“The vicar, silly. Who else?”
“How does he look at me?” I began rinsing out the teacups.
“With great interest.”
My heart skipped a beat. “Don’t be absurd. The man barely knows I exist.”
“Oh, he definitely takes notice of you.”
“Lizzy, you are being ridiculous. The vicar didn’t even remember that Mr. Wilson was calling today.”
“You told him that a potential suitor was coming to see you this afternoon?”
“Yes, and he forgot. That’s why he ended up accidentally interrupting the visit.”
“Is that so,” she said with a thoughtful expression on her face. “Anyhow, let us return to the subject of Mr. Wilson. He is most amiable, is he not?”
“Not amiable enough to marry, no matter how much Darcy longs for this match to make me respectable.”
“What does Darcy have to do with this?” she asked, her tone a little sharp.
“He already ensured my first terrible marriage. And while I am grateful for all he has done for me and the children, I do not require his input on a second husband.”
Lizzy’s mouth dropped open. “What are you talking about?”
“I haven’t forgotten that Darcy was at my wedding, that he indeed paid for it.”
“You had run off with Wickham. We, all of your sisters, would have been ruined if Wickham hadn’t wed you.”
I thought of my own daughter. My sweet Georgie. “I used to think I was obliged to be grateful for Darcy’s interference. All of you certainly told me that I should be.” Fire flared in my belly. “But I look at Georgie, and I see that she is still just a little girl. A child of fifteen should be reprimanded and sent back to her parents. Not forced to marry a man that Darcy knew better than anyone would be the ruin of any girl.”
Lizzy flushed. “Darcy saved you from ruin!”
“No, he saved you, his future wife, from disgrace so that you wouldn’t be tainted when he wed you. He sacrificed my happiness and well-being to ensure that his future wife’s reputation would remain spotless.”
“That’s absurd!” she burst out. “Darcy is all that is good and kind. He acted as he did to salvage the Bennet name after you ran off with Wickham. Do you think any of your sisters would be respectably wed if Darcy hadn’t paid Wickham a fortune to make you his wife?”
“I beg your pardon.” I blinked. “What did you say?”
Lizzy stilled. “Nothing. The story of your marriage is long in the past, where it should stay.”
“DarcypaidWickham to marry me?” I asked, incredulous. “He didn’t just cover the wedding expenses?”
Lizzy shook her head. “I don’t know what I was saying. I misspoke—”
“Stop lying to me!” I slammed down the cup I was rinsing, and it shattered to the floor. “I want the truth. I demand it. You owe me that at least.”
“I don’t know why I said that.” Pale, Lizzy sank into a wooden ladder-back chair at the table. “I’m an idiot. Forgive me.”
I felt sick. “What did you mean when you said Darcy paidWickham a fortune to marry me? We eloped. Darcy caught up to us after we ran off but before we could wed.”
“Oh, Lydia.” Sorrow filled Lizzy’s voice. “Wickham never intended to marry you. He was going to desert you once he tired of you.”
Horror rippled through me. George intended to use me and then cast me aside? I plopped down into the chair opposite her as the implications of her revelation sank in. “George didn’t wish to marry me.”
The unhappy alliance. The fights. The drinking. The tears. George constantly being gone from home. His unending womanizing. His indifference. All of it made sense now. My husband hadn’t wanted me. He’d been forced to wed me. I blinked back tears of humiliation. “Does everyone know?” I whispered.
“No, dearest, Darcy didn’t even tell me. I found out quite by accident.”
