Chapter 9 #2
The answer confused Elizabeth even more and forced her to decide.
“Tom, are you sure the man you saw was Mr Wickham?”
“On my life, miss. I have known that rascal — pardon me, miss — since he was a boy. I would recognise him from a mile away.”
“Very well then. I am going to speak to Miss Darcy, if she is indeed in her room. Please remain here and keep watch. I trust you to help me handle this situation if necessary.”
“Do not worry, miss. I will guard your life with mine.”
With increased determination, Elizabeth climbed the stairs and knocked on the door, first timidly, and then when nothing happened, more strongly.
“Yes? Who is it?” At last she heard Miss Darcy’s soft voice.
Disguising her voice as best she could, Elizabeth replied, “’Tis only I, miss. Janey the maid. I’ve brought you some tea.”
“Oh…I…I cannot open the door…my… be-betrothed has left for only a short while, and he took the key.”
“If you want me to, miss…I can open the door and leave you the tea?”
“I would like that, if you can, yes please.”
“Just a moment, ma’am, I’ll fetch the key!” Elizabeth replied, and then she ran down the stairs and asked the maid she had generously rewarded earlier to open the door. The young woman agreed after only a brief hesitation and another generous payment.
The maid unlocked the door then immediately left, leaving Elizabeth to face the occupant of the room. Upon opening the door, Miss Darcy gasped with astonishment and stepped back, while Elizabeth tried to act with more control than her agitation allowed.
“Miss Bennet! What are you doing here?”
“Miss Darcy…I am glad I have found you. I have come to talk to you. As a friend…”
“But…why? Dear Lord, how did you find me? Is my brother here too?” she cried in alarm and tried to look over Elizabeth’s shoulder to see whether Darcy was behind her.
“Yes. Mr Darcy and my uncle are both here, searching for you.”
The girl looked panicked and confused, so pale that Elizabeth feared she would faint. She stepped forward, then stopped at seeing the girl’s dismay.
“Miss Darcy, your brother came only to talk to you and to be sure that you are safe. I insisted on joining him, but he said he would respect your decision, whatever it may be, if you are certain of it…and to be sure you know the full truth about the man you wish to share your life with.”
“Miss Bennet, my brother always disliked and envied George! You know that. But George is a good and kind man. I know you were his friend too.”
“I was his friend, yes, until I discovered Mr Wickham had not been honest with me. I am sorry to say that, and maybe you do not want to hear it, but he purposely deceived me, and many others!”
“I shall not argue with you, Miss Bennet. But George has been at my side since I was a child! When I was sad or alone, when my brother was away at school, George was always there for me and my father.”
“I know that…but some of your recollections are different from reality. As fond as you are of Mr Wickham, you cannot marry a man for affectionate childhood memories. You should first know the full truth that your brother concealed from you in order to protect you from more grief.”
“What truth, Miss Bennet? About the difference in our situations? In consequence? I am a gentleman’s daughter, George has been brought up as a gentleman, my own father saw to that.
I know George does not have a career yet, but he would have if my brother gave him the living promised by my father.
I do not blame my brother, I am sure he had good reasons to refuse it, but I cannot blame George either. ”
“Miss Darcy, let us sit. It is not for me to reveal such important details, but I may not have another opportunity. And you may discuss it later with your brother or ask for more proof and details. Are you aware that your brother paid Mr Wickham three thousand pounds in lieu of the living when he changed his mind about taking orders? And in spite of that, he repeatedly asked for more money? Do you know how much your brother has paid Mr Wickham since your father’s passing? ”
The revelation made Miss Darcy even paler, and she looked at Elizabeth with her lips parted, but the words failed to come out.
“That is a falsehood, it cannot be true,” the girl finally whispered.
“Unfortunately, it is true. You know your brother would not lie about such things. I would suggest you ask your cousin, the colonel, who I understand is your guardian along with your brother. He is aware of all the transactions and can corroborate your brother’s story.”
Miss Darcy only shook her head in denial, and Elizabeth watched the girl with her heart aching.
“How do you know all this?” she eventually asked.
“I know because I trusted and believed Mr Wickham too. When we first met, he told me many malicious things about Mr Darcy, and I never doubted him. I thought very ill of your brother and even confronted him in a horrible fight. Perhaps hoping to clear his name and honour, your brother told me of their dealings.”
“There is nothing malicious about my brother — he is the best of men. But he is always so proper, so dutiful, so flawless in his behaviour and successful in every endeavour. George is nowhere near as perfect, and my brother always demanded and expected too much from him. But I do love George, and I am sure he will be a good husband to me. And our father loved him. Papa would have heartily approved of me marrying him. He told me as much.”
Elizabeth shook her head in doubt. “Yes, Mr Darcy told me that you wrote that. But may I ask when? When did your father mention to you that he would approve of you marrying Mr Wickham? Do you remember the time or the place or the situation when he told you that?”
Miss Darcy looked disoriented. “I am not quite sure…I was very young, and I hardly remember.”
“Precisely. Could it be that you do not really remember such a statement at all, but Mr Wickham mentioned it to you, persuaded you that it was your own memory, even manipulated you to force your decision?”
“I…I do not think he…I do not know…”
“And, my dear Miss Darcy, even if your father had ever thought of your marriage, would he approve of it now, when you are still so young, when Mr Wickham has no career, no steady income, no means to take care of a wife and a family? Or did your father actually imagine that Mr Wickham would become a successful, hardworking, honourable man, striving for improvement, making good of the opportunities and education of a gentleman your father provided him with, waiting for a few more years and making sure he may support you properly when and if he marries you? After you have had time to know him better as a young woman, and with your brother’s and guardian’s approval? ”
The interrogation disconcerted Miss Darcy, and as soft and warm as Elizabeth’s voice was, her questions were as sharp and painful as arrows piercing the young girl’s last defence. Tears moistened her eyes.
Elizabeth felt bad for being the bearer of such cruel revelations, but she knew she had to make the most of the time she had alone with Darcy’s sister.
“Miss Darcy, your remembrance of a happy past where Mr Wickham had been close to you and your father, offering support and company...how was that possible when you yourself said that your father saw to it that he had a gentleman’s education?
He is your brother’s age...should he not have been at school at the same time?
Would your brother not have seen him in circumstances in which he was more unguarded?
They were friends before, were they not?
And if he was at Pemberley, have you never asked yourself why?
Maybe his deportment was not that of Mr Darcy of Pemberley’s godson?
Or maybe he had been expelled? Therefore, that could be why he never actually finished his education? ”
Seeing the girl become more and more troubled, Elizabeth searched her face, and when she caught her eye for few seconds, said, “Mr Wickham plans to live off your dowry once you are married, am I right? Have you given him any money already? I am sure you have. What explanation did he give you when he asked for it? Are his habits too expensive for a militia lieutenant’s pay?
And how was it possible for him to leave his regiment?
We are at war. Will he be charged with treason? ”
“I…I do not know…I have never thought of this...I have never asked…”
Seeing the young girl white as a sheet and at the edge of losing all composure, Elizabeth approached her slowly as she would a frightened kitten and took her hands in both of her own, speaking earnestly.
“I can see I am causing you pain. Forgive me, but I took the liberty of speaking to you as I would to my own sister, although I know I do not have the right to do so. I do not expect you to care about my words, nor to take my advice in earnest. But I beg you to speak to your brother, to ask him all those questions and to ask yourself what your father would think of this situation…”
“Even if I…it is too late now…”
“Not at all. May I ask where Mr Wickham is now?”
“He left to meet a friend. He has met many friends since we left Pemberley… He said he would return before midnight.”
“Before midnight? But that is still hours from now! So he left you alone here? At this inn? In a locked room, without any refreshment?”
“He had to. He has some business to attend to…”
“Will you not come with me and wait for your brother at the inn where we are staying? We can leave Mr Wickham a note, and tomorrow you may talk again, all together, explain your feelings to your brother and decide what is best—”
“I cannot come with you, Miss Bennet.”
“And I shall not leave you alone,” Elizabeth said resolutely.
“I shall stay here until your brother finds us. He will, eventually, you know that. He is looking for you at every inn and boarding house in the town, and he is determined and thorough, you know he is. Tom, your brother’s coachman, is downstairs too. ”
“Miss Bennet, you do not understand. I have no other choice now. I left with George by design, I agreed to elope with him. If I returned home without being married, the scandal would ruin our name forever. I would rather keep my word than pollute both the Darcy and Fitzwilliam names. The scandal would ruin everybody’s lives,” Miss Darcy whispered, her eyes on the ground.
“I see… May I be so bold as to assume that Mr Wickham told you that, too? Just as he convinced you that your father would approve of your marriage, he made you fear the scandal so you could not change your mind. Am I wrong?”
Miss Darcy’s answer was prevented and their discussion interrupted by a din of voices and the loud sound of an altercation, and suddenly Wickham burst into the room with Tom following him closely through the door, both men red-faced and agitated.