Chapter 2.5 #3
“Because Lydia is silly and childish…and always hears only what she wishes to. The tragedy, Lizzy, is that we do not have a way out of this. If Lydia did not want to marry Wickham, I would readily accept any consequences, and we would all go home safely, hoping for the best. But she does —it is her only purpose in life now. If we do not let her marry him, we will be thrown into the midst of a scandal that Lydia herself will perpetuate. If we approve her marriage, we must pay Wickham’s debts and then find a way for them to live.
Most likely we will condemn her to a life of misery and will also obligate ourselves to a degree from which we will never recover. ”
“Papa, but…how can you provide them with the means of support? Neither you nor Uncle has any connections for such an endeavour. And how much money can he expect from you? How large could his debts possibly be?”
“I talked to your uncle when he returned last night, Lizzy. Wickham has already presented a list of creditors, which does not include those from Hertfordshire. I would venture to presume the total sum owed is close to several thousand pounds.”
“Dear Lord, several thousand pounds?” Elizabeth rose and paced the room in great torment and needed several minutes before she managed to stop. “Papa, how could you afford to pay even half this sum? How could anyone dare to demand such a sacrifice from you?”
“Lizzy, calm down my dear. Your distress only troubles me more. I am not certain how we will fix this, but my brother Gardiner promised he will help me find a way.”
“But, Papa —I know for certain that my uncle cannot spend such a sum either. And even if he could, he has children of his own, and he must take care of them.”
Mr. Bennet waved his hand to stop her tirade, wiping his forehead with his handkerchief.
“My child, what concerns me even more is this: If Wickham accumulated such debts when he had a commission in the militia and no one to support, what will happen once he marries and has no income at all?”
“True, Papa…God help us, this is such a tragic situation. There is nothing we can do…”
“It is tragic indeed,” said Mr. Gardiner, entering the room and greeting them briefly. He poured himself a cup of coffee then sat near his brother-in-law.
“Upon my word, I have never been as furious at another man as I was last night,” Mr. Gardiner continued. “And I am still astonished that Mr. Darcy was able to control his rage. Several times, I was sure he would harm Wickham. God knows, I would not have stopped him.”
Elizabeth listened with growing turmoil; the image of an angry Mr. Darcy was not entirely strange to her. Mr. Gardiner continued, gently touching her hand.
“Lizzy dear, what was in your mind that you admired that fellow so much? I always praised your wit and your wisdom, but somehow you did not use either when it came to Wickham. By the way, he had the nerve to mention to us that you and he were always good friends, and he is pleased that you will now be family as soon as his unfortunate situation is solved.”
Elizabeth clasped her hands together to stop their trembling, narrowing her eyes to stem her angry tears. She was mortified by Wickham’s impertinence but even more by her own folly; she lowered her gaze and sealed her lips. What could she answer? What explanation could justify her stupidity?
Finally, she murmured, “No censure is undeserved, Uncle, and I blame myself more than anyone else could. If only I could do something to remedy my wrong. But what should we do now?”
“There is nothing we can do. As I told my brother Bennet last night, Mr. Darcy instructed me to wait until we have word from him. I do not know what this means precisely, but I could not possibly contradict him. He seemed to believe he could find a reasonable outcome to the situation. Besides, I would not know how to proceed anyway. Wickham does not wish to marry as he claims he cannot support a wife. Lydia wishes nothing else but to marry, which I imagine would be the best solution for the entire family. Therefore, we must find a way to accomplish it. We just received another letter from Longbourn with my sister demanding details about the wedding. We have little choice in solving this madness, Lizzy. I shall go out to meet some of my customers and see how I can put together the payment for Wickham’s debts.
You must encourage your father to rest as much as he can. ”
“I will rest, do not worry,” Mr. Bennet answered bitterly. “I have little to do anyway. I have no choice at all; we must force Wickham to marry Lydia, and that is the end of the story.”
“Such a sad conclusion, so painful and tedious. He is such a dishonourable man. Poor Lydia will be so unhappy,” Elizabeth whispered.
“Yes, he is. And we must beg him to marry your sister and give her a miserable life. What more can a father bear?”
“Dear Papa, please do not trouble yourself so…”
“I must —it is the truth, Lizzy. Now please do me the favour of writing to Jane and telling her something to calm your mother. I will lie down a little longer; I am in no mood for breakfast.”
∞∞∞
Darcy breathed deeply as he left the inn, furious at the image of Wickham’s impertinent smirk. How could he put himself in the strange position of negotiating with that scoundrel? If only Lydia Bennet had the good sense not to marry him, things would be so much easier.
But surely, that would be disastrous for the entire Bennet family. The meagre chances they had to make honourable marriages would be gone forever. The scandal and its effects were impossible to avoid.