Chapter 19
Threats and Plans
“Fitzwilliam,” Elizabeth began the following morning as they laid about in their bed, “I need to speak to you of more that Charlotte said in her letters to me. I received several while we were on our trip, and she mentioned that Mr. Livesay would likely be writing to you as well.”
He sighed. “I noticed a letter from him on my desk but had not had a chance to read it yet. Should I be concerned about what it contains?”
“I am not certain,” she admitted. “I do not know exactly what he wrote, but Charlotte said Jane is becoming more desperate, going so far as to threaten to ‘take what is mine’. I cannot imagine what she might mean or how she thinks she might have access to harm either of us. She is not reasonable, which is no surprise, but I cannot understand her.”
Fitzwilliam considered this for a moment.
“Would the Gardiners invite Jane to town?” At the shake of Elizabeth’s head, he continued.
“What could she do unless we are in Hertfordshire? That is the only way she could do anything, and she has no connections that would enable her to come to town. Perhaps we should send an investigator to Hertfordshire to see if he can learn anything, but I imagine this is mostly bluster.”
“The Bennets, well, mostly Mama and Jane, are being shunned in Meryton for their actions after our visit. Lady Lucas did as she promised and spread the truth of our marriage before Jane could spread word of a compromise or an early babe. Our appearance in Meryton aided that, and the break between my family and myself was revealed. There was a very public setdown when Mama tried to claim a closer connection with us. Jane attempted to claim she was pleased with the match but then revealed her true self when she insisted very publicly she would marry better. She did not appreciate your true status being revealed and is very focused on the fact that you are the nephew of an Earl. I worry that she is becoming unhinged,” Elizabeth admitted.
“I doubt she can do any true damage, but I begin to worry about her mental state. She has heard too often from Mama that she ‘could not be so beautiful for nothing’ and puts a great emphasis on her looks.”
“Perhaps we should send a physician to Longbourn to evaluate both her and your mother?” Fitzwilliam asked.
“While a few men would accept an insipid woman as a wife, most would not unless the lady in question also possessed a significant dowry. No man would want a wife who brings nothing, as your sister appears to do.”
Elizabeth sighed and snuggled deeper into his embrace.
“There is little she could do, as she would not be invited in our home here or to Darcy House, and I cannot imagine she could manage to travel to either Oakridge Manor or Pemberley. It is such a long distance to travel and an expensive journey—not one my father could or would be willing to fund. With us leaving London before long, I do not think there is cause to worry.”
He hugged her more tightly and assured her that her safety was his first priority.
“Regardless, dearest, I think we should discover all the information we can so we are prepared for any situation that might arise. Does Charlotte say if your sister knows her courtship with the gentleman she had hoped for?”
“The Lucases and Bennets are not exactly on speaking terms of late. Sir William, Charlotte’s father, objected rather strenuously to my mother and Jane’s insistence that Charlotte give them the address to locate me.
My mother protested, leading to a break between the two families.
Most of Meryton recalls how Mama always treated me and sided with the Lucases.
I am uncertain if the news of the courtship has made its way to Longbourn since Kitty and Lydia are also prohibited from visiting Lucas Lodge.
They have met with Maria Lucas occasionally, but it has been difficult for them to converse.
I will ask Charlotte to encourage them to write me and find a way to pass it on to one of the Lucases,” Elizabeth said.
“When will you ask Miss Lucas to arrive? Will we need to send a carriage for her?” Fitzwilliam asked.
“I will suggest she arrive in a fortnight, perhaps three weeks, and then accompany us to Dovedale for at least a month. I will offer to send a carriage, but I expect Sir Lucas to refuse. Since Charlotte is also writing to her suitor, she may know of his plans and want to adjust them based on his availability. Perhaps we should rise and break our fasts so you might read your letter from Mr. Livesay, and I might write mine inviting Charlotte to visit,” Elizabeth suggested.
“Soon,” was his reply. “For now, let us enjoy the quiet and solitude of our chambers. Too soon, we will be disturbed by something or another. While I love my mother, she has been so pleased to have a son married and is determined to be far too involved in our lives at present. At least at Oakridge, we will be free from her interference for a time.”
Laughing, Elizabeth swatted at her husband playfully.
“Your mother is delightful, but, yes, a bit intense. She is thrilled to have a daughter-in-law and someone she can shepherd through the Season and the rest. Georgiana is too young, and you and George have been too stubborn to allow her to do as she likes. I enjoy the novelty of having a caring mother, although I am pleased to have the distance between us now.”
Fitzwilliam laughed in reply, lightly pinning her down as he threatened her.
“I will tell Mother what you said about her, and then we will see if you still think she is delightful.” Before she could open her mouth to answer, he bent to kiss her, and the two remained in bed and did not rise until some time later.
When they finally appeared downstairs, they ordered tea and a small meal to be delivered to the study.
They sat there together, sorting through their correspondence together.
Several letters had been directed to their borrowed home, and Fitzwilliam had not gone through them until now.
The first he found was the one from his old friend Andrew Livesay, and he quickly broke the seal and began to read.
When he was done, he turned to his wife, “His letter is a little different from your friend’s, a bit more explicit in some details.
He was rather direct with Miss Bennet and told her in painful detail that besides her beauty, she had little to recommend herself.
He called at Longbourn a few times but found little to admire there and quit visiting and told your sister as much when they were overheard speaking ill of you in Meryton.
He told her, and I quote, ‘You have nothing to tempt a man other than your smiles,’ she took umbrage at the statement.
She informed him that she would marry much higher than you had, but when she walked away, Livesay heard her threaten to destroy our marriage and take what is yours.
I believe that is similar to what Miss Lucas told you. ”
Elizabeth shook her head. “It is,” she agreed.
“Will you send a note to send an investigator to Meryton? He should seek out Sir William first to gain information, but the Hills at Longbourn would also be useful. Could he, do you think the investigator would be able to deliver a note to the housekeeper from me? I did not have a chance to speak with Mrs. Hill before we departed, but she always looked out for me as a child.”
“I think it could be arranged, my dear, but I will write to a man I know who has done this sort of work in the past. As a barrister, these connections were useful, but I did not think I would need them as a gentleman of means in this new life. However, I am glad to have them,” Fitzwilliam replied.
Both began to work on answering their letters, and most of the morning was spent in this occupation. Several hours passed before the butler appeared to announce a visitor. “Mr. George Darcy is here to see you, Mr. Darcy,” he stated.
Fitzwilliam and Elizabeth looked at each other in surprise at their visitor.
While George and Fitzwilliam had not always gotten along in recent years, things improved following Fitzwilliam’s engagement and wedding.
They asked the butler to escort their guest into a sitting room, and after checking their appearances, they made their way there. “Welcome, George,” his brother began.
“Would you care for refreshments?” Elizabeth asked. “I can call for tea or something stronger if you prefer.”
“Tea would be good,” George replied, surprising the couple again. Elizabeth rang the bell, and the housekeeper quickly appeared. After making the request, the housekeeper departed, and Elizabeth moved to sit next to her husband.
“Is everything well, George?” Fitzwilliam asked.
“Richard and I have been looking into Wickham since he appeared at your wedding ball,” George stated without preamble.
“We … have had a falling out, and he showed up at the house that night hoping to take something of value. I would guess from his actions he was hoping to take Mrs. Darcy, perhaps for a ransom or perhaps for another purpose—maybe he wanted to steal the necklace she was wearing that night.”
Elizabeth gasped at this suggestion, and Fitzwilliam placed his arm around her shoulders and drew her tightly to himself. “Is he desperate enough to take my wife to ransom her? That would be extremely risky.”
“Yes, you would have killed him as you have likely wanted to do since Father made him his godson. He and I played around, always getting into trouble, and you were always there to clean up the mess. You hated it when Father sent him to school with you, and it made you so angry to have to clean up after his mess,” George replied.
“I did,” Fitzwilliam replied, his anger evident.
“You and he were always causing trouble and mocked me for not wanting to participate with you.
Yet, when I did what you asked, you made me your scapegoat and would pin it on me when you got caught.
Of course, I hated it when Father sent Wickham to school with me because he made my life Hell, George.
Do you know what I put up with in that first year when he roomed with me?
How often I was nearly sent down from school for something Wickham did and attempted to blame me.
I detested Wickham and was angry at you and Father for forcing me to spend time with him.
I hated how the two of you mocked me for wanting to be something different from what you were.
“I know you thought you were attempting to help, but the night you met Elizabeth, you attempted to charm her to see if she would toss me aside for you instead of asking me about the woman I had chosen as my wife. Are you certain you did not invite Wickham to the ball to see what trouble he could stir up?”
“I do apologise, Fitz,” George said. “If Elizabeth had ‘thrown you over,’ she would not be the first woman to have done so; you know that. You have frequently commented on how Caroline Bingley was only interested in you because it got her closer to Pemberley, and you refused to introduce the two of us for that very reason.”
“I refuse to introduce you to Miss Bingley because I do not want her as a sister, and I am terrified of what she might do to Pemberley were she to become its mistress,” Fitzwilliam said.
“If she could capture you, she would not hesitate to do whatever it might take, including affecting a compromise. Pemberley is the pinnacle of her dreams. Well, the wealth associated with Pemberley and, I suppose, the Darcy name. She would have settled for me if she thought she could not get you.”
“We have gotten away from what I came here to say,” George began again.
“I came to warn you that Wickham is not done with the Darcy family. He will seek a way to harm us if he can, particularly you, including your wife. I know she is estranged from her family, but Wickham could also strike at them. Is she in contact with them at all?”
“Not right now, and how could he strike at you through my family?” Elizabeth interrupted, the gentlemen having nearly forgotten her presence.
George had nearly forgotten she was there up until that point. “He could ruin your sisters or kidnap one to demand a ransom paid by the Darcys. Richard discovered he left London about the time the two of you arrived.”
“Mary is well protected with the Gardiners. Kitty and Lydia should be too young to be in danger from a rake, although I suppose they are not too young to be kidnapped. Jane would be the obvious target, but she would not do anything that would endanger her reputation with a man as poor as Mr. Wickham,” Elizabeth ruminated out loud.
“Compromise or an elopement is more his style, but he is very convincing when he wants to be. He could play up his connection to the Darcys and Pemberley, perhaps even pretend to be George, and convince your sister to run away with him. She is ambitious enough and wants to be ‘above’ you, so she would leap at the chance to marry George Darcy, only to end up trapped with George Wickham,” Fitzwilliam replied.
“If she is as you say, it would almost be poetic justice for Miss Bennet to end up with George Wickham thinking he was me, would it not?” George suggested.
“Yes, but Wickham would not marry her and would leave her and the entire Bennet family ruined. While Miss Bennet might deserve recompense for her actions, I am not certain putting Miss Bennet and George Wickham together would benefit anyone in the long run. Neither would be happy with the other, and they would repeatedly seek out the Darcys for money or whatever else they might think they ‘deserve’. I cannot imagine them being anything less than a trial,” Fitzwilliam responded.
Sighing, they continued to speak for some time as they pondered different options to end the dual threats of George Wickham and Jane Bennet.