Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Bloody hell!
He’d known Wickham would be arriving to join the ____shire Militia, he just hadn’t expected to see him sidling up and acting the gentleman with his Elizabeth.
Bloody hell.
“Darcy!” Charles called out as he approached. “That was uncommonly rude, even for you.”
Ah, it seemed Miss Bingley had spoken with her brother about his behavior at the Lucas gathering.
“I’m sorry Bingley.” He watched his friend canter up and they then proceeded at a walk toward Netherfield. “When I saw Wickham?”
“Wickham was there?”
Darcy frowned and cut a sideway glance toward his friend, then shook his head. Charles was so enraptured by Miss Jane Bennet he saw no one else when in her company.
“I don’t know how he met the Bennet sisters so quickly.”
“Although I didn’t see your friend?”
“He’s no friend of mine!”
“Pardon me, although I didn’t see him, I did notice another man in their company wearing regimentals. My best guess would be Miss Lydia and Miss Catherine initiated the conversation. They are quite vocal of how much they adore a man in a red coat.”
“Aye, that much is true. You’d have to be deaf to not hear them going into raptures at any gathering.”
“It’s a deuced problem if he’s here for any length of time. I wonder if he’s only passing through and should we warn the Bennet’s of his, ahh..., habits.”
Bingley knew of Wickham’s proclivity to dally with young women and rack up copious amounts of debt, but he had no knowledge of Georgiana’s folly and never would.
Unwilling to give Wickham cause to bolt before he and Richard could act, Darcy needed to fall back onto society’s view of him as an arrogant man.
“Knowing Wickham, he’s here only long enough to fleece some poor soldier of his pay and then make off for greener pastures. I daresay he’ll not spend much time in the company of good society.”
They turned into the stable courtyard and released their rides to the stable master.
He couldn’t share with Bingley that he knew Wickham was here for the duration of the ____shire Militia’s training.
By feigning ignorance of Wickham’s’ activities, no misspoken word would fall into his greatest enemy’s ear.
Gathering and studying intelligence was the only way to defeat his nemesis.
With luck, Richard had successfully scouted out the encampment, ensuring Wickham had not laid any boundary wards, although he very likely would do after their chance encounter this afternoon.
As long as Wickham didn’t perceive his interest in Elizabeth, Darcy knew he’d find a way to diminish his dark power and, with a heartfelt prayer toward God the creator, they’d purge England of this scourge.
If Wickham gained a foothold, and a following, there could be another uprising like what happened in France.
All it took was one disgruntled worker of the Dark Arts, who had some knowledge of Miatharan lore, to raise an army of dissidents.
Knowing a Miatharan would never abandon their mate, all he had to do was successfully capture their loved one and then wait patiently for a half-mad Miatharan to fall into his hands.
Simple, yet effective. It was how almost all the French nobility were captured and slaughtered during the Reign of Terror; the king included.
Maybe if the Queen, who Louis married when she was only fourteen, had magic, the resulting revolution might have been averted.
They both could have transported themselves to safety.
Who would have thought such madness would prevail so close to England’s shores?
And with Napoleon attempting to fill the gap the Miatharans had held for centuries.
.. He shook his head. God willing, he’d do his best to ensure his corner of the world held some semblance of sanity and that meant stopping Wickham before it was too late or England could very well be plunged back into the Middle Ages where dark wizards ruled with an iron fist.
“You have returned earlier than expected.”
Miss Bingley met them at the door, making Darcy wonder if she planted herself by a window watching for them.
If she had, he wouldn’t be surprised. At times she behaved as though he’d not given her a rough set-down, still believing she would somehow become mistress of Pemberley.
Other than giving her the cut direct, which was hard to do when he was staying in her brother’s house, he had no recourse but to continue on with polite civility.
“We saw the Miss Bennet’s in town, but they were?” Bingley started to say when Darcy cut him off.
“They were already engaged to attend their aunt’s and we did not want to make them late.”
At first, Bingley seemed confused as to why he interrupted him telling Miss Bingley of Wickham’s appearance and looked as though he’d continue on, but when Darcy gave him a slight shake of his head, he plastered on a bright smile, declaring that he was ready for some tea and scones as their ride, though short, caused him to build a tremendous appetite.
Darcy mouthed a silent thank you toward his friend when Miss Bingley whirled around and went in search of the housekeeper to advise her of their plans.
Later that evening, while they enjoyed their port after dinner, Bingley asked why he’d stopped him.
“Charles, I have no desire to speak of Wickham with anyone. He’s a plague upon this earth and his ego is so inflated... If he even heard one whiff of news that we’d discussed his presence in this small market town, he’d feel obliged to stay and make my life a misery.”
“I never thought of it that way.” He thumped the arm of his chair. “You can count on me. I shall not breathe a word of his person to anyone, except Miss Bennet as she was there. And Miss Elizabeth. And their sisters?”
“Bingley! You can speak with them, the elder Bennet sisters are models of genteel comportment. I only ask that you not blurt out every thought in front of your sisters and the staff. Gossip is a fleet footed monster and can run rampant if not checked before the words leave our mouths.”
~~oo0oo~~
Elizabeth let her gaze roam about her Aunt Philip’s parlor, satisfied her sisters were behaving with a modicum of decorum.
Other than a slight fatigue at having to remain on guard over their antics, she sought reprieve by conversing with Jane for a few minutes.
How she loved her elder sister. She was a calming port within a sea of chaos, although how she maintained such a serene facade when Lydia whooped out loud at winning yet round of lottery tickets, baffled her.
The only fly in her ointment was the fact that Mr. Wickham was one of the invited guests.
She hadn’t yet figured out why he unsettled her so much.
He seemed a happy man with agreeable manners and almost every female eye turned to him more than once during the course of the evening.
That he chose to settle himself beside her when Jane vacated her seat set her further on edge.
However, she endured his company for what she chiefly wished to hear, that of his acquaintance with Mr. Darcy and the strange exchange between them yesterday.
Although she dared not mention the gentleman, Mr. Wickham began the subject himself.
“How far is Netherfield from Meryton?” he asked in a casual manner.
“About a mile.”
“And how long...,” he hesitated in a most charming manner, “has Mr. Darcy been here?”
She’d have believed his hesitation and uncertainty if she hadn’t seen what could only be called a shadow chase across his eyes.
Too quick to be sure she’d witnessed anything strange, the chill which caused the small hair on her arms to raise told her otherwise.
Her gloves were a small mercy as they hid her physical reaction.
“About a month,” she replied. Wanting to see how far Mr. Wickham wished to take this conversation, she added, “He is a man of very large property in Derbyshire, I understand.”
“Yes, his estate is a noble one. There has been a Darcy on those lands since the eleventh century. Very noble estate, and you could not have met with a person more capable of giving you certain information in that regard than myself. I have been... connected to his family in a particular manner since my infancy.”
She itched to flee his presence, yet there remained a malignant feeling, as though something dark pressed upon her and it was somehow connected to Mr. Darcy.
The taciturn man from Derbyshire wasn’t her favorite person, but he also didn’t make her want to run and scream like Mr. Wickham. Instead, she expressed surprise.
“You may well be surprised, Miss Bennet, at such an assertion after seeing the very cold manner of our meeting.”
Now she truly was surprised and remained silent for a brief moment for two reasons. For one, he assumed she’d witnessed their silent behavior when everyone else in her party had not, and two, she dared not let this man know she ‘saw’ things differently from her family.
“I cannot say that I did, although if what you say is true about your greeting, that may explain why Mr. Darcy left so abruptly.”
She thought she detected quiet dismay on his part, as though he’d expected her to reply in a different manner. Truly, everything in her demanded she leave his presence. As her courage always rose to diverse situations, she waited for him to carry on the conversation.
“Are you much acquainted with Mr. Darcy?”
“As much as I ever wish to be - obviously, given the dreams I have - I spent four days in the house with him and he behaved, at times, disagreeable.” That much was true, although most of his disgruntled behavior had been directed toward Miss Bingley.
Mr. Wickham did not need to know that part of the scenario.
“Ah, Miss Bennet. I cannot be an impartial judge of his behavior as I have known him far too long, and I’m sure if you were not here amongst family your opinion may differ.”