Chapter 9 #2
“I am sure they would not, but their opinion is of little importance to me either. In any case, I think it would be much better for that girl not to marry you! After all, she is not the first—and certainly will not be the last—young girl to run off with a rascal.”
“Your ladyship is very outspoken, as always. I wonder if Darcy was informed of this meeting—
“You are making another mistake, Mr Wickham, by presuming I am in any way interested in Darcy’s opinion of this matter. In fact—he cannot have much to say; if he had dealt with you properly last summer, you would not be in a position to take advantage of any innocent young lady ever again.”
Wickham’s brows furrowed, and he struggled to regain his composure. “Lady Cassandra, may I ask again why your ladyship fetched me here this morning? I should be home, waiting for Darcy to come and discuss the remaining details of this important matter.”
“Oh, but this is a very important matter as well, Mr Wickham. I asked you here today to tell you that I am seriously displeased with you. And you might remember that, when I am displeased with something, I simply remove the object of my displeasure.”
“Your ladyship should be more specific. As I said, I am mystified about this entire situation.”
“You are not mystified; you simply do not understand that you are in a difficult position.”
“Lady Cassandra, I am not here to be insulted. If your ladyship is displeased, as you said—
“Indeed, that is not enough insult for you! And I am more than displeased. I was angry and disgusted when you approached Darcy like a beggar, pretending you wanted to study law. If I had been in Darcy’s position, I would have known better how to answer such a shameful attempt at deception!
Yet he complied, hoping there might still be a chance for you to change for the better.
So how did you repay his generosity? You took advantage of Georgiana without the smallest consideration for all the pain you caused her!
For heaven’s sake—she was a child with whom you grew up!
You held her in your arms when she was an infant!
You watched her learn to walk and speak! What kind of human being are you?”
Anger took control of her senses, and the turmoil made her face livid.
Colonel Fitzwilliam was watching the heated exchange, his curiosity replete with worry.
Wickham was pale and immobile in the middle of the room, staring at Lady Cassandra and blinking repeatedly. He tried to answer but could not.
“I…I never hurt Georgiana…I barely kissed her hand a few times—
“I know that, Wickham; that is why you are here now, healthy and free to talk to me. You did not physically abuse her in any way, but you still hurt her as well as Darcy. In fact, for the last ten years you have done nothing but hurt the Darcys and anybody else who was foolish enough to trust you. Hurting them meant you hurt me as well—and I will tolerate that no longer. ”
She paused again, allowing Wickham little time to comprehend her words.
“Lady Cassandra, I did not even meet the Darcys in the last year. It was Darcy who interfered in my business this time, so perhaps he is the one with whom you should have this talk.”
“You are a liar, too—and a very poor one; in fact, you are quite poor in every way.”
“Lady Cassandra, these offences—
“These offences are what, Mr Wickham? Are you surprised that I am not treating you as politely as Darcy did? You should become accustomed to that, because I am not Darcy! Darcy is an honourable gentleman who does only what is proper. I am just a spoiled, rich woman who cares about nothing but her own wishes and her own happiness. I am also quite resentful and possess a fearful temper; you should know that by now. I do not admit contradiction and never forgive those who have defied me. As I said—if something bothers me, I simply pay people to get it out of my way. And you, Wickham, are just something in my way!”
Pale and wordless, his jaw tightly clenched, and a vein pulsated wildly at his temple. Wickham looked at Lady Cassandra for a moment; her sharp, cold gaze held his defeated one.
“What do you want me to do, Lady Cassandra? Do you want me to accept Darcy’s offer?” he asked eventually, averting his gaze from her.
“You may do whatever you please, Mr Wickham; my only wish is to be happy and content, and I cannot be so unless my friends Darcy and Georgiana are also happy and content. Last night after he met with you, Darcy was extremely discontented, and I am sure his poor mood affected Georgiana as well. I do not know that his state of mind had anything to do with you, and I will not speculate about it. I only hope he will be more happy this evening. Now, if you have nothing important to tell me, please excuse me. I wish to return to my usual concerns.”
∞∞∞
Not until Wickham left the room, his shoulders slumped and his eyes studying his shoes, did Lady Cassandra seem to lose her strength.
She moved tentatively, as her knees appeared unable to support her.
The colonel hurried to help her and almost took her in his arms as he helped her to the nearest sofa.
He then filled a glass with wine, brought it to her, and sat beside her.
She took the glass with trembling hands and raised it to her lips.
“Thank you,” she whispered, attempting a smile.
“Colonel Fitzwilliam, please forgive the spectacle you had to witness,” she said a few minutes later. “I cannot imagine what you must think of me now.”
He looked at her in earnest as he took her hand and pressed it to his lips.
“I know that you are not simply a rich, spoiled woman, and I know there are many things that matter to you beyond your own wishes and pleasures. I know you are kind and generous, and many people have had the benefit of your caring heart. I cannot even imagine how hard it must have been for you to act as you did in front of Wickham. However, I dare say your performance was quite convincing. Poor bastard—he was really frightened that you might actually pay somebody to take his miserable life.” He smiled, trying to lighten the tension and make her smile; however, her countenance remained sombre.
“I am not at all as good as you believe me to be. I have hated Wickham since I was very young. He took advantage of one of my maids, and she almost died giving birth. She survived, but the child was born dead. I shall never forget that dead baby’s little face and his mother’s despair when she had to bury her son.
Since that moment, I never forgave Wickham; my father allowed me to take care of the maid, but Wickham was never punished.
My father said these things happened all the time with young gentlemen and servant girls.
Sadly, now I know this is true, but back then I was deeply upset with my father and with the late Mr Darcy.
And when Darcy told me how Wickham attempted to elope with Georgiana, I really wished he were dead!
I am sorry to say it, but that is the truth. ”
“Lady Cassandra, I understand you perfectly, as I have had exactly the same feelings about him, but please do not allow that scoundrel to upset you so. He does not deserve such attention.”
“You are very wise, Colonel. I must follow your advice, sir! I shall think of Wickham no more—but God, I am truly sorry for that girl. I hoped my intervention would help Darcy reach an understanding with Wickham today, but on the other hand, I feel I need to do something more—perhaps visiting Mrs Gardiner and offering to help Miss Lydia in some way. I could send her to the country with a companion, and we could pretend she is visiting a distant relative—anything to save her from marrying that scoundrel!”
“Lady Cassandra, I applaud your generosity, but remember, Darcy already attempted to take Miss Lydia away, and she refused him soundly. She seemed determined to marry Wickham, so I doubt there is much we can do. We must be patient, and we surely must not interfere further without Darcy’s knowledge.
He will be angry in any case that you met Wickham and exposed yourself so much. He could have hurt you!”
“No indeed, Colonel—not as long as you were here to protect me,” she said sweetly.
“Hmm…your confidence flatters me, but I am sure Darcy will not be impressed by it; we will try to find something else to keep his rage under control.” He laughed, and she did the same; neither of them seemed to notice he was still holding her hand.
“Colonel,” Lady Cassandra continued in an earnest voice, “I truly want to thank you for assisting me and supporting me in this though I did not inform you of my intentions. I know you disapprove my actions, so your support is even more appreciated. As for Darcy, if he discovers our little scheme, I will insist you knew nothing, and the entire fault was mine.”
“Lady Cassandra, I shall pretend you did not say that,” he answered good-humouredly.
“What will you think of me if I allow a lady to shoulder the blame? In any case, I hope this situation will end soon; Darcy seems very taken aback, and Georgiana is not much better—not to mention Bingley, who keeps asking when we will return to Hertfordshire with him.”
“But…Colonel, you know it is very possible that, once he returns to Hertfordshire, Darcy will propose to Miss Bennet again.”
“Well, I surely hope so; to tell you the truth, I grow tired of this uncertain and dramatic situation.”
His joyous voice and light countenance contradicted the seriousness of his words.
“You do? I was under the impression that you—
“Pray continue, Lady Cassandra. What about me?”
“I thought you might have an interest in Miss Bennet yourself. I could not help noticing you seemed to admire her very much.”