Chapter 25 Our heroes catch a cur and finally bring him to justice.
Our heroes catch a cur and finally bring him to justice.
London
“Lord Shelton,” Wickham repeated more stridently as he was being dragged to his feet by Roberts and Jenkins, the two burly footmen Darcy had assigned to watch over Elizabeth.
All eyes were widened at the accusation.
“I never would have expected to see you masquerading as a mere country gentleman. This is an interesting turn of events.”
Darcy and Bennet were shocked into silence as they tried to make sense of how to respond to the fact that Wickham had recognised Bennet as Lord Shelton.
They were unsure how confident he was of the connection, and they wondered how he obtained the knowledge since Maria Lucas mentioned nothing of it when Bennet interviewed her not two days before.
“You are out of your mind, Wickham,” Darcy growled.
Wickham cast his gaze over both men, observing their reactions.
Through many years of tormenting Darcy, he was familiar with that man’s physical responses under similar circumstances, and he clearly observed that Darcy was fuming with anger in the aftermath of the spoiled kidnap attempt.
Since Darcy had control over the footmen who held him back, Wickham knew his physical safety was in danger if he continued to throw barbs in Darcy’s direction.
On the other hand, Bennet was more inscrutable since Wickham did not know him well enough to gauge his reaction.
However, Bennet had paled and his eyes no longer made contact with Wickham’s.
That response revealed some foundation for the accusation.
The situation encouraged Wickham to continue speaking directly to Bennet since he seemed to be the most vulnerable to verbal attack.
“I had only ever seen you from a distance in Hertfortshire, so I did not recognise you until I saw you here with Darcy,” he said with a smirk.
“It brought to mind Lord Shelton together with old Mr. Darcy at Pemberley. You are unfortunate that Darcy looks just like his father; else I may not have made the connection. Tell me, what does the real Thomas Bennet look like? Did you kill him like you did Lord Malcolm?”
Darcy observed his friend’s distress and quickly came to his defence.
“Bennet’s physical similarity to Lord Shelton is uncanny, is it not Wickham?
There are those who have noted the similarity, but with Lord Shelton being from Derbyshire, and Bennet from Gloucestershire, it is ridiculous to assume they are the self-same man,” Darcy said, prevaricating carefully to protect Bennet.
Wickham, however, was not put off by Darcy’s excuse.
“There would be a lot of people interested in your perfidy. You are impersonating another man and have no right to do so. Imagine what the authorities would do if they learnt.”
“You have no basis for this assertion,” Darcy replied. “Anyone who knows Bennet will rush to his aid if you try to make public this erroneous assumption. Unlike you, he has an untarnished reputation, and he is not without friends to protect his good name.”
Stepping incautiously into dangerous waters, Wickham turned his scorn towards his childhood friend.
“Lord Shelton was such a sheep to your father, Darcy, and no friend of mine. There was one occasion when I played roughly with you at the river and Lord Shelton told your father, but Mr. Darcy took my side. He loved me more than you.”
The situation Wickham described was as fresh in Darcy’s mind as if it had been yesterday; Darcy had nearly been drowned by Wickham, and Lord Shelton came to his aid in the nick of time.
Darcy had often been bullied by Wickham and was incensed that he was using their history to his advantage.
Once again, Darcy fought to rein in his anger, and the tension caused his jaw to clench.
Wickham noticed his agitation and used it as an opportunity to further goad Darcy while also instilling more doubt towards Bennet.
“Darcy, you must realize that you can no longer take Lady Elizabeth to bride. Bennet, or should I say, Lord Shelton, will lose all his friends, and his daughters will be ruined once the news of this travesty is spread about town. If Lady Elizabeth has lied about her father’s identity, that foul reputation would be inextricably attached to her, and if you marry her, to your family.
You would need more than Georgiana’s ￡30,000 to get anyone to take your sister off your hands.
Perhaps I am not such a bad bridegroom after all. ”
Darcy was furious with Wickham’s reference to Georgiana. It was all he could do to resist wringing the blackguard’s neck.
“And I have witnesses. As soon as these two flunkeys return to the servants’ quarters, the gossip will start, and no one can protect you. Your charade is over.”
Darcy grimaced. “You know all my servants are above gossip, and Jenkins and Roberts are my two most trusted footmen. Not only will they not relate this conversation to anyone, they will vehemently defend Mr. Bennet’s reputation and relish taking you to Bow Street for your many crimes.
I think if I suggested it to them, they might even spread the word about how many innocent maidens you have trifled with, am I correct, fellows? ”
Already fuming from the personal insult of Wickham’s assault on Elizabeth, the footmen had now become livid.
They shared a look, and then Jenkins jerked Wickham’s arms behind his back while Roberts drove his fist into Wickham’s stomach.
It was uncanny how they each seemed to sense what the other was thinking.
As Wickham slumped from the blow, Roberts said, “Beggin’ your pardon, Mr. Darcy, but I canna sit by when this ’ere criminal tries to dishonour me master and me master’s household, and to hurt milady’s reputation. A man who attacks defenceless young ladies is the worst kind o’ devil.”
“Thank you, Roberts,” said Darcy. “You and Jenkins will be amply rewarded for your service here today.”
“You would not have such influence if you were not so rich,” Wickham groaned to Darcy. Jenkins continued holding him in a painful position while Roberts threw another blow, this time to his jaw.
“Not necessary to reward me ’n Roberts, sir,” Jenkins said. “We be gettin’ our due just by knockin’ this one about. We ’ave all the comfort we need in seein’ ’im taken to the gallows.”
“You will be escorted by these two gentlemen to Bow Street,” stated Darcy, “and you will not hurl any additional false accusations at Mr. Bennet. I am certain I can arrange to see you held for every one of your offences, enough to make Roberts and Jenkins happy to see you hanged. There is no way to escape. Your destiny is fixed.”
“I shall take ￡30,000 for my silence.”
“Do not allow him to dictate terms, Darcy,” Bennet said in a low voice.
“Surely you do not think that you can extort more money with this unfounded accusation,” Darcy said to Wickham, “You have relied too long on my benevolence to relieve the wretched state of your own finances.”
“Come, Darcy, we must find a way to settle this economically. Twenty thousand pounds and a passage to America, and I will not reveal Lord Shelton’s secret. I give you my word,” Wickham countered in a wheedling voice.
“Your word is worthless,” Darcy said angrily. “You have offended society in so many ways that you should be praying for your soul rather than thinking up ludicrous schemes to harass respectable men. You have many sins to answer for and no friends to help you.”
“I have more friends than you do, Darcy, and they will use their influence to extricate me and to turn society against you,” Wickham replied with confidence that appeared feigned. He was losing the battle and he must know it.
“I do not see how you can have belief in such an illusion,” Darcy asserted.
“You are a liar, a thief, and a cheat. You have left unpaid debts to hard-working merchants, and your atrocious reliance on illicit gaming to fund your spendthrift way of life has made you ridiculous. You have insulted all of us, and now you will be left to see the results of your avarice. Face it man: Mrs. Younge was your last friend, and she has turned against you by assisting us in capturing you and freeing Lady Elizabeth from your botched kidnapping attempt.”
“Only because you paid her off.”
“Beggin’ your pardon, sir, but can I have a go at ’im?” Jenkins asked, and with a nod from Darcy, Roberts took Wickham roughly in hand while Jenkins gave him another blow to the stomach.
Wickham folded over in pain, but Roberts did not loosen his hold.
Darcy quietly asked his friend, “Are you all right, Bennet?”
“I feel better with your kind protection of my family, but I am wary of the man.”
Wickham, in spite of his injury, foolishly decided to keep going. “Darcy, if you take me to Bow Street, I can cause enough doubt as to Lord Shelton’s identity for him to become a pariah. I would be amenable to a donation in order to keep my silence. Make me an offer.”
“I shall do no such thing,” Darcy said with disgust. “Jenkins, Roberts, please escort Mr. Wickham to the Gardiners’ home and ask Mr. Gardiner to arrange for him to be taken to the authorities.”
The two footmen attempted to haul Wickham none-too-kindly to where his destiny would be settled, but Wickham continued to struggle.
When Jenkins readied to take another blow, Wickham momentarily quit his protestations, but his pride made him unwise.
He was still determined to extort money from Darcy and Bennet in regard to Lord Shelton’s identity and said so.
Jenkins settled the matter with a blow to Wickham’s ribs before he and Roberts dragged him away.
Darcy and Bennet had moved aside and were quietly deliberating what to do with Wickham.
“Although we may have respectability on our side, speaking into the right ears at Bow Street or even to his comrades in gaol could ruin my family. Then what am I to do?” Bennet said in a low voice.