CHAPTER 42 Insolent Family
At dinner, Lydia felt put out that Kitty and Mary had abandoned her in favour of visiting the young ladies of Netherfield, and was very vocal in her disappointment.
“I just do not see why they could not eat here,” she complained. “Especially Kitty. I wanted to talk to her about all the things we’ve been doing in London.”
“Well, you may tell me about it,” said Jane, who appeared to feel sorry for her youngest sister.
For a while Lydia spoke again about the various items she had bought for her trousseau. When that subject was exhausted, Mrs. Bennet asked Wickham where his new regiment was stationed. She was surprised to find that it was so far.
“But Kitty may visit me,” said Lydia, “and I shall be able to introduce her to the men of the regiment.”
“Yes, perhaps,” said Mrs. Bennet without much enthusiasm.
“And we can always come down here for another visit,” continued Lydia.
“I am not certain of that, Lydia,” said Elizabeth, “for Mr. Wickham shall be busy with his new duties. And the trip may be rather costly.”
“Oh, but you can send us some money occasionally, can you not?” asked Lydia. “I am certain Mr. Darcy shall provide you with loads of it.”
Darcy looked at Elizabeth to see how she would respond.
It was difficult to read the expression on her face when she answered, “I believe your husband is now responsible for your upkeep, Lydia. While Mr. Darcy will only be responsible for mine.”
Lydia looked confused. “But what if he cannot afford to pay for our trips?”
It was Jane who answered, “It is simply a matter of economising, Lydia. You must see what your income is, then what your expenses are, and then attempt as best you can to make certain that the latter does not exceed the former.”
Darcy smiled. Jane Bennet was a great deal more practical than he had thought her to be.
“But I do not know anything about that,” said Lydia.
“But you can learn, Lydia,” said Mrs. Bennet. “I know I had to when I was first married. But if you like, I can teach you a little about it before you go.”
Lydia frowned. “Should we not have a little fun while we are here? Is that not the reason for our visit?”
“But we are in mourning,” said Jane gently. “And as such we cannot make social calls.”
“It is the reason we are all in black,” said Elizabeth looking steadily at Lydia. “And if I were you, I would take advantage of Mamma’s kind offer and learn as much as you can while you still have a chance.”
Lydia huffed and was about to respond when Wickham forestalled her.
“And is there anything new with our friends in Meryton?” he asked with an easy smile, changing the subject. “I always did enjoy calling on your aunt and her friends.”
“Ah, yes, Wickham,” said Lydia with a smile, “you were always a favourite with everyone hereabouts. Was he not, Mamma?”
“Yes, he was,” said Mrs. Bennet without inflection.
Darcy noted her use of the past tense and began to think that Mrs. Bennet was becoming more and more like her husband.
“But if we are able to come up with the money,” said Lydia some time later, “can we not at least visit you at Netherfield, Jane?”
Jane looked confused and turned to Bingley who cleared his throat and said, “We shall see, Mrs. Wickham.”
“And, Mr. Darcy, did you not say we could stay with you at Pemberley?”
Darcy shifted in his seat. “I actually commented that your husband might be too busy with his duties.”
Wickham smiled more broadly this time. “Well then, I am certain that I shall be able to get some time off. And as such, we shall consider ourselves invited to Pemberley.”
“Excellent!” said Lydia, clapping her hands together.
Darcy only stared at Wickham then looked at Elizabeth who was now also staring.
“I am afraid that will not be possible, Lydia,” she said in a clear, low voice.
“Whyever not, Lizzy?”
“Yes, why not, Miss Elizabeth?” asked Wickham with feigned curiosity. “Your betrothed did suggest that we could visit and he is a man of his word, are you not Darcy?”
“It is strange,” said Elizabeth, speaking for him, “that you now deem him honorable when it suits your purposes, but spoke ill of him when it did not.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you not tell me that he denied you the living his father had left to you? And did you not also tell me that you would never speak ill of him out of respect for his father? And did you not, as soon as he was out of the area, proceed to tell everyone else this story?”
“I did but…I considered the people here to be my good friends by then.”
“Well then, you should have told them the truth - that you were well-compensated for the living but were only refused it once you asked for it again. Did you not think that it was important to tell this to your friends?”
“I never lied to you,” said Wickham in a clipped voice.
“No, but you withheld facts that would have changed our opinion of you dramatically.”
“I do not have to sit here and be insulted. And besides which you are only saying these things in order to impress your wealthy soon-to-be husband. It seems to me that his wealth is what has driven you to agree to marry him.”
“That is a blatant falsehood!” cried Bingley, good friend that he was.
“Mr. Bingley is correct, Mr. Wickham,” said Elizabeth with a sweet smile, now turning her face towards Darcy. “I agreed to marry him because I love him.”
I love you and wish to marry you, thought Darcy besottedly.
“But can we not speak of something else?” asked Lydia.
“We can, Lydia,” said Elizabeth. “But you must not forget that it was you who brought up the subject of visiting Pemberley in the first place.”
“Yes, and I thought Mr. Darcy had agreed to it.”
Darcy was about to speak when Elizabeth forestalled him again.
“But you forget, Lydia, that I shall be the mistress of Pemberley. And as such I shall never allow your husband to set foot there. Naturally, you shall be allowed to visit.” Elizabeth’s expression grew somber as she added, “But not Mr. Wickham.”
“But how can you say that, Lizzy? We are family and you are turning your back on family!”
“Yes, Lydia, you are my sister. But my loyalty must now lie with my husband.”
Darcy hoped that Elizabeth would look at him so he could show her just how much he appreciated her.
But she continued to keep her face averted, staring steadily at Lydia and Wickham.
Jane changed the subject and everyone spoke of other matters.
But Darcy was still in awe that this woman - his Elizabeth - had defended him against the person who had been the bane of his existence for as long as he could remember.
He’d been about to allow Wickham into Pemberley and Elizabeth had actually stopped it with her unique mixture of sweetness and fortitude.
He sagged back in relief, and it was not till much later that she finally glanced at him and gave him a quick, almost apologetic, smile. The evening wore on and nothing else of any consequence occurred.
A few hours later, he stood in the entry hall with Elizabeth as Bingley awaited him in the carriage. Everyone else had gone upstairs but Darcy wished for a moment alone with her in order to thank her for what she had done.
“I apologise for their impudence,” she said quickly, before he could speak. “I know you have been tolerating their company over the last two days and I want you to know that I am most appreciative of it…”
“Elizabeth,” he said, interrupting.
“Yes?” she said softly, her head bent low.
“You do not need to apologise. In fact, it is I who should be thanking you.”
“But why should you? They would not even be here if…”
“Did we not already go over this?” he asked gently.
“Wickham could have imposed on anyone’s sister, and it would still have been his fault.
But what I do appreciate is your being firm with both of them.
I did not know, you see, if you wished for your sister - and naturally her husband - to visit you… sometimes.”
“I never want Wickham in any of our houses,” she said adamantly.
“Even if Georgiana is no longer distressed by him, she deserves to feel perfectly comfortable in her own home and so do you. And so do I, for that matter. And every time I am in the room with him, I feel like exposing him for the worthless and selfish scoundrel that he is.” She turned sheepishly towards him.
“I hope I was not presumptuous in speaking for you.”
He grinned. “Not at all. I was happy to have you do so. And I must admit, it is nice to think that there is someone out there who is shielding me from harm. It is a new experience for me and I find I quite like it.”
He put his arm around her waist and looked at her. And then he leaned down and kissed her.