Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
Pretty Red Coats all in a Row
Lizzy sat quietly in the drawing room listening to her mother and Lady Lucas discussing an upcoming dinner at Lucas lodge. Charlotte sat between her and Jane, and Maria was seated beside Mary.
The arrival of the two youngest Bennet daughters shattered the cozy social call.
“Mama,” Lydia noisily declared as she burst through the door.
Right behind her, Kitty boasted, “The militia arrived in town today.”
Quietly, Maria said to no one in particular, “But they are not to arrive until tomorrow.” Lady Lucas’s stern look stopped her from saying anything else.
Lydia screeched, “I wanted to tell them first.”
“Young ladies do not screech or shout,” Mrs. Martin reprimanded them as she followed behind.
“But it is not fair,” Lydia pouted.
“They also do not pout,” Mrs. Martin added.
“I don’t care,” Lydia seemed intent on appearing disrespectful and determined to have her say.
“Mama, red coats. Can you not see me married to a dashing young man in a red coat? I would go to balls every night and have ever so much fun,” Lydia gushed without noticing the severe looks of the other ladies in the room.
“Lydia Grace Bennet,” Mrs. Bennet reprimanded.
“You will do nothing of the sort.” The lady then turned to Mrs. Martin.
“I suggest you take Miss Lydia to the school room and begin a lesson in economics. It is time she learns what it takes to run a household like she is accustomed to living in. Then, discuss the types of gentlemen who will be able provide the nice things she believes are important in her life.”
“Why does Lydia need lessons in economics?” Kitty asked quietly.
“Do you think it would be a fine idea to marry a man in the militia?” Mrs. Bennet quizzed her daughter.
“They do look very handsome in their red coats,” Kitty offered quietly.
“Take Miss Catherine along for the lessons, Mrs. Martin. I believe they both need a dose of reality,” Mrs. Bennet instructed.
“Yes, madam,” Mrs. Martin replied. “Come along Miss Lydia, Miss Catherine. It is time for you to discover the real world of adults.”
“But I don’t see why . . .” Lydia began to grouse.
“Do as you are told,” Mrs. Bennet retorted in a more serious tone.
As soon as the girls were out of the room, Mrs. Bennet turned to Lady Lucas saying, “I must apologize for my youngest daughters. It is obvious they are not ready to socialize with adults.”
“But, Mama, Papa said the militia would not arrive until tomorrow,” Maria said to the room at large.
“He said that, dear, because he did not wish you to rush out and join the crowd that would watch them march into town,” Lady Lucas explained. “These men are all strangers, and as such, it is unwise to trust them until they have proven they are gentlemen and trustworthy.”
The following evening, Lizzy caught sight of the officers in red coats.
Her Aunt Phillips, Mrs. Bennet’s older sister, had invited the colonel and his officers to attend her card party.
Their aunt enjoyed hosting a monthly card party, and she felt this one proved grander just by the attendance of so many young gentlemen.
Out of the group, the handsomest man was identified as Lieutenant George Wickham. For her part, Lizzy found the man rather questionable, but she was unsure why. Even Butterbell cautioned her about the man.
“He be not what he seems,” the brownie had said when he first laid eyes on the man.
“How so?” Lizzy had asked.
“Not sure. Use caution, Miss.”
Butterbell’s warnings never proved wrong, so Lizzy avoided the gentleman until he forced his attention on her.
“Your aunt pointed you out as one of her nieces,” the man said as he walked up to her. “I am Lieutenant George Wickham of Derbyshire.” He gave her a slight bow but she found his smile unappealing and questionable. He did not smile with his eyes she noticed.
“Why did my aunt not come along to introduce us?” Lizzy quizzed.
“She excused herself saying she was needed elsewhere in the room,” the Lieutenant replied, still smiling.
Lizzy noticed her uncle enter the room out of the corner of her eye.
Feeling uncomfortable in the man’s presence, she said, “I am sorry, but I must speak to my uncle on my father’s behalf.
” With that, she curtsied before turning and leaving his presence but not before seeing a brief irate look cross his features.
“Lizzy, my dear, how is your father?” Her uncle greeted her cheerfully.
“Papa is well. He does not enjoy these gatherings. He would rather read than play cards,” Lizzy answered pleasantly.
“Who was the disgruntled young man you were speaking to?”
“He introduced himself as one George Wickham. He claimed my aunt pointed me out to him, but she did not come over to complete the introduction. I do not believe she meant to introduce us, but why he chose me out of all the ladies present is unfathomable.”
“I suggest, my dear niece, you avoid him as much as possible.” He smiled at her, took his hand, and squeezed it.
For the rest of the evening, Lizzy found ways to avoid the man even though she felt as if he was trying to gain her attention. She also took a few minutes to speak with Joseph, who had come along to provide for her protection.
“Joseph, did you notice the officer who spoke to me earlier?” Lizzy asked.
“The one you found a way to move away from rather quickly?”
“Yes. His name is Lieutenant George Wickham. I believe he requires watching. Butterbell does not trust him,” Lizzy informed him.
“Ben and I will keep our eye on him. If he bothers you again, you just signal to one of us, and we will quickly come to your service.”
“Thank you, Joseph.”
Lizzy felt more comfortable knowing she would be watched over.
One week after the card party, Darcy and Lizzy were using the fine November day to practice creating a ward which would keep all power bound to the person trying to use it.
Butterbell had been enjoying the sight of Miss Lizzy creating the ward and Mr. Darcy attempting to break out of it.
The brownie noticed the wards were lasting longer, but still not holding for more the five or ten minutes.
He knew, if she faced the eliminator, the ward would need to last longer.
Suddenly, Butterbell began to feel uneasy.
He sensed a wrongness in the air, but he could not tell where the feeling had originated or what caused the sense of wrongness.
He began to look around the area carefully, but he said nothing.
He thought if he spoke to Rowan for assistance, the thing causing the feeling would leave the area.
Butterbell knew it would be better to find the source now rather than have it appear again later.
It took some time, but Butterbell finally caught a glimpse of something red.
He took time to focus more intently on the object but not with his eyes.
Should he begin to stare in the object’s direction, he knew he would scare it off.
Using his senses and his powers from nature, he finally discovered what, or actually who, the object was.
Walking slowly closer to Miss Lizzy, he finally reached out and tugged gently on her gown. “Miss, we being watched,” he said quietly.
Lizzy stopped her practice and looked down at Butterbell. Keeping her voice low, she asked, “Who is watching us?”
“Bad man from party.”
Lizzy momentarily thought about Butterbell’s words before it dawned on her who he meant.
“The militia lieutenant?”
“Yes, wicked man.”
Realizing the practice had ended, Darcy walked over to join the two with Rowan trailing behind.
“Has something happened?” Darcy inquired, but his voice carried across the field.
“He leaving,” Butterbell declared. “He know we see him.”
“See who?” Darcy felt bewildered by what was taking place.
Seeing concern on the faces of Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth, Joseph and Ben, who had been monitoring every training session, came over to discover what was happening.
“It seems one of the militia men has been watching us,” Lizzy informed the gentleman.
“Miss,” Joseph asked, “is something amiss?”
“There was someone standing in the woods watching us,” Lizzy informed two guards.
“Do you know who it is?” Joseph asked.
“Bad wicked man,” Butterbell supplied, but only Darcy and Lizzy heard him.
Darcy looked questioning at Elizabeth.
“I meet him a few weeks ago at a card party hosted by my Aunt Phillips,” she began explaining to the three men.
“He was extremely forward. He introduced himself to me after claiming my aunt pointed me out to him. I asked why my aunt did not introduce us, and he claimed she had been called away before she could. I did not believe him, and Butterbell warned me not to trust him, so I promptly found an excuse to leave his company.”
“What was the man’s name?” Darcy asked.
“Lieutenant Wickham.”
“Wicked man,” Butterbell interjected.
“George Wickham?” Darcy’s surprise was evident to Lizzy.
“Yes. Do you know him?”
“Unfortunately. Butterbell is correct, he is not someone you should trust.”
“Who is he?” Lizzy asked curiously.
Ben and Joseph were also interested in learning more about this man since he seemed to present more of a risk then they first thought.
“He was the son of my father’s trusted steward, Mr. Alfred Wickham.
His father and mine died within weeks of each other.
He was also my father’s godson.” Seeing questioning look on the lady’s face, he explained.
“My father felt indebted to the elder Mr. Wickham, so when his son was born, my father agreed to be his godfather. As George Wickham grew older, he endeared himself to my father by behaving in a cheerful, respectful manner.”
“Let me guess. The man was not really respectful, and his cheerfulness was an act.” Lizzy paused for a moment recalling something Mr. Darcy had shared with her earlier. “Is he the man who tried to woo your sister into believing he loved her?”
“How . . ..” Darcy stopped abruptly as he also recalled the previous conversation. “You remember the comment that he was my father’s godson.”
Laughingly, Lizzy replied, “Yes, I do. Now I understand what kind of villain he is. One who preys on vulnerable underaged young ladies.”
Ben and Joseph did not quite understand what Mr. Darcy and Miss Elizabeth meant but they asked no questions. Instead, they continued to listen and share meaningful eye contact with each other.
“Yes and no. He will prey on any lady willing to believe his lies.”
“Wants money,” Rowan observed.
“Bad man,” Butterbell reiterated.
“The question now is why is he watching us? What does he hope to learn?” Lizzy’s mind tossed numerous ideas around, but none really made any sense.
“I have no idea. We will just need to be more cautious,” Darcy said.
“Joseph and I will go into town and see if we can learn anything more about him,” Ben stated.
“We should have started the night after the card party,” Joseph said. “It was my failure not to follow through with my previous promise.”
“It will not hurt to do some investigating without being obvious,” Darcy replied. “If he suspects he is being watched, however, he will be more careful about his movements.”
“No worries, sir,” Joseph replying. “We know how to be discreet.”
Turning his attention to the two brownies, Darcy said, “Maybe Rowan and Butterbell can carefully observe his movements and interactions with others in the area, as well.”
“We can,” declared both brownies simultaneously.
Although both Ben and Joseph could not see the brownies, they always knew they were around.
A week later, a rumor began to spread around town about militia men running up debts in other towns and not paying the debts before leaving town.
Shop owners began to request payment of debts already incurred and refused to allow the officers and enlisted men to charge any more purchases.
They demanded payment at the time of any sale.
Soon after the first rumor circulated, another one spread information about the officers promising marriage but then taking advantage of young ladies, so parents were warned to protect their daughters as well.
Wickham had become worried about the debts he had incurred, but then he showed up in town one day and paid them all off. None of his fellow officers could discover where he had obtained the money, and Wickham was unwilling to share his secret.
The day before Wickham paid his bill, he had gone off alone and met a man who provided him with the money he needed.
Wickham had been careful no one followed him.
He also knew there were brownies in the area because he could sense their presence, but he had no awareness of the two brownies who continually followed him around because of the special ward Lizzy had woven around them.
This meeting between Wickham and another man, witnessed only by the brownies because Ben and Joseph had not been able to follow the man, made both brownies fearful.
They felt there was something bad about this other man, but they did not know where the bad feelings came from.
All they could do was share what they had discovered with Lizzy and Mr. Darcy.
Later, Lizzy would share what she learned with both Ben and Joseph.
“He were a tall dark man,” Rowan said.
“Kept face covered,” Butterbell added.
“Bad. Not a good man.”
“Gave Wickedman money.” Butterbell had dubbed Mr. Wickham with the name. He felt it described the man perfectly.
Darcy had chuckled the first time Butterbell referred to Wickham in this manner. He felt the name suited the man he knew.
As Lizzy shared what the brownies had observed with Ben and Joseph, they also chuckled about Butterbell referring to the man as Wickedman.