gentleman, pleasant company, with a tendency to make sport of people. Too tolerant with his wife and daughters.”
“It seems you disapproved of them. And I would assume they did not like you too much either,” the colonel laughed.
“Precisely. I cannot deny that I was quite impressed with Miss Elizabeth Bennet. She spent several days at Netherfield, caring for her ill sister, and it was delightful to watch her arguing with Caroline Bingley and Louisa Hurst. Such a sharp mind.”
“Sounds amusing indeed.”
“The amusement passed very soon, though. The regiment that was camped in Meryton had a new addition. George Wickham.”
The colonel startled. “Wickham? What was he doing in Hertfordshire? And how did he join the regiment?”
“I never found out, nor even enquired. I just saw him one day; he was talking to the Bennet sisters. With Miss Elizabeth in particular. As you would expect, from that moment several stories about my cruel behaviour that ruined the poor man’s life were spread around.
You may imagine that I did not have much consideration for Wickham’s lies, especially since I planned to leave the county soon. But then…”
He stopped and gulped some brandy.
“Then?” the colonel asked impatiently.
“Bingley hosted a ball and issued a general invitation to all the officers. Wickham had the nerve to attend. He was impertinent as always and I noticed a close friendship between him and Miss Elizabeth Bennet. I danced one set with her, he danced two.”
The colonel responded with an arched brow. “You danced at a country ball? And you counted the sets?”
“Don’t be annoying, Richard. I am only telling you this because it matters.
So while watching Wickham among several honourable families from the village, I realised he could easily deceive them.
So I demanded he join me in the library, to talk privately before throwing him out.
He eventually agreed so we entered the library. ”
“This sounds like a mystery story,” the colonel declared. “Why do you keep pausing?”
“Because I am growing angrier as I speak. So, we entered the library and we argued. He accused me of not giving him the living, I mentioned the compensation. I threatened to expose him to his colonel and purchase his debts, he threatened me with revealing the incident involving Georgiana.”
“What?!”
“Indeed! I was close to hitting him in the face. He also accused me of being jealous of his friendship with Miss Elizabeth Bennet and claimed that she favoured him and despised me. Those were likely his only true words. I tried to end the argument and leave, but in doing so I pulled the doorknob violently and it broke, so we remained locked inside.”
“Locked in with Wickham? Dear Lord—and you did not kill him? Or at least beat him?”
Darcy rolled his eyes. “There is more. We realised that we were not alone in the library. Miss Elizabeth Bennet had been there all the time and apparently she had witnessed our entire conversion.”
“What?!”
“What indeed. She heard everything. Wickham attempted to offer some explanations but she silenced him. She said she had heard enough and that she had been a fool to believe his lies. She accused him of deceiving her and others and behaving uncivilly and ungratefully to his godfather’s family.
I believe she meant Georgiana. She was angry and confronted him with much bravery.
Wickham was furious as I have rarely seen him—as much with me as with her.
Fortunately, it all ended rather quickly.
I opened the door with a knife, Bingley and others were on the other side of the door, and that was all. ”
The colonel listened completely dumbfounded, his mouth widened in disbelief. He drank a little brandy and continued.
“And?”
“And nothing. Oh yes, I briefly spoke with Mr Bennet and advised him not to allow his young daughters near Wickham. That was all. No, in fact, there is more. Aunt Catherine’s clergyman, Mr Collins, is Mr Bennet’s cousin and the estate is entailed upon him.
The man is a pompous fool, self-satisfied, pretentious and gullible.
A nightmare. He introduced himself to me and I barely evaded him the entire night. ”
“Lady Catherine seems to trust him. She mentioned in her letter that he will marry a Charlotte Lucas—the daughter of a knight.”
“Of course she trusts him; he is the one who reported the gossip to her. Poor Miss Lucas. I had a better impression of her. It seems I have misjudged everyone lately.”
“Darcy, the story is so tangled that I need another drink. Would you like one too?”
Darcy nodded and the colonel refilled the glasses.
“So, how did the story of the affair come out?”
“I am as astonished and puzzled as you are! There was nothing that might suggest a close relationship between me and Miss Bennet. We exchanged a few words in the library, mostly provoked by Wickham. She declared she disliked me but that did not make her blind to the truth and she threw more accusations at him. We did not speak further for the rest of the night.”
“What about the affair between Miss Bennet and Wickham?”
Darcy hesitated a moment. “No, I do not believe it. The way she addressed him in the library certainly did not give the expression of a romantic attachment. That rumour is just as untrue as the first one.”
“So, what about Wickham? You just left Meryton?”
“I tried to speak to Colonel Forster but he took my warnings rather casually. He jested and said that army men are far from perfection and most of them are fond of cards, drinks and lovely ladies. Something like that. I saw no point in insisting further.”
“Well, Darcy, it might vex you further, but I do agree with the colonel. And what did you do next?”
“I left. Bingley and his family were already far ahead of me. There was nothing else for me to do. I have accomplished my duty.”
“So when you left, Miss Elizabeth Bennet knew the truth about your past and she was angry with Wickham for his deception. After you left, some strange reports appeared all of a sudden, all of them affecting Miss Bennet’s reputation.
It is quite clear to me that, whoever fabricated those falsehoods, intended to hurt her.
Which, if we are to believe Aunt Catherine’s letter, has already occurred. ”
Another moment of silence passed, then Darcy emptied his glass in one gulp, then threw the glass into the fireplace.
“Darcy? You scared me!”
“Wickham! How could I have been such a complete fool? I should have guessed Wickham would find a way to have his revenge. I should have known and warned Mr Bennet.”
“Wickham? You believe he spread the rumours?” the colonel was utterly dismayed.
“Who else? He is well accustomed to such habits. He certainly knew I would expose him to the colonel, and Miss Bennet was likely to reveal what she had heard to others. That might have caused him to lose his credibility, his new friends and his position in the regiment. He had no other way to fight the accusation except by ruining our own reputations and credibility, so whatever I or Miss Bennet might say, people would ignore or dismiss it. It is an evil, shameless plan.”
“But … why would he mention his own name in the affair?”
“Why not? People were already aware of the close friendship between him and Miss Bennet. With this new deceit, he turned her into a jealous, resentful woman, rejected by him, who became a victim of her revenge. How could anyone believe anything that Miss Bennet might have said against him?”
Darcy’s voice grew louder while he became more perturbed.
“Do you truly consider Wickham capable of such a scheme? Is he smart enough to invent all those tales?” the colonel asked incredulously.
“Who else would be capable, Richard. Who would have any reason to hurt a young woman who seemed liked by everybody?”
“Well, if it is so, let us hope the people of Meryton are not so easily deceived, nor so ready to think so ill of someone who grew up among them.”