Page 19 of The Blackmail of Mr. Darcy
Elizabeth felt another hope for Mr. Bingley’s unparalleled goodness fall away, but she went back to the subject at hand. “Second, how did you manage to keep all word of Mr. Wickham’s attentions to Georgiana in Ramsgate quiet? I would have thought that merchants, residents, and visitors who saw them together would have spoken about the possibility of there being an attachment. And the servants in the house you had rented—what about them?”
Georgiana answered, “Mrs. Younge and Mr. Wickham made sure to be very secretive about what I thought of as courting. I now suppose that they were afraid that someone would recognise me and put some gossip about me in a newspaper, or some friend would write to William about me spending time with the son of a servant. I do not think that anyone at Ramsgate could have seen much in the way of Mr. Wickham and I being in the same vicinity.”
“As for the three servants,” Darcy explained, “I had them sign a confidentiality agreement and paid them well to keep to the agreement.”
“My brother does not threaten people,” Georgiana assured Elizabeth, “in order to make sure that they are discreet, butyou have seen his stern visage often enough to know that most people do as he asks even in the absence of threats.”
Darcy laughed a little and said, “Stern visage? Me?” Then he deliberately scowled and felt uncomfortable with the realisation of how familiar the expression felt. He smoothed his brow again and said, “Honestly, treating people well, respecting them, establishing mutual trust, giving fair compensation—those have stood me in good stead my whole life, with the exception of Wickham. I am certain that there are other scurrilous blackguards I should not trust, but threats are generally not necessary when more positive measures are in place.”
Elizabeth smiled at him, and Darcy felt almost faint in the face of her approval.
She said, “Now, for my third question, do you think Miss Bingley could have met up with, or exchanged messages with, Mr. Wickham or Mrs. Younge to get more information about the incident?”
“Not likely,” Darcy answered. “Because Richard and I would not give Mrs. Younge a recommendation for another post, she seemed quite desperate; I considered her not a bit trustworthy, but I also considered her a victim of Wickham’s, so I paid for her passage to Ireland. She chose to take on another name, and I have a man there who checks on her every few weeks.”
Passing his hand over his face, Darcy said, “As for the dreadful George Wickham, Richard keeps tabs on him, and he has been in Cornwall ever since the incident, going by the name John Withers. I would consider it extremely unlikely that Miss Bingley would have the resources to find him.”
Elizabeth nodded. “Good. Now, try to remember what points you mentioned about the incident in the discussion that was overheard. Were any names used other than Wickham? Was his first name spoken? Was any place name used, other thanRamsgate? For example, did the house you rented have a name, and did you mention it?”
Georgiana offered, “The house was named Rose Cottage, remember, William?”
Darcy nodded. “I remember. I am positive I have not said the name since we left that house. There has been no need. As to the rest of your questions, Miss Elizabeth, I am almost positive that Richard and I only mentioned my sister’s name and Wickham’s; we never call him George, because my father’s name was George, and of course there is Georgiana. Even as a young teen, when Wickham seemed a lot more pleasant, we all called him Wickham.
“Also, Richard and I had followed up with Mrs. Younge’s removal to Ireland during another discussion; there was no need to mention her again. Of course, we mentioned the name Ramsgate, but not so much as Ramsgate-the-town. More like shorthand for the events leading up to the almost-elopement.”
Elizabeth nodded, “That is clear enough. In the particular discussion that might have been overheard, did you mention the month during which ‘the events’—your words—occurred?”
He really had to think about that one. He finally shook his head. “I truly do not think that either Richard or I mentioned the timing of the events, not even generally. This was our third discussion, we already knew the dates of all we discussed, and I am pretty sure I did not even say something like ‘earlier this summer.’”
“Good,” Elizabeth said. “And the words she might have picked up on that indicated the nature of those ‘events’ — did you and/or Richard sayattempted elopement? Or…?”
Darcy related all that he could remember of the discussion; it was largely a conference about whether there had been any rumours of scandal. He said, “Actually, it was mostly the two of us assuring one another that there seemed to be no whispers atall of the events. However, I am not sure exactly which words we used; likely, either Richard or I saidattempted elopement.”
Elizabeth smiled at Darcy, and he felt her smile shake something deep inside. He tried to ignore the sensation in order to attend to her words. She said, “I have the beginnings of a twofold plan.”
Chapter 13
Elizabeth
Elizabeth Bennet saw hope in the eyes of both Darcys. There was more, there, too—admiration and gratitude. And in Mr. Darcy’s eyes, something so intense she dared not maintain eye contact.
Was Georgiana correct? Did Mr. Darcy like her…in a man-liking-a-woman sort of way?
But she firmly pushed the question away. She did not like the fact that her young friend was being threatened with malicious gossip, and she did not like for anyone to be the victim of a would-be blackmailer. She had to focus on safeguarding the Darcys, and to do that, she had to explain her ideas of how to defeat Miss Bingley’s stratagem.
She said, “I think that Miss Bingley’s information is so scant, and has not been repeated since the one overheard conversation, so I think that we should attempt to confuse her memories of the few names she heard. If either of you have ever been to Margate or Ramsbury, I urge you to talk about those places. I have also heard of South Gate, Bath Gate, and I believe Ramsbottom? Over the course of a week, if you bring up these towns—especially a seaside town such as Margate—I think it will beginto erode her memory of the mention of Ramsgate, and I believe she may become less certain of her ‘facts.’”
Elizabeth saw that Mr. Darcy looked surprised and then thoughtful. He nodded once, narrowing his eyes as if deep in thought, and then he said, “There is no drawback to such a tactic, and I suppose such a thing is easily implemented.”
“I think the same strategy could be used to confuse Miss Bingley about Wickham’s name. There are many similar names in England; consider all your acquaintances, and perhaps invent some. I personally know of a Mr. Wickley, who owns a bookstore in Hatfield, and I read once of a Mr. Windham, in the newspaper, but I cannot recall who he was or where he was located. I do not think it would be too far-fetched to invent a Mr. Wickall and a Mr. Wicken.”
“Excellent thinking, Miss Elizabeth,” Mr. Darcy said. “I think both suggestions of your twofold plan are quite promising.”
“Oh, the attempt to confuse Miss Bingley’s memory of the names Ramsgate and Wickham is just one ‘fold,’ Mr. Darcy. The other suggestion I want to make is a little more underhanded.”
Georgiana laughed. “I cannot imagine you doing something underhanded, Elizabeth. And certainly not my brother! He is a paragon of virtue!”
“Oh, Georgie!” Mr. Darcy protested, blushing more vividly than Elizabeth had seen before. “I am certainly not a perfect exemplar of anything. Miss Elizabeth revealed a recent sample of my poor behaviour just a few minutes ago.”
