Chapter 21
Charles’s stomach churned as Wickham sat on the bed munching on bacon and gulping down the coffee. Although he hadn’t eaten so much as a morsel all day, he couldn’t think of food at a time like this.
“What could you have been thinking, absconding with a gentleman’s daughter and refusing to marry her?” Darcy said in an acrimonious tone, quite unlike anything Charles might do.
Wickham shrugged one shoulder. “We were just having a lark. I still have hopes of marrying an heiress from another country.”
Darcy scoffed. “What other country?” he asked, now incredulous. “There’s a war raging on the Continent. Do you hope to meet some heretofore unknown heiress in Paris or, perhaps the Americas?”
“You must think more rationally about this, Wickham,” Charles said, hoping to defuse the situation. “Your charm alone will not recommend you to a woman of fortune, or her father.”
Wickham ignored this advice and finished the last of his breakfast.
Charles sent a pleading glance to Darcy. “I’m certain we can find an agreeable solution for my friend.”
Darcy nodded his understanding. “Have you given any thought to joining the regulars, Mr Wickham?” he inquired, moderating his tone.
“You would do quite well in the army, and the pay is far superior to that of the militia,” Mr Gardiner added.
Wickham scowled irritably. “I suppose it’s my only option. I can’t go back to my regiment after this.”
“My friend could purchase a commission for you,” Darcy said, gesturing to Charles. “His cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam has connections in the highest ranks.”
“Yes, indeed,” Charles said, taking his cue from Darcy. “It would be a simple matter to arrange.” Although he had no idea if this were true, he supposed Darcy’s family had unlimited access to every possible avenue.
“Would that suit you, Mr Wickham?” Mr Gardiner inquired in a friendly tone.
Charles held his breath as Wickham stared at the coals burning in the grate.
“I suppose so,” he said, without much conviction.
Although vastly relieved, Charles maintained a serious Darcy-like mien. “I shall see to it immediately.”
“I’ll need some money to pay for my room,” Wickham said hesitantly. Then added, “While I wait for the commission and other arrangements.”
Charles reached into his pocket, but Darcy held up his hand to warn him off. “We’ll pay the proprietor on your behalf. Once we have more details, we’ll be in touch,” he said, and the three men left Wickham alone.
Downstairs, they spoke to the proprietor and paid for a week’s meals and lodgings for Wickham.
Once outside, they waited on the flagway for Lockhart to return with the carriage. Now that they had come to an agreement, the end of the matter was finally in sight. Hopefully, no damage had been done to Lydia’s reputation, or more importantly, her sisters.
“I thought it inadvisable for Wickham to get his hands on any amount of money,” Darcy said. “He would have spent it all before the night was out. We want him here, with no place else to go.”
“Quite right,” Mr Gardiner said, nodding his agreement. “Now to determine what’s to be done with Lydia.”
“I suppose Mr Bennet must bring her home,” Charles said.
Frowning, Mr Gardiner shook his head. “I don’t recommend that she go home. She hasn’t enough sense to keep quiet about this adventure. Perhaps she ought to stay here with me for a while.”
“Are you certain your wife would wish to take charge of such an undisciplined child?” Darcy inquired.
“No, I daresay she would disrupt the household and cause all manner of havoc, but what else can be done with her?”
Charles was suddenly struck with inspiration. “I might have a more palatable solution.”
***
Darcy doubted his friend could conceive of any scheme to remedy this imbroglio.
“Miss Huntington’s Seminary for Young Ladies,” Charles said as Lockhart finally turned the corner and drew near.
“Yes, by Jove,” Darcy said, echoing Charles’s optimism. “My sisters received an excellent education at that school.” At least, Caroline Bingley had credited her numerous accomplishments to her seminary studies.
The three men boarded Charles’s carriage and headed back to Gracechurch Street.
“You may have hit on the very thing Lydia needs, Mr Darcy. She has no more than a modicum of sense and no restraint whatsoever. A ladies’ seminary would give her a town bronze and prepare her for a marriage to a suitable gentleman.
It just might work, if my brother will agree to it. ”
“I would be happy to contribute to her tuition,” Darcy said, and Charles eagerly echoed that offer.
Mr Gardiner dismissed this offer. “I’m well able to cover that expense, but the more I think of it, the more I’m convinced that Lydia ought to remain in town. She can stay with us during the school term.”
“Well done, Darcy,” Darcy said, grinning at his friend.
Knowing that this school was the perfect solution to the Lydia Problem, Charles brushed imaginary lint from his lapel. “I haven’t lost my touch.”
“When we get to the house, you can send a note to Matlock House and ask your cousin to join us,” Darcy said. “Colonel Fitzwilliam will know precisely how to arrange the commission.”
Charles nodded his understanding. “An excellent suggestion.”
Richard,
Please come to 314 Gracechurch Street as quickly as possible.
I need to quickly arrange a commission for our erstwhile friend, GW.
FD
After Darcy had written his note and sent it off with Mr Gardiner’s servant, Lydia’s voice rang out from another part of the house.
“No, Papa. I shan’t go without seeing Wickham.”
“You will do as I say.”
“What’s going on, Madeline?” Gardiner asked his wife.
“Oh, Edward, I’m at my wits’ end, and the children are frightened,” Mrs Gardiner said with a harried frown. “Thomas insists on going home, and Lydia refuses to leave town. She’s locked herself in the study.”
“Have no fear, my dear. Mr Darcy has suggested a perfect solution,” Mr Gardiner said, then gestured for everyone to follow him to the study. “Lydia, dear, please come out and speak with us. We have an excellent proposal for you, and I promise you will approve of the idea.”
The key turned in the lock and the door swung open. Lydia emerged, her eyes suspicious and her lips pressed into a thin line. “Will you allow me to marry Wickham, after all?”
“No, my dear girl, but Mr Bingley has offered to recommend you to Miss Huntington’s Seminary for Young Ladies,” Mr Gardiner said, beaming broadly.
Lydia’s eyes grew wide in revulsion. “School!” she said with an irreverent sneer. “How can you even suggest it?”
Despite his niece’s brazen tone, Mr Gardiner maintained his composure. “Well, my dear, Miss Huntington has the best reputation in town for educating the most sought-after young ladies.”
“I think it’s an excellent notion,” Mrs Gardiner said with a hopeful glint. “You’re bound to find an advantageous match under her tutelage.”
Lydia scoffed and stomped her foot. “I’m already out of the schoolroom. All I need is a husband.”
Mrs Gardiner wrapped a firm arm around Lydia and led her to the drawing room sofa. “Yes, my love, but you can’t run off with a man of no fortune and expect him to keep you in the life to which you are accustomed, no matter how handsome he might be.”
“I assume you wish to be mistress of your own home, and not a governess or a shop girl,” Darcy said, finally catching Lydia’s attention. “Because if you marry a man with no fortune, you shall certainly have to work for a living.”
“You’re handy with a needle. Perhaps you could take in mending or laundry,” Mr Bennet said in a jovial tone, to which his daughter shrieked in horror.
“Men like Wickham tend to spend money they don’t have,” Darcy said. “Men of fortune prefer accomplished, educated wives, who can efficiently manage the household and entertain their guests with intelligent conversation.”
From Lydia’s blank stare, Darcy surmised that he had yet to convince her.
“None of your friends or sisters have had a similar opportunity to study under Miss Huntington’s excellent tutelage,” he said, repeating her earlier zeal to best her sisters.
Her focus drifted off as she considered this. “They would be so jealous.”
“Naturally,” Charles said. “It’s one of the most prestigious schools in the kingdom.”
Darcy doubted the truth of this claim, since there were several other well-known seminaries with outstanding reputations, but he nodded his agreement.
“I would need more gowns,” Lydia said with a determined air.
“I think we can arrange that,” Mr Gardiner said, then addressed his brother-in-law. “Can we not, Thomas?”
Mr Bennet glanced between Mr Gardiner and his daughter without a trace of his usual amusement.
“You are a wretched, thoughtless girl, Lydia, acting as though you haven’t just disgraced yourself and your sisters by running off without a chaperone, in the company of a man of dubious character.
In the eyes of the world, you are ruined. ”
“No, Papa, I’m still a maid.”
Mr Bennet threw his hands in the air. “That’s beside the point, you feather-headed child,” he bellowed, hovering over his daughter.
“You spent the night in the company of a man who is not your husband. Everyone will assume the worst of you, and no reputable man would consider marrying a fallen woman. You are in no position to negotiate and should be on your knees, begging me not to cast you out and promising to make amends for the shame you have caused your family.” He pointed out to the street.
“You will go to Miss Huntington’s school and use this opportunity to salvage what’s left of your reputation. ”
Stunned, Lydia blinked at her father’s harsh rebuke. “I’m sorry, Papa, but I truly thought Wickham would marry me.”
Mr Bennet turned to stare out of the window. “Well, he won’t. From what I gather, he never had any such intention, nor did he even bother to defend his honour,” he said in a subdued tone.