Chapter Seven #2
“Yes,” General Lewes leaned back in his chair, watching her thoughtfully.
“I’d like you to hear me out before you make a decision, Miss Bennet.
You see, I lost my wife almost thirty years ago, and my military career has kept me far too busy to consider marrying again.
My son died in Portugal a few years ago, and his wife has remarried; their daughter Sarah, of whom you remind me, has lately married and lives in Edinburgh with her husband.
There is no-one who would be affected if I were to marry again.
” He looked at her from his sharp blue eyes. “You are only sixteen, am I correct?”
Lydia nodded, stunned into silence by his words.
“Which means I am more than four times your age, and undoubtedly there would be talk. However, I would not require you to perform any... wifely duties, shall we say. I own a house in Richmond, where I maintain a small staff, but I am rarely there. You would be welcome to make it your home. I am inevitably with the High Command at any rate, here or in London or on the Continent, wherever I am required, and undoubtedly one day soon you would find yourself a widow with a nice little property of your own and a small income. Likely you will still be young enough to find another husband and have children, if you should want them.”
Lydia had not the slightest idea what to say. General Lewes’ offer was kindness itself, but she could no more accept it than she could fly. Marrying Lewes, accepting his largesse, would be depriving his rightful heir, his granddaughter, of her inheritance.
“Thank you for your kind offer,” she said haltingly at last, “but I believe I should like to talk to Colonel Fitzwilliam before I make any decision.”
“Of course.” General Lewes nodded. “Make no mistake, Miss Bennet, I think he would be an excellent husband for you and the pair of you would deal very well together. Should either of you decide for whatever reason not to proceed, however, I want you to know that there is an alternative where your respectability may be maintained.”
To her surprise, Lydia found her eyes filling up with tears again. “I think that’s the kindest thing anyone’s ever done for me,” she choked out.
“There, there.” The general reached out and patted her hand awkwardly before rising to his feet.
“Fitzwilliam will be by to visit you shortly, I believe. He had to go and see the magistrate about Wickham, and Forster is there too since Wickham is one of his men. I’ll walk in that direction and intercept Forster on his way back, keep him occupied for a short while so you may speak with Fitzwilliam alone. ”
He left the room after Lydia choked out her thanks, and Harriet came hurrying in immediately, genuine concern on her face as she saw Lydia crying again.
“Oh, my dear! Come, you must go back to bed and rest.”
“I can’t,” Lydia sniffled into Fitzwilliam’s handkerchief. “Colonel Fitzwilliam is coming to visit me shortly.”
“Well, at least let us wash your face,” Harriet said sensibly.
Indeed, Lydia had never seen Harriet act as sensibly and responsibly as she had that morning; obviously Harriet’s character was one that rose to the occasion in a crisis. Submitting to having her face washed, she refused to surrender Fitzwilliam’s handkerchief, tucking it back into her sleeve.
“Will you not tell me what is going on?” Harriet asked gently once they returned to sit in the parlour.
“I promise not to tell another soul, not even my dear Forster, but it grieves my heart to see you in such distress, Lydia. You have been such a good friend to me; I do not know what I should have done if you had not come to Brighton with us.”
“Oh, stop. Everyone is being kind to me today and I do not at all deserve it.”
“I cannot imagine why you say that! You were the very first person in Meryton to befriend me, introducing me to everyone and including me in your schemes.”
Lydia shook her head guiltily; she had befriended Harriet not for her own sake, but because it was a good excuse to spend more time around the officers. Harriet would not hear of any objection, though, and eventually Lydia weakened.
“I made an awful mistake last night, Harriet, and if it comes out I will be utterly ruined, so you must promise me that you really won’t ever tell anyone else.”
Harriet promised fervently that she would never breathe a word, and Lydia believed her. Taking a deep breath, she began, the story spilling out of her. She left nothing out, and by the end Harriet’s eyes were wide with shock.
“So now you have to choose who to marry?”
“Yes, or Major Adams and his friends will be talking about how I was out after midnight unchaperoned and I’ll be ruined and have to go and be a prostitute in London,” Lydia said, somewhat incoherently.
“Which would be dreadful and most unfair, because you didn’t even do anything except let Wickham kiss you once!” Harriet said indignantly.
“I was about to run away with him!”
“Oh, you know what I mean. You didn’t let him bed you.”
“Of course not!” Though Lydia thought guiltily that she probably would have, if they had really been on their way to Scotland. They would have had to spend several nights at inns along the journey, and she’d been confident of being married, after all.
“It is most unfair that men who bed lots of women are not ostracised in the slightest, whereas one small error of judgement on a woman’s part can see her ruined in the eyes of society!
” Harriet exclaimed. “Whatever you decide, Lydia, you will have my support, and my dear husband’s too, I promise you.
If ‘twere my choice, I must admit I’d choose Colonel Fitzwilliam, though.
He is, after all, young and handsome.” She gave a girlish little giggle, nudging Lydia.
“Come now, I recall the first time you laid eyes on him, how you stared!”
Lydia managed a small smile, though it faded as she heard a knock at the front door. Starting to her feet, she wrung her hands.
“Hush, now,” Harriet patted her arm gently. “I’ll have Polly bring in some tea, and I shall be in the kitchen discussing the menu with Cook, if you need me.”
“Thank you,” Lydia said, meaning it, and Harriet smiled at her before leaving the room.