Chapter Eleven
An Army Camp on the Continent
Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam recognised the Matlock seal and smiled. News from home was always welcome! But his smile soon faded.
Dear Son,
Let me first reassure you that your father and I are quite, quite well – in body, at least. But our hearts and spirits are sore indeed.
I will not dissemble; a rather dreadful thing has happened.
Evidently, Georgiana almost eloped with George Wickham, with the encouragement of her companion, a Mrs. Younge!
But that is not the worst of it, for the incident made its way into The Morning Post, no doubt given to the paper by Wickham or Mrs. Younge.
You may imagine society’s reaction. Gossip becomes gospel, in short order.
No one has dared say anything to us directly, of course, but there has been a sharp decrease in the number of invitations sent to the house since the article was published.
I would like to say that it will all blow over, but I know not when or how.
I need not tell you what this means for our dear Georgiana. I journeyed to Pemberley as soon as the article was published, but Georgiana had locked herself in her room and would not come out. She refused to speak to me, and I finally left, disheartened and dispirited.
Darcy blames himself, and I cannot say that he is wrong to do so, for one hard look at Mrs. Younge’s so-called references would have revealed her to be a fraud. He simply did not bother to do so, having been busy with estate matters at the time of her hiring.
There is nothing you can do, dearest son, except to pray for some sort of happy resolution to this matter.
All my love,
Mother
Colonel Fitzwilliam read it over three times and then took several deep breaths. He felt very much like killing somebody. Perhaps he would. The person he had in mind was an ocean away, likely hiding out in London. And perhaps he would take a few hard swings at Darcy as well.
He folded the letter up carefully and tucked it away in his breast pocket before heading to his commanding officer’s tent. It was time for Colonel Fitzwilliam to request some much-overdue leave.