The Revelation
Elizabeth, much to her chagrin, found herself spellbound by the story, along with everyone else in the room, with the possible exception of the colonel. She even suspected half of what he said was news to Miss Darcy.
Mr Darcy never descended to coarse language and was careful to couch the narrative in terms that would not have him thrown bodily from the room, but he made it known just how bad the man was.
That Mr Wickham had wasted four thousand pounds in only a few years was astonishing to all, though few in the room had any way to distinguish a thousand pounds from a million.
She briefly interrupted to instruct her sisters that the interest alone on that would just about match the income of a clergyman like Mr Collins even if he never worked a day in his life.
She was surprised to receive a small smile from Mr Darcy at the explanation. She did not exactly bask in it but found it interesting that he was at least capable of such an expression.
When they came to the day’s events, he left out his sisters’ involvement as well as Elizabeth’s, other than to corroborate that no one in town thought her in any way connected to the man, as it was obvious she walked with him only to be polite.
When they reached the punishment, he looked to Mr Bennet for permission to elaborate.
At the patriarch’s nod, he grimaced. “It pains me to see a close childhood companion brought so low by his own vices, and I regret I did not bring him to heel sooner. He received the punishment that was under discussion. He was tarred and feathered an hour ago and put in gaol. He will be assigned to a penal ship in the navy for the duration of the war.”
“How long will that be? Will he seek revenge when he is discharged?” Miss Amy Goulding asked nervously, surprising even herself with her perspicuity.
They looked to her, but the colonel answered softly, “The sentence is a euphemism, Miss Amy. He will never leave the navy alive.”
Everyone nodded, though most had no idea if they signalled agreement, commiseration, or confusion.
Mr Bennet said, “I thank you, sir. I believe that tale was quite educational.”
The colonel said, “If I may, Mr Bennet?”
“Proceed, Colonel.”
The man looked around, and for a moment, he lost the joviality he habitually employed, and Elizabeth saw something akin to dark shadows in his countenance.
“Mr Wickham is, as my cousin has related, a very bad man, but after a decade in the military, I must observe that the second-worst man in the regiment is probably not noticeably better. I would caution all ladies to exercise extreme caution around soldiers.”
Kitty and Lydia looked shocked, and Lydia cried, “It cannot be so! I shan’t believe it!”
The battle-hardened colonel leaned forward but chose softness over menace. “I understand it is difficult to believe, Miss Lydia, but it is so.”
Elizabeth wanted to take advantage of the one time in a year she might be able to speak and be listened to.
“Even those who are not scoundrels can rarely afford a wife, Lydia. I confess that I was as taken in by Mr Wickham as any of us; but I was still cautious around him, as I would be with anyone I do not know well. The rules of propriety might seem tiresome and dull to you, as they did to me when I was fifteen, but they are there for our protection.”
Kitty looked bewildered, and for once, unwilling to follow Lydia into folly. “How do you protect yourself? How do you learn all the—” but then sputtered, unable to finish the question, since she considered the rules of propriety to be akin to advanced mathematics.
The colonel began to speak, but much to Elizabeth’s surprise, he stopped when Mr Darcy touched his shoulder.
To her greater shock, Mr Darcy pulled out a chair that Mrs Bennet had strategically placed beside Lydia, moved it in front of her two youngest sisters and Miss Amy, sat, leaned forward to the group, and spoke softly.
“I can answer that, Miss Catherine, Miss Lydia, Miss Amy. It is not nearly as complicated as you may think. Would you like a simple rule to follow?”
Overcome by his uncharacteristic display, Elizabeth joined everyone in the room in leaning forward in her seat with breathless anticipation. She saw that even her father was affected by either the sincerity in the man’s voice, or at least the novelty.
Both her younger sisters were incapable of speech, and their heads were bobbing, so it was much to everyone’s surprise when Mary said, “Pray, continue, Mr Darcy.”
He leaned back and gave a small smile that Elizabeth reluctantly admitted made him look quite handsome—almost as handsome as he had before he slighted her at that long-ago assembly.
“When you are trying to work out what to do in any situation, simply imagine what Miss Bennet or Miss Elizabeth would do and emulate them. I have observed them in many situations, including public gatherings, interacting with officers, and open hostility from ill-mannered boors like me. I have never once seen either of them do anything of which any sensible person could disapprove.”
He leaned back in the chair and saw the shocked looks all around, though he studiously avoided looking at the two he had just mentioned.
Mr Bingley broke the tableau quietly. “Hear, hear!” and everyone breathed again.
Mr Darcy stood and bowed to her younger sisters.
The colonel stood as well. “I believe we have intruded on your hospitality long enough.”
Nearly everyone else was still spellbound and trying to work out Mr Darcy’s confusing behaviour, but Mrs Bennet regained her wits soon enough.
“It is too late to ask you to dinner today, but perhaps you could come tomorrow. There will be only two courses, and there is no fish to be had, but—” then she fell silent, much to her daughters’ surprise.
Mr Darcy looked at Elizabeth carefully, seeking a sign.
Elizabeth’s gaze locked with his, unable to look away, until Miss Darcy tapped her foot to attract her attention. She looked over, saw a look of pleading in the young girl’s eyes, and raised her own to determine if the heiress wished her to encourage or discourage the plan.
Finally, after what felt like five minutes, she sighed in resignation, looked at Mr Darcy, and nodded slightly, hoping his disconcerting stare (or hers) had not been noticed. She doubted it, but there was no harm in hoping.
The Netherfield residents asked politely two or three times if it were a bother, little realising that Mrs Bennet would happily banish her husband and at least two of her middle daughters from the table to secure such illustrious company.
After the requisite civilities, the rest of the party took their leave, agreeing to return on the morrow.
Mrs Bennet, to no one’s surprise, suggested they might arrive early enough to take a walk before dinner.
The agreement came with almost unseemly haste, surprisingly from Miss Darcy.
Elizabeth wondered if the shield-maiden was back.