Chapter 9 #3
We are sending you our love and best wishes,
Your aunt,
M. Gardiner
Elizabeth’s heart fell. The Gardiners would not be able to attend her wedding!
Oh, she understood their reasoning, but she was disappointed, even so.
Poor Jane! Losing her husband and baby and then having to listen to her mother’s daily harangues.
No one from her family would be at the wedding, and that upset her, but she would not dwell on her setback—she had their visit to look forward to.
* * *
Pembrook Cottage
“Mr. Hopkins reviewed the marriage settlement and advised me to rest easy about signing it,” said Elizabeth. She seemed pleased, and Darcy was relieved after their earlier time when she had not been so comfortable with him.
“I am glad to hear it. Shall we walk in the gardens? It is a beautiful day.” They reached their destination and enjoyed the sight of the many plants beginning to recover from the fire.
Darcy brought up a subject that had been on his mind for quite a while.
“The Fitzwilliams and Georgiana will be at our wedding, and I wonder if you will have someone there supporting you.”
“Will you tell me more about Georgiana? I know so little about her, and we shall soon be sisters.” He raised his brows at the change of topic but nonetheless chose to spend some time in answering her question.
“My mother died shortly before my sister’s first birthday; I was but twelve years of age.
My father was devastated by her death and locked himself in his study while my baby sister was left in the care of nurses, governesses, tutors, and then companions.
When I was home from school and university during breaks, I doted on her.
She is everything you could ask for in a sister: caring, intelligent, and devoted to music.
“When I became master of the estate, I confess I was overwhelmed by my new responsibilities. Several months after my father’s death, the Matlocks took her to town and tried to keep her mind occupied by continuing her education and entertaining her with trips to art museums, music exhibitions, and the theatre.
Georgiana devoted herself to playing the harp and pianoforte, and her dedication to music has resulted in her becoming a talented musician.
When I was in London, I spent as much time with her as possible, but she refused to stay with me at Darcy House.
Too many memories of my father remained for her there.
Georgiana has suffered so much in her young life. ”
“How I wish I could erase everything she has been through. I hope having an older sister will be good for her.”
Darcy did not respond to her comment about them all living together after the wedding.
There would be time to discuss that at a later date.
Instead, he chose to tell her more. Where to start?
“While I was growing up, Pemberley had an excellent steward, Henry Wickham, whose wife gave birth to a son shortly before I was born. The boy grew up mean spirited and jealous of what I had. He struck me often and repeatedly told me my father loved him more than me. As my good father’s godson, George Wickham was sent to school and to university with me, and my father paid all his expenses.
As we got older, I never told my father about how George’s boyhood pranks developed into a life of greedy degeneracy.
George was careful to hide his vicious propensities and want of principle from my father. ”
“Did he ever learn of his godson’s behaviour?”
“George is a persuasive liar, and I could not bear to hurt Father by telling him the truth. Rather than take advantage of the opportunities my father afforded him, he never bothered to open a book, preferring to cheat and gamble, and eventually left Cambridge before completing his studies.
“When my father died, he left his godson ￡1000 and the living in Kympton when it became available. George came to Pemberley for the reading of the will, which directed me to assist him in establishing himself. I was relieved when such an immoral man told me he had no interest in the church and wished to have the value of the position, which was ￡3000, so he could study the law. I gave him the money, and he signed away any claim to the living. I believed it would be the last I saw of his sorry soul. After that, he stopped all pretence of being a gentleman, living a life of idleness and dissipation. In less than three years, he had no money left.”
Elizabeth clasped her hand over her mouth. When she uncovered it, she said, “He spent ￡4,000 in such a short time?” Darcy was not surprized at her astonishment. It was a large sum to squander away.
“George is talented at spending money but far less skilled at holding onto it.”
“What happened to him?”
“When the living became available, he returned, demanding what he had been promised. I denied his claim because he had already been paid and sent him on his way.
“Georgiana was enjoying the seaside during the summer of the year ten. George accidently found her there with the cooperation of my sister’s new companion.
What we did not know was that Mrs. Younge was well acquainted with the blackguard, and aided him in his efforts to convince my sister to elope. ”
She gasped. “Elope! She was not yet fifteen and still a child.”
“He persuaded her to think they were in love, and she believed him and her heart was engaged. Thankfully, I arrived in time to save her from ruin and ensure no one discovered their nefarious scheme. My sister is na?ve and kind hearted and had no idea of his evilness. Her dowry is ￡30,000, and George’s only goal was to get his hands on her money.
” Darcy bit his bottom lip as he recalled his response to the scoundrel.
“His hatred of me always increased when he was in desperate financial straits. In many ways, my father’s generosity led to George’s downfall.
He became so consumed with having limitless resources to spend on his debauchery, he would stoop to any depths to obtain it.
I shall never understand how old Mr. Wickham had any hand in the making of a son so devoid of any honour. ”
“Your poor sister. Your family helped prepare the younger Mr. Wickham to make his way in the world and he repaid you by trying to steal your sister’s dowry and ruining her. How cruel can one person be? Thank heavens you saved her from a life of misery. He and Mrs.Younge belong in gaol.”
“I was filled with rage over what George tried to do, but Georgie believed I was angry with her.
She became painfully shy, and feared saying or doing something wrong again.
I kept telling her she was a mere child who had been taken advantage of by a skilled seducer and that I was proud of her for telling me about their plans before it was too late.
“My cousin Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam is her co-guardian, and we thoroughly investigated her new companion, who has turned out to be the perfect person to help my sister. By listening to Mrs. Annesley, Georgiana has gradually come to understand that she did nothing wrong and was not at fault for what happened. She is slowly becoming the lovely young woman she is meant to be.”
“What happened to Mr. Wickham after you saved your sister from his clutches?”
“Richard was here shortly after the constable told me his investigation showed the fire was intentionally set.
We both knew only one person could be responsible.
When we searched my study, we found that everything in my safe—all the money, the Darcy jewels, and the deeds to all my properties—were gone.
The only person who hated me enough to destroy Pemberley and steal everything I own was George Wickham.
“Richard returned to London and, assisted by the Bow Street Runners, recovered the jewellery George tried to sell. The avaricious dog made the mistake of trying to sell the jewels to the same man who created them for my mother. This jeweller knew the Darcy family would never part with family heirlooms. The miscreant also went to my solicitors and tried to sell Pemberley and all my other properties. When he was told it would take many months to conclude the sale, George dropped all the deeds on the desk and said Pemberley was a burnt-out ruin and had no value. No one could have known about the fire’s devastation— unless he started it.
The end of the story is that Richard has reclaimed all the jewels and my solicitors sent back all the deeds. ”