Chapter 19 Wicked schemes and a night at the opera.
Wicked schemes and a night at the opera.
Meryton, near Lucas Lodge
“Hidden identities?” Wickham queried.
“Let me tell you the whole of it. Lizzy is to marry Mr. Darcy, and Jane is to marry Mr. Bingley.”
“Darcy and Miss Elizabeth? Impossible.”
“No, it is true, and you will never guess why,” she said.
His sceptical look did not subdue her. “You knew that Bennet is only their guardian, but I have found out who their real parents are! They are really the daughters of the late Lord and Lady Shelton, and they will have ￡70,000! Darcy is after her money!”
“Seventy thousand pounds each and daughters of an earl?”
“No, ￡70,000 plus properties divided between Jane and Lizzy. And that is not all.”
“They are now Lady Jane and Lady Elizabeth.”
“Yes, and Jane’s son would be the Earl of Shelton.”
“If I were to bed Miss…er, Lady Elizabeth, then she would have to marry me, and my son would be the Earl of Shelton,” Wickham said thoughtfully.
His spiteful mind was dwelling on all the pleasant prospects of the idea.
He enjoyed the thought of ravishing Elizabeth Bennet, satisfying his long-established lust for her, and in the process, he would be successful in his goal of revenge against both Bennet and Darcy.
But Maria objected. “I thought you were to marry me.” She sulked.
“I could not marry you with my debts and your pittance. We need to get money from somewhere,” he grumbled. Wickham was frustrated. He never intended to marry the chit and now she was trying to box him into a corner.
Maria was right to be upset at his response, but not so na?ve as to believe that Wickham was only interested in the Earldom. She always suspected he was fixated with Elizabeth and decided to test him to confirm it.
“What if Jane had a son? He would be the earl. Perhaps you would rather bed her.”
“You ninny! I would ruin Miss Elizabeth to obtain her fortune. The scandal would stop anyone from marrying her sisters, and with the family disgraced, Miss Elizabeth would bear the son and heir.”
“I do not like this idea of you bedding Elizabeth. What if there was a way to get the money and still marry me? Can we not kidnap Jane?” Maria’s tone was terse as she scowled.
“I would rather kidnap Miss Elizabeth. Then my revenge on Darcy will be complete, and I shall have what I should have had if he hadn’t stopped me from marrying his sister.
” Wickham was again the tactician, using his unhinged mind to expand on the suggestion.
“You must convince Miss Elizabeth to come to me, and then I shall seduce her. We shall insist upon the value of her entire fortune for her return and our silence on the matter. At that point, I shall have all the money I ever dreamed of. If they refuse to pay, we reveal that she is ruined, and the entire Bennet family will be disgraced. Darcy will never marry her.”
Maria’s suspicions were now confirmed—Wickham’s ambitions included betrayal. She was certain she would be left behind whatever the circumstances. She fumed with resentment and glared at him.
“I do not think you want to marry me or Miss Elizabeth. Instead, you want to have your way with both of us, and leave rather than share the ransom with me.”
Wickham recognized that look and realized he needed to take care because there was a lot at stake if he crossed Maria. He reached out and touched her arm, and she flinched.
“Of course not, my love!” He used the endearment in hope of softening her anger. He was well practised in appeasing her by lying about his feelings and intentions to marry her.
“Remember how Miss Elizabeth disparaged my character? How Bennet accused me of all sorts of misdeeds? And Darcy took the living away from me? They had no good reason to do so other than malice. Surely, you understand that I deserve this revenge. Surely, you love me enough to know that I shall find a way for us to be together.” He was grasping at the hope of maintaining his advantage by keeping her as a traitor to the Bennets and not as an enemy to him.
She glowered as she threatened him. “If there is any chance that you will bed or marry any woman but me, I shall tell all that I know, and you will land in prison.”
Wickham closed his eyes and let out a frustrated breath. He was ready to thrash her but recomposed himself and looked at her with doe eyes.
“Have I not stood by you all along and kept our dalliance a secret? You would not want me to ruin your reputation by disclosing our affair.”
“We would marry in that case.”
“We shall marry, my Maria,” he said, lying with the ease of one who had a lifetime of practise. “And we shall have enough money to keep you in new gowns for the rest of your life. You should know by now that I need you and love you. You are my good luck charm.”
But he was unable to convince her. Maria regarded him with scorn and then turned and stormed out the door, slamming it behind her.
Wickham was incensed. He was tempted to go after her and show her that he was in charge, to beat her as she deserved.
He heard her huff as she stamped along the path towards Lucas Lodge.
When he no longer heard her footsteps, Wickham roared with anger and slammed his hand down on the table.
How dare she threaten me with exposure! She knows just how fragile my freedom is, and she knows how much of a risk I’ve taken in coming to Hertfordshire.
Damn woman! Why does she have to be so exasperating?
I could have practically any woman I choose.
If I want to have Elizabeth Bennet, I shall.
I shall kidnap her for her dowry, have my fill of her, and then send her back to Darcy ruined.
I shall live off blasted Elizabeth Bennet’s money.
But now Maria is too suspicious, and I shall have to do the kidnapping on my own.
Another possibility occurred to him.
Perhaps Bertha Younge is still in love with me.
She is as good in bed as any I have had.
She owes me for her mistakes in Ramsgate, and she is always willing to do my bidding in exchange for my attentions.
I shall have to pay her a visit and call in a favour for help with a kidnapping.
The less Maria knows about this, the better.
London
Longbourn, Saturday April 18
Dear Madam
You must forgive my impertinence in addressing you without a proper introduction; however, I trust that in my delivering this missive by the hands of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy, you will accept its importance.
My name is Mr. Thomas Bennet, of Longbourn in Hertfordshire. I have been the appointed guardian of Lady Jane and Lady Elizabeth Lydon since the death of Lord Shelton en route to Bermuda aboard the English vessel Valhalla in 1792…
Darcy waited patiently as his aunt, the Countess of Matlock, read the letter that he had delivered upon his arrival in London.
He stood with a purposefully detached expression and watched hers move through a variety of emotions as she read through the history of Jane’s and Elizabeth’s lives after becoming part of the Bennet family, up to the present day where they had just been informed of their identity and fortunes.
When she finished, she looked up at him with eyes brimming with tears.
“Fitzwilliam, you know this man, this Thomas Bennet?” she asked, shaking along with her angry question.
Darcy nodded. He had anticipated his aunt’s response and tried to appear dispassionate since a calm demeanour would help soothe his aunt in her emotional state.
“What in the world was Shelton thinking, leaving the girls with this man?” she cried. “He knew they had family here in England who would care for them. He could have had this…this…Bennet”—she spat out the word—“man escort them back to us!”
“Does his letter not describe his situation? The conditions attached to Lord Shelton’s will?”
“That does not excuse him! They were here these 18 years, and he never made an effort to have them as much as visit us! It is unconscionable!”
“I do not think that Lord Shelton foresaw Bennet’s return to England when he made his will,” Darcy said, intending to sound impassive. “In his intention to protect Lady Jane and Lady Elizabeth from fortune hunters, he required their true identities kept secret.”
Lady Matlock huffed. She reread a section of the letter, and her eyes again misted in pleasant recollection. Her expression became tender as she reminisced.
“Little Jenny and Baby Beth,” said Lady Matlock softly. She searched Darcy’s face. “You are betrothed to Lady Elizabeth?”
Darcy broke his formality and favoured his aunt with a broad smile as he confirmed it.
At her urging, he described the circumstances under which he had met the Bennets, how he became good friends with Mr. Bennet and had eventually found out their connection to him and his family upon the conditions of Lord Shelton’s will becoming implemented.
As he told the story, his aunt’s resentment was softened.
When he stated that the London papers would soon carry the announcement of the marriages of Mr. Charles Bingley to Lady Jane Lydon and of Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy to Lady Elizabeth Lydon, she said, “It will set a buzz within the ton such as has not been heard for many years.”