Chapter 20 #2
If this had been the first time that Bingley fell out of love as quickly as he entered that state, Darcy would have been shocked.
As it was about a half dozen times he had seen the same, it no longer amazed Darcy.
Seeing Bingley with Miss Bennet in Hertfordshire, Darcy had thought this time his friend’s feelings may have been deeper than before, but it was obvious that was not the case.
By the time he departed Hurst House, Darcy was well satisfied with his decision not to return to Hertfordshire. Now he needed to shake the infatuation.
The Bingley sisters met in Mrs Hurst’s private sitting room minutes after Mr Darcy’s coach departed. “Did I not tell you that my plan would be perfect?” Mrs Hurst crowed.
“Indeed, it was, Lulu, indeed it was,” Miss Bingley agreed.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Wickham had to think quickly. He needed Colonel Forster to permit him to return to his room. He would grab as much coin from the other men’s billets as possible, and he would be off, borrowing a militia horse, of course.
“You do remember I told you how Mr Darcy has persecuted me, Colonel. Now he sends his lapdog here to harm me on his behalf,” Wickham claimed.
“Wicky, your ability to prevaricate has not improved much over the years, it is only the scope of the lies which have changed.” Fitzwilliam turned to his fellow colonel. “Colonel Forster, you have the bailiff’s writ in your hand, does it mention the name Darcy in any place thereon?”
A cold shiver travelled down the length of Wickham’s spine. Bailiff! Was he being sent to debtor’s prison?
“No, Colonel Fitzwilliam, you speak true. There is no mention of the name Darcy on these papers authorising this profligate’s arrest,” Forster confirmed. “I only see the name of one Edward Gardiner, not even your name appears.”
Now Wickham was well and truly discombobulated. He had never heard the name Edward Gardiner. Who was the man, and how much did the man own of his debts? Perhaps it was a trifling amount which he could borrow from his brother officers.
“As I am not in the habit of leaving debts, this must be a small sum. I will return to my quarters and bring the coin needed to settle this trivial amount,” Wickham said.
“I was not aware you had such a sum under your mattress,” Forster jested. “It seems you owe two thousand, nine hundred and eighty five pounds, seven shillings, and tuppence. If you are able to pay that now, you will not owe anything, that is unless you have debts to the merchants in Meryton.”
It felt like the world was closing in on him. Darcy was not calling in his debts, but if he had to guess, this amount sounded like the debts that prig Darcy had paid for him, as he should. It was no less than Robert Darcy’s godson’s due.
“His name may not be on the writ, but this smacks of Darcy’s hand. Unless you want me to speak of Ramsgate…”
In the blink of an eye, Fitzwilliam had his sabre unsheathed and the tip was just touching the skin on Wickham’s neck. “Finish that sentence,” Fitzwilliam snarled, “and it will be the last thing you ever say in your miserable life on the mortal coil.”
This time Wickham was not able to hold his bladder.
He nodded very carefully to indicate that he understood.
As soon as Fitzwilliam moved to re-sheath his sabre, Wickham tried to make a dash for the window.
Before he knew it, there was a searing pain in his face as he heard the crunch of his nose breaking and felt some teeth being knocked out. His world went black.
As quickly as he had drawn his sabre the first time, Fitzwilliam had it out of the scabbard again.
This time he slammed the hilt into the bastard’s face.
The sound of his nose breaking was very satisfying.
Wickham dropped like a sack of sand. When he lay on the ground, Fitzwilliam was pleased to see three of the seducer’s teeth lying on Colonel Forster’s rug.
He had wanted to drive the blade into his gut, but Fitzwilliam had promised the Gardiners that he would deliver a living Wicky to them.
They had never said anything about him being unblemished.
Forster called out to his adjutant. “Have that worthless liar clapped in irons and thrown into the brig until further notice,” he ordered Captain Carter. “And have a servant come to clean the mess that coward made.”
“As you command,” Carter returned and gave a smart salute.
Four soldiers were soon in the office. Two grabbed the senseless man’s arms, and two grabbed his legs.
Once they had him, they were on their way out of the office with Captain Carter supervising to make sure the Colonel’s orders were followed to the letter.
As they left, a maid entered. She rolled up the rug and left with it.
“Forster, I suggest you have your officers check the places in their rooms where they secreted coin. This was taken off Wickham. He was heard saying he had liberated this from various officers. Those men at least will have their funds returned.” Fitzwilliam handed the purse to Forster.
“Thank you for holding him. By the by, once you establish he stole from your officers, we can speak about an appropriate punishment.”
Within a few hours five officers, Denny being one of them, who thought Wickham was their friend, discovered money missing from their rooms. The amount was within pennies of what had been retrieved from Wickham. The coins were returned to the rightful owners.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
After returning home, Darcy reviewed the latest statement from Gardiner and associates. As he had experienced since he first invested, the return was more than he expected. It was so good, he planned to move some more of his money from the funds to Gardiner.
Next, he sat down and wrote a letter to Lambert. He was careful to omit anything about Hertfordshire. He was aware that as much as he hated dissembling, he had never been able to do so with Lambert, whether in person or by the post.
With the letter written, Darcy tried to imagine why Gardiner had purchased Wickham’s debts and what was Richard’s role.
He would be furious if what they did led to Anna’s ruin.