8. Chapter 8

June 5, 2014 - At last we are done with Netherfield and able to move on. If you know your canon, you should know who is coming into the story next. And thanks to all of you who are leaving reviews. Happy reading!

Chapter 8

Two days after Jane and Elizabeth had returned to Longbourn their father surprised them with news of an intended vibitor due to arrive that afternoon. After some time spent vexing his wife Mr. Bennet finally related the contents of his surprising letter.

The heir of Longbourn was coming to visit, apparently in search of a wife.

"There now, Mrs. Bennet, we shall expect this peacemaking gentleman at 4 o'clock."

The change in Mrs. Bennet's attitude was astonishing, but unfortunately, expected. Once she deduced that Mr. Collins was coming to Longbourn to pick a bride she carefully began weighing the merits of promoting each daughter. Jane, of course was for Mr. Bingley. She had seen enough there to expect a declaration in the near future. Now the other four, well, she knew of no interests on their part. Any one of them would do just fine.

Mr. Collins was nothing if not prompt. Mr. Bennet had hopes of finding great amusement in his unknown heir but his absurdity went beyond his wildest dreams. That evening whilst they sat at dinner Mr. Collins went on and on about his noble patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh and of the many splendors of Rosings Park, her noble home. Elizabeth spent the meal trying to maintain her composure. It would not do to openly laugh at the man who would have the power to put them all out of their home if something happened to her dear father. She was forced to hide her mirth behind her napkin on more than one occasion.

After ten minutes alone with Mr. Collins following dinner, Mr. Bennet knew he had made a great mistake not insisting the gentlemen join the ladies directly after the meal. A little folly was fine, a total fool was overwhelming!

When the men finally joined the women Mr. Collins was asked to read to them. He objected to every suggestion as not suitable to a clergyman until he chose to read from Fordyce's Sermon. Not five minutes into his reading Lydia disturbed him with her loud talking. Indignant, Mr. Collins refused to continue even after the entreaties of Mrs. Bennet and Jane. Mr. Collins scratched Lydia off the list of potential brides.

The next morning Mrs. Bennet was speaking with Mr. Collins. He praised the merits of all her daughters, mentioning especially her first born. Mrs. Bennet wasted no time thanking him but also intimated that her eldest would very likely be soon engaged. With that Jane was scratched of his list. It was only a matter of moments before he shifted his attentions to the next oldest, Elizabeth.

Lydia suggested a walk into Meryton to see if Mr. Denny had returned to the regiment from London and Mr. Collins wasted no time in soliciting Elizabeth to walk with him. Resignedly, Elizabeth consented but determined to walk speedily along to Meryton to minimize the time she would be forced to bear his company alone.

When they reached Meryton the young ladies' attention was soon caught by a gentleman whom they had never seen before. He was in the company of the very officer, Mr. Denny, whom Lydia had hoped to see. This young stranger was quickly introduced. Mr. Wickham possessed the happy manners of a well-bred gentleman. He quickly charmed the ladies with his ease and apparent openness. Lydia's and Kitty's pleasure was complete when they learned that he had joined the unit and would soon be wearing regimentals.

This amiable conversation continued until Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy came riding through the town on their horses. Upon perceiving the Bennet party Mr. Bingley led the way over to them and began to address Miss Bennet. The two were on their way to Longbourn to enquire after her health. Mr. Darcy was prompt in seconding this notion and was about to resolve not to look at Elizabeth when he spied Mr. Wickham instead. Mr. Darcy immediately turn white, Mr. Wickham red. The latter gentleman finally was able to respond with a touch of his hat. Darcy gave an almost imperceptible nod, turned his horse, and began to ride away.

Elizabeth had witnessed the manner of their greeting and was astonished. It was obvious that both men felt very uncomfortable in the presence of the other and had a shared history. Mr. Wickham was quick to recover but not before Elizabeth caught the fleeting expression on his face. Hatred and fear were what had flashed across his features. Why, she had no idea but she began to doubt the man before her. Mr. Darcy may have been reserved but he had shown himself to be a good man. What was the quarrel he had with Mr. Wickham? She would find out soon enough.

After Mr. Bingley made his way to follow Darcy the party moved toward the Phillips' house in town. Mrs. Phillips was the sister of Mrs. Bennet, but unfortunately, she had no more sense. She had married her father's clerk, and when her father had died Mr. Phillips took over his Attorney's practice in Meryton.

Mrs. Phillips had noticed the handsome stranger and was only too pleased to use his presence with his nieces as an opportunity to invite him to cards and supper that evening at her house. Mr. Wickham, being fond of society was quick to accept.

That same evening then, Elizabeth found herself in the unexpected position of finding out the nature of the disagreement between Darcy and Mr. Wickham.

"I noticed the presence of a particular gentleman this afternoon. Tell me, has he been in the neighborhood long?" Mr. Wickham began.

"About a month sir. It is said he has an estate in Derbyshire"

"Yes, a fair and noble one. You could not have met with a person more capable of giving you information about him than myself. I have been connected with that family most of my life."

Elizabeth could not help but look surprised.

"You look surprised. You did not miss the cold manner of our greeting today."

"I did not."

"Are you much acquainted with Mr. Darcy?"

"Not very, he seems to be very proud, a man who does not easily make acquaintances with those who are of little consequence." Elizabeth was proud how she was able to play down her acquaintance.

"I have no opinion on his manners with new acquaintances. I have known him too long to give an honest one. He has done me great wrong, Miss Bennet."

"Pray how, sir, he has the appearance of a man who lives to do his duty."

"That may be how he appears to the world but between us things are very different. His father, you see, was my godfather and a better man I never met. He supported me through school and intended me for the church. He remembered me in his will and directed that a certain living be given to me when it became available. When it finally did the son refused point blank to give it to me. So I have been forced to make my own way in the world."

"This is quite shocking. How could the son go expressly against the wishes of his father's will?"

"It was given to me conditionally but the son's jealousy of his father's good opinion of me would never let him see my merits."

"Then he deserves to be exposed!"

"I could never expose him so. I loved his father too much to sully his memory in such a manner."

'Then why are you telling me this now,' thought Elizabeth.

"Tell me what you know of Miss Darcy, what kind of girl is she?"

Elizabeth added to herself, 'How he responds should tell me more about him.'

He shook his head. "I wish I could call her amiable. It gives me pain to speak ill of a Darcy. But she is too much like her brother - very, very proud. As a child, she was affectionate and pleasing, and extremely fond of me; and I have devoted hours and hours to her amusement. But she is nothing to me now. She is a handsome girl, about fifteen or sixteen, and I understand, highly accomplished."

'Your fatal mistake, Mr. Wickham. What manner of man are you really?' she mused while she inclined her head to acknowledge his speech.

A few minutes later after inconsequential talk about the neighborhood in general, Mr. Wickham left their conversation very pleased with himself. He had seen the way Darcy had looked upon Miss Elizabeth when he first approached. Tonight had gone well, he had managed to poison Miss Bennet against Darcy. 'Good luck now, Darcy. After talking with me, she now despises you.' He had based his opinion on Elizabeth's agitated manner. In truth Elizabeth was distressed, but for an entirely different reason. She had to speak with Mr. Darcy to warn him about the story Mr. Wickham was bound to spread. He would not stop with her, of this she was certain. Elizabeth was worried about how such gossip would affect Georgiana. No, this could not happen. She had to find a way to speak with him as soon as could be.

That night Elizabeth unburdened herself to Jane. Jane being Jane had a difficult time believing ill of anyone but agreed in the deceit of the man when it came to Georgiana. She agreed to help Elizabeth get a message to Mr. Darcy that she needed to speak with him. As it turned out, Jane's assistance was unnecessary.

Elizabeth had determined to go out walking in the direction of Netherfield the next morning in hopes of running into Mr. Darcy. No sooner than she had left the confines of Longbourn then she spotted him coming her way on his horse.

"Good morning, Miss Bennet. I see that you are well this morning."

"Yes I am, I thank you. I am feeling much better this morning than when I went to bed last night. I was just about to walk towards Netherfield. Would you care to join me?"

"Thank you, I would." They walked along in silence for several minutes. "Miss Bennet, I must confess I rode to Longbourn in hopes of meeting you on your walk."

"And I went walking this morning in the hope of meeting you. Dare I assume that we wish to speak on the same topic?"

"Miss Bennet, you noticed the cold manner with which I greeted a certain gentleman yesterday." Elizabeth noted the strain in his voice when he said the word 'gentleman'. "As you may have guessed Mr. Wickham and I have a previous acquaintance. I urge you to beware of the man. He is a cad and a rake and it is best you not give consequence to anything that he may have to say."

"Mr. Darcy, I thank you for your warnings but I had already ascertained that he is not a man to be trusted."

"But how, if I may ask?"

"Georgiana."

"What did Wickham say about Georgiana?" Darcy asked through clenched teeth. Elizabeth noticed his distress and wondered at it. Had Mr. Wickham tried to hurt Georgiana? Again she was forced to table her questions and wait until Georgiana felt ready to talk to her.

"He only said that she was a proud girl. You and I both know that nothing could be further from the truth. If he lied about her he was capable of lying about the things he said about you."

"What did he say about me?"

"Only that you had refused to give him the living your father promised him."

Darcy was so angry he couldn't speak.

"It went against everything I know about you, Mr. Darcy. I refused to believe that you could behave in such a manner so I believed that there must be more to the story than he was telling."

Darcy was finally in control of himself to speak. "Yes, there is much more to the story. I trust in your discretion that what I am about to tell you will go no further, even to your sister Jane?" Elizabeth nodded her consent.

"George Wickham's father was steward of Pemberley until his death nearly five years ago. He discharged his duties as steward faithfully, honorably and with the greatest of integrity. Unfortunately, those are qualities that he failed to pass on to his son. My own father was George's god-father and was, unfortunately again, blind to Wickham's true character. Wickham hid behind his pleasing manners but I, who was nearer his age, was not fooled. But my father, who also died nearly five years ago, loved him and provided a legacy of £1,000 in addition to a recommendation that a valuable living be presented to him when it became available. Not long after my excellent father's death Wickham came to me and asked for remuneration of £3,000 in exchange for the promised living. I immediately agreed and was very relieved that Mr. Wickham resigned all claims to assistance from the church. I had been loath to present a living to such a man and would have been mortified to inflict such a man on people I felt responsible for.

"I had hoped not to see Mr. Wickham again, but a few years later the aforementioned living became available again and Wickham had the gall to ask for it despite the earlier compensation. I refused and he reacted angrily and left at once. That was the last I heard from him until this past summer. In June Georgiana and her then companion, Mrs. Younge, went to Ramsgate. And thither also went Mr. Wickham, undoubtedly by design for there proved to be a former acquaintance between him and Mrs. Younge. There he courted Georgiana and convinced her she was in love to the extent that she consented to an elopement. He would have succeeded had I not, providentially, arrived unexpectedly to surprise Georgiana. She related the affair in full, not wishing to disappoint me.

"You met her scarcely more than a month after these events. You noted the sadness that was about her. You even mentioned it to me once. I would not have told you of this except that you have proven yourself a true friend to Georgiana. She owes much to you for her recovery after Ramsgate. I shudder to think of what she might still be if not for you. But I must ask you not to tell Georgiana that you know of this."

"I am so sorry, Mr. Darcy. Of course I will not tell Georgiana I know about Wickham. Indeed it was for Georgiana's sake that I sought to meet you today. I fear the impact of Mr. Wickham spreading his lies about you. At present he is still, I believe, unaware of Georgiana's presence here. We must do something to keep her safe!"

"We?"

Elizabeth smiled shyly. "Yes, we. You must know that I care about her very much and I feel it my duty to protect her. Much the same as you feel sir."

"What do you think you can do, Miss Bennet?"

"Counteract any lies Wickham may try to spread. The people who live here have known me all my life. They are more likely to listen to me than some handsome stranger."

Darcy winced inwardly when he heard Elizabeth call Wickham handsome.

"I can also be sure to insist that all our walks together be chaperoned."

"I shall do the chaperoning, Miss Bennet. And I think I will be able to do more. Did Wickham in fact join the regiment?"

"Yes he did."

"Good! That was a mistake on his behalf. My cousin, Georgiana's other guardian, is as I said before a colonel in the army. I shall send him an express and see if he can get Wickham transferred to another regiment. He will not know what hit him!"

"It is fortunate that you possess such useful connections. I am willing to assist you in whatever manner is possible, Mr. Darcy. I will not see Georgiana hurt."

"I know I can depend on you, Miss Bennet."

They had come back to Longbourn by now.

"Good day, Miss Bennet. It has been a most enlightening morning."

"Good day, Mr. Darcy, will you bring Georgiana around today then?"

"No, unfortunately I will have much to do today. But I will endeavor to bring her tomorrow." With that Darcy mounted his horse, tipped his hat, and rode off towards Netherfield.