Chapter 37 Longbourn #2
Squirming inside as he remembered his curt and rude letter, Darcy said, "I am afraid we both know that the night of the assembly in Lambton was not the first time I have insulted a member of the Bennet family.
I apologize for the offensively brief and poorly worded letter I sent as an accompaniment to that chessboard.
Even if you were the kind of man my Aunt Catherine declared you to be, you deserved far more courtesy than I showed, based simply on the volume of correspondence you shared with my father.
I know he treasured it, because he kept it all.
I could barely fit your final letter in the drawer he reserved for your missives. "
"I was less offended than amused and saddened by your response, Mr. Darcy.
Any offense I did feel was wiped away by the beauty and meaning of the gift.
I may never have met your father in person, but I would guess there were few men in this world who knew him as well.
We had many limitations in common, and we shared both the challenges and our solutions with each other even as we played our games.
"No doubt I would have realized that if I had even glanced over your letters or listened to my father speak of your games. Instead, I simply boxed the letters up and put them away with a large portion of his papers and other non-essential correspondence."
"Do not feel bad about it, Mr. Darcy," Bennet said with a gentle smile. "I know what it is like to lose a father and inherit all the responsibilities he seemed to handle so effortlessly. It is never easy, and it is no surprise that in such moments we often do or say things we later regret."
"Thank you, sir," Darcy said. He looked at the tiny board, analyzing the position of the pieces. After a moment of thought, he used the tweezers to make a move, capturing one of Mr. Bennet's men and depositing it with the other captured pieces in the small bowl set nearby for that purpose.
"Ah, that move shows you are your father's son," Bennet said as Darcy handed the tweezers back to him. "That is just the sort of move I would have expected from him in that situation. You honor him well."
Bennet moved his own piece in response and placed the tweezers back on the desk before offering his hand to Darcy. "It is a pleasure to have you here at last," he said as they shook hands.
"The pleasure is mine, Mr. Bennet," Darcy replied, and he meant it.
"May I assume you are both here about that Wickham fellow, as well as one or two other matters of a more feminine type?
" he said, raising an eyebrow questioningly at Richard.
"Shall we take our seats and discuss your visit to Rosings Park and recent events here?
" He gestured to the seats arranged in front of the fire.
"You did receive the express then?" Richard asked, obviously ignoring the tease in the rest of the comment. He and Darcy stood by their seats, politely waiting for Mr. Bennet to settle himself before they sat.
"Yes, I did," Bennet replied. "I have heard nothing of Wickham in these parts, but that does not mean he is not here.
I trust your sources too well to ignore the warning.
Sir William Lucas went to Meryton for me and asked the commander of the unit, Colonel Forster, if anyone named Wickham had joined them.
He has not done so using that name, and the Colonel would not investigate further.
Too many of the men match the general description you provided.
We have had problems with several of the officers being too forward in their attentions to some of our young ladies, including my own daughters.
It became particularly troublesome and notable a few months ago after the arrival of a new officer, Lt. Brickham."
Darcy and Richard looked at each other significantly on hearing the name that was so similar to Wickham. Bennet had paused for effect, but he continued when they looked back at him.
"I have no doubt the new lieutenant is the man you seek.
After Kitty and Lydia had problems with him, I discussed the matter with the fathers of other young women in the area.
We banded together to insist that Colonel Forster make it clear to his men that such behavior would not be tolerated in our community. "
"Did the young ladies receive any more unwanted advances after that?" Richard asked.
"No, but the senior officers and the Colonel have been rather cool towards all of us since then.
Brickham tried to approach Kitty in the village, but she stayed close to her sister and their governess, refusing to acknowledge him as I had instructed.
He later sent me a note to offer an approximation of an apology that his, as he called them, overtures of friendship had been misunderstood as something more sinister.
It was an amusingly artful letter, filled with weasel-worded phrases that could mean anything or nothing at all. "
"That is Wickham for sure," said Richard.
Bennet nodded stiffly. "So I thought once I received your express.
I know of no more trouble from him, and the commanding officer will not act against him unless he does something that can be proven.
All we can do is keep an eye out for him and wait.
Now, what else have you heard that had you so concerned you thought an immediate warning was called for?
And how did matters go with Miss de Bourgh? "
"She is Miss de Bourgh no longer," Richard replied cheerfully.
"As of yesterday morning, she is Mrs. Martin Hanson.
Will successfully extracted her from Rosings Park with her mother's blessing - a blessing that was rescinded a few hours later when our aunt learned the romantic drive Will took Anne on was all a ruse. "
"That is wonderful news!" Bennet said. "I know your father has been concerned for some time that your cousin would have problems when she finally chose to leave her mother's household.
He has been dealing with some kind of situation of his own at Randbrook, or he would have been there to help.
You must tell me more about how you accomplished Mrs. Hanson's escape. "
Darcy listened quietly as Richard put his storytelling skills to use and provided the details their host craved, only offering a comment now and again when he had information Richard did not.