Page 3 of Searching for Elizabeth
Whatever Elizabeth’s father expected to hear, it certainly was not this. Darcy noted the man’s surprise, vexation, and just a bit of concern.
“Sir,” Mr. Bennet started, making the polite appellation sound ironic, as if Darcy did not deserve the title, “you are going to have to tell me what story you are talking about and certainly more about Mr. Wickham’s supposedly true nature. From what I have seen, Mr. Wickham is quite the charmer, but I have seen no evil in him. And your word ‘warn’ seems inappropriate, from what I know of him.”
Darcy sighed. As usual, Wickham seemed to be better regarded than he himself. However, he had come to Longbourn, today, determined to explain almost everything he knew about his nemesis. And that is what he would do.
“George Wickham was the son of the long-time steward of Pemberley, my estate, and he was the godson of my father. Mr. Wickham, senior, was Pemberley’s steward when my father was the master, and when Wickham, Sr., sickened, my father promised to look after his son, to provide him an education, and to help him get started in an honorable occupation. Soon after he made that promise, Mr. Wickham died. The steward was a very good man, and I am only happy, for his sake, that he never lived to see how his son turned out.”
Running his hand through his hair, Darcy continued: “George Wickham went to Eton with me, and I was mystified by how mean, bullying, even, he was becoming. He was not violent, not that I ever saw, but he used words as weapons. When we went to Cambridge, I saw him descend to dissipation: he gambled, he whored, he seduced daughters of local tradesmen, he ran up debts that he did not pay, and he cheated in exams and in cards. My father was, at this point, dealing with a difficult recovery from a riding accident, and I did not want him to go through the shock and dismay of learning what his godson had become, so I used much of my allowanceto payhis debts and aid the youngwomen—and girls, quite young girls—he had ruined. I did not realize that my good intentions would have very deleterious results.
“Because Wickham, so far unchecked, had become worse in every way. He was expelled from university, and without the degree, he could not take orders, as my father had hoped he would. Wickham said he wished to study the law, but as far as I know, he never attempted to do so.”
Darcy looked down at his hands. He maintained rigid control of his expression, and he did not allow his hands to clench or wring, but he hated relaying the next part of his history with Wickham. “My father never did recover from his accident; he died quite suddenly.Iwasnewly graduated from Cambridgeand wasthrust into the role of masteryears earlier than anyone expected. I had been trained for the roleall my life, but I still felt quite underwater when, three weeks after my father’s death,Wickham arrived, hand out, ready to receive whatever my father had left him.
“Father left Wickham one thousand pounds, outright, plus a lucrative living of one of the parishes under Pemberley’s control. Obviously, the living could only be granted if Wickham took orders; he had not and indeed could not do so,nor did he desire it.Since he was a gambler and a seducer, he certainly was not fit for the clergy. I suggested that he take a payment in compensation, and he agreed to a one-time payment of three thousand pounds. I had him sign a paper declaring that he had been paid and was fairly recompensed, and he left with his four thousand pounds. That money could have lasted a prudent man many years.
“But just two years later, he came back, accusing me of cheating him, claiming to be flat broke, and demanding moremoney. Naturally, I refused, and he went on to try to use both words and deeds to take revenge against me. He even went on to attempt an elopement with one of my relations, a 15-year-old child who had a very large dowry.” Darcy did not explain that it was his own sister who had almost wrecked her life for Wickham; he still felt far too emotional to think on it.
Gulping back his emotions, Darcy went on, “I was lucky enough to stop the elopementbefore the girl was ruined, but Wickham wrote letter after letter claiming disgusting ruination of the girl. Although I refused to bow to his blackmail attempts, I now find that the rogue is an albatross around my neck.”
Mr. Bennet’s eyes had changed as Darcy laid bare the facts about Wickham. He looked much less sarcastic, much more concerned, and even a bit appreciative of the albatross reference to Coleridge’sThe Rime of the Ancient Mariner. There was a short silence, and then Mr. Bennet stirred. “Thank you for the quite fulsome warning, Mr. Darcy. I will be talking to my daughters about this, you may be sure.”
“Thank you,” Darcy said, bowing his head briefly in a gesture of appreciation.
“Let me ask you,” Mr. Bennet said, “did Wickham continue to use words, not force? When I am warning my daughters, am I warning them against flattery and seduction, or…?”
Darcy shrugged. “I have never heard of him using force against a maiden, nor violence against a man. It is all charm and romance towards the ladies, without the honorable intentions; with men, it is the charm of the cheat, of the swindler, of the man who borrows just a bit from one friend to pay a debt to another friend, and eventually, when so much is owed to so many, he will slip away from that town altogether.”
Mr. Bennet nodded. “That description casts a new light on the behaviors I have seen from the fellow. I do appreciate your candor.”
Darcy rose and asked, “Do I have your permission to call on Miss Elizabeth tomorrow?”
Suddenly, Mr. Bennet’s face shuttered. His eyes dropped; his shoulders slumped. He almost looked ashamed, but Darcy could not imagine why he would feel that way.
Mr. Bennet said, “Well, actually…you see, Lizzy has left for a while.”
“Left? Did she go to visit someone?”
“She…she has gone to live with her Aunt Phillips, near the town center. I suppose you have seen the house? Mr. Phillips is Meryton’s solicitor.”
Darcy nodded. “I know the house. I thank you for the news.”
He was thoroughly puzzled. The entire family had attitudes that were suspect—something untoward must have happened. Also, why would Elizabeth move a mile away, to live with her aunt? Away from her beloved sisters?
Given the fact that Elizabeth was no longer living at Longbourn—if that was even true—Darcy felt entirely unsure whether or not she would hear the truth about Wickham. He had to go to the Phillips; he had to talk to her, since he could not rely on someone else informing her.
He made his farewells quickly and rode to the Phillips’s home. When he asked to speak to Miss Elizabeth, he was even more shocked, in a day already full ofsurprises, because Mrs. Phillips shook her head and said, “No, Miss Elizabeth is nothere. Mr. Bennet said she was living here now?” She laughed and continued, “I certainly have not heard this news, and I might have thought that I would have.”
Darcy left with disquiet heavy on his shoulders. Where the devil was Elizabeth? How was he to warn her, protect her, let alone court her, if he did not know where she lived?
He could not help noticing that Mrs. Phillips left the house almost on his heels. Turning his head,hesawthat she was heading for Longbourn as quickly as her legs could carry her.
Everything about his calls to Longbourn and Mrs. Phillips was puzzling to a high degree. Darcy knew that, if he returned to Netherfield, he would just worry and fret, so he decided to work on handling the Wickham problem. He rode to the temporary barracks that housed the militia and met with Colonel Forster. Darcy knew that the quality of his clothing and the gravitas he routinely donned when in his Master-of-Pemberley role would aid him in being believed; however, he knew that Wickham’s charm worked on men as well as women, so he did not expect the colonel to immediately throw the churl out on his say-so, either.
Darcy used every advantage he could. He asked Colonel Forster if he knew his cousin, Colonel Richard Fitzwilliam, and he kept his voice calm and his facial expression neutral as he mentioned his myriad reasons for worrying about Wickham’s presence in Meryton. He even offered to send for the proof of Wickham’s debts elsewhere.
Colonel Forster waved his hand at that last part. “No, no, that is not necessary. I will investigate if he has run up debts here, and I will ask around about the womanizing. Thank you for the warning; I always hope to hold my men to a high standard.”
Darcy stated that Forster could reach him at Netherfield Park for the foreseeable future, and as Darcy turned to leave, he was happy to see that Forster was already starting to give orders to his adjutant in order to start the investigation of Wickham.
