Chapter 49 Netherfield Park #3
“When I understood that Lydia was safe at Longbourn, and knowing that Peter and Robert were still watching Wickham, I believed I could do more for you by completing my business with the investigators in London before returning. Had either protection failed, I would have come immediately.”
“I have longed to be with you, Fitzwilliam. I only wish we could be married so that we need no longer be separated.”
“I am also impatient for the day when we need never be separated again, but we must allow matters to progress as naturally as possible. To everyone else, we have known one another only a short time, and you are now in mourning. We must give our courtship sufficient time that no one will question the haste of our marriage.”
“Yes, but knowing a thing to be right does not make waiting any easier.”
“No, it does not.” He looked ahead to where Kitty and Georgiana were climbing. “Shall I offer to accompany your father when he speaks with Colonel Forster, or will he consider it an intrusion?”
“I think Papa will welcome your help. He has changed since Mary, and I brought Lydia home. He knows now that he should have acted sooner, and everything that has happened since has made him more determined to protect us.”
“Then I shall speak with him before we leave today, if you think the time is appropriate.”
“I think he will welcome your assistance.”
“Then he and I shall decide together what is to be done.”
Kitty's voice carried down the slope before Elizabeth could answer.
“We are here!”
They had reached the grove.
Kitty and Georgiana stood beneath the oaks near the summit, both a little breathless from their race. As Elizabeth and Darcy approached, Georgiana's attention moved from the view across the valley to the trees surrounding them.
The path passed beneath the grove before emerging on the other side. Below them, the valley stretched beyond Meryton, with fields and estates scattered across the countryside as far as the eye could see.
Georgiana slowly looked around.
She looked at Elizabeth, her brow raised.
Elizabeth gave her a small nod of confirmation.
Kitty soon called Georgiana's attention to the oak Elizabeth had claimed as her reading tree when she was younger. Their attention shifted to Elizabeth when she showed them how she had scaled the trunk and pointed to the branch where she had spent many hours reading.
Georgiana regarded the branch with interest. “You truly climbed all the way up there?”
“Many times.”
“She would take a book with her and disappear for hours,” Kitty said. “Mamma complained that no one could find her when she was wanted.”
“Which was the reason I climbed the tree,” Elizabeth admitted.
Georgiana laughed.
Jane and Bingley reached the summit a few minutes later, and the six of them remained long enough to enjoy the view before beginning the walk back to Longbourn.
Kitty and Georgiana again went ahead, although they no longer had enough energy to run, while Jane and Bingley followed at their own unhurried pace.
By the time they reached the house, Mary and Caroline were in the drawing room examining the fire screen Jane had made for her mother's room. Caroline had spread it across a table near the window and was studying the roses when the others entered.
When Mr. Bennet joined them, Darcy approached him. “Mr. Bennet, if you can spare me a few minutes before we leave, I should like to speak with you privately.”
Mr. Bennet regarded him for a moment. “Certainly, Mr. Darcy. We can use my study.”
Darcy followed him across the hall. Once the door had closed behind them, Mr. Bennet gestured toward a chair.
“What can I do for you, sir?”
“Miss Elizabeth mentioned during our walk that Mr. Wickham arranged a clandestine meeting with your youngest daughter and that you intend to speak with Colonel Forster. I hope you will forgive her for speaking of a family matter, but during our conversation, I happened to mention that a man with whom I was raised had joined the militia stationed at Meryton. When she learned I spoke of Wickham, she told me what had occurred.”
Mr. Bennet's expression hardened at the mention of Wickham. “Lizzy did nothing wrong in telling you. I should have spoken to Colonel Forster before now, but my wife's illness began almost immediately after Lydia was brought home. I have had other duties since.”
“Of course.”
“I intend to see him now that the burial is over.”
“Then I should like to accompany you, if you will permit it.”
Mr. Bennet studied him. “Why?”
“Wickham was my father's godson. We grew up together, and my father provided for his education at Cambridge. He thought very highly of him and intended to provide him with a valuable living when it became vacant.”
“But Wickham did not take it?”
“No, sir. He refused it. After my father's death, he informed me that he had no intention of entering the church and requested money in place of the living. I paid him three thousand pounds in accordance with his wishes.”
Mr. Bennet's eyebrows rose. “Three thousand pounds?”
“Yes. He spent it within a few years and then demanded the living after all. When I refused, he blamed me for his circumstances.”
“I begin to understand the man better.”
“There is more that I can tell Colonel Forster. Wickham has accumulated substantial debts, and there have been other instances of conduct toward young women that give me reason to take what happened with Lydia very seriously.”
Mr. Bennet's face changed. “How serious?”
“Serious enough that I would not willingly leave any girl of fifteen in his company.”
For a moment Mr. Bennet said nothing.
Darcy continued, “My sister is also fifteen, sir. I know how easily a young girl may be deceived by a handsome face and genteel manners, particularly when the gentleman employing them has spent his life learning how to gain the confidence of those around him.”
Mr. Darcy rose and crossed to the window.
“My father gave Wickham advantages he might never otherwise have enjoyed,” Darcy said.
“His education allows him to move easily among gentlemen, and his manners encourage a confidence his character does not deserve. I cannot hold myself answerable for what Wickham has chosen to become, but I have known his character for many years. If that knowledge can prevent him from injuring more families, I would consider it wrong to withhold it.”
Mr. Bennet faced him again. “You believe he meant to seduce Lydia.”
“I cannot know precisely what he intended that morning. I do know that a man of nine and twenty arranged a secret meeting in an isolated place with a girl of fifteen and instructed her to conceal it from her family. Whatever his intentions, they were not honorable.”
“No. They were not.”
“He has left other young girls ruined and some with child, sir.”
Mr. Bennet was quiet for a moment before saying, “When do you propose that we speak with Colonel Forster?”
“Whenever you are ready, sir. This is your daughter and your decision. I offer only my knowledge of Wickham and whatever assistance you believe useful.”
“Then I accept it. I shall send a note to Colonel Forster this afternoon and ask when he can receive us.”
“I stand ready, sir.”