Chapter 20 Runaway #2
“My anger is entirely with Wickham. I could never be angry with you. You have done nothing wrong. Let us continue to St Paul’s. When we have the licence in hand, you may take that as a sign of my steadfastness, for I would never abandon you.”
When they arrived at St Paul’s, Darcy inquired after the bishop. Darcy explained that he wished to purchase a marriage licence. After asking the necessary questions, the bishop led them to another office. “My curate will have the licence drawn up. Once he has done so, you and I may sign it.”
As they approached the curate’s office, they heard raised voices. Darcy froze. Elizabeth asked, “What is the matter?”
“I would know that voice anywhere. It belongs to Wickham,” replied he.
They listened outside the door as Wickham spoke. “I do apologise, my dearest, but you heard the curate. A licence costs twelve pounds. As I told you before we came here, I do not have the funds, but I promise that we may return as soon as I have them.”
They heard another voice, presumably the curate. “You seem rather hesitant for a man who is about to purchase a marriage licence. Is it, in fact, your desire to marry this woman?”
“I…she…”
“Of course, we want to get married!” Elizabeth recognised Lydia’s voice. “Is that not right, Wicky?”
“Of course, my dear.”
Elizabeth whispered to Darcy, “Do you think Mr Wickham actually intends to marry Lydia?”
Darcy whispered back, “It is unlikely. Did you hear his claim that the licence would cost twelve pounds? The cost of a common licence is only about twelve shillings. I am surprised the curate did not correct him in front of your sister. Perhaps the scoundrel has arranged with the curate to feign that the licence costs more than he can afford.”
Elizabeth shook her head, worried for her sister.
“But he must marry her! If he does not, my sisters and I shall be ruined,” she whispered.
Darcy kissed her hand and gave her a look that conveyed all of his love and determination. “I shall not permit that to happen,” he whispered back and strode into the curate’s office. “Good morning.”
“Darcy…this is… a surprise.”
Darcy addressed the curate. “I apologise for pushing in unannounced. I could not help but overhear Mr Wickham’s predicament. Mr Wickham and I have been acquainted for many years. I would be delighted to pay for his licence.”
“Darcy, you…do not…need to do that! I shall have the necessary funds in a few weeks.”
Darcy sounded almost cheerful. “You need not wait. Consider it a wedding gift.”
“There are still a lot of other arrangements that must be made…” Wickham hedged.
“You have brought Miss Lydia to London for the purpose of marrying her. Now you must do so.” Elizabeth could hear the iciness in William’s voice, and she could only imagine the black look that must have accompanied it.
“But Darcy…”
“Remember that I hold your debts, Wickham. If you marry Miss Lydia, I shall decline to call them in, and you may thus avoid debtor’s prison. I suppose that marrying Miss Lydia must surely be preferable to spending the rest of your life in Marshalsea?”
“Darcy—do you mean to say that you shall forgive my debts?”
“No, Wickham.” Darcy spoke with a cold hardness.
“If I were to forgive your debts, I would have nothing left to ensure your compliance. I shall simply continue to hold them. You must know that I am a man of honour, for you have taken advantage of it on many occasions. If I say that I shall not call in your debts so long as you live a life that is beyond reproach, you may take me at my word. But should you stray from that path, you also have my word that I shall consider our agreement to have been nullified, and I shall act accordingly.”
Elizabeth gasped. She had only just begun to trust Mr Darcy’s professions of love.
The only possibility I can countenance is that he is forcing Mr Wickham to marry Lydia to protect not just my family, but specifically my own reputation—to secure our ability to marry without scandal.
This man would surely move Heaven and Earth to protect me!
Elizabeth steeled herself and strode into the room, her eyes sparkling in awe of Mr Darcy’s clever manoeuvring. “Lydia, am I to wish you joy?”
“Lizzy!” Lydia cried, running to embrace her sister. “Why yes, you are! La! I shall be the first of us to be married!”
“I wish you every happiness, but I cannot say with certainty that you shall be first.”
After Darcy paid the curate and Wickham and the bishop signed the licence, Lydia seized Wickham’s hand, hastening him out of the door. “My darling, let us take a stroll along Fleet Street so that I may find a dressmaker to make my wedding gown!”
After Lydia and Wickham left, Darcy informed the curate that the bishop had approved their licence. Once the necessary signatures were in place, Elizabeth said to Darcy, “Now that we have secured the licence, let us celebrate with a walk in Temple Garden, along the River Thames.”
“That is a splendid idea,” he replied, taking her hand in his.
When they arrived at Temple Garden, they were met by a gaggle of geese.
Darcy immediately stiffened, and Elizabeth stifled a laugh.
However, one particular goose evidently had something else in mind, as it was in hot pursuit of another man who ran as if for his life.
When the man shouted for the goose to begone, Darcy, realising that its target was none other than George Wickham, broke into laughter.
“That goose could not have found a more fitting target!”
Elizabeth laughed alongside him. “My grandmama once said that geese only bite those who deserve to be bitten.”
As they walked back to Gracechurch Street, she asked, “When you coerced Mr Wickham into marrying my sister, did you do that for me?”
“Whilst I did it partly to protect your family, my thoughts were only for you. It will preserve your reputation. I want only the best for you, no matter what. I wish to marry you, but I shall do so only when you tell me that I have your love. Now that we have the licence, you have time to consider.”
That night, Elizabeth was unable to sleep.
I have always said that I would marry for the deepest love.
But can one ever know the precise moment when one has found it?
It is not as if love arrives with a calling card, to be presented on a silver salver by a butler.
As she pondered whether or not she truly loved Mr Darcy, or whether she might come to love him someday, her heart beat the truth: she already did.
When I imagine my future, William is in every thought, and I am ever grateful for his presence.
Darcy poured himself a glass of brandy and paced the floor of his library.
I can no longer imagine a future without Elizabeth as my wife.
His agitation increased, thinking how quickly she doubted him, how devastated she had been, believing he would not marry her because of her sister and Wickham.
But I need Elizabeth to be as certain of my feelings as I am. He descended to his library. Perhaps his shelves might contain a book about how to have a successful marriage? Or at least one that might help him sleep. Lord, how he needed a good night’s rest.
Darcy found a promising title: The Morning After by Melissa Anne. It is a truth universally acknowledged that those who experience the same moments again and again, each time with a different result, will thereafter awaken with a profound incredulity of the world around them.
He furrowed his brows at the words.