Chapter 6 #2
“He is worried Wicky will ruin his sister if he does. He is also of the opinion that he would be dishonouring his father if he used Wicky’s debt markers to put him in debtor’s prison for the rest of his days,” Adam replied.
Maddie wanted to vent her spleen at the lack of logic in Mr Darcy’s reasoning, but as she knew her temper had been stoked anew, she held her peace.
“You said that Miss Darcy remembered the man fondly?” Gardiner proceeded.
Adam allowed it was so. “When she was younger, Wicky dedicated much attention to her, and her father never saw any harm in it.”
“So, I assume that Mr Darcy’s way of protecting his sister is by keeping her ignorant?
” Gardiner observed. “He needs to tell her the truth of who the libertine is. He need not go into details of the seductions, but we think it will aid in Miss Darcy’s recovery to know she was not the only one who fell under his spell. ”
Maddie nodded her agreement.
“In life, like in business, knowledge is power,” Gardiner stated.
“Maddie and I mean to make sure our children, boys and girls, have tools to live in the world without being hoodwinked or manipulated like Miss Darcy was. Think about it, Lambert; had she been forewarned about the type of person the seducer was, she may have been able to resist his advances.”
“Mayhap, or any resistance could have led to her being forcibly ruined,” Adam opined.
Gardiner owned that was a possibility. After that, the conversation waned.
When the Gardiners reached their bedchamber, Maddie’s mood was such that she felt she should ride to Pemberley that instant and give William Darcy a well-deserved set down.
“It is obvious speaking about what befell Miss Darcy made you think of Veronica. It is only natural for you to have those feelings. However, remember although this Mr Darcy has made some errors of judgment, it was his own father who created the monster that George Wickham has become. Your brother told us more than once about how his friend attempted to alert his father about what the godson was becoming, but the late Mr Darcy refused to hear it.” Gardiner paused as he considered something.
“We believe that those who came before us watch over their loved ones from heaven, do we not?” he enquired.
“Yes, that is true,” Maddie allowed.
“Consider what Mr Robert Darcy must have felt when he powerlessly watched from heaven as his godson worked on his much-beloved daughter. Not that it can help those of us remaining in the mortal plane; I have no doubt that he has finally seen the error of his judgement regarding his former godson.”
It took Maddie a little while to calm herself, but once she had, she prepared herself for bed and eventually fell asleep in her husband’s arms.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
The next morning, as soon as he rose, Adam mounted his gelding and rode to Pemberley, where he passed on the advice from the Gardiners.
He did not mention the anger Maddie felt about the fact Wicky was left to ply his trade on other innocent girls and younger women.
It was becoming obvious that Wicky was specifically choosing girls under the age of fifteen or sixteen.
On his return, Adam reported that Darcy had been thankful for the advice. He had not said which, if any of it, he would follow. He and his sister would be travelling south in a few days’ time.
Mary suspected there was something between the adults of which she was not a party.
Even though she would be eighteen in less than a month, she knew that unless the Gardiners and Lamberts decided to share anything with her, she could not ask.
Kitty and the younger children were blissfully unaware of any issue.
Kitty was drawing every day, and the more she did so, the better her efforts became. Her pictures of their children were in great demand by the two sets of parents.
She knew it would not be easy, but with Aunt Maddie’s words spoken to her on their way to Lambton still reverberating in her ears, Kitty was determined not to allow Lydia to decide what she enjoyed any longer.
It was time for her to make those decisions for herself, and one of the things she was certain: she loved drawing and painting.
About halfway through their stay, Aunt Maddie introduced Kitty to a lady who gave drawing lessons to girls in the area. Mrs Madison was engaged to teach Kitty three times a week until she and her family were to depart at the end of July.
While Kitty was working on her drawing skills, Mary was assisting Mrs Mulberry with pianoforte lessons for Bea and Lilly.
She enjoyed teaching her young cousins almost as much as playing the instrument on her own.
As she had a music master who came to Longbourn once a week, Mary did not need someone to work with her like Kitty did.
About a week after the Darcys travelled south, a letter arrived for Adam. His housekeeper handed it to him when he returned from parish duties for the Kympton parish. After greeting his family, Adam seated himself behind his desk and broke the seal. He began to read.
17 July 1811
Darcy House
London
Lambert:
It was not easy, but I followed your advice. My cousin wanted to thrash me for my errors, especially not including him in the search.
He wanted to mount Invictus (his stallion) and charge off, sabre drawn to confront and run the criminal through. I managed to convince him to cool his ire. I have apologised to him for my missteps. He will stand down for now.
Please pass on my thanks to your sister and brother-in-law for their advice. If I ever meet them, I will convey my thanks in person.
Adam could not but grin. Darcy did business with Gardiner, but the interactions were always at the office, so he had never met Maddie. Gardiner had no reason to speak of their familial connection; hence, Darcy was unaware he was doing business with Adam’s brother-in-law. He returned to the epistle.
I have discussed the problem with my aunt and uncle, who are more than willing to assist. My aunt will find eligible candidates, and my cousin and I will select from one of them.
The aggrieved party is still very much affected by the experience in a negative way.
We can only pray that the outlook becomes brighter as time passes.
To that end, Aunt Elaine has ordered me to keep my plans to assist my friend B as they are.
She opined that it would be good for me to have my mind occupied by something else.
My aunt is not to be gainsaid, so I will keep my word to B and assist in his studies.
With thanks for your stalwart friendship,
W. D.
There was no question that it had been wise for Darcy to be cryptic. Even though the letter had been delivered by a Darcy courier, there was no need to take a chance.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
On the final day of July, the Gardiners with two Bennet sisters departed Lambton to journey south.