Chapter 27 Wickham
"How dare he?" Lady Catherine fumed. She slammed one hand down on the arm of the chair, even as she crumpled the letter she had been reading in the fist she made with her other hand. If anyone had been close to her, they would have heard the frustrated growl that rumbled from her throat.
Fitzwilliam Darcy had no right to defy her plans.
She had made it clear he was destined to marry Anne.
There should be no reason or room for question.
He would marry Anne. Given that truth, he certainly had no business attending balls and parties searching for some mystery girl.
First Bennet defied her and now this! It was not to be borne!
The letter crackled in her hand as she pounded both fists against the arm of the chair.
The sound reminded her she had not yet finished reading.
Perhaps there was something else George Wickham had reported that could be of use to her.
Blowing out a raspy huff of air, she unfolded the wad she had made of the paper and began to read from just past the salutation.
...As you have instructed, I maintain my close connection with your nephew and monitor his actions when he is in town.
Darcy is normally so predictable in his habits there is little of any note to report.
He largely keeps to himself, attending only those social events he cannot find even the flimsiest excuse to avoid.
However, all that has changed in the past month.
Since Darcy and Bingley arrived from Derbyshire shortly after the New Year, they have attended nearly every ball or dinner party of note.
Your nephew is still far from being the life of the party, but he does appear to have become more sociable.
He even dances more than the absolute minimum number of sets he can manage without insulting his hosts.
More than that, he now talks to people and even appears to be making himself agreeable with them.
And everywhere he goes, he asks about a woman he is hoping to find. Miss Rose is her name.
I learned that he ran across her at an event in Derbyshire last autumn and was smitten.
After they danced, he somehow lost track of her and did not see her again that night.
So far, he does not know who her people are or where she lives, but he is desperately trying to find her.
Clearly this is no simple flirtation, since he is not the kind to trifle with a lady's affection.
I cannot imagine why she would not come forward if she knew he was seeking her out, but she has not.
All I can think is that she has not heard because Pemberley and his money are an irresistible draw.
In his current mood I can imagine him making her an offer as soon as he does find her.
Since I have heard you intend him for your daughter, I thought you ought to know and, of course, I am ready to act to your advantage in this matter.
To that point, however, if you wish me to spend more time keeping track of him and monitoring or thwarting his success finding this woman, I will need more freedom of movement than the clerk's position I now hold allows.
I cannot mingle with those who have the best information or watch your nephew's actions while constrained by the hours I am expected to keep at the law office.
If I were able to instead depend on a larger allowance, I could move freely among Darcy's peers and seek to find Miss Rose myself on your behalf.
I suspect it would be best for your plans if steps were taken to prevent him from ever finding her or her from finding him.
Please let me know how you wish me to proceed. As always, I am your obedient servant.
Lady Catherine growled to herself again at the news that her nephew was showing obvious interest in a woman other than Anne. However, this time she continued past the first mention of Miss Rose and finished reading the letter.
Her fingernail began to tap against the chair arm as she thought over what she had read.
Wickham was correct about Darcy's habits.
Lady Catherine knew of her nephew's dislike for social occasions.
For him to attend balls and dinners clearly signaled some great change had come over him.
An infatuation with some pretty face was reason enough.
Gaining information of this sort was exactly why she continued to keep Wickham on a retainer.
It was a pity he had provided no more information about the girl, although it was probably enough to know she was not one of the Bennets.
If Miss Rose surfaced and thought of taking Darcy and Pemberley for her own, Lady Catherine would crush her.
Wickham's request for a larger allowance in return for tracking down the girl was a transparent ploy to get away from having to work for a living.
She knew he would like nothing better than to set himself up as a gentleman of leisure and would not have any sense of urgency around finding this Rose chit so long as he was being paid.
No, she would set another agent on that trail.
The fingernail stopped tapping for a moment as a thought struck Lady Catherine.
He was correct that his position as a law clerk did limit his usefulness.
She would not support Wickham in idleness in London, but there was a far more appropriate place to send him.
His ability to charm was his greatest skill. Charm could help her.
Smiling grimly, Lady Catherine set aside the letter and rang the bell for the servant. She had orders to give and arrangements to make. This might have been just the idea she was looking for.
~o~
George Wickham read the letter through a second time, still trying to decide if it would end up being good news or bad.
When he had written to Lady Catherine, he had made his request for a large allowance as something of a lark.
There was no real harm in asking, he had thought, considering it likely she would simply decline and that would be an end to it.
While she had not granted the money he requested, what she offered instead had been more of a surprise than the funds would have been.
...In light of the important information you have provided, I shall offer you the benefit of the doubt and ascribe your request to leave the position I so generously procured for you to an honest desire to serve me rather than gross ingratitude engendered by laziness and desire to live a life of self-indulgent ease.
Indeed, having you tied to the legal office no longer suits my plan and I, therefore, have provided you with an alternate way in which to serve.
The search for Miss Rose can be better undertaken by others.
I shall find her and prevent any chance that she may interfere with the marriage of my nephew and my daughter.
If searching the ballrooms of the elite has not yet worked for him, it is no more likely to prove fruitful for you.
I have other hunters better suited to find this quarry using other means.
To meet my other requirements, I have sent word to your employer requesting that you be released from duty to take up a place in the militia.
You will be joining a unit that is quartered in a Hertfordshire village called Meryton.
I expect you to use your charm to ingratiate yourself with both your fellow officers and the people of the village.
Among the inhabitants is a family called Bennet.
They have five daughters. Make yourself irresistible to them.
For now, you will report anything of note about them to me.
I have plans for the Bennet family and you will help enact them.
Mr. Bennet is a friend of Viscount Rand and godfather to Richard Fitzwilliam, so it is likely they will have heard your name.
For that reason, you will take the name Brickham.
It is close enough to your own that you should have no problem answering to it, but just different enough that they will have no reason to suspect you are anything but what you present yourself to be.
I am sure you can come up with enough of a history for yourself to carry it off and avert any questions.
Close out your affairs in London quickly.
Lieutenant George Brickham is to present himself to the commanding officer, Colonel Forster, on Monday morning at 10:00 without fail.
All the paperwork has been completed already.
Your commission is enclosed. You will, of course, receive the standard allowance for your rank.
I realize that this is less than the salary you have received at the law office, so I am raising the monthly stipend I pay you to make up the difference and a slight bit more.
A small bonus to cover the cost of your new uniform and any incidentals is also enclosed.
I will expect regular reports and prompt action in return.
Do not fail me, Lieutenant Brickham.
Wickham dropped the letter on the table and turned to the other documents in the packet he had received.
He found the lieutenant's commission made out to George Brickham.
Next came the orders. 10:00? That meant he would have to leave London much earlier than he would prefer to even be awake.
And she had only given him five days to prepare. Typical.
After quickly reading the rest of the information in the orders, he dropped that page down on the table as well.
The next item was much more to his liking.
Enclosed in a sealed paper packet were several bank notes.
It was a pity he would have to use the majority of it to buy his new uniform and other gear.
At least he already had a horse and tack, a gift from his godfather when he turned eighteen.
Perhaps he could find something secondhand and save some of the money for other purposes.
Wickham would have to see what was available.
If he was to present himself creditably, he could not look slovenly or cheap.
He put the packet down on the table as well and took up the glass of wine he had poured just before the messenger had arrived with the letter.
He sipped at the drink while he thought.
He knew about the Bennets already. How could he not?
He would have to be careful not to betray his origins.
Well, telling stories and making people believe them had always been one of Wickham's strengths.
He also knew there was much more to this situation than Lady Catherine had told him.
Once on the scene he could find out what that was and decide on the course that would be most to his own advantage.
Looking around the small room that had been his home for the last five years, Wickham considered the new assignment.
The lodgings had been comfortable enough, but he would not be sorry to leave them.
He would find something better when he eventually returned to London.
Hopefully, the militia officers would not be quartered in tents like the common men.
The militia. Hmm. The idea was growing on him.
He had no desire to be a regular soldier.
That may have been Richard Fitzwilliam's dream, but Wickham was too smart to put himself in danger for so little return.
The militia was something else. Yes, there would be some training and a little bit of work, but it was not that serious.
Wickham knew that the majority of a militia officer's time was spent socializing with the locals or drinking and gambling with his fellow officers.
They had all the benefits of the fancy red coat, in particular the effect it had on the ladies, without anyone shooting at them or expecting them to fight.
They would be meeting the local gentry as equals in status.
If he was lucky, there might even be an heiress he could charm into a lucrative marriage.
Yes. He could turn this to his advantage. Better yet, Lady Catherine had provided him with an alias. If anything went wrong, Lieutenant Brickham could disappear and George Wickham would still be safe.
Smiling now, Wickham picked up the packet of banknotes and stood. He would hide these for now. Tomorrow he would go to the office and collect his belongings. After that, he had a little shopping to do. It was time for a change. If he played his cards correctly, his future would look bright.