Chapter 28
Early in the afternoon, Mr. Hoskins went to meet some acquaintances and Kitty and Lydia arrived.
Gathered in the drawing-room with the rest of the party, Elizabeth was eager to see them. When they entered, however, she needed all her self-control to keep her temper. Her sisters burst in shouting and laughing, followed by Lieutenant Denny, Wickham, and two other officers, one of them of colour.
Dumbfounded, Elizabeth glanced at Cece, whose face had already turned into a grimace.
“Lizzy, look who is here! Wickham and Denny! Did you miss them? And Lieutenant Baxter and this is his friend, Mr. Cesar Johnson - he was a sailor or something. I brought him because I thought he would be perfect for Miss Cecilia!”
Elizabeth turned pale and shame made her temples burn. She could barely look at Cece, though she had seen enough to observe that she was more distraught than ever before.
The men remained near the door, except for Wickham who stepped towards her, with his usual expression. His open smile showed he did not doubt his reception. He stopped near Elizabeth, bowed and reached out his hand to take hers.
“Lady Barrington, I am exceedingly happy to see you again. Since we last spoke, I have hoped every day for the chance of meeting you again. I know it is a difficult time for you and please rest assured that I am your most loyal servant.”
Elizabeth clasped her hands behind her back.
“Mr. Wickham. I hope you are in good health. Forgive me, I did not expect company. I am still in mourning and I do not entertain guests.”
“Oh, but they only came to escort us home, they are not guests! Harriet is hosting another party tonight and she said we should go. Can we? Please?”
“Lydia, we will discuss our plans later. Gentlemen, since you are here, please sit for a moment. Mr. Bingley will be your host. He will also perform the introductions properly.”
Once the awkward moment had passed, drinks were ordered. Elizabeth sat on a sofa, alone. Cece sat next to Mary, all three of them silent.
“Miss Cece, are you not happy that I brought Mr. Johnson?” Lydia continued, clueless as to the general distress.
“Miss Lydia, I am Lady Barrington’s companion. All her ladyship’s guests bring me equal happiness,” Cece replied sternly.
Mr. Johnson looked at her with apparent interest.
“Although, I hope Mr. Johnson and the other gentlemen have come of their own accord. It would be unusual for a man to be brought by a young lady of fifteen.”
Mr. Johnson and his friend, Lieutenant Baxter, exchanged a disconcerted look. Wickham, Denny, Lydia and Kitty began to laugh.
“How funny that is! I told you Miss Cece is very clever!” Lydia exclaimed. “Wickham said a black woman cannot be as clever as I described but I told him he was wrong! Try! Ask her anything!” She challenged Wickham.
“Lydia, enough!” Elizabeth interjected severely.
A moment of deep embarrassment followed for those who understood the offence. Then suddenly, Mr. Johnson stood up, followed by his friend.
“Lady Barrington, I beg your forgiveness. We were under the impression that your ladyship was expecting us, but I was wrong. We shall leave now. It was an honour to meet you all.”
“Oh come now, Johnson, sit! We are amongst friends, there is no need for such solemnity.” Wickham said impertinently. “Besides, where would you go? We came in the same carriage!”
“We will wait for you outside. I am afraid we have overstayed our welcome and we cannot impose further. Good day!”
Pleasantly surprised by the polite manners so opposite to Wickham’s rudeness, Elizabeth nodded to them.
“We were pleased to meet you too, gentlemen. We hope to meet both of you again, at a more proper time.”
Her words showed her benevolence and the two men bowed again, in a respectful farewell, then left.
“You must excuse them, they are army men and have not often been in genteel company,” Wickham said. “I brought them only because I believed Miss Cecilia would be pleased to have some company—someone like her to talk to.”
“There is nothing to excuse, the two gentlemen showed impeccable manners,” Elizabeth said.
Before she continued, Cece interjected. “May I ask, sir, what do you mean by ‘someone like me’? Someone black, I presume? Do you always match people by the colour of their skin, or their eyes or hair? Or just in this case?”
Her apparent upset was elegantly hidden behind a civil tone and a polite smile.
Wickham laughed, as if it was a joke. “I always aim to see people happy around me, Miss Cecilia.” Then, with much audacity, he moved to the sofa next to Elizabeth. She cringed and struggled to keep her composure.
“Lady Barrington, I have come only for the pleasure of seeing you. Please let me know when I can return so we can talk at length. Perhaps I could accompany your ladyship on a carriage ride to show you Brighton?”
She gazed at him. Sitting next to her, they were only inches apart. His smile, his handsome features, his friendly voice that had once induced her to believe his lies, were all there. So was her anger and her resentment.
“Mr. Wickham, I am afraid we have few subjects of conversation. However, I would like to hear more details about the compensation you received for the living you rejected, about your change of mind regarding your career and about your favourite ways of employing your time. But not today.”
Wickham froze, turned pale and withdrew from her. Elizabeth had spoken in such a calm, reasonable tone and the others were oblivious to its true meaning.
“Yes, well...I…”
“It was very kind of you to accompany my sisters back home, but we understand if you must hurry to leave. You cannot possibly let your friends wait outside,” she continued with a condescending smile.
“Indeed. I am afraid we cannot stay longer. I wish you all the best. Come Denny; we must go,” he called to the completely confused lieutenant, who was caught in an amusing conversation with Lydia and Kitty.
The younger girls opposed the gentlemen’s departure vehemently, but Wickham could not be deterred from his decision. With apparent distress, he said a quick ‘good day’ and left with Denny, who mumbled an excuse.
“Lizzy, what happened? What did you tell Mr. Wickham to make him leave?” Lydia cried.
“Lydia, stop and listen to me. You too, Kitty!” Elizabeth replied with a severity that silenced the girl.
“How dare you bring strange men here, without notice? And how dare you speak of Miss Cecilia in front of strangers, without her permission? Do you ever reflect on what you are saying or doing? Do you realise how much embarrassment you cause and how you put your reputation in danger?”
“But Lizzy, I said nothing wrong about Miss Cecilia—quite the contrary! When I saw Mr. Johnson, I told Wickham you had a friend who is also black and he told Mr. Johnson! What have I done wrong?”
Elizabeth tried to calm herself, while Jane intervened gently.
“Lizzy, I believe we must speak thoroughly with Lydia and Kitty. She cannot recognise her error. Please keep in mind that they have spent most of their lives in Meryton, among old friends. We cannot blame them for behaving as they have always done.”
“You are right, Jane. I am sorry for my outburst,” she addressed her younger sisters. “I admit I was unpleasantly surprised by the company. I am in no disposition to entertain.”
“But Lizzy, can we go to the party tonight? Harriet said you should all come! It is close enough—it took us less than half an hour to get here!”
Elizabeth hesitated a moment. “Only if Jane and Charles are going too. You will go and return together.”
More opposition followed, then countless pleas to the Bingleys until they finally accepted. The girls kissed Jane gratefully, then hurried upstairs together with Mary, to see their room.
In the drawing-room there was a moment of welcome silence, after the previous din.
Then Elizabeth rang for more tea and said, “Cece, I will explain to you who Mr. Wickham is. There are details that Jane and Charles are still unaware of too, since we have not spoken of this subject in many months.”
She related Darcy’s story, except for the part regarding Georgiana.
The knowledge was received with astonishment and even disbelief by Jane.
The notion that a man they had called a friend could have been so dishonest and that Mr. Darcy had to suffer so greatly because of him, troubled Mrs. Bingley exceedingly.
Bingley was as dumbfounded as his wife.
“Darcy mentioned something of it to me, but he never told me the entire story. If I had known, I would have treated him as he deserved! To spread such lies about Darcy, after all the late Mr. Darcy had done for him!”
“And to have the audacity to come here and behave like he was your intimate friend! The man has no shame,” Cece added.
“I trust we will not see him much in the future,” Elizabeth replied. “We will leave tomorrow. Charles, please take care of Lydia and Kitty tonight and thank Colonel Forster for his generosity to them. Tomorrow, we return home.”
The rest of the afternoon passed calmly. Around six o’ clock, the Bingleys and the three younger girls left.
Elizabeth and Cece were at home, preparing for dinner, when a most unexpected caller was introduced. Bewildered, they barely had time to stand before the visitor entered.
Mr. Cesar Johnson bowed from the doorway, his hat in his hand and an expression of utter distress on his face.
“Lady Barrington, Miss Cecilia, I beg your forgiveness for my impromptu and most inappropriate visit. There is something of great importance that I must tell your ladyship without delay.”
His grave voice disquieted Elizabeth and she immediately feared something had happened to her sisters.
“What is it, sir? Is someone hurt?”
“No, ma’am. Forgive me if I frightened you. Nobody is hurt but the matter is delicate and urgent nevertheless. If your ladyship would grant me only a few private moments…”