“All lies,” Wickham blustered while he tried to work out how all of this was known.
“You were seen by more than one witness on Longbourn’s land this morning. You were observed entering Bennet’s hunting cabin, you were then noted leaving carrying the bedding from the cot, and said bedding has been recovered from where you discarded it on the walk back to Meryton,” Sir William stated in his booming voice. A murmur rose from the crowd of townspeople which had formed a ring around the men. The looks Wickham and Denny were receiving from those who had welcomed them hours earlier, were not at all friendly.
“I received permission from Mr Bennet to enter his cabin and remove anything I desired,” Wickham dissembled in a last ditch attempt to save himself from a gaol cell. This could not be happening, he always escaped the consequences arising from his actions, surely it would be the same this time.
“Then why did Mr Bennet swear this complaint out against you once your crimes against his property were reported to him?” Sir William demanded. He lifted the page above his head so the onlookers could see it.
“It must be an error, he simply forgot he bestowed hispermission,” Wickham claimed in desperation.
“In that case, we can go see Mr Bennet right now and ask him,” Sir William suggested. “Or we can send for him to come and see you in the gaol. If what you say is true, I will be happy to send you to Westingham today.”
Knowing he had shot his final bolt in his quiver of ready lies; Wickham simply shook his head. He would have to find a way to escape because things would not go well for him with some of the families of the girls he had meddled with in Northamptonshire. He did not look at Denny, who he was sure was in a state of shock, having believed Wickham’s claims he would never be apprehended for what he did.
The men were led through the crowd, which had steadily grown, which hissed at the arrested men, interspersed with shouts of ‘shame.’ Thankfully the walk to the town gaol was not a long one.
“Colonel how can you allow this travesty to be visited upon two of your officers?” Wickham decided on a tack in an attempt to gain his freedom.
“You are charged with breaking civilian laws; hence I am bound by that law to defer to the local magistrate, who as you have now been told, is Sir William. I am satisfied the charges against you will be fully investigated and justice will be done,” Colonel Forster averred.
Once pushed into his new home, a dejected Wickham fell back onto the piece of wood which passed as a place to rest his head. How was this happening to him?
~~~~~~~/~~~~~~~
That evil man and his friend have been arrested,” Charlotte reported to the Bennet ladies.
Since learning not only did Lieutenant Wickham not love her, but he intended to ruin her, and what that entailed, Lydia, who was normally boisterous and brash, had barely said a word. Not even when her mother told her two youngest theywere no longer out did Lydia raise a peep of opposition to her mother’s pronouncement. Her whole world had been shaken to its core.
While they had waited to see if Lizzy’s plan would bear fruit, Mama had owned the way Aunt Madeline had taught Jane and Lizzy, and to a lesser extent Mary, had been correct. Much to Lydia’s surprise Mama had admitted it was, as Lydia had claimed, her lessons which had put herself and Kitty in the path of a seducer like Mr Wickham and his protégé, Mr Denny.
Although she had not been comfortable with some of what Lydia led her into, Kitty berated herself for her weakness in following Lydia’s lead when she had known it was not right. At least when Mr Denny had tried to kiss her in the park a few days previously, she had stuck with what she felt was the proper thing to do, and not given in to him. Not even Lydia boasting how she had allowed Mr Wickham to kiss her, and even touch her breasts through her clothing had swayed Kitty from her determination. Her resolve had led to compliments from her three older sisters as well as, most surprisingly, from Mama who had praised her to the skies for resisting the Lieutenant’s advances.
Being a child who was not used to direct praise—in the past she had only received such tangentially when Mama lathered it upon Lydia—it was a wholly new, and very pleasant, experience for the second to youngest Bennet.
“How did that man take his being arrested?” Jane enquired.
“Not well, he attempted to prevaricate to get out of his manacles, but Papa, who knew more of the truth, though not all, would not be moved. Your Aunt Phillips was one of the crowd so the downfall of Messrs Denny and Wickham will be known far and wide by now,” Charlotte remembered she was speaking of Mrs Bennet’s sister. She turned towards the Bennet matron. “Please excuse my allowing my mouth to run away with me.”
“I am aware of Hattie’s love of gossip, of which I have shared in the past, so you did not insult my sister as it is nothing but the truth,” Fanny allowed.
Elizabeth could not but shake her head. It seemed her mother was far more intelligent than she or her father ever gave her credit for, and more than that, she seemed to be quite self-aware. All of the times Jane had told her that Mama was cognisant of what was occurring when she was being made sport of, she now knew to be true. To her everlasting shame, Elizabeth had rejected her sister’s counsel out of hand. Seeing this only highlighted what a long road she had to travel to make amends, and that was before she dealt with her pig headedness with regards to Mr Darcy. She would have a steady diet of humble pie to consume.
“By the by, no one gave the Lieutenants a clue as to who it was whoobservedthem. My father would not say how your father knew so he could file the complaint,” Charlotte informed the Bennet ladies.
“In a way, I would like to see his face when he realises he was outsmarted by a Bennet after the way Mr Wickham disdained us.” Elizabeth paused as she calmed her ire at the libertine. “How long can they be held so the populace will be protected?” Elizabeth queried.
“Thanks to an admission by Mr Wickham when he tried to lie his way out of his problems, they can be tried and convicted without your father having to testify,” Charlotte gave her friend a sly look. “I would guess other than having signed the paper, your father is unaware of what he alleged?”
“You know me too well,” Elizabeth blushed. “I could not allow such a man to continue bedevilling this neighbourhood, or any other.”
“Nothing you wrote was anything but the absolute truth, hence my father was completely sanguine with the note from yourfather. As it is, when they are eventually sent to theassizes in Hertford, given what they stole is below the amount for hanging, they will either have a lengthy stay in prison or be transported,” Charlotte reported.
Even though she desired for Mr Wickham to be punished for all of his misdeeds, not the least of which was playing her for a fool, Elizabeth did not want his blood on her hands. That she had just learnt the offences would not earn the ultimate punishment allowed her to relax. Had he been sentenced to hang, as much as he may have deserved that sentence, it would have always been something which would have weighed heavily on her soul.
“Jane, have you heard from Louisa regarding when your fiancé will return from London?” Elizabeth questioned, seemingly incongruously. Although her mother and younger sisters did not understand why Elizabeth asked what she did, Jane and Charlotte were fully cognisant about what she was asking.
“Unless she has heard otherwise today, as far as I am aware, it is either the morrow or Friday. I will send a note to Louisa to send a message as soon as Charles arrives back at the estate. You know how I have been missing him,” Jane averred as she looked directly at Lizzy.
Fanny was pleased Jane was pining for her fiancé in that way. It boded well for their future felicity. In essentials still being herself, Fanny wondered if Mr Bingley would apply for a special licence. How sweet it would be to have a daughter married by one. She could not understand why Lizzy had asked about Mr Bingley. However, her second daughter’s eyes had been opened regarding her father, so Fanny allowed the resentment to ebb away. She admitted to herself how wrong it was of her to have punished Lizzy because of the unique closeness her second daughter had had with Mr Bennet.
