Chapter 48 #2
“Georgie, we must return to London today.” Darcy spoke as gently as he could, but they had delayed their departure long enough.
“No. Not London. George will expect me to have gone to Pemberley to prepare for our wedding. He will come for me there.”
“My dear, I have business in Lon—”
“Please, Brother! Do not make me go to that wretched place. I cannot bear it.” His sister burst into tears, giving no further explanations, and nothing would console her but a promise that he would take her directly to Derbyshire.
“Minny, we should return to your home. We have been in London for a month, and I miss the comforts of Bath.”
“Not yet, George. I told you, someone found my reticule in the Ramsgate house. It was not in its hiding place when I returned once Georgiana had left. If it was Mr. Darcy, he may look for me and ask questions, and I have no wish to upset my life in Bath with scandal. I should never have agreed to your silly scheme.”
“Forgive me, my darling. You know I do not wish to be dependent on you or your fortune. If Darcy had not thwarted me again, I could have proved myself worthy of you.”
Minny Younge may be wealthy, but she was also weak and afraid.
Wickham suspected she had spent only a fraction of the wealth she had inherited, but she had always hidden such details from him.
She had never told him what made her so cautious, but he was grateful she had not allowed her late husband to spend her fortune.
She had been married to the man for less than a year, and he had died nearly a decade ago.
Still, she had refused, repeatedly, to marry Wickham, likely fearing his charm would convince her to reveal all.
He had been biding his time, accepting whatever crumbs she offered.
Unfortunately, he sometimes lost favor with her, so an independence such as he had sought from Elizabeth Bennet or Georgiana Darcy would have given him much comfort.
He would, of course, remain with Minny now, but these rooms were not up to their usual standards.
“But darling, Southwark is not the place to hide. Could we not at least find a cleaner hovel?”
“Get out of bed and help me sort through this crate if you wish to depart sooner. I asked my maid in Bath to send a few pieces of jewelry I could sell. Which of these do you think would bring enough for us to live in the style you prefer?”
Wickham picked up a necklace and placed it around her neck, grazing his fingers down her spine.
“This one is too fine to sell. What about the bracelets? You never wear them.”
“Very well. But they will not be enough.”
George turned over a miniature portrait and gasped.
“What is it?”
“Why do you have a painting of Elizabeth Bennet?” Wickham sneered as he looked at her image.
“What? Oh, that is not her name. Who is this girl you speak of?”
Wickham picked up a ring, then gently placed it on her finger.
“I love it when your French accent comes out, ma chérie.”
Minny giggled and embraced him.
“Remember that heiress I tried to seduce in January? Unfortunately, she was a friend of Darcy’s, and he warned her away from me. I later discovered she was no heiress at all but quite low-born and probably with no dowry. Darcy did me a favor. Still, he angered me at the time.”
“So, we went after his sister. Perhaps keep revenge out of your next seduction.”
“It is never revenge with you, my sweet.”
“Yes, yes. But not now, George. You do not like this place, so choose which items to sell, and we will find a place more suitable.”
Together they sorted through several more pieces until they had a good amount of jewelry ready to sell.
“Who is this girl, then, if it is not Elizabeth Bennet? The painting looks like her, except maybe for her eyes.”
“This woman died many years ago. Her name was Susannah, and she and her husband betrayed my family, so I betrayed her. Now they are both dead. But wait! This Elizabeth. How old can she be?”
“I never asked. Perhaps eighteen or twenty.”
“Eighteen or twenty…and you are sure she is Elizabeth?”
“Yes, of course. I did get that much right. But why do you care? She is nothing, a nobody.”
“Perhaps, yes. Perhaps, no.”
Minny was a beautiful, mysterious woman, but sometimes she could be exasperating. He looked at her expectantly.
“Perhaps your next seduction will be for revenge after all. And perhaps it will be not so much seduction as…revenge.”
Elizabeth knew she could not pretend forever that paint, music, books, and needlework were enough for her. She had always been a social creature, but when Meryton society and then London society had rejected her, she had retreated to her family and her accomplishments and made the best of it.
She did not think she could continue to hide her desire for something more, however.
When she was a child growing up with Jane and Mary, the girls had talked of living near each other so their husbands and children could be the best of friends.
Elizabeth had always thought she would marry and have a family.
Later, she realized that Aunt Bennet had supported her education not for its intrinsic value but to prepare her for service as a governess.
She felt a twinge of reluctant gratitude for Aunt Bennet and her foresight.
Elizabeth had known for a while that marriage was not in her future.
She had briefly thought Mr. Wickham had been the answer.
It had been an impossible dream, poorly considered, and after she had escaped his uncanny hold on her, she had thought more of her future.
She had let herself become sidetracked when Mr. Darcy suddenly returned and gave her and the Gardiners so many months of unforgettable friendship.