Chapter 9 #5
Why would Mr Wickham’s presence elicit such strong reactions in both Darcys and Lady Selina? Mr Wickham had secret liaisons with Lord Matlock but avoided even greeting his daughter and niece. What was behind these strange encounters?
If she could talk to Mr Wickham, perhaps he would explain to her what was happening; he trusted her and had offered his friendship from the moment they met.
The next morning, the ladies at the Gardiner home were surprised by a visitor—Mr Wickham.
He entered as charming and handsome as ever. They received him with perfect politeness and amiability, and he expressed his pleasure in seeing his friends again.
“I cannot believe we have been in town for so long together and we have not had the chance to visit,” the gentleman said.
“True, Mr Wickham,” said their aunt, “but I imagine a young gentleman has so many obligations that he can hardly accommodate them all. I imagine there were other priorities that kept you away from us until now.”
“You are too kind, Mrs Gardiner, but I cannot help blaming myself. Nothing should be more important than seeing you,” he replied, looking pointedly at Elizabeth.
She smiled, but her heart beat as regularly as ever. Inexplicably, the image of both Darcy siblings—pale and rigid the moment they saw Mr Wickham—vividly invaded her mind.
“Well, we did have the pleasure of seeing you yesterday, Mr Wickham, though for a brief moment. You must have had something important to attend to, I imagine…”
Mr Wickham looked at Elizabeth, uncertain of the meaning of her words. “I…well, I noticed you were in larger company, and I did not want to intrude.”
“Very thoughtful of you, but I imagine you are well enough acquainted with Lady Selina and Miss Darcy to feel at ease in their presence. Old friends are always a joy to see as soon as possible, and you would have been pleased to see that Miss Darcy has changed since you last saw her; she is not at all proud but affectionate, pleasant and kind—as you said she used to be as a child.”
“Well, I…”
Mrs Gardiner excused herself for a moment as she was needed by the children; Jane took the opportunity to ask for refreshments, so for a few moments, Elizabeth remained alone with their guest. He took the opportunity to sit close to her.
“Miss Elizabeth, I have to say I was looking forward to meeting you again. I was disappointed you could not join Lord Matlock a couple of weeks ago; I have been anxious for some time to speak to you undisturbed.”
“I am sorry for the disappointment you had to bear, but I hope your suffering was not too intense,” she teased him, and he smiled back. “However, if you were anxious to see me, you must have known that you were always welcome in my aunt’s house.”
“Yes, perhaps but… I came to the neighbourhood a few times, but I was shocked to discover Mr Darcy visiting you too, and I could not take the risk of meeting him. I wanted to avoid an unpleasant situation for you or Mrs Gardiner.”
“So thoughtful of you, sir! Will you be in London long? You are having a pleasant time, I imagine. Please have some refreshments; I hope you are not in a hurry. We expect Lord Matlock and Colonel Fitzwilliam to visit; I am sure they would be delighted to see you.”
Mr Wickham unfortunately had urgent business, and he was in quite a hurry, so he departed less than half an hour later, long before the earl, the colonel and the viscount arrived.
Without any special agreement among them, none of the ladies though it necessary to mention Mr Wickham’s morning call to their newly arrived guests.
That night, Elizabeth had one more reason to lose sleep and pose questions without answers.
She dare not speculate about the events between Mr Wickham and the Darcys or about the contradiction between the earl’s favourable inclination towards Mr Wickham and the strong dislike of the rest of his family.
She remembered her past conversations with Mr Wickham and began to wonder about the veracity of his words.
He had said many things, but on closer scrutiny, many of them proved to be untrue.
He declared Miss Darcy to be a proud, disagreeable young lady, and that was untrue.
He said he would come to the Netherfield ball, but he did not appear.
He declared he would never say any unfavourable words about Mr Darcy, but as soon as the gentleman left Hertfordshire, Mr Wickham’s secret dealings with him became public knowledge.
Yet, until the day she witnessed the strong reaction of Lady Selina and Miss Darcy, Elizabeth never questioned his motives or his character, and she could not understand why. Could it be that he was handsome and charming and always showed a preference for her? He never called her “tolerable.”
Was it possible that, for the same shallow reason, she misjudged Mr Darcy and Mr Wickham equally wrongly, but in different ways?
∞∞∞
Three more days passed, and their return to Hertfordshire was three days closer.
Elizabeth took long walks in the park across the street as often as she could, including just after dusk and just before dawn.
Her aunt and the housekeeper worried and completely disapproved of her habits.
A young lady ought not to spend time alone outside in the dark—regardless of whether the dark was late at night or early in the morning—so a servant was summoned each time to watch her from afar.
Elizabeth could not but be amused, considering the streetlight was lit until late in the evening, and even in the morning, she usually saw one or two others walking silently along the frozen lane.
That night she managed to sleep for more than two hours, and she knew she had no reason to stay in bed longer.
She roused and dressed herself, put on her bonnet without even catching her hair in pins—who would see her at that hour?
—and silently left the house. She stopped, overwhelmed by the fresh breeze and the new snow falling.
She took a few careful steps and, walking slowly, she reached the park. There were only a few silhouettes at that hour and she remained in the lane from where she could see her aunt’s house.
After some time, cold and wet, she decided to return home; the snow was falling heavier, and the visibility was poor.
She felt another person’s presence near her long before she noticed it was a man; she stopped and allowed him to approach and step by her, hoping it was not an acquaintance as her appearance was quite improper.
However, he seemed unwilling to pass by, pausing a few steps away, so she lifted her eyes.
Her body was cold, but it suddenly froze completely; even if she had wished to depart, her feet seemed trapped in stone. He took one more step forward and bowed.
“Miss Bennet, forgive me if I frightened you.”
“Mr Darcy! I… I did not expect to see you, sir. I was told you were out of town and—”
“I returned two days ago, but I asked my sister to keep it private as I am not certain for how long I will remain. I am sorry to disturb you. I have been walking for some time with the hope of seeing you alone for a moment. Would you do me the honour of reading this letter?” His voice was as uncertain and gentle as his gaze.
He handed her a letter, and the snow covered it instantly, so without thinking, she tucked the letter under her cloak. She raised her eyes briefly, he thanked her and apologised once more, and then she watched him depart through a curtain of snow.