Chapter 17
Darcy was furious. He had only been this angry once before, and that, too, was because of Wickham. The man was exactly what Richard had called him, a demon, sent to bring misery to every female he came close to.
Darcy’s cousin, Richard, took on the task of getting Wickham to Colonel Forster while Darcy escorted Miss Elizabeth home.
It took some time to explain her appearance and the bruises on her wrists, but once he was certain she was safe and would not be upbraided for her misadventure, he headed into Meryton to see what had happened to Wickham.
When he arrived at the house the militia was using as its headquarters, Darcy was surprised to find that Wickham had not yet been locked up, nor had he been seen to by a doctor. He was simply lying on the floor, still unconscious, while Richard and Colonel Forster argued.
“I don’t understand why you refuse to believe the evidence of your eyes,” said Richard scathingly.
“The only evidence my eyes have seen is that you or your cousin has attacked my officer for no reason whatsoever,” replied Colonel Forster. “Mark my words. Neither your wealth nor your status will save you.”
“Colonel Forster, I believe you mistake the matter,” said Mr. Darcy as he entered the room.
“That wound was not inflicted by either myself or my cousin. Rather, it was inflicted by a lady he was attempting to force himself upon. If you doubt my word, you may speak directly with the lady. However, I believe it would be best if Wickham were first secured in a room and seen to by a physician.”
Colonel Forster grimaced. “I don’t need you to tell me how to care for my men,” he said. Even so, he called for his captain and an adjutant to take Wickham away and see to his care.
Once they were gone, Colonel Forster said, “Now what is this about a woman being attacked? I cannot believe Wickham would do such a thing. He is quite the charmer. Why would he need to force any woman?”
Darcy barely refrained from rolling his eyes.
“It wasn’t just a woman. It was a lady, one of high standing in this neighborhood.
She is willing to testify, though she would rather not unless it is absolutely necessary.
It is understandable, considering that the moment she testifies, her reputation will be in tatters. ”
“A lady?” said Colonel Forster. “That is an even less likely story. Wickham is the soul of honor where ladies are concerned.”
Darcy could not help the bark of laughter that escaped his mouth, and he easily heard the hearty laughter coming from Richard.
“He is anything but,” said Richard. “He is a fortune hunter of the highest order, and if there were an heiress anywhere close to this town worth at least ten thousand pounds, the man would be married by now.”
“Are we not all fortune hunters?” asked Colonel Forster. “I am certain you, yourself, would not balk at attempting to attract an heiress were she to come your way.”
“Ah, but the difference between Wickham and myself is that I have something to offer in return. Additionally, I would not waste my supposed wife’s fortune with foolish and dissolute living, whereas Wickham has already proven himself capable of such behavior.”
“You know nothing,” said Colonel Forster. “Wickham would not be so profligate. He is the favorite among all the officers.”
“And why is he the favorite?” asked Richard.
“Is it because he pays his tab at the inn on time? Is it because he pays for his purchases promptly or makes good on his gambling debts quickly? Or perhaps it is because he loses at the gambling tables with a smile on his face, making the other officers think that he is both good company and a good source of income, delayed though that income might be.”
This finally made Colonel Forster pause and think.
After a moment of silence, Darcy said, “Colonel Forster, please think about this reasonably. What reason would either Richard or I have to attack Wickham in this way? Yes, he has done us both great harm, but that was some time ago. If I was the type of man to enjoy cold revenge, it would be in a much less violent form, don’t you think? ”
Again, Colonel Forster remained silent. At least the man was beginning to think rather than rely on his prejudices.
“Let me suggest that we wait and question Wickham directly. If we cannot get a genuine answer from him, then you may question the lady. I assure you, she is someone whose word you would not be able to doubt.”
“Very well,” said Colonel Forster. “If Wickham wakes up within the next few hours, we may question him then. If not, I will have to speak to this lady.”
“Thank you, Colonel,” said Darcy.
~~~~~
Fortunately, Wickham woke up a half hour later as the physician was examining him.
Darcy and Richard waited impatiently for the doctor to complete his examination and even more impatiently while the man explained that Wickham would be sensitive to light and sound for a few days and may be nauseous, but that he would make a full recovery.
Once the doctor left, Darcy, Richard, and Colonel Forster entered the small room where Wickham was being held under lock and key.
Colonel Forster spoke first. “Tell me how you got that bump,” he said.
Darcy expected Wickham to attempt to charm his way out of it or perhaps to blame Darcy. Instead, he was surprised when Wickham said, “That damn parson set me up!”
“Parson!” said all three gentlemen.
“Do you mean Mr. Collins?” asked Colonel Forster. When Wickham nodded, Colonel Forster asked, “Why would Mr. Collins do anything like that? He is a spineless coward who couldn’t swat a fly.”
Wickham looked poisoned daggers at Richard. “He wanted to get you away from his betrothed, so he paid me twenty pounds to see to it that Darcy would leave the neighborhood and take his blasted cousin with him.”
Colonel Forster narrowed his eyes. “And how did you plan to get Darcy to leave?”
Again, Darcy expected Wickham to lie or redirect blame, but again he was surprised. “I assumed that if the woman Darcy had his eye on was no longer the pure maiden he wanted that he would leave.”
Wickham’s injury must have scrambled his brain, for the man was being far more direct and honest than usual.
“The woman Darcy had his eye on…” said Colonel Forster contemplatively. Then his eyes widened and he exclaimed, “Not Miss Elizabeth Benent!”
“The very same,” said Wickham with a smile. “And she was wonderful. It was only in the aftermath of our mutual pleasure that she managed to get me with that poker.”
“You lie!” cried Darcy. Blood was pounding in his ears and his vision had gone red. “Elizabeth hit you before you could do a single thing to her other than bruise her wrists.”
Darcy moved forward to pummel the man who had caused him so much pain and trouble, but Richard held him back. “Darcy, get a hold of yourself,” Richard said. “If you hit him now, you will ruin our chances of seeing him taken care of legally.”
Though Darcy’s focus was still entirely on Wickham, he heard Colonel Forster say, “I don’t know about that. If Wickham said something similar about my betrothed, I might have the same reaction.”
Wickham, however, seemed to ignore the fact that anyone had said anything. “Her wrists were bruised during our play, which I assure you was completely consensual. She only hit me afterward in an attempt to preserve her reputation, to make it look as though I had forced her.”
Darcy went from raging hot to icy cold in a single moment.
It was not a comfortable feeling, but it did allow him clarity of thought.
He knew Wickham was lying. The way Elizabeth had cried in his arms, the way she had been unable to explain what was wrong at first, obviously pointed to a traumatic experience.
Besides, Darcy knew her. He knew she would not agree to anything even close to what Wickham was hinting at.
Even so, Wickham’s words seemed to be his final revenge on Darcy for all the imagined slights he had received.
Wickham was clearly in the wrong. Even he was not so foolish as to think otherwise, and he had decided to do his best to wound Darcy in the process.
If Darcy believed him, there could be no greater revenge. As it was, however, Darcy was merely furious that Wickham would slander so great a lady.
“We will need to question Mr. Collins,” said Colonel Forster.
“It is obvious, however, that whatever his motivations, Wickham has attacked a young lady of high standing.” He sighed.
“I hate to lose a good officer, but it cannot be helped. I will have to post a guard over this room to ensure he does not leave.”
As the three of them prepared to leave Wickham’s room, Colonel Forster added, “I promise not to breathe a word as to who the young lady is. I can see now why she would prefer to remain anonymous.”
~~~~~
Charlotte was sitting in the parlor at Lucas Lodge, working on some sewing and listening to her betrothed prose on and on about the arrangements he had made and would be making to his parsonage to prepare it for her.
She had done her best to avoid him, but she had finally run out of excuses by dinnertime last night, and she had been unable to escape his attention ever since.
Mr. Collins’ flow of conversation was interrupted when three officers were shown into the room.
With very little preamble, Colonel Forster said, “Mr. Collins you are wanted for questioning concerning an attack upon a local lady.”
Charlotte’s eyes immediately swiveled to look at Mr. Collins, whose face had gone pale. “Attack?” was all he managed to say. His eyes were wide with both shock and fear.
“Attack,” replied Colonel Forster firmly. “You will come with me. Now.”
“Yes, of course,” said Mr. Collins as he quickly but clumsily got to his feet. He left with the officers with hardly any farewell from any of them.
Charlotte stared in shock at the doorway long after it was empty.
A couple of hours later, Charlotte’s father called her into his study.
“You are aware that Mr. Collins was taken in for questioning about a rather unpleasant event?” he asked.
“I am, but that is all I know about it. I have a rather difficult time believing that Mr. Collins could be capable of committing such an atrocity, though.”
“He did not do it,” said Sir William. “Rather, it appears as though he hired Mr. Wickham to do it.”
“Even that seems out of character,” said Charlotte. “Why would he do such a thing?”
Charlotte’s father looked at her appraisingly. “He was jealous,” he said after a few moments’ hesitation.
“Jealous?” cried Charlotte. “What reason would he have to be jealous?” Before she even finished her question, however, memories of glances shared with Colonel Fitzwilliam rose to the top of her mind.
She had truly done her best not to allow her feelings to control her actions, but she knew she had not been entirely successful.
“You do not truly need me to answer that,” said her father. There was a slightly disapproving note to his voice. “Anyone who knows you will have seen how you feel about Mr. Darcy’s cousin, and of course how he feels about you in return.”
Hot shame poured over Charlotte. Despite all her efforts and contrary to her very nature, she had let her feelings overrule her sense. She knew it, and everyone who knew her knew it. Even so, Charlotte felt a need to defend herself.
“Whatever my feelings, I have done nothing to betray Mr. Collins,” she said. “I have been faithful to the promise I made to marry him, and I have maintained every intention of being faithful to him after we marry as well.”
“I believe you, Charlotte,” said her father.
“You are not the sort of young lady to moon about over a man and ignore your own future well-being. After all, no matter what your feelings for each other are, Colonel Fitzwilliam could never marry someone of your station. For one, I am nearly certain his only income is his commission which is not sufficient to raise a family to his standard of living. For another, he is the son of an earl, and you are the daughter of a knight.”
Charlotte hung her head. She knew these things, but knowing them did not make it easier to hear. “I am aware, Father,” she said, hoping he would stop discussing the topic.
“Well, that leaves us with a decision to make,” said Sir William.
“And what is that?” asked Charlotte.
“Mr. Collins will be tried in the ecclesiastical courts, though it is likely he will not be convicted. As far as I can tell, he did not tell Mr. Wickham to attack the lady in question. He only agreed with Mr. Wickham’s offer to ensure that Mr. Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam left the neighborhood.
Mr. Wickham was the one who decided that attacking a young lady was the best course of action.
This means Mr. Collins will likely retain his position in the church, though his reputation will be significantly reduced for a time.
Since that is the case, do you still wish to marry him? ”
“I must,” said Charlotte. “The contract is already signed. If I refuse now, he will likely demand compensation.”
“If he did demand compensation, he would be a fool,” said her father.
“I was happy enough to have you marry a highly respected clergyman who would be the future owner of Longbourn. I am much less sanguine about you marrying a fool who could be so easily led into dangerous behavior. Not only that, but he will likely never be particularly welcome in this neighborhood, even when he does inherit Longbourn.”
“If it can be done without any financial consequences, then yes, I would like to be released from my engagement to Mr. Collins,” said Charlotte.
“I thought as much,” said Sir William. “I will do what I can. Just don’t go fooling yourself into believing Colonel Fitzwilliam will offer for you even if I can break your engagement. He is not for you, and you are not for him.”
Charlotte nodded her agreement, but inside she felt as though a heavy blanket had been laid over her soul and was slowly but surely smothering its flame.