Chapter 18
Once dinner was finished, the Matlocks returned home while Darcy invited his male cousins to his home for drinks.
They spent another two hours chatting, and when the two Fitzwilliams left, Darcy kept them company on their way home.
He was in no disposition to sleep and pretended to take advantage of the pleasant chilly evening.
The viscount’s residence was closest, and after bidding him good night, Darcy and the colonel continued on.
“After the corner is Mr Wilson’s house. I wonder whether they are asleep or whether Bingley is still there, keeping them all awake,” Darcy said.
He attempted to conceal his tension with mocking laughter, but he could not restrain himself from glancing at the house, trying to imagine which chamber might be Elizabeth’s. The entire house was dark and silent.
“Bingley is one lucky fellow,” the colonel admitted. “But he must be long asleep, just as the Bennets are. I wonder what Miss Bingley and Mrs Hurst are saying about his marriage.”
“Nothing kind or polite, for sure,” Darcy responded.
They walked on the opposite side of the road.
The sound of their footsteps was lost in the noise of carriages and horses along the street.
The night was dimly lit by the moon and occasional torches.
Although they were a distance away, Darcy turned his head once more towards the place he knew Elizabeth slept.
To his astonishment, he noticed a man’s silhouette at their gate.
He had not been there minutes earlier, and Darcy wondered about his identity and intent.
He nodded to the colonel, and they silently returned.
They were not close enough to recognise the stranger.
He appeared to look around, worried, but he was clearly oblivious to them.
A few more careful steps and the gate of Wilson’s house opened, allowing a smaller silhouette to leave.
The two embraced briefly and departed arm in arm, followed closely by Darcy and the colonel.
Around the corner, a carriage was waiting, and the cousins dashed towards it.
The couple entered the carriage, which was about to leave, when Darcy grabbed the horses’ reins to halt them. The coachman yelled at him to stand aside, but Darcy held fast while the colonel pulled open the door of the carriage.
He immediately thundered with fury, “Wickham, what the hell are you doing here? And Miss Lydia!”
Darcy was in shock for a moment; then he grabbed the coachman and pulled him down.
“Do not dare move,” he demanded while the man looked at him fearfully.
“I have done nothing wrong! I am paid for a carriage ride—that is all!”
“Do not dare move,” Darcy repeated then moved to his cousin and stared inside.
Wickham was on the seat, and hanging onto his arm was the young Lydia Bennet with a small piece of luggage.
Without a word, Darcy pulled Wickham out. Lydia almost fell when she refused to let go of his arm, but the colonel supported her then picked up her luggage.
“What are you doing?” Lydia shouted. “Are you crazy? Let me go—you have no right to stop me!”
“Miss Lydia, stop yelling before you make a complete fool of yourself and ruin your family name. We are going back—all four of us. I am sure Mr Bennet and Mr Wilson will be happy to see us, even in the middle of the night.”
Lydia objected, and Wickham attempted to provide an explanation, but Darcy dismissed the coachman, and together with the colonel, they forced Wickham to accompany them.
“I am very close to killing you this time. You cannot poison my life this many times without retribution,” Darcy whispered to Wickham as he pushed him into the yard and knocked on the heavy door.
“Darcy, what is your business in this? What has your life to do with my intention to marry Miss Lydia?” Wickham answered impertinently.
“You are in no way connected with the Bennets. How dare you threaten me? We decided to marry. How does that affect you except to hurt your arrogant pride that refuses to see me happy?”
“He is absolutely right, Darcy. You have no business in this. Let Mr Bennet kill him. Or Mr Wilson,” the colonel said with apparent calmness as several candles were lit inside and the door finally opened.
∞∞∞
In the middle of the night, the Wilson house was fully awake. In the library stood Mr Bennet, Mr Wilson, the Gardiners, and Elizabeth, all staring at Wickham and Lydia.
In a corner, Darcy and the colonel watched with embarrassment, unsure whether their presence was necessary or unwanted. Darcy glanced at Elizabeth from time to time, but she avoided his eyes.
“How in the world could you elope with Wickham?” Mr Bennet asked Lydia. Then he glared at her companion. “Or better said: Mr Wickham, are you out of your mind?”
“I believe Elizabeth and Madeleine should take Lydia upstairs. That is the only reason I called them here. For the rest, this is a man’s job. We have to settle this business with Wickham,” Wilson said harshly.
“I am not going anywhere,” Lydia cried. “You cannot make me! I love Wickham, and I will marry him! He might not be as wealthy as Mr Bingley, but he is more handsome, and I will be at least as happy as Jane!”
“Lydia, please be reasonable. You have caused enough trouble for one evening,” Elizabeth said in low voice, glaring at Wickham’s impertinent face.
“I will not be reasonable until you are. You would not allow me attend the ball; you will not let me marry. You never let me do anything! And you are just jealous, Lizzy, because Wickham was once your favourite and now he wants to marry me!”
“Lydia!” Elizabeth cried with appalled distress. “Mind your words!”
“I am only telling the truth!”
Tension was heavy in the room full of people, none of whom wanted to be there. Darcy and the colonel looked at each other and at the others. Embarrassment was mutual and overwhelming, each trying to silently apologize as if they were at fault.
“Sir, we can leave if you prefer,” Darcy offered. “However, if we may be of any help, please do not worry about our secrecy. We have dealt with Wickham many times, and nothing he does astonishes us any longer.”
Mr Gardiner responded, “We have nothing to hide from you except our shame, Mr Darcy, and we certainly do not doubt your discretion. We are grateful for your timely intervention. If not for your fortunate presence, we would have probably found my niece too late for any reasonable conclusion. We should have been more careful, but we never suspected any partiality between her and Mr Wickham, nor did we imagine he was still in Town. I cannot imagine when they could have planned this elopement.”
“Wickham is very skilful at devising schemes; you must not blame yourself. And you should not blame Miss Lydia, either. I am sure she believed him to be honest in his proposal.”
“You should not listen to Darcy’s mischievous accusations, Mr Bennet. I have nothing but the most honourable intentions regarding Miss Lydia,” Wickham claimed.
Wilson glared at him. “Do you? So honourable that you convinced a fifteen-year-old girl to desert her family in the middle of the night? From my house? From my protection? And how did you communicate with her? Did you secretly write to her? Have you made her sneak out of the house at other times too? I should kill you where you stand.”
“Don’t you dare hurt him,” Lydia cried and ran to Wickham’s arms, embracing him.
The man continued his explanation with apparent sincerity.
“Sir, we decided to elope because we suspected you would not approve our union—and understandably so, as I admit my present financial situation is very ill. I can barely afford to live on my income, and I am overwhelmed with past debts. So any father might wonder how such a man could support his daughter. But I assure you, I am doing everything I can to improve my situation, and a family’s support is all I need to provide a decent life for my future wife.
Perhaps it will not be as comfortable as I would like at first, but my wife will want for nothing; I give you my word. ”
“I do not want anything as long as I marry Wickham! I can live in the woods and eat leaves if I can be with him. I need nothing more!” Lydia cried again, tearfully.
The scene was so embarrassing that Elizabeth and her aunt were pale with shame. The gentlemen glanced around, no one able to decide how to proceed.
Lydia and Wickham continued to embrace, and for a moment, they seemed the image of genuine affection and devotion.
“I believe Mr Bennet should speak to Miss Lydia privately. And we have to discuss several matters with Wickham.” Darcy’s own recollections stirred his distress, and although Georgiana had never been so careless and loud in her opposition, he could remember her pained expression when he told her the truth about Wickham.
Wickham responded, “Mr Bennet should know I have genuine affection for Miss Lydia. I understand that I placed her in a compromising situation although it was not exposed publicly. I am willing to accept any arrangement that Mr Bennet considers appropriate.
Mrs Gardiner was outraged. “What sort of ‘arrangement’ might be appropriate when a young girl of fifteen—almost a child—is involved? Lydia cannot be trusted to know her heart and her mind, and she is certainly unable to make a decision that will affect the rest of her life.”
“I completely agree with Mrs Gardiner,” Darcy concluded. “That is why I suggested continuing this conversation tomorrow after proper rest and sound consideration.”
“Yes, but I will marry Wickham no matter what! Nothing and nobody will change my mind,” Lydia cried, holding Wickham even tighter.
Elizabeth finally spoke. “Mr Darcy’s suggestion is wise. Come, Lydia, let us go upstairs. Tomorrow we shall see what can be done.”
“I am not going anywhere until Papa promises to let me marry Wickham!”
“Lydia!” Mrs Gardiner tried to intervene.
“No ‘Lydia,’ Aunt! I am determined, and nobody can change my mind.”