Vol 1, Chapter 11 #3
“Mr. Darcy has not mentioned your name to me. From the first, my daughters found you wanting. It was easy for them to see that you are a practised liar—practised but not particularly good at it unless one is predisposed to believe your lies, and I was listening to your balderdash. Do you know how many times you contradicted yourself? I gave up counting after ten. My daughter had taken your measure but had decided she would hear what lies you would spew so that you would not spread them to someone more inclined to listen.”
“B-but I was denied the living at Kympton,” Wickham insisted.
“Did you take orders? I have a living in my gift, and I would not give it to one who had not taken orders. If the church was your desired profession, why did you not take orders and look for another living or a curacy? I will tell you why not—it was too much like hard work for you. You are a profligate wastrel who wants things to be given to him without work. You wasted the education that the elder Mr. Darcy gifted you. How he did not hear about your escapades at Cambridge I do not know. I assume his son cleaned up after you to spare his father’s feelings, because, unlike you, he actually cares about others.
“The biggest lie of all was your claiming that Mr. Darcy is jealous of you! Anyone with a modicum of intelligence can see that you are the one who is jealous of Mr. Darcy. If you set foot on my land again, I will have you arrested for trespassing. You are being watched, now get out and never return!” Bennet commanded as he dismissed the man, inwardly satisfied with his being so stunned.
Bennet had sent a copy of his investigator’s report to Colonel Forster who immediately demoted the man to private, and had him watched at all times by four men to make sure he never left the encampment.
The Bennets had supplanted Darcy as Wickham’s main enemy, and he swore vengeance. He did not realise that, in addition to his militia minders, he was watched at all times by men employed by Mr. Bennet.
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
Darcy presented himself at Matlock House while the family were breaking their fasts.
After he greeted his family, he got right to the point.
“Gigi mentioned that she heard some talk of a Miss Jane Bennet in connection to Andrew,” Darcy opened.
“I am not sure how Andrew has been taken in, but she has no connections other than to trade and is a fortune hunter who spurned Bingley for the bigger prize of a Viscount.”
Andrew was about to jump up and strike his cousin, but his father placed a restraining hand on his son’s arm.
“William, do you think your judgment is wiser than all of ours? I would be extremely careful with the next words out of your mouth. Andrew is courting the lady with our full support! Before I continue, tell me, William, how many times have you had a conversation, meaningful or otherwise, with the lady?” Darcy’s uncle asked pointedly.
“I…er…that is…” Darcy scanned his memory to come up with an answer.
“It is never, is it not?” the Earl said correctly, and Darcy nodded, suddenly not as sure of himself as he had thought.
None of them were on his side of the matter, but his pride would not allow him to retreat from his position so hastily.
“So how were you able to gain these insights of yours, William? Did you visit her home? Is her family a disgrace? What is it, William?”
“They have no wealth or connections!” Darcy blustered.
“Are you saying that unless people have wealth and connections, they must be fortune hunters, that one’s character depends on social standing?
” Lord Matlock was well known for his skills as a debater and was enjoying the chance to use the skill on his pompous nephew.
“Does that not make you a fortune hunter if all you care about is wealth and connections? Is that really what my sister and brother taught you, William? What of your Aunt Catherine, my sister? She is high born, wealthy, and connected, but look at her behaviour. If my sister is not a fortune hunter, then I know not who is.” His uncle gave him the gimlet eye while the Countess and her younger son smiled at Darcy’s discomfort.
Andrew, Darcy realised, was still seething.
“Doing my duty to my name and lineage does not make me a fortune hunter,” Darcy bit out sharply. “My father…”
“Told you to do your duty to your estate and your name, and you misinterpreted his words to think that you were meant to think meanly of those below you, William. Before I forget, you call it duty, but choosing a wife based on fortune and connections alone is the very definition of a fortune hunter. Most in the Ton are exactly that. Is not marriage a business arrangement for most? Is that what your late parents wanted for you? It was your father’s great regret that you took his words to you as you did.
He always intended to speak to you about it, but he died suddenly, before he could explain his definition of filial duty to his only son. ”
“He said that I misunderstood his meaning?” Darcy asked softly.
“He did. Now I have a question; you derided Miss Bennet’s connections to trade, did you not?” the Earl asked, leading Darcy to the point he wanted him to see.
“Yes, one uncle is a solicitor, and the other is actively in trade,” Darcy returned.
“What about all of the connections you have to trade, William?” his uncle asked insightfully.
“I do not have such low connections,” Darcy denied primly.
“So you are not friends with Bingley? You do not invest with Gardiner, and you do not earn money from trade?”
“That is different!” Darcy insisted.
“You arrogant horse’s arse!” Andrew could not remain silent any longer. “Is it different because it is the high and mighty Fitzwilliam Darcy, and the same rules do not apply to you?”
Darcy was taken aback by the ferocity of the anger the normally amiable Andrew directed at him. ‘Could I be the one who is wrong? Am I the arse that Andrew called me?’ Darcy asked himself as he began to doubt all of his former assertions. ‘I have a lot to think on.’
“Before you turn tail, William, do you think that I, who, like you, has been escaping fortune hunters since I came into society, would suddenly fall for one? If you ever call the honour of the woman I hope to make my wife into question again, so help me I will call you out. I will leave you with this. We, all of us here, know all about the truth of Miss Bennet’s fortune and connections! ”
“William, you plan to depart for Pemberley on Thursday, do you not?” the Earl asked.
Darcy, unable to find his voice, only nodded.
He felt his gut clenching like he had been kicked in the stomach by Zeus—multiple times!
“Come see me on Wednesday morning; we have much to discuss.” Darcy nodded, bowed to his family, turned on his heel, and took his leave without another word.
“That was harsh of you, Andrew, a horse’s arse?” Richard chuckled.
“He deserved it,” Andrew asserted. None of his family said anything in opposition.