Chapter 9
“Sometimes I wonder how I can restrain myself from strangling Wickham,” Darcy shouted as he paced angrily in Lady Cassandra’s parlour.
“Well, perhaps you should not restrain yourself so much,” answered Lady Cassandra; her mocking tone drew Darcy’s reproachful look. He was in no mood for jokes.
“I warned you he would take advantage of you,” Colonel Fitzwilliam spoke up from his chair. “The moment he saw you, he guessed you had an interest in this affair, and he speculated on it as much as he could.”
Darcy answered with no more than a tired gesture of his hand. “You know too well that Wickham is my responsibility, and the present situation is my mistake.”
The colonel attempted to contradict him, but Lady Cassandra interrupted first. “Of course it is your mistake, Darcy! You have always been too kind to Wickham; you always allowed him to take advantage of your generosity. When he approached Georgiana last summer, you should have taken drastic measures against him.”
“Cassandra, I am sorry, but I have to contradict you; I doubt any measures would teach Wickham to be an honourable man,” said the colonel.
“Well, perhaps neither of you is considering the proper measures,” she answered, and the colonel stared at her, not daring to inquire about what such ‘measures’ might be.
Darcy, however, seemed oblivious to their conversation. A week had passed since Elizabeth and the Gardiners had left Pemberley and six days since he arrived in London in search of the runaway pair.
That terrible night in his room at Pemberley, he and Cassandra had talked for more than two hours; she finally revealed everything to him, and only in the end did she mention that Elizabeth insisted on her keeping the secret from Darcy.
Though he knew he should feel ashamed of both Cassandra and himself for ignoring Elizabeth’s desire and that he should suffer for Elizabeth’s pain and torment, Darcy selfishly felt nothing but utter happiness.
Elizabeth had left not because she wanted to be away from him but because of the deepest consideration for him and Georgiana!
He, who had always taken great pride in his self-control, impulsively considered saddling his horse that moment to follow her, let her know that his peace of mind meant nothing without her, and assure her he would do everything in his power to settle things.
He would not allow Wickham to darken the brightness of his future with Elizabeth.
Eventually, Cassandra convinced him to leave for London the next morning.
The other guests—who had been informed that urgent business called Darcy to town immediately—left Pemberley a few days later.
Among the others in the party, only two were told about the misfortune that befell the Bennets: the colonel—because both Darcy and Cassandra agreed that he would be useful in their search—and Bingley—because Darcy did not want to hide anything from him regarding Miss Bennet.
It was not difficult for Darcy to discover Wickham’s hiding place; one trip to Mrs Younge’s house was enough for him to understand she was well-informed about the man’s location.
Another visit and the proper sum severed her loyalty with her old friend.
A day later, Darcy was climbing the stairs of a sordid inn where Wickham was hiding with Miss Lydia.
He refused to marry the girl unless his demands were accepted—nothing less than 10,000 pounds.
Darcy gladly would have given him that sum if he had the smallest hope the money would help Wickham put aside his old habits and become an honourable gentleman, but that would never happen—not with Wickham.
Perhaps Cassandra was correct; perhaps harsh, drastic measures were required against the man.
He was also angry that the youngest Bennet sister would not even consider a return to her relatives’ home or any other place.
She wanted only to remain with her “dear Wickham” until they were married, which would surely happen someday.
There was nothing to be done except make them marry as soon as possible.
“Darcy, have you informed the Gardiners that you discovered their niece?”
“No, not yet; I plan to do so tomorrow. I did call on Mr Gardiner as soon as I ended my meeting with Wickham, but I was told Mr Gardiner was out with his brother-in-law, Mr Bennet. The servant, who remembered me, informed me that Mr Bennet is to depart tomorrow morning for Hertfordshire, which is the best turn of events. I would much rather talk to Mr Gardiner alone as I would not want Mr Bennet to be aware of my interference in any way.”
“But, Cousin, why on earth do you not want to talk to Mr Bennet, as well?” asked the colonel. “He has the first interest in this as it is about his daughter and the honour of his family.”
“I do not want Mr Bennet to know about my involvement—nor Elizabeth. I want you to promise me this will remain a secret matter among the three of us; nobody must know any details. I will tell Mr Gardiner and perhaps Bingley as much as I consider necessary.”
“Oh, for heaven’s sake, Darcy,” cried Lady Cassandra, rolling her eyes in exasperation.
This is quite ridiculous. Elizabeth made me promise I would not tell you about the elopement, and now you want me to promise I will not tell her about your involvement in resolving the elopement. Quite ridiculous!”
“Cassandra, it is not ridiculous at all! And it is your duty as a friend to respect my wish in this; you should understand better than anyone that I do not want Elizabeth’s gratitude! I do not want her to feel she owes me anything or is obliged to repay me.”
“Oh, let it be as you want,” she relented, and the colonel smiled. “But truly, Darcy, if you still believe ‘gratitude’ is the word for Miss Bennet’s feelings, you are an utter fool!”
Then she turned to the colonel—who was laughing openly—and added: “Can you possibly believe this clueless man is the same one who gave Bingley advice on matters of the heart? Of course, I will not share my opinion about Bingley and his wisdom in asking advice, particularly from Darcy. Oh well, I had best go and see whether dinner is ready. In the meantime, Colonel, perhaps you can change his opinion about Miss Elizabeth.”
However, neither the colonel nor Lady Cassandra succeeded in changing any of Darcy’s opinions. He remained firm in his decision to deal with Wickham in his own manner and in his desire to keep everything secret from the Bennet family.
The gentlemen left immediately after dinner. An hour later, after struggling to find the best solution for everyone involved, Lady Cassandra wrote two short notes and sent her servant to deliver them immediately.
∞∞∞
“Colonel, thank you for coming so early. May I offer you something to eat—a coffee or some tea?” Lady Cassandra hurried to meet the gentleman and invited him into the drawing room.
“Good morning, Lady Cassandra. I just had a quick breakfast, but some coffee would be lovely. And in the meantime, allow me to ask about this secrecy at such an early hour. Did anything happen since last evening?”
“Sir, I dare ask for your assistance in a private matter of some importance; forgive me for disturbing you, but there are few people I trust.”
“I am glad you consider me worthy of your trust; however I am still intrigued.”
“I can understand that, sir. Allow me to inform you briefly, as it is most likely that—
She was interrupted by a servant’s entrance, informing her that a Mr Wickham had just arrived to see her.
She asked the visitor to be shown in as she cast a quick glance at the colonel; his countenance wore a frown, and the reproach in his eyes was easy to read.
He was deeply displeased—that was obvious.
Equally obvious was the shock displayed on the visitor’s face the moment he saw not only Lady Cassandra but also Colonel Fitzwilliam in the middle of the drawing room.
“Lady Cassandra, what a wonderful surprise to see you after all these years! I cannot tell you how flattered I was last evening when I received your invitation for a private meeting.”
“Mr Wickham, before going any further with this conversation, please do me the favour of not playing the charming cad with me. Surely you remember I never liked you—not even when we were children.”
“Well then, if not tender affection for me, your invitation must be an attempt to support your friend Darcy. Perhaps your ladyship knows how to negotiate better than he, or perhaps you have more to offer? Let us hear what you have to say.”
The colonel jumped from his seat instantly, and only Lady Cassandra’s grip on his arm stopped him from whipping the man’s impertinent smile from his face. He remained at Lady Cassandra’s side as she addressed Wickham with a steely voice.
“Mr Wickham—we have been talking only a few minutes, and you have already made two major mistakes: you have behaved most impertinently, and you have presumed I invited you to negotiate. You should remember I am not one to negotiate or to allow any impertinence without retribution.”
“Regarding your accusation of being impertinent—your ladyship has known me all your life, so you cannot be surprised. As for negotiating—Darcy and I spent three hours last evening trying to reach an understanding about a situation that seemed to be of the highest interest to both of us. Now, I cannot help wondering about the nature of Darcy’s interest…
or yours. Surely Darcy was not a friend of the Bennets while he resided in Hertfordshire. ”
“Mr Wickham, let us clarify one thing: I know that you just ran away a few days ago with a young girl of sixteen named Lydia Bennet. Your lack of honour is no surprise to me, and I did not invite you here today to discuss that; as for Lydia Bennet’s honour, it is not my main concern.
In fact, allow me to tell you that I care nothing at all about her—you may do with her as you please. ”
“I am sure the Bennets would not agree with you—